Narrative Summary:
Narrative history of the Yugoslav Air Force
Key Dates: |
5 January 1945 |
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JRV officially established |
12 September 1945 |
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Military Aviation Academy established |
late 1945 |
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VSJ (Aeronautical Union of Yugoslavia) officially established |
late 1947 |
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JRV strength reaches 40 squadrons of aircraft |
March 1948 |
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First radar company established |
23 May 1948 |
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First Paratrooper course started |
June 1948 |
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Break-up with Stalinist USSR causes a rapid fall in aircraft serviceability |
1950 |
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Air Force Technical School formed at Zemun |
21 May 1951 |
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First S-49A fighter officially delivered |
October 1951 |
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First Mosquito aircraft delivered from UK |
14 November 1951 |
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Mutual Assistance Pact signed with UK and USA |
1952 |
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First aircraft from USA (P-47 Thunderbolt) delivered |
October 1952 |
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First indigenously produced jet, the Ikarus 451M flew |
10 March 1953 |
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First jet aircraft (T-33A) arrives at Batajnica |
1954 |
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First helicopters (Westland Dragonfly) delivered |
1956 |
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Tito resumes relations with new Soviet leader Krushchev |
July 1959 |
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AF and AD units from army united to form Air Force and Air defence - JRV renamed RViPVO |
September 1962 |
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First MiG-21F-13 fighters delivered |
1962 |
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S-75 DVINA (SA-2) anti-aircraft missile system put into operational service |
1986 |
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RViPVO organised into three regional Corps |
June 1991 |
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Attack and transport missions in support of Federal forces in Slovenia. RViPVO later withdraws from Slovenia. |
August 1991 |
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Military campaign against Croatian forces starts |
3 January 1992 |
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Truce with Croatia comes into effect |
March 1992 |
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Start of conflict in Bosnia and Hercegovina |
19 May 1992 |
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Yugoslav forces ordered to withdraw from Bosnia, Hercegovina and Croatia |
May 1992 |
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Formation of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Air Force and Air Defence |
June-Sept 1992 |
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RViPVO re-organised into two specialised Corps |
June 1998 |
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Exercise Determined Falcon appears to threaten NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia |
4 October 1998 |
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RViPVO ordered to prepare for war |
15 February 1999 |
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RViPVO again ordered to prepare for war |
24 March 1999 |
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NATO forces launch air attacks on Yugoslavia under Operation Allied Force |
26 March 1999 |
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F-117A stealth aircraft shot down by anti-aircraft missile |
12 June 1999 |
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Peace agreement signed |
11 May 2000 |
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Ladjevci air base reopens for use |
27 February 2002 |
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RViPVO command HQ disbanded - air force corps report directly to the Joint General Staff |
December 2002 |
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RViPVO modernisation plan published |
January 2003 |
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Yugoslav Army (VJ) becomes Army of Serbia and Montenegro (VSiCG) |
June 2006 |
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Independence of Montenegro sees forces withdraw to Serbia |
Current Status:
The RViPVO is still recovering from the damage inflicted during the Kosovo War of March-June 1999. Much of the infrastructure had been severely damaged, with all hangars and three-quarters of the maintenance workshops destroyed. Many radar and SAM stations were hit and numerous aircraft destroyed or damaged beyond repair.
The initial post-war focus was on restoring the runways and basic facilities at the main airfields.
The armed forces have been heavily hit by budget cuts, which have severely limited re-equipment plans and caused a shortage of aviation fuel. Lack of funds has forced the air force to sell off the utility variant of the Gazelle helicopter to private owners. Aircraft serviceability is reported to be poor, with talk of the MiG-29s being withdrawn due to their poor condition and lack of spares.
Future Plans:
Reorganise and retrain air force to operate to NATO standards.
Participate in Partnership for Peace Programme.
Obtain new basic training aircraft to come in-between UTVA-75 and G-4 Super Galeb in pilot training sequence.
Lease of a squadron of modern multi-role fighters to replace MiG-29 and MiG-21. Some report that the F-16A/B or JAS-39 Gripen are favourites - others that an order for 30-35 Sukhoi Su-30MK is more likely.
Requip 677.trae with new transport aircraft.
Obtain new transport helicopters to partially replace Mi-8T.
