Serbia

Key Facts

The Country

Geography

The Republic of Serbia is all that now remains of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Savezna Republika Jugoslavija). For most of it’s history, Yugoslavia (the name means ‘land of the southern Slavs’) has comprised the states of Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. During 1991-1992 four of the original six states broke away to form independent countries. In 2006 Montenegro also broke away to become independent.

Yugoslavia:
Yugoslavia was located on the Balkan peninsula in south-eastern Europe. It’s neighbours were Austria to the north, Hungary to the north-east, Romania to the east, Bulgaria to the south-east, Greece to the south, Albania to the south-west, the Adriatic Sea to the west and Italy to the north-west. Yugolavia was a largely mountainous country cut by deep river valleys. It’s borders with Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and Austria were defined by mountain ranges. Montenegro and Slovenia were the most mountainous regions, with peaks reaching more than 2,400 m (8,000 ft). A flat fertile plain runs from Croatia in the west across northern Serbia to Hungary. The area of Yugoslavia was 255,804 sq km (98,766 sq m) and the total population numbered 21.5 million in 1976. In that year the ethnic groups comprised Serbs 47%, Croats 26%, Slovenes 10%, Macedonians 6%, Albanians 5%, Montenegrins 3% and Hungarians 3%. Although the Serbs and Croats share a common language called ‘Serbo-Croat’, the Serbs write with a Cyrillic alphabet, while the Croats use a Latin alphabet. In terms of religion, 41% were Orthodox Christians (mostly Serbs, Montenegrins and Macedonians), 31% were Roman Catholics (mostly Croats and Slovenes) and 13% were Moslem (mostly Bosnians and Albanians). The capital of Yugoslavia was Belgrade, the Serbian capital.

Serbia & Montenegro (2002-2006):
Serbia comprised the eastern portion of the former Yugoslavia, while Montenegro was the region between Albania and Bosnia-Hercegovina. Montenegro is much smaller than Serbia, which occupies 80% of the area of the republic. The Union of Serbia & Montenegro is bounded by Hungary to the north, Romania to the north-east, Bulgaria to the south-east, Macedonia to the south, Albania and the Adriatic Sea to the south-west, Bosnia-Hercegovina to the west and Croatia to the north-west. At its widest point, the country measures roughly 465 km (290 miles) from northwest to southeast and 400 km (250 miles) from northeast to southwest. The total areas is 102,172 sq km (39,449 sq miles). The population numbered 10.4 million in 2000. Ethnic groups now comprise 62% Serbs, 17% Albanians, 5% Montenegrins, 3% Bosniak, 3% Hungarian and 10% other minorities. Religious allegiances are 65% Orthodox Christians, 19% Moslem, 4% Roman Catholic, 1% Protestant and 11% other. The capital of Montenegro is Podgorica (formerly Titograd) and the capital of Serbia is Belgrade, which is the federal capital. Within Serbia there were two formerly autonomous regions, Vojvodina in the north (capital Novi Sad) and Kosovo in the south (capital Pristina), both of which have large non-Serb populations.

Serbia (2006+):
Serbia is a land-locked republic located in central southern Europe. It formerly comprised the eastern portion of Yugoslavia. The Republic of Serbia is bounded by Hungary to the north, Romania to the north-east, Bulgaria to the south-east, Macedonia to the south, Albania and Montenegro to the south-west, Bosnia-Hercegovina to the west and Croatia to the north-west. The total areas is 88,412 sq km (34,136 sq miles). The population numbered about 9.4 million in 2005. Ethnic groups now comprise 66% Serbs, 17% Albanians, 3.5% Hungarian and 13.5% other minorities. Religious allegiances are 66% Orthodox Christians, 17% Moslem, 4% Roman Catholic, 1% Protestant and 12% other. The capital of Serbia is Belgrade. Within Serbia there were two formerly autonomous regions, Vojvodina in the north (capital Novi Sad) and Kosovo in the south (capital Pristina), both of which have large non-Serb populations.

National History

Summary Narrative History

Timeline – Key Dates in Serbian History

Further National Information

BBC News Profile: Serbia
Yahoo Serbia page
wikipedia: Serbia
wikipedia: History of Serbia
Serbia Info

Aviation

Text to be added on the development of aviation in Serbia & Yugoslavia.

Markings

Civil Aircraft Registrations

The first Yugoslav civil aircraft registration prefix was UN-xxx, but this was replaced in 1935 by YU-xxx. After World War Two, the letters YU-xxx were again adopted for Yugoslav aircraft, and the series continues to be used by Serbia.

Allocations are according to aircraft category, as follows:
YU-A_ _  Transport aircraft (eg. DC-10, B-737, ATR-72 etc)
YU-B_ _  Agricultural, geological, search, medical, fire department, rescue, air-taxi, cargo
YU-H_ _  Helicopters
YU-C and YU-D_ _  Single-engine sport aircraft
YU-O_ _  Balloons
YU-W_ _  Ultralight aircraft
YU-Z_ _  Amateur-built aircraft
YU-X_ _  Experimental aircraft

Note: Powered aircraft use letter registrations, eg: YU-AJK, while gliders use numerical registrations.

A partial YU- civil aircraft register (in *.xls format) can be found here.

Aircraft Operators

Military Air Arms

Current military air arms-
Air Force (Air Force and Air Defence Force)

Historical military air arms-
Air Force (Jugoslovensko Kraljevsko Ratno Vazduhoplovsto) [1912-1941]