AirForces Monthly – September 2019

Croatian Air Force trainers

70 // September 2019 #378

t is a busy morning at the 93.

zrakoplovna baza (93.ZB, 93rd

Air Base) at Zadar-Zemunik. As a

commercial Boeing 737 awaits its air traffic

control clearance for a flight to Frankfurt, a

handful of Zlin 242Ls and PC-9Ms queue

up before entering Zadar’s active runway

after the low-level departure of a Hrvatsko

ratno zrakoplovstvo (HRZ, Croatian Air

professionals at Zadar

Pilatus

I

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

Martin ScharenborgandRamon Weninkflewwith theCroatian Air

Force’sFixed-WingSquadron at Zadar-Zemuniktoreporton itswide

varietyoftasksandthechallengesit is currentlyfacing.

Force) Bell 206 helicopter. It’s the daily

routine for the air arm’s training centre.

Located on the west coast of Croatia between

the cities of Rijeka and Split, the air base at

Zadar-Zemunik has been the hub of military

aviation training since long before the country

broke away from Yugoslavia. Until 1991,

various training units at the base operated

aircraft including the G-2 Galeb, G-4 Super

Galeb, UTVA 75, An-2 and the SA341 Gazelle.

After Croatia declared its independence

in June 1991, the Yugoslav National Army

attempted to occupy most of its territory. The

Geneva Accord in November 1991 brought an

end to hostilities between the two countries

and Croatia won international recognition as

an independent state the following year. Most

Yugoslav military assets were withdrawn from

A pair of PC-9Ms of the Fixed-Wing Squadron captured on a training fl ight north of Zadar-Zemunik air base. The Pilatus turboprop has provided the backbone

of the Croatian Air Force pilot-training effort since 2006. All photos Martin Scharenborg and Ramon Wenink

70-74 CroatianTraining AFM Sep2019.indd 70 02/08/2019 17:27:00