RECONNAISSANCE REGIMENT AT MOSTAR AIRFIELD

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R002200020005-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 20, 2011
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: September 1, 1948
• Content Type: IR

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CENTRAL I UG AGENCY REPORT
-
IN
FORMAT EPORT CD NO.
p
aqua t
ron
u
only No. 2 squadron actually has the full complement now. There are,.
nevertheless, one or two more pilots than aircraft for the regiment,
a. No. IiSquadron
Aircraft t Nine Spitfires
'COUNTRY Yugoslavia
en
ca
me ro og station, repair workshops, motor transport pool, fuel
and ammunition dumps, and accomodation and hospital facilities. There
are no anti-aircraft defenses or blast bays.
No. 3 VOK (an aerial unit) has its headquarters on the airfield, together
with its on motor transport pool and workshops.
The 1 Reconnaissance Regiment was formed at Mostar in June 19!470 it is
directly under the Air Force Command and consists of three operational and
a liaison. squadron. There are 11 pilots in each o
erational d
b
bur~JtUT Reconnaissance Regiment. at Mostar NO. OF PAGES 4
Airfield
PLACE
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DATE OF I
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2. An unpaved runway approximately 100 by 10000 meters crosses the airfield
in a northwest to southeast direction. There are seven hangars, a radio
and t
' 1 i
l
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
D-Dncrr Kit%
50X1-HUM
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
The Moe tar airfield is located six kilometers south of Moe tar. It is
bounded on the east side by the Ploce-Mortar railroad line which has a
branch line to the airfield. The dimension of the field are 1,300 by
1,350 by 800 meters. It is, operational throughout the year.
Personalities : Commanding Officer t
Political Commissar t
Technical Officer s
Pilots t
Lieutenant Ckanovic (Communist)
Lieutenant (Irrebol
Cadet Snidercic
Lieutenant Katie
Second Lieutenant Cikee
23 Dec 194f,
b. No. 2 Squadron
Aircraft s Six Spitfires and three Hurricanes
Personalities t Commanding Officer t Lieutenant Kamel Devenica
Technical Officer : Lieutenant Turk
Adjutant : Second Lieutenant Bratic
STATE NAVY
ARMY AIR
a n TRriV 10703
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DDA Memo, ' Apr 77
MUM E NTIAL Ruth: D~lt~ ~l c____7'7 ,
CLASSIFICATION--SST C O N P R O L .? U.S. O'ICIAIS 0
NSRS
CONFIDENTIAL
D
Document No.
NO CHANGE in Class. ^
^ DECLASSIFIED
Class. 0-"&RCI l
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Pilots
i Lieutenant Prsbek
Lieutenant Petrisko
Second Lieutenant Tantegel
Cadet Cuckovic
a. No. 3 Squadron
Aircraft : Three Spitfires and five Harvarde
Personalities : Commanding officer ; Captain?
Technical officer : W.0 Kausevic (anti-Communist)
Pilot : Lieutenant Rovacic
d. Liaison Squadron
Aircraft Three P.0.2, one Spitfire IX, one Harvard, one Fieseler
Storch, two unidentified Czechoslovak aircraft.
Personnel : The squadron has only two pilots
Headquarters is organised as follows:
Regimental Commander : Major Marianovic as of 1918 ). Formerly in Royal
50X1-HUM
Chief of Staff,,
: Captain Damianovic. Formerly in Royal Yugoslav Air
Force. Age about 50. Communist. Assisted by two
non-commissioned officers.
Political Commissar
s
50X1-HUM
UDB Office '
Technical officer
: Captain and two civilian women.
: Lieutenant Zarko Rosic. Transferred from 41 Regimen
t
at Sombor in June 1947. Promoted officer for servic
es
with partisans. Assisted by an 1tO.
Administration office: Lieutenant and second lieutenant.
The total strength of the regiment, including maintenance and specialist
personnel (see below), is about 230, divided as follows:
60 - 70 officers
50 noncom ssioned officers
100 - 120 aircraftmen
7. There are eight Hurricanes stationed on the field, of which only the three
with No. 2 Squadron are operational. The other five are without tires, and
the engines need complete overhauling. The Hurricanes are armed with
2 x 7.6mm machine guns in the wings. The four rocket launching devices in
the wings have been removed.
8,. The eight Hurricanes are part of the allotment of 15 originally belonging to
252 Squadron of the RAF which were flown to Skabrnje and handed over to Zemunik
airfield where they remained until June 1947. In that month nine were flown
to Mortar when I Reconnaissance Regiment was formed and six remained at
Zsnani for repairs, which are unlikely to be completed because of the lack
of, spares. Of the nine originally at Mortar, one was destroyed in a crash.
