Battle of Valjevo
| Battle of Valjevo | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia | |||||||
| File:Crkva, Gornje Crniljevo 009.jpg Memorial to Milenko Pavlović, aviator of the 204th Air Brigade | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 FR Yugoslavia | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown |
Milenko Pavlović † | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
 Dutch Air Force |
| ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
 16 F-16CJs A few AIM-120s |
1 MiG-29 (№ 18109) | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 1 aircraft | ||||||
The Battle of Valjevo took place on 4 May 1999 when a NATO bombing campaign started over the Yugoslav military ammunition factories of Valjevo and Pričević. The air battle resulted in the death of Milenko Pavlović.[1]
Prelude
The bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia found Milenko Pavlović on duty as the commander of the 204th fighter regiment, whose headquarters were moved to Stara Pazova. The flight equipment was extremely poorly maintained and unsafe. By May 4th, several planes had been lost due to various malfunctions that usually occurred immediately after takeoff. Most of the pilots managed to save themselves but Major Zoran Radosavljević himself couldn't escape his fate.[2]
Battle
On May 4, 1999, around 12 o'clock, a larger group of NATO aircraft was observed operating in the direction of Valjevo, mainly on the "Krušik" ammunition factory, as well as on the military warehouses in the village of Pričević. The command to fly and stop these operations was given to one of the junior officers. However, Pavlović ordered the young pilot to stay, by allegedly saying that "he was not going to die, but that he himself would",[3][4] and instead he flew to Valjevo with his MiG-29 aircraft, № 18109. He soon found himself over the sky of Valjevo, and after takeoff, his alternating current generator broke down so he was left without radar. Pavlović engaged in an unequal battle against around 16 NATO aircraft,[4] mostly F-16CJs[5] and AIM-120s[6] and, still, managed to confuse them and even force them to flee with poor performance.[1] However, after the main battle, at around 12:45, he was hit by three missiles fired by American pilots from an F-16 fighter jet. He died while still in the air.
To this day, streets in Novi Sad, Valjevo, Batajnica, Osečina and Gornje Crniljevo are named after him. On 26 June 2019, the Batajnica Air Base was renamed in his honor.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Milenko Pavlovic: the Knight of the Serbian sky". zlocininadsrbima.com (in српски / srpski). 2006-03-24. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
- ↑ Večernje novosti (2015-03-24). "Sestra pilota koga je ubila NATO raketa: Narod će uvek pamtiti Zorana" (in српски / srpski). Retrieved 2021-01-05.
- ↑ "The Belgrade "Batajnica" airport renamed "Colonel-Pilot Milenko Pavlović"". 27 June 2019.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "An authentic video of the fall of Serbian hero Milenko Pavlovic: The entirety of Valjevo watched his last battle".
- ↑ Yugoslav & Serbian MiG-29s Archived February 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Airframe Details for F-16 #91-0353". f-16.net. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
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