Markings
National Insignia:
Current --- Historical
Aircraft Serial Numbering System(s):
1946-1950s
In 1946 a new aircraft serial numbering system was introduced. This consisted of a four-digit number, e.g. 7451, with the first number indicating the primary role of the aircraft. The serial ranges used were:
0001 - 2000 Training aircraft
2001 - 4000 Fighter aircraft
4001 - 6000 Assault aircraft
6001 - 7000 Bomber aircraft
7001 - 9000 Transport aircraft
9001 - 9999 Captured German/Italian aircraft
1950s-present
In the 1950s a new five digit serialling system was introduced. This occurred around the time of the first delivery of the P-47 and F-84 aircraft. The role batch assignments were abandoned and replaced by a simpler numerical sequence, e.g. 12262. Black-out blocks were included, where some numbers within a batch were not used. The prevented spies calculating the total number procured of a specific aircraft type, from using the highest and lowest observed serial numbers. Some batches of MiG-21s and the MiG-29 use the numerical part of their type designator, eg. L-18 for the MiG-29, as the first two digits in the serial number, e.g. 18106.
A listing of known JRV serial numbers can be found here: Evidencioni brojevi vazduhoplova u YU RV I PVO
Unit/Base Aircraft Code System(s):
None used.
Aircraft
Aircraft Designation System(s):
Aircraft Type Designation System.
Current Aircraft Inventory:
Table of Current Service Aircraft
All-Time Aircraft Used List:
Alphabetical Order --- Chronological Order
Aircraft NOT Used:
False reports of aircraft on order or in service
Aircraft Losses and Incidents:
Aircraft Accidents 1947-present
Aircraft Accidents 1992-2000
Organisation
Main Headquarters:
Zemun, Glavna ulica, br. 30 (Previously: Zemun, Ulica Maršala Tita, br. 30)
Current Organisational Structure:
The RV i PVO is divided into two corps - an Air Defence Corps (Korpus PVO - including interceptors, SAM, AA artillery and radars) and an Air Force Corps (Vazduhoplovni Korpus - including fighters, transports, helicopters etc). Each corps is organised Soviet-style, into Aviation Regiments (Avijacijski Puk) or Aviation Brigades (Avijacijska Brigada) with between two and four Squadrons (Eskadrila) each. In the last couple of years, the Squadrons have gained individual nicknames.
Current Order of Battle:
Table of Current Order of Battle
Historical Orders of Battle:
Table of Orders of Battle
All-Time Flying Units List:
List of units.
Air Bases
Current Air Bases:
The Serbian Air Force currently operates from five main bases. There are also four reserve air bases which have no permanently assigned aircraft. See listing below for details.
All-Time Air Bases Used List:
Many of the bases formerly used by the Yugoslav/Serbian Air Force are now located in the constituent Republics which broke away 1991-1992, and are therefore no longer available for use. Apart from the main military air bases, there are also a number of smaller airports and airfields around the country which are sometimes used by the Air Force.
Military Air Bases Listing
More Information
Books:
Serbian Aviation Bibliography - to be added
Magazines:
World Air Power Journal No.5 p.156-157
Air Forces Monthly August 1994
International Air Power Review Volume 9
Websites:
Vojska Jugoslavije - Aviation
(Official Yugoslav Air Force web page)
Yugoslav Air Force - information disclaimer
(Admition of false information on Yugoslav Air Force history)
YuAirWar - History of ex-Yugoslav Air Wars
(Air forces of Yugoslavia and the break-away republics since WW2. Aircraft, units, bases etc)
Air Force - Serbia
(Current status, inventory and orbat of the Air Force)
Yumodel.co.yu
(Serbian & Yugoslav Air Forces, history of aviation, photo gallery, history maps, Yugoslav aviation during WW II, etc.)
Yugoslav Air Force Discussion Group
(YASIG - Yugoslav Aviation Special Interest Group bulletin board)
Dragan's Aviation Corner
(Lots of info on Yugoslav military aviation)
Aeropoxy
(Yugoslav aviation books and CD-ROMS for sale from YASIG)
Yugoslav Patches
(Photos of Air Force unit patches)
Air Force and Air Defense
(RViPVO information and links)
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