Mato Dukovac

[Semenov]

Hi,
I have his foto from Sojusznicy Luftwaffe. Polish book.

Regards!

[Cyberkat]

First of all I would like to say hello to all forum members....

I feel compeled to write in order to clear up some misconceptions about my late uncle Mato Dukovac. He was born on September 23rd, 1918 in Zemun and attended the Franjevacka Crkva Sv. Ante in Zemun. He was a Catholic alter boy and seriously considered becoming a Franscian Priest before the war. The statement that he was a "pravoslavac" is flat out ridiculous.

Secondly, he did not defect to the Soviets but was rather captured while trying to rescue his wingman, who was forced to make an emergency landing. My uncle was a decent honourable man, and it cause my family great distress to hear such lies spread about him. I can assure you that nobody would have dared to say such things to his face were he still alive.

As a rebutal to all those who claim that he defected I offer you these two pieces of information for you to ponder. After being captured by the Soviets he was turned over to the Yugoslav Partisans and sent back to Zemun in 1945. If he did defect as some claim, why did he take the first opportunity to escape to Italy (in 1945) and give himself up as a prisoner of war to the American troops stationed there? He was a Lufwaffe prisoner of war in Italy for six months in 1945-46. This is a fact. Secondly the Luftwaffe fighter pilots had a reunion in Munich in 1979 of which he was not only invited, but also attended. I doubt very much that his comrades in arms would have extended such a courtesey to a defector.

Please do not believe absurd statements from third hand accounts, or from people who have questionable motives. My uncles record stands for itself. He was an extremely brave man and fighter pilot who, now that he is dead, does not deserve this cowardly indignity.

I would be more than happy to answer any questions by forum members regarding my late uncle
Best Regards

P.S. I am not the other guy who had the nick name cybercat on this forum.... I have been browsing this website for a while and I think that the nickname must have subliminally got stuck in my head when I was choosing a nickname.... sorry for the confussion.

[Allen Milcic]

Hi Cyberkat:

First of all, welcome to the Forum.

Second of all, please keep the discussion polite. Whatever has been posted on the Forum regarding your uncle was done in good faith, and accusations of "questionable motives" are unjustified to say the least. We are all here to learn, and I assure you that any errors are completely benign in their motivation. Information you may provide on Mato Dukovac or the Croatian participation in WW2 is welcomed with the utmost sincerity.

Regards,
Allen/

[Benoit Douville]

There is no doubt that Mato Dukovac was a brave man and a great fighter pilot and I want to learn the truth about him. So, you say that he was captured by the Soviets, I would like to know where exactly if you have this information of course...

Semenov,

I really appreciated the picture.

Regards

[Benoit Douville]

No answer yet, I am beginning to wonder... Just looking for the true story of the great Mato Dukovac.

Regards

[Orlov]

Hello
Who knows about Dukovac's postwar service in Syrian Air Force? How much Croats service in Arab Armies against IAF oor Israel?

Regards

Orlov

[Larry D.]

No answer yet, I am beginning to wonder... Just looking for the true story of the great Mato Dukovac.

Regards

What exactly do you want to know? The story is well published. In effect, 1./Kroat. Jagdgruppe 1 (
Staffelkapitän Satnik Mato Dukovac) transferred from Zilistea/Romania to Eichwalde (a.k.a. Labiau)/40 km ENE of Königsberg in East Prussia at the end of July 1944 with a handful of beat up, clapped out Bf 109G-6s to refit, train and re-equip. Over the following weeks the Staffel took on a number of young and inexperienced replacement pilots and engaged in training and defensive patrols along the front. According Mato in an interview with me back in the early 'eighties, morale was abysmal. On 20 Sep 44, while flying a routine armed reconnaissance mission along the front, Mato and his wingman (Porucnik Vladimir Spoljar) "took the opportunity" and landed on a Russian airfield just over the front line. He stated to me that he was sick of the war and no longer believe Germany had the slightest chance of winning. But most importantly, he knew by then that he was on the wrong side and had been planning to do something about it since the previous spring.