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CLVMU Ip AGENCY
9. Of the 7,9 Spitfires with 1 Reconnaissance Regiment at Mortar, 16 are Mark V
and three Mark U. (There are nine in 1 Squadron, six in 2 Squadron, three
in 3 Squadron and one in the Liaison Squadron.) Of these 19 Spitfires,
however, only 15 are operational; the remaining four are under repair in
the station workshops after having had their undercarriages damaged in
landing.
10. The Spitfires are armed with 4 x 7.6 mm machine guts and 2 x 20 mot machine
guns in the wings, and two rocket launching devices for 50 or '00 kg rocket
bombs. They have been fitted with tires belonging to TAU and Messerachmidts,
since the reserves of"original tires have been used.
11. The 19 Spitfires are part of the allotment of 21 originally belonging to
251 HAP Squadron which were left with the Yugoslavs at Skabrnje airfield in
1945. In June 1945 the.Spitfires were flown first to Zemunik and then to
Mostar, where they remained for some time in hangars. Two of the original
21 were destroyed in crashes.
12. Of the six Harvards with 1 Reconnaissance Squadron, only five are
operational. The other has no undercarriage. The two machine guns with
which they were originally armed have been removed. These aircraft were
left by the RAP at Zemunik Airfield where they were used for a time as
training aircraft.
13. The three P0-3 aircraft in the Liaison Squadron are fully operational. They
were at Mostar before Jute 1947, when the Reconnaissance Regiment was first
formed.
14. The Fieseler Storch aircraft in the Liaison Squadron is operational. It is
used by the Station Commander. It was also at the airfield before June 1947.
15. The two Czechoslovak aircraft in the Liaison Squadron are single-engined
two-seater monoplanes. Engines are 4-cylindered, 120 H.P., air-cooled.
Cruising speed is 200 k.p.h. The aircraft are not armed. They arrived re-
cently from Zemun.
16. The Regiment has one regular and one mobile workshop for minor repairs,
under Second Lieutenant Josef Vodopivac. They are serviced by six men,.
17. Igor r epairs are carried out in the aircraft repair workshops which are
administered either by VOK or the station Command. These workshops are in
charge of a lieutenant and employ about 15 military and 25 civilian personnel.
18. The regiment has the following maintenance and specialist personnels
45 mechanics, or about one per aircraft
45 assistant. mechanics
145 armorers
Six or seven electricians
Four radio technicians
Eight photographers
19. Engines are overhauled after 50 hours flying time in the Regimental workshops.
Revision taken normally three days. After 300 flying hours the engines are
sent for a complete revision to the Rajlovac workshops, and the aircraft to
2emun.
20. The regiment does not hold spares itself, but obtains them from stores main-
tained by the Station command,* which itself obtains them from No. 3 VOK.
Spares for the British aircraft are in very short supply.
21. The only stores held by the regiment consist of a small quantity of clothing.
All other requirements are, obtained from the Station Command.
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CENPRAL AGENCY
22. The VOK has its own motor transport pool and workshops of which no details
are known.
23. The airfield transport, under Lieutenant Bakija, consists of the following
vehicles:
a..
Too Bedford tankers for servicing the Hurricanes and Spitfires (with 95
100 octane fuel).'
One German tanker for servicing the Harvards (with 92 octane fuel)
One Soviet tanker for lubricants
Two Soviet trucks used as photographic laboratories
Four Dodge trucks (used occasionally- for towing aircraft)
Out fire-fighting vehicle (team of five)
One German truck for towing the mobile workshops
One British truck fitted as an FIT vehicle for communication with aircraft in
flight.
One British ambulance (team of two)
Two German motor cars for the Regimental and Station Commanders.
24. The regiment has to obtain permission from the Station Command before using
these vehicles.
2S. Station personnel number 200. The strength of No. 3 VOK is 100 to 3,50 men.
26. Each pilot on the average does one-half hour to one hour's flying per week.
Activities include pXctice photographic sorties, either with single air-
craft or in flights; mock aerial combats, recorded by camera; regimental
formation flying with flights of three or five aircraft, and AA exercises
with one or two aircraft
towing AA targets for the benefit of an AA unit
at Booagnazso near Zara.
27. There is no night flying since the airfield lacks the requisite in-
stallations. ,
28. The majority of the pilots have been trained in the USSR but only about
half have had operational experience,
29. A large part of the maintenance personnel are Soviet-trained. Their general
standard of efficiency is not high. A good part of non- are almost illiterate, and are given special schooling npecealist recruits
on the airfields
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CST
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