Franjo Kluz (19 September 1913 – 14 September 1944) was a Yugoslav pilot from Bosnia and a

People's Hero of Yugoslavia The Order of the People's Hero or the Order of the National Hero ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Orden narodnog heroja, Oрден народног хероја; sl, Red narodnega heroja, mk, Oрден на народен херој, Orden na ...

. He is best known as one of the founders of the

Partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...

air force, and served as an officer in No. 352 Squadron RAF.

Early life and career

Franjo Kluz was born in

Jošik Jošik ( sr-cyrl, Јошик) is a village in the Municipalities of Republika Srpska, municipality of Kozarska Dubica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.Official results from the book: Ethnic composition of Bosnia-Herzegovina population, by ...

, near

Bosanska Dubica Kozarska Dubica ( sr-cyrl, Козарска Дубица), previously known as Bosanska Dubica ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Дубица) is a town and municipality located in northern Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 20 ...

. In 1931 he graduated from the Yugoslav reserve officers school as a sergeant-pilot. After the

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis *Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...

invasion and establishment of

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...

in 1941 he was drafted into the

Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia The Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia ( hr, Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske; ZNDH), was the air force of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a puppet state established with the support of the Axis Powers on the territory ...

and was stationed in

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 ...

. In the second half of May 1942, like

Rudi Čajavec Rudi Čajavec (1 April 1911 – 2 July 1942) was a Yugoslav pilot (from Zgošća, Bosnia and Herzegovina), best known as the first airman of Partisan air force. Rudi Čajavec was born in Zgošća, Kakanj municipality, Bosnia to a family that o ...

before him, he defected to the Partisans with his

Potez 25 Potez 25 (also written as Potez XXV) was a French twin-seat, single-engine biplane designed during the 1920s. A multi-purpose fighter-bomber, it was designed as a line aircraft and used in a variety of roles, including fighter and escort mission ...

aircraft. From the improvised airfield near Prijedor he carried out a number of sorties against Axis forces, the most notable being the attack on an Ustaša column near Orahovo on 4 June. His plane was destroyed by hostile fire on 6 July. He then became a member of the Partisan command for

Bosanska Krajina Bosanska Krajina ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Крајина, ) is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is enclosed by a number of rivers, namely the Sava (north), Glina (northwest), Vrbanja and Vrba ...

region. As a member of the command staff, he was required to be a Party member and on 14 August 1942 he was accepted as a member of the

Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...

. On 14 October Kluz became the station commander of the First Air Base of the Yugoslav National Liberation Army (YNLA) in

Livno Livno ( sr-cyrl, Ливно, ) is a city and the administrative center of Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the river Bistrica in the southeastern edge of the Livno Field ...

. After the German offensive, Kluz was sent, with 200 men, to Allied-controlled Italy, where they received training, equipment and aircraft from the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. Kluz was commissioned as a

Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

in the

RAFVR The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) ...

, with the service number 178171. Kluz became a member of the 1st Air Squadron of YNLA (Prva eskadrila, NOVJ), otherwise known as No. 352 Squadron RAF. On 14 September 1944, he was shot down in his

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

and killedKLUZ, FRANJA
Commonwealth War Graves Commission. by German AAA over

Omiš Omiš (, Latin and it, Almissa) is a town and port in the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and is a municipality in the Split-Dalmatia County. The town is situated approximately south-east of Croatia's second largest city, Split. Its location is wh ...

. For his wartime service, Franjo Kluz was posthumously awarded the Order of a

Legacy

His unusual distinction of being 'an officer and a gentleman' in His Britannic Majesty's Royal Air Force whilst simultaneously being a member of the proletariat's Communist Party is, in reality, unlikely to be unique, but there will certainly be very few other RAF officers who have become a national Hero, whether of Yugoslavia, or any other country. A clothing factory in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

was named in his honour. The company Kluz padobrani makes parachutes to this day. A printing company in

is also named after Kluz. An

aero club A flying club or aero club is a non-profit organization, not-for-profit, member-run organization that provides its members with affordable access to aircraft. Many clubs also provide flight training, flight planning facilities, pilot supplies and ...

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; hu, Zimony) is a municipality in the city of Belgrade. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown Belgrade. The developme ...

is also named in his honour. Streets in

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

and in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...

are also named after Kluz. The Franjo Kluz elementary school also existed in the Koševsko brdo neighbourhood of Sarajevo (since renamed Mehmed-beg Kapetanović Ljubušak elementary school).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kluz, Franjo 1913 births 1944 deaths People from Dubica, Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian World War II pilots Croatian Home Guard personnel Yugoslav Partisans members Yugoslav military personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero Royal Yugoslav Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia Aviators killed by being shot down Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II