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

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

. Born in the village of Gorica near

Grude Grude () is a town and a municipality located in West Herzegovina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Geography Grude is located 49 kilometers from Mostar, 19 kilometers from Imotski, and 1 ...

, in present-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, Galić finished grade school in the town of Sovići. 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; (, JKVL); lit. "Yugoslav royal war aviatio ...

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

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre 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 situated on the Neretva Riv ...

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 Sinj () is a List of cities and towns in Croatia, town in the continental part of Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. As of the 2021 Croatian census, 2021 census, the population was 23,500 people, of which 10,800 inhabited its urban core. Sinj is k ...

where he joined the newly formed

Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia The Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia (; 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 of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during World W ...

. He joined the

Croatian Air Force Legion The Croatian Air Force Legion (), or HZL, was a unit of the Luftwaffe, composed entirely of volunteers drawn from the nazi puppet-state, the Independent State of Croatia. Many of them had previously served in the Royal Yugoslav Air Force in April ...

and went to

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is the Franconia#Towns and cities, s ...

near

Nürnberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the largest city in Franconia, the second-largest city in the German state of Bavaria, and its 544,414 (2023) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest city in Germany. ...

for special training before going to the Eastern Front as part of 15 (kroat.)/JG 52, a Croat ''staffel'' attached to

Jagdgeschwader 52 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 52 (JG 52) was a Nazi Germany, German World War II fighter aircraft, fighter ''Geschwader'' (Wing (air force unit), wing) that exclusively used the Messerschmitt Bf 109 throughout the war. The unit originally formed near Muni ...

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 The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on 23 June 1943. From Germany he also received the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

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 The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...

on 6 April 1944 at Zalužani airfield near

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

when a bomb hit his Morane-Saulnier M.S.406. 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 The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, ), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery (), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members of all religious groups: Catholic, Orthodox, M ...

, but his grave was destroyed by the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

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 of World War II Croatian Home Guard personnel killed in action Croatian World War II pilots Deaths by South African airstrikes during World War II