Battle of Valjevo | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia | |||||||
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 |
It is
proposed that this article be deleted because of the following concern:
If you can address this concern by improving, copyediting, sourcing, renaming, or merging the page, please edit this page and do so. You may remove this message if you improve the article or otherwise object to deletion for any reason. Although not required, you are encouraged to explain why you object to the deletion, either in your edit summary or on the talk page. If this template is removed, do not replace it. The article may be deleted if this message remains in place for seven days, i.e., after 18:33, 17 July 2024 (UTC). Find sources: "Battle of Valjevo" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR |
The Battle of Valjevo took place on 4 May 1999 when a NATO bombing campaign started over the Jugoslav military ammunition factories of Valjevo and Pričević. The air battle resulted in the death of Milenko Pavlović. [1]
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]
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 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 that 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 a 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.
Battle of Valjevo | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia | |||||||
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 |
It is
proposed that this article be deleted because of the following concern:
If you can address this concern by improving, copyediting, sourcing, renaming, or merging the page, please edit this page and do so. You may remove this message if you improve the article or otherwise object to deletion for any reason. Although not required, you are encouraged to explain why you object to the deletion, either in your edit summary or on the talk page. If this template is removed, do not replace it. The article may be deleted if this message remains in place for seven days, i.e., after 18:33, 17 July 2024 (UTC). Find sources: "Battle of Valjevo" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR |
The Battle of Valjevo took place on 4 May 1999 when a NATO bombing campaign started over the Jugoslav military ammunition factories of Valjevo and Pričević. The air battle resulted in the death of Milenko Pavlović. [1]
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]
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 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 that 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 a 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.