Independent State of Croatia (1944-1945)
Fighter –  15 to 30 Operated

Following the collapse of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia after the Axis invasions in April of 1941, the Nezavisna Država Hrvatska (Eng. Independent State of Croatia) was created. It immediately began forming its military, including an air force. This air force, while managing to acquire a few hundred aircraft of various types, always lacked fighter planes. Nothing major was done to improve them in this regard up to 1944, when finally, Germany agreed to send a small group of Me 109’s to the NDH to bolster their fighter force.

History

After Italy’s unsuccessful invasion of Greece, Benito Mussolini was forced to ask his German ally for help. Adolf Hitler agreed to assist, fearing that a possible Allied attack through the Balkans would reach Romania and its vital oil fields. In the path of the German advance towards Greece stood Yugoslavia, whose government initially agreed to join the Axis side. This agreement was short-lived, as the Yugoslav government was overthrown by an anti-Axis, pro-Allied military coup at the end of March 1941. Hitler immediately gave an order for the preparation of the invasion of Yugoslavia. The war that began on 6th April 1941, sometimes called the April War, was a short one and ended with a Yugoslav defeat and the division of its territory between the Axis powers.

With the collapse of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Croatia, with German aid, was finally able to declare independence, albeit becoming a fascist puppet state. It was officially formed on the 10th of April 1941. The new state received a significant territorial expansion by annexing most of western Yugoslavia, including Bosnia, parts of Serbia, and Montenegro.

While the conquest of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia proved to be an easy task for the Axis, holding these territories proved to be much more difficult. This was mainly due to two major resistance movements that were actively engaged in sabotage, destroying railways and bridges, and attacking isolated occupation units’ positions and strong points. Despite attempts to suppress these attacks, the resistance movements, especially the Communist Partisans, grew rapidly, forcing the Germans and their Allies to introduce ever-larger occupation forces. The NDH forces were especially targeted by the resistance as they committed numerous war crimes, including mass murders and deportations to concentration camps. Thanks to German help, they managed to form a small air force that had in its inventory all kinds of obsolete, and in rare cases, modern equipment. By 1943, it was in the process of reorganization, and the NDH officials during this period often asked their German overlords for more modern aircraft. Sometimes they even portrayed their own Air Force as being weaker than it was in the hope of getting military aid. Eventually, near the end of the war, several dozen Me 109s were sent from Germany to NDH.

A Brief Me 109 History

The Me 109 was Willy Messerschmitt’s response to the German Air Force’s request for a modern fighter in 1934. Despite being a completely unknown aircraft designer, his aircraft, thanks to its simplicity and performance, easily beat the competition. Soon after it entered mass production in 1936. It was quite an advanced design for its time and superior to most fighters around the world. Over the years various versions were built, each introducing various modifications. Some were even specially made for various other roles, such as training or reconnaissance. By the end of the war over 30.000 were built making it the second most produced military aircraft in history. Given the sheer number of produced aircraft, it should not be surprising that many were sold or given to various nations in Europe.

The Need of the NDH Air Force

Following the collapse of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the NDH began organizing its newly created armed forces. Its air force was created on the 19th of April, 1941. Immediately, work began on creating an adequate structural organization, acquiring manpower, and procuring equipment. Initially, plans for arming this Air Force were ambitious and included acquiring the newest German aircraft design. For example, the main fighter aircraft was to be the Me 109E. A single fighter group would consist of 22 such aircraft. The Germans on the other hand decided to ignore this request, as these planes were needed for the upcoming invasion of the Soviet Union. They also did not fully trust the NDH officials. As a compromise, the NDH air force was to be equipped with the stockpiles of captured Yugoslavian aircraft. The Germans, once again disappointed in the state of their air force, gave the NDH only those aircraft that were mostly obsolete while transferring the better aircraft, like the Hurricanes, to Romania instead.

