105th Aviation Brigade

56th Squadron of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the RSK

At the beginning of the war in Croatia , units of the Yugoslav People's Army (UNA) were based at the Zemunik and Udbina airfields that were part of the Serbian Krajina (RSK). After the signing of the Sarajevo truce and the withdrawal of JNA forces from Krajina in the spring of 1992, control over the airfields was transferred to the formations of the Krajina Serbs. He also left several planes and helicopters. Since the Territorial Defense of the RSK was subject to demobilization, helicopters were transferred to the Krajina Police. On its composition on April 5, 1992, the 56th helicopter squadron was formed ^[1] .

Since June 12, 1992, the 56th squadron of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the RSK participated in Operation Corridor-92 , where in addition to the Republika Srpska Army, the Krajina Police forces were also involved. During this period, the squadron included five Gazela helicopters and two Mi-8s . The commander was Darko Sekulic, and his deputy was Lyubomir Prodanovich. In these battles, the location of the Krajina squadron was the stadium in Prniewor . During the operation, helicopters delivered cargo, evacuated the wounded, etc. After the completion of the first stage of the operation, part of the Krajina Police forces returned to the RSK, but the 56th squadron remained at the front. Several helicopters returned to Krajina on August 1, and the remaining ones, at the request of General Momir Talich, were used in battles until the end of 1992. On November 17, 1992, the squadron commander Darko Sekulic died during a helicopter crash ^[2] .

On November 27, 1992, the leadership of Serbian Krajina issued an order for organizational changes in the army. A General Headquarters and six corps responsible for certain geographical areas were created, each with its own headquarters. Maintenance units and brigades of individual police units were disbanded, their personnel replenished new corps ^[3] . In January 1993, the Croatian army launched an attack on settlements near the Maslenitsa bridge and the Peruc dam . In the counterattacks of the Serbs involved helicopters of the 56th squadron, equipped with anti-tank missiles "Baby" . According to Serbian data, they destroyed six Croatian tanks. The use of helicopters was assessed by the command as successful, and the squadron was replenished with both personnel and several new helicopters. On March 9, 1993, one of the squadron's helicopters crashed near the village of Kasic, hitting a tree during the flight. The helicopter was found fit for rebuilding and was sent for repairs to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia , to the Moma Stanoilovich enterprise in Batainitsa ^[4] .

Creation and development of the 105th brigade

The battles for the Maslenitsa Bridge, which lasted from winter to spring 1993, accelerated the creation of the Air Force and Air Defense in the army of Serbian Krajina . On April 11, 1993, after the end of the active phase of the fighting, the 105th Aviation Brigade was created at the Udbin airfield. The number was selected for the 105th fighter-bomber aviation regiment of the SFRY Air Force, which was based at the Zemunik airfield near Zadar . The brigade included two squadrons, a logistics support battalion, an air defense division and other units. Lieutenant Colonel Ratko Dopuja was appointed commander of the brigade ^[5] . Part of the helicopters was transferred from the 56th squadron of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, after which it formally no longer had any relation to the armed forces, remaining subordinate to the RSK Ministry of the Interior ^[6] .

Throughout the spring and autumn of 1993, the brigade was staffed with personnel and military equipment. The first combat aircraft in its composition was the G-2 Galeb , formerly an exhibit at the Zemunik airfield. Soon, several more aircraft were handed over to the brigade, including Ј-21 Hawk , Utva-66 , agricultural aircraft, etc. The Krainsky Ministry of Internal Affairs handed over to the unit and several Gazela helicopters. The brigade command noted that in the process of its formation it was faced with a shortage of material means, fuel, uniforms, etc., however, the morale of the personnel was high, and the information about the appearance of their own aviation had a positive impact on both the military and the civilian population RSK ^[6] .