You can find more in:

Savic, Dragan and Boris Ciglic. Croatian Aces of World War 2. Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No. 49. Botley (Oxford): Osprey Publishing, 2002.

As this and other "Mato Dukovac" threads demonstrate, the issue is whether he defected or simply "lost his orientation" and made a forced landing on an airfield that was unfortunately occupied by the Russians, who immediately captured him. The independent historians and Mato Dukovac himself say he defected. The Croatian nationalist fringe all claim it's a filthy lie by the Serbo scum and their communist lackey supporters and other international progressives, all of whom hate Croatia, Croatians, Roman Catholics, etc., yahdidah, yahdidah, yahdidah, za dom spremni i ziva Poglavnikova!

So, Benoit, I leave it to you to form your own opinion or take it all on as a research project and then report back to us a year from now.

[Benoit Douville]

Larry,

I was referring to the post made by Cyberkat because he said that he was captured by the Soviets and I was asking where he was captured... Don't worry, I believe you Larry and sorry for the fast reply:-)

Regards

[Larry D.]

Larry,

I was referring to the post made by Cyberkat because he said that he was captured by the Soviets and I was asking where he was captured... Don't worry, I believe you Larry and sorry for the fast reply:-)

Regards

Right on, Benoit! Hopefully, Cyberkat will see all this and respond.

Cheers,

--Larry

[J]

Hello
Who knows about Dukovac's postwar service in Syrian Air Force? How much Croats service in Arab Armies against IAF oor Israel?

Regards

Orlov

Dukovac escaped to Italy in a Tiger Moth on 8 August 1945. He joined the Syrian Air Force in 1946. During the first Arab-Israeli war, he was a captain in No 1 Fighter Squadron, based at Estabal in the Lebanese Bekaa Valley, where he flew missions in T-6 Texans.

Savic, D, Ciglic, B: Croatian Aces of World War 2, Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No. 49, Oxford, Osprey Publishing, 2002

regards...

[Larry D.]

The post by "J" is consistent with what I was told 25 years ago by Dr. Branka Katušić who was in the internment camp with Mato in Italy in 1945-46. I never spoke about this postwar aspect of his career directly with him because I was only interested in his World War II experience. Branka's husband, Ljudevit Katušić, and several others from the camps went to Syria with Mato.

KATUŠIĆ, Ljudevit. 03.03.42 AF Nadporučnik, received the Iron Cross 1st Class for service with the Croatian bomber group in Russia. 10.12.43 promoted to AF Satnik. 1944-45 AF Satnik, Croatian Air Attaché to the Italian Socialist Republic at Salo in North Italy.

FWIW.

[LMA-17]

Just want to know if Croatians who served in Arab armed forces during First Arab-Israelis War have anti-Jewish tendencies or only mercenaries?

[Larry D.]

Just want to know if Croatians who served in Arab armed forces during First Arab-Israelis War have anti-Jewish tendencies or only mercenaries?

Every human being is different, but like most Europeans of that era the Roman Catholic Croatians harbored deeply entrenched anti-Semitic feelings that ranged from mild and passive to strong and outspoken. However, the former Croatian Air Force personnel that we are talking about went to Syria as mercenaries to get out of the refugee camps in Italy, earn some money and then eventually move on to other countries to start new lives (Dukovac to Canada and Katušić to Venezuela, for example). Anti-Jewish tendancies played little or no role in their decision to go to Syria.

[Orlov]

Dukovac escaped to Italy in a Tiger Moth on 8 August 1945. He joined the Syrian Air Force in 1946. During the first Arab-Israeli war, he was a captain in No 1 Fighter Squadron, based at Estabal in the Lebanese Bekaa Valley, where he flew missions in T-6 Texans.

Savic, D, Ciglic, B: Croatian Aces of World War 2, Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No. 49, Oxford, Osprey Publishing, 2002

regards...

This information is more known, but I would like recognize his combat duty, action against Israelian or who else service with Dukovac in first Arab-Israeli war? I know this is after IIWW, but this place wil better for understanding Croatian (NDH) acticity in Middle East...
bestreg
Orlov

[LMA-17]

Thanks Larry for your input.