Under German Command

While the Germans did not provide the NDH with the Me 109, the Croatian pilots still got the chance to fly on them. While receiving no major import of equipment from their ally, the NDH still wanted to have a good relationship with the Germans. When the massive invasions on the Soviet Union were launched, while the NDH did not directly participate in this attack, its government issued a proclamation for volunteers at the start of July 1941. It called for volunteers among the Croatian population to join the German Army. The NDH Air Force also contributed to this voluntary enlisting. While it lacked equipment, it did not have shortages of personnel willing to go and fight the Soviets.  For this purpose, the 4th Air Force Regiment was formed. It consisted of the 4th Air Force Fighter Group and the 5th Air Force Bomber Group. The 4th Group had in total over 200 members. Once assembled, the fighter group was transported to Furth in Germany where their training was to commence. The training officially began on the 19th of July 1941. For this purpose, the Germans provided some Bu 133, Ar 96, and even some older Me 109D planes. During the training process, one pilot was killed in an accident. During this period the 4th Group was divided into two newly created 10th and 11th squadrons

At the end of September 1941, elements from the 10th Squadron were sent to fight on the Eastern Front. They arrived on the 6th of October and were allocated to the Jagdgeschwader (Eng. Fighter wing) 52. They were to pilot five allocated Me 109Es, with six more being expected to arrive later. Their first combat flight mission occurred on the 9th of October.  They were patrolling the area around Ahtijevka-Krasnograd when the unit spotted a lone Soviet aircraft. It was engaged and shot down by a German pilot who served as a liaison officer in this unit. The following month saw the unit mainly tasked with patrolling and protecting the German airfields in this region. On the 2nd of November, the first air victory was achieved by Croatian pilots. Seven days later another victory was scored. On the 16th of November, the German liaison officer  Lieutenant Baumgarten managed to achieve another victory. He died two days later when he collided in mid-air with a Soviet Aircraft. At the end of November, a Soviet I-16 fighter was shot down. At the start of the following month, the first Croatian pilot, Ivan Karner, lost his life in an accident.

During December they were stationed in the Azov area. During January, pilots from this unit managed to shoot down some 23 Soviet aircraft. By April 1942, 12 more enemy aircraft were shot down over the Kerch Peninsula. In May, the whole unit was renamed to Jagdgruppe Džal (Eng. Fighter Group Džal) which was a common thing for the Germans to name particular military groups for their commanders, in this case, Colonel Franjo Džal. By that time the unit operated the older Me 109E and requested the delivery of newer models. In July 1942, the first Me 109G-2 version began to reach this unit. July and August were quite successful for the Croatian pilots who achieved many air victories, some 137 at that point, against various types of Soviet aircraft, despite being used mainly for support missions.

The Croatian pilots returned to the NDH at the end of 1942 for rest and recuperation. By this point, they had achieved 164 confirmed air victories over 3,300 flights. The best fighter ace of this unit was Cvitan Galić who was credited with 24 air victories, plus 7 more that were not confirmed. The unit was not without casualties as six pilots were lost.  After a few months spent resting, they returned to the Soviet Union in February 1943. They were stationed in Crimea and saw heavy action there. Interestingly they encountered Allied-supplied Spitfires and P-39s. While they continued bringing down many more Soviet pilots, the rapid deterioration on the frontlines caused some of these pilots to second-guess their place in the war. In May and June, at least three pilots defected to the Soviet Union. Fearing that more would follow, the Germans prohibited any further flights by Croatian pilots. The unit commander was temporarily removed from this post but reinstated later in September 1943. In late October more combat flight patrols with new pilots were initiated. The 4th Group in October had only 8 fully operational aircraft.

This unit would remain active on the Eastern Front in 1944. In September 1944, two more pilots defected to the Soviet Side, forcing the Germans to once again forbid the remaining Croatian pilots from flying. In November, the unit was disbanded and its personnel received infantry training.  In early 1945 these saw action as standard infantry in Poland. After March 1945 those that survived were sent back to the NDH. In total the 4th Group that served over four years on the Eastern Front was credited with the destruction of over 300 enemy aircraft.