In the summer of 1993, the Main Headquarters of the RSK Army allowed the Bosnian Serb Air Force to use the Udbin airfield ^[7] , since on October 9, 1992, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution No. 781, which prohibited flights to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thus, the Republika Srpska Army circumvented the ban and resumed flights of military aircraft, as the airspace of Serbian Krajina remained open. In addition to several aircraft, the Bosnian Serbs also transferred two batteries of the Kub air defense system to Krajina ^[8] .

For the first time, the brigade took part in the battles during the Croatian attack on the villages of Medak pocket (September 9-15, 1993). The first airstrikes on advancing enemy units and their positions were carried out on September 11. The goals of the planes and helicopters of the 105th brigade were the armored vehicles of the Croatian army, transport convoys and fortified positions in the area of ​​the Medak pocket and Gospic . According to the estimates of modern Serbian historians, the participation of the Ukrainian aircraft in the battles came as a surprise to the Croatian command. Nevertheless, the Croatian army managed to concentrate significant air defense forces in the battle zone, which seriously complicated the delivery of air strikes to Serbian pilots. Following the results of the fighting, the Serbian side announced the destruction of the tank and ZSU by helicopters of the 105th brigade ^[9] .

The analysis of military operations and the use of aviation forced the General Staff of the ICS to take a number of measures to strengthen the Air Force and Air Defense. From the composition of the Air Force of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, several J-21 Hawk planes were withdrawn from service. In October 1993, a group of officers from the Republika Srpska Army was involved in analyzing the situation in the Air Force and Air Defense of Serbian Krajina. They noted that the functioning of the 105th brigade is largely dependent on assistance from Yugoslavia and the Republika Srpska , and suggested that the General Staff of the ICS integrate their aircraft into the air force. The commander of the Krai army, General Mile Novakovich accepted their proposal, but in practice this was never realized ^[10] .

December 22, 1993, the General Staff of the ICS began the formation of the Air Force and Air Defense as a type of troops . In addition to the 105th aviation brigade, it also included the 44th air defense brigade and the 45th air surveillance battalion. On February 28, 1994, at the request of the VRS, the 105th brigade assigned six J-21 Hawk attack aircraft to attack the Bosnian Muslim military factories in Travnik and Bugojna . At the controls of five of them were pilots from the HRV, in the sixth was the chief of staff of the 105th brigade Urosh Studen. The cover was carried out by two J-22 "Orao" attack aircraft from VRS. After an airstrike at factories, attack aircraft were intercepted by NATO aviation , which controlled the no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina, which shot down five of them. Three pilots died. The sixth plane was damaged, but the pilot managed to land on the Udbin airfield ^[11] .

In May 1994, the staffing of the brigade was about 38%, pilots were only 20% of the number set by the organizational and staff structure. Requests for more modern aircraft were not satisfied by the Yugoslav army, and J-21 Hawk remained the basis of the brigade’s flight fleet. At the same time, a group of officers were sent from the Air Force and Air Defense Forces of the FRY to aviation and air defense units of Serbian Krajina, who changed their rotation after some time. On December 10, 1994, the personnel of the brigade totaled 318 people, instead of 987 put on the lists ^[12] .

In the fall of 1994, HRV aircraft deployed at the Udbin airfield were actively involved in the Bosnian Serb counter-offensive on the Bihach pocket. Initially, they fired rockets from the airspace of Serbian Krajina, without violating the no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina. But on November 18, 1994, two J-22 Orao attacked military and industrial facilities directly in Bihac and one plane crashed, hitting a factory pipe with a wing. As a result, on November 21, NATO launched a massive airstrike on it to stop using the Udbin airfield. The air defense positions of Srpska Krajina in the region of Bania and the Republika Srpska in West Bosnia were also bombarded ^[13] . The aircraft of the 105th brigade stationed at the airport were not damaged, however, two Bofors L60 air defense units from the Air Defense Division were destroyed, and two helicopters were damaged. Two soldiers were killed and four more ^[14] or five were injured ^[15] .

