Cvitan Galić (29 November 1909 – 6 April 1944) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

. Born in the village of Gorica near

Imotski Imotski (; it, Imoschi; lat, Emotha, later ''Imota'') is a small town on the northern side of the Biokovo massif in the Dalmatian Hinterland of southern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Imotski, like the surrounding inland D ...

, in present-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, Galić finished grade school in the town of

Sovići Sovići (Serbian Cyrillic: Cовићи) is a village in the Municipality of Grude in West Herzegovina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Demographics According to the 1991 Yugoslav census, there were 2 ...

. In 1927 he joined the

Royal Yugoslav Air Force The Royal Yugoslav Air Force ( sh-Latn, Jugoslovensko kraljevsko ratno vazduhoplovstvo, JKRV; sh-Cyrl, Југословенско краљевско ратно ваздухопловство, ЈКРВ; ( sl, Jugoslovansko kraljevo vojno letalstv ...

completing pilot training with 7. ''Vazduhoplovni Puk'' (VP - aviation regiment) at

Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is sit ...

on 1 November 1930. During the German-led invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, Galić serving with the Mostar-based III. PS. The following month, Galić flew to Sinj where he joined the newly formed Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia. He joined the Croatian Air Force Legion and went to

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the t ...

near

Nürnberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ci ...

for special training before going to the Eastern Front as part of 15 (kroat.)/JG 52, a Croat ''staffel'' attached to Jagdgeschwader 52 of the Luftwaffe. Flying a Bf 109E-4, he scored his first victory on 2 March 1942, a R-10 shot down over Magnitovka. By June 1943 Galić had scored 38 confirmed air victories and had completed 2 tours with the Croatian Air Force Legion. He was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 23 June 1943. From Germany he also received the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

1st Class and 2nd Class. He received the Ante Pavelić Award for Bravery which gave him the title of ''vitez'' (knight). He was killed by strafing Spitfire IXs of No.2 Squadron SAAF South African Air Force on 6 April 1944 at Zalužani airfield near

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

when a bomb hit his

Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 Aéroplanes Morane-Saulnier was a French aircraft manufacturing company formed in October 1911 by Raymond Saulnier (1881–1964) and the Morane brothers, Léon (1885–1918) and Robert (1886–1968). The company was taken over and diversified ...

. He had just moments earlier landed after completing a patrol and was in the act of leaving the cockpit when the attack occurred.Savic, D. and Ciglic, B. Croatian Aces of World War II Osprey Aircraft of the Aces -49, Oxford, 2002. He was buried at Mirogoj Cemetery, but his grave was destroyed by the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...

in 1945. In 439 sorties Galić claimed a DB-3, Pe-2, Spitfire and R-10, two MDR 6 flying boats, five Il-2s, four MiG-ls, four I-153s, five I-16s, five MiG-3s and nine LaGG-3s.

References

* Savic, D. and Ciglic, B. Croatian Aces of World War II Osprey Aircraft of the Aces - 49, Oxford, 2002 . {{DEFAULTSORT:Galic, Cvitan 1909 births 1944 deaths People from Grude Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Medal of Poglavnik Ante Pavelić for Bravery Royal Yugoslav Army personnel Croatian Home Guard personnel Croatian collaborators with Nazi Germany Croatian collaborators with Fascist Italy Croatian World War II pilots Croatian military personnel killed in World War II Deaths by airstrike during World War II