In NDH service

It was not until early 1945 that the first Me 109 began to arrive in the NDH itself. These included the G-6, 14, and 10 variants. These aircraft were acquired for the 4th Fighter Group (11th and 12th Squadrons). While nominally part of the NDH Air Force, the 4th Fighter Group was actually under the direct control of the Germans. While 15 aircraft were to be delivered, 5 of them never reached Croatia as they were lost during the transit. These numbers are according to T. Likso and D. Čanak. (The Croatian Air Force In The Second World War). However, both authors expressed their doubts about the precise number of delivered aircraft. They believe that that number was actually higher and that more than 15 aircraft were delivered.

Author V. V. Mikić (Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske 1941-1945) gives a different account. According to him, some 30 Me 109s were allocated to the NDH service. The first 10 aircraft arrived at the end of November 1944. The second group of 10 aircraft reached NDH  at the end of 1944. The last 10 were to arrive in January 1945. On transit flight two of them accidentally collided, with one more benign heavily damaged during the landing.

In The Balkans 

Given that these fighters arrived late into the war, there is little surviving documentation that mentions their use in combat. In March, two Me 109s were used to attack a partisan airfield Smrdan but without any success.

During March and April 1945, some of these newly arrived aircraft were used for crew training.  These flights mainly lasted between 10 to 15 minutes, and the older Me 109G-6 was used for this purpose. On the 26th of March, and later on the 2nd of April, ground attacks against Partisan-held airfields were made.

By 1945, defections from the NDH’s forces became a common occurrence, and they were having a hard time keeping the Army intact. The Air Force was not an exception to this, as its pilots often managed to escape either to the Allies in Italy, or the Yugoslav Partisans. On the 16th of April 1945, while flying a patrol mission, two Me 109s escaped to Italy and surrendered to the Allies. These were piloted by Josip Ceković, flying aMe 109G-10, and Vladimir Sandtner, in a Me 109G-14. The first pilot escaped to Falconara and the latter to Ancona. Allegedly, these two fighters had acted as a guard to a secret NDH delegation that was to fly to Italy and ask the Allies for peace, and possibly even switch sides.

Two more pilots deserted with their aircraft, both flying Me 109G-10s, on the 20th of April. These were part of a group of four Me 109s that were tasked with attacking Partisan ground targets. Instead, two pilots defected and flew to the city of Mostar, which was at that time in Partisan hands. They were immediately put into partisan service after the NDH symbols were repainted. On the 7th of May, they saw action against the retreating Axis ground forces.

On the 23rd of April 1945 while on patrol, two NDH Me 109s spotted two Allied  P-51s. The Me 109 pilots managed to fly at a close range of some 80 meters and opened fire. One of the P-51s caught fire, and while the pilot tried to escape a second burst of cannon fire from the Me 109 brought it down. They were intercepted by two more P-51s. The NDH aircraft, despite receiving many hits, managed to damage another P-51. As more Allied fighters began to approach this engagement, the Me 109s began to fly away toward their base of operation, managing to escape the pursuers.

The few remaining Me 109s were used in the last days of the war. They tried to defend the Axis positions at the Sermian Front in the Eastern part of Croatia. This was a vital defense line for the remaining Axis Forces that was for some time besieged by the advancing Partisans. During this time, the Me 109 participated in a few skirmishes with the Partisan-operated Yak fighters. The NDH Me 109s generally avoided direct fights as they were severely outnumbered.

In the last days of the war, many of the Me 109 escaped to Austria. It is believed that up to 17 aircraft made this flight, and they were left abandoned, later to be put to use by the advancing Partisans

Camo and markings

The NDH Me 109s were left in German late time war-type camouflages. This usually consisted of  Dunkelgrun (Eng. Dark green) and Grau  (Eng. Grey) on the upper aircraft surfaces, and  Hellblau (Eng. Sky Blue) on the lower surfaces. A yellow-painted ring followed the black nose. To the rear, the usually yellow-painted band that goes around the fuselage was repainted in green. A standard Croatian white and red checkerboard coat of arms was painted on the tail unit. Starting from 24th February 1945 the NDH Air Force introduced the use of a black trefoil that was painted on the aircraft fuselage sides or wings.