The new military doctrine, adopted by the leadership of Srpska Krajina in February 1995, suggested that in the event of a large-scale Croatian attack, the 105th brigade would take part in the battles in close cooperation with the air forces and air defense forces of the Republika Srpska , as well as with units of the army of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Among its tasks were reconnaissance, collecting data on enemy forces, including those located in its rear, fire support for ground units, evacuating the wounded, transporting goods, etc. In the event of the failure of the infrastructure of the Udbin airfield, the 105th brigade should use the airfields of Republika Srpska ^[16] .

Croatian offensives in 1995

During the Croatian attack on Western Slavonia, two helicopters of the Gazela SOKO equipped with anti-tank missiles Malyutka were allocated from the 105th brigade to participate in the battles. They arrived in this region on the morning of May 1 and received orders from the command of the 18th West Slavon Corps to attack Croatian armored vehicles at Jasenovac and the village of Gornji Raichi. By that time, Jasenovac was occupied by Croats, and the pilots of the helicopter sent there did not find enemy tanks. The crew of another helicopter fired two missiles at Croatian armored vehicles without destroying it. On May 2, without orders from the headquarters of the disorganized 18th Corps, the helicopters carried out reconnaissance flights on their own initiative, and the next day returned to the Udbin airfield ^[17] .

In June-July 1995, the Krai aviation intensified training of personnel, and the number of flights increased. In addition, her aircraft, in cooperation with Bosnian Serb aviation, supported the ground forces in battles with Croatian forces in Western Herzegovina. Especially active battles in this area took place at the end of July 1995, when the forces of the Bosnian Croats and the regular army of Croatia occupied Glamoch and Bosansko-Grahovo ^[18] .

According to the commander of the brigade, Ratko Dopuji, immediately before the Croatian operation "Tempest" the manning of the brigade was at the level of 40%, and the serviceability of aircraft and helicopters - 90%. The lack of pilots was compensated for by the VRS and the 11th corps of the RSK army. Thirty shelters were built for the aircraft, another 70 were intended for other equipment and materiel ^[19] .

The beginning of Operation Storm for the 105th Brigade was marked by artillery shelling of the Udbin airfield. The shelling reached its highest intensity early in the morning of August 4, then during the day the Croatian artillery fired one shell at it at intervals of 10 minutes. Despite this, from the very beginning of the operation, the planes of the 105th brigade supported the forces of the 7th North Dalmatian , 15th Liksky , 21st Kordun and 39th Bani corps. In particular, Croatian units were attacked, breaking through the Serbian defense on the Mali Alan pass and Mount Dinara . Also participated in the sorties and attack aircraft, deployed at the airport. Along with the squadron pilots at the helm of the aircraft were the commander of the brigade Ratko Dopuja, as well as the commander of the 92nd mixed air brigade of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Republika Srpska Milan Peric ^[19] .

On August 5, due to the complication of the situation at the front, General Nikola Lonchar ordered Dopuja to evacuate the planes to the Makhovlyani airfield, and to destroy the remaining material and technical means. On this day, the Udbin airfield was bombarded by two MiG-21s of the Croatian Air Force. Most of the planes and helicopters of the 105th Brigade relocated to Republika Srpska. Part of the remaining property and ammunition were destroyed during the evacuation. The Croatian units that occupied the airfield found three Utva-66 aircraft, one Utva-75, two Jrag-20 Kraguy , three J-21 Hawk, two G-2 Galeb and one agricultural airplane ^{[20 ]} .

After the end of the Croatian offensive, the brigade was disbanded on the territory of Republika Srpska.

The composition of the 105th brigade was approved by a decision of the General Staff on April 10, 1993. According to him, the structure of the compound was as follows ^[5] :

• headquarters
• military platoon
• flight control group
• 249th Fighter Bomber Squadron
• 728th mixed helicopter squadron
• logistics support battalion
• light artillery and missile defense division

• Republika Srpska Air Force and Air Defense Forces

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