Franjo Kluz
Encyclopedia
People's Hero of Yugoslavia
The Order of the People's Hero was a Yugoslav gallantry medal, the second highest military award, and third overall Yugoslav decoration. It was awarded to individuals, military units, political and other organisations who distinguished themselves by extraordinary heroic deeds during war and in...
. He is best known as one of the founders of the Partisan
Partisans (Yugoslavia)
The Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia...
air force, serving as an officer in the RAF-trained 352 Sqn(Yugoslav)Sqn.
Franjo Kluz was born in Jošik
Jošik
Jošik is a village in the municipality of Bosanska Dubica, Bosnia and Herzegovina....
, near Bosanska Dubica. In 1931 he graduated from the Yugoslav
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
reserve officers school as a sergeant-pilot. After the Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
invasion and establishment of Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
in 1941 he was drafted into the Croatian Air Force
Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia
The Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia, the Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske was the national air force of the Independent State of Croatia during World War II, founded under German authority in April 1941...
and was stationed in Banja Luka
Banja Luka
-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...
.
Rudi Cajavec
Rudi Čajavec was a Yugoslav pilot , best known as the first airman of Partisan air force....
before him, he defected to the Partisans with his Potez 25
Potez 25
|-See also:*Aerial operations in the Chaco War-References:Heinonen, Timo Heinonen: Thulinista Hornetiin, Keski-Suomen ilmailumuseon julkaisuja 3, 1992. ISBN 951-95688-2-4.-External links:* *...
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
Orahovo
Orahovo is a village in the municipality of Raška, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the village has a population of 34 people....
on June 4. His plane was destroyed by hostile fire on July 6.
He then became a member of the Partisan command for Bosanska Krajina
Bosanska Krajina
Bosanska Krajina or Bosnian Frontier is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina enclosed by three rivers - Sava, Una and Vrbas. It is also a historic, economic and cultural entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
region. As a member of the command staff, he was required to be a Party member and on August 14, 1942 he was accepted as a member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.
On October 14 Kluz became the station commander of the First Air Base of the Yugoslav National Liberation Army (YNLA) in Livno
Livno
Livno is a town in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located between Tomislavgrad, Glamoč, Bosansko Grahovo, Kupres and the Croatian border.- Position :...
. After the German offensive, Kluz was sent, with 200 men, to Allied-controlled Italy, where they received training, equipment and aircraft from the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. Kluz was commissioned as a Pilot Officer
Pilot Officer
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
in the RAFVR, 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
No. 352 Squadron RAF
No. 352 Squadron RAF was a Yugoslav-manned fighter-bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. The squadron was also known as First NOVJ Squadron.- History :...
. On September 14th, 1944, he was shot down in his Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
and killed (unfortunately CWGC mis-spells his first name) by German AAA over Omiš
Omiš
Omiš 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 where the emerald-green Cetina River meets the Adriatic Sea...
. For his wartime service, Franjo Kluz was posthumously awarded the Order of a People's Hero of Yugoslavia
People's Hero of Yugoslavia
The Order of the People's Hero was a Yugoslav gallantry medal, the second highest military award, and third overall Yugoslav decoration. It was awarded to individuals, military units, political and other organisations who distinguished themselves by extraordinary heroic deeds during war and in...
.
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
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
was named in his honour, as was a printing company in Omiš
Omiš
Omiš 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 where the emerald-green Cetina River meets the Adriatic Sea...
, a title it holds to this day. An aero club
Flying club
A flying club or aero club is a 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 associated services, as well as organizing social functions, fly-ins and...
in Zemun
Zemun
Zemun is a historical town and one of the 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia...
is also named in his honour. Streets in Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
and in Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
are also named after Kluz. Before the Bosnian war
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
, a street in Bosanska Dubica was also named after Franjo Kluz.