Technical Specification

The Bf 109 was a low-wing, all-metal, single-seat fighter. To keep the production of this aircraft as simple as possible, Messerschmitt engineers decided to develop a monocoque fuselage that was divided into two halves. These halves would be placed together and connected using simple flush rivets, thus creating a simple base on which remaining components, like the engine, wings, and instruments would be installed.

In order to provide room for the retracting landing gear, Messerschmitt intentionally used only a single wing spar which was positioned quite to the rear of the wing. This spar had to be sufficiently strong to withstand the load forces that acted on the wings during flight. The wings were connected to the fuselage by four strong bolts. This design enables the wings to have a rather simple overall construction with the added benefit of being cheap to produce. During the Bf 109’s later service life, the damaged wings could be simply replaced with others on hand. The wings were also very thin, which provided the aircraft with better overall control at lower speeds but also reduced drag which in turn increased the overall maximum speed

The cockpit was placed in the center of the fuselage. It was a fully enclosed compartment that was riveted to the fuselage. The Bf 109 cockpit itself was quite cramped. The Me 109 possessed quite an unusual landing gear arrangement. The landing gear was mainly connected to the lower center base of the fuselage, which meant that the majority of the weight of the aircraft would be centered at this point. The two landing gear struts retracted outward towards the wings.

As the production of this aircraft went on for years, various modifications and improvements were carried out to improve the flight performance. This included its overall shape, engine, armament, and instrumentation. For example, the Me 109B-1 which was introduced before the outbreak of the war in Europe, was powered by a 635 hp Jumo 210D engine and armed with three 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns

The later Me 109G-6 which was introduced to service in early 1943 was powered by a much stronger  1,475 hp DB605A engine. In addition, the armament was improved with either one 30 mm (1.18 in), or two 20 mm (0.78 in) cannons and additional two 13 mm (0.51 in) machine guns  It was a mass-produced fighter aircraft that stayed in service up to the end of the war. There were several sub-variants of the G-6 some of which were the R-2 reconnaissance, R-3 with larger fuel load, and R-6 with stronger armament in the wings.

The G-14 variant incorporated some minor changes mainly intended to standardize some parts of the Me 109 series. This includes using the erla haube type canopy, a larger tail fin, and standardized the use of methanol-water injection. The G-14 was an attempt to consolidate all of the modifications that had accumulated with the G-6 into a common variant, the G-10 was converted from old airframes to get the newer DB 605D engine into service faster.

The G-10 (essentially modified G-14/G-6) was an attempt to increase the overall flight speed and high-altitude performance by introducing the new DB 605D engine equipped with a larger supercharger. In addition, this variant received several modifications such as a reinforced, lengthened tail wheel strut, using wider front wheels, somewhat larger wings, etc. It was introduced to service in late 1944 and saw relatively limited combat action due to this.

Conclusion

The Me 109 was the best NDH fighter during the war. Unfortunately for the NDH, these began to arrive at the end of 1944. It is way too late and in too few numbers to have any meaningful impact on the war in Yugoslavia. Lack of fuel, the Allied air supremacy, and the rapidly collapsing Axis resistance meant that these stood little chance to effectively fight back.

Illustration

Credits

• Written by Marko P.
• Edited by Henry H.
• Illustrated by Godzilla

Source:

• A. Pelletier (2002) French Fighters Of World War II in Action, Squadron/Signal Publication
• J. R. Beaman (1983) Messerschmitt  Bf 109 in action part 2, Squadron publication
• V. V. Mikić, (2000) Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske 1941-1945, Vojno  istorijski institut Vojske Jugoslavije.
• T. Likso and Danko Č. (1998) The Croatian Air Force In The Second World War, Nacionalna Sveučilišna Zagreb
• J. R. Smith and A. L. Kay (1990) German Aircraft of the Second World War, Putnam
• D. Monday (2006) The Hamlyn Concise Guide To Axis Aircraft OF World War II, Bounty Books
• C. Chants (2007) Aircraft of World War II, Grange Books.