History of the Croatian Air Force

[5] Other notable aircraft constructors were Rudolf Fizir, Ivan Sarić, brothers Josip and Edvard Rusjan, Mihailo Merćep, Stanko Obad and Robert Ludvigovich Bartini.

Major Emil Uzelac was a Croatian military commander who was a leading figure in the air forces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and later in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Independent State of Croatia.

Many of the unit's pilots became aces, including; Mato Dukovac, Cvitan Galić, Franjo Džal, and many more.

Croatia had a large fleet of relatively modern aircraft during the Second World War usually of German origin, but also ex-Royal Yugoslav, Italian, French, British and Czech.

All ZNDH aircraft captured at the end of World War II were incorporated into the Yugoslav People's Army inventory.

On the Allied side, when the Partisan forces started forming their own air force squadrons (based on donated Allied planes, as well as captured ZNDH aircraft) towards the end of the war, a number of Croats with previous flying experience (NDH defectors, USAAF pilots of Yugoslav descent, pre-war civilian pilots), as well as previously untrained personnel, took part in the effort.

The only known Fiat G.50 still in existence is currently in the Museum of Aviation in Surčin, Croatian pilot Andrija Arapović defected with his aircraft to allied airfield on island of Vis in 1944.

At first, only small agricultural and transport planes, were used to fight a far superior, Serb-led Yugoslav National Army that took almost all aircraft which were, in fact, the property of all ex-Yugoslav states.

Some UTVA-75s were fitted with 90-mm rocket-propelled grenades launchers and improvised ordnance like pressurized containers or acetylene tubes filled with explosives, known as "boiler bombs".

[11] A number of Antonov An-2 biplanes used for crop-spraying or leased from parachute clubs were also converted by Croatian Forces to drop makeshift bombs and were used in supply missions to the town of Vukovar and other besieged parts of Croatia.

The helicopter force was basically created during the war period by purchasing around 20 Mil Mi-8 transports and 10 Mi-24 gunships, which were used to a devastating effect in 1995 during Operation Storm.

Russian Federation sold Croatia 10 Mil Mi-171Sh transport helicopters in 2006 to partly repay its old debt from the times of the Soviet Union.

The country opted to acquire 12 ex-Israeli General Dynamics F-16C/D Barak aircraft in 2017 but the sale was cancelled in early 2019 following inability to obtain relevant export approvals from the USA.