81-532: The Serbian Air Force and Air Defence ( Serbian : Ратно ваздухопловство и противваздухопловна одбрана Војске Србије , romanized : Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazduhoplovna odbrana Vojske Srbije , lit. 'War Aviation and Anti-Aircraft Defence of the Serbian Armed Forces';), is the air force of Serbia and service branch of the Serbian Armed Forces . Its mission
162-600: A USAF F-16C and an F-117 Nighthawk , the first stealth aircraft ever to be shot down in combat, along with dozens of UAVs. Two primary missions of the Serbian Air Force and Air Defence are: maintaining airspace dominance over the country (including intercepting and eliminating airspace violators) and providing air support and transport for ground forces. Other important role is responding to natural disasters. The Serbian Air Force and Air Defence consists of four brigades , two independent battalions directly attached to
243-560: A newly built auxiliary airfield in the village of Barbalusi. The first reconnaissance flight was made on 20 March, by Lieutenant Živojin Stanković and Sergeant Mihajlo Petrović. In this combat-reconnaissance flight on his Farman HF.20 over the Shkodra Front on 20 March 1913, Sergeant Mihajlo Petrović was killed, thus becoming the first casualty in the history of the Serbian military aviation and
324-648: A number of French pilots came to Serbia to help the country's war effort . Tomić was assigned to Požarevac airfield following the arrival of the French and flew missions over the Banat . A soldier named Milutin Mihailović was assigned to fly with him as a military observer. On 9 June, Tomić downed one German plane. Six days later, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant . He shot down another German plane on 23 June. In total, Tomić and Mihailović flew nineteen combat missions over
405-726: A reconnaissance flight over Austria-Hungary. The Austro-Hungarian aviator initially waved at Tomić, who waved back. The enemy pilot then took a revolver and began shooting at Tomić's plane. Tomić produced a pistol of his own and fired back. He swerved away from the Austro-Hungarian plane and the two aircraft eventually parted ways. This incident is considered the first recorded dogfight of the war. Within weeks, all Serbian and Austro-Hungarian aircraft were armed. The Serbians equipped their planes with 8-millimetre (0.31 in) Schwarzlose MG M.07/12 machine guns, six 100-round boxes of ammunition and several bombs. The first armed Serbian plane
486-436: A safe place. In June 1941 the 20th Hydroaviation Squadron under command of Lieutenant Vladeta Petrović with their no surrender war flag was renamed in the 2nd Yugoslav Squadron , attached to No. 230 Squadron RAF . Up until 23 April 1942 the squadron flew 912 combat mission (1,760 flying hours) and lost four aircraft. The main mission of the squadron was anti-submarine patrol and protected allied shipping. After World War II
567-665: Is clearly a single language with a single grammatical system." It has lower intelligibility with the Eastern South Slavic languages Bulgarian and Macedonian , than with Slovene (Slovene is part of the Western South Slavic subgroup, but there are still significant differences in vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation to the standardized forms of Serbo-Croatian, although it is closer to the Kajkavian and Chakavian dialects of Serbo-Croatian ). Speakers by country: Serbian
648-458: Is practically the only European standard language whose speakers are fully functionally digraphic , using both Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was devised in 1814 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić , who created it based on phonemic principles. The Latin alphabet used for Serbian ( latinica ) was designed by the Croatian linguist Ljudevit Gaj in the 1830s based on
729-517: Is shows that it was in accord with its time; for example, the Serbian Alexandride , a book about Alexander the Great , and a translation of Tristan and Iseult into Serbian. Although not belonging to the literature proper, the corpus of Serbian literacy in the 14th and 15th centuries contains numerous legal, commercial and administrative texts with marked presence of Serbian vernacular juxtaposed on
810-560: Is the official and national language of Serbia , one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-official in Montenegro and Kosovo . It is a recognized minority language in Croatia , North Macedonia , Romania , Hungary , Slovakia , and the Czech Republic . Standard Serbian is based on the most widespread dialect of Serbo-Croatian, Shtokavian (more specifically on
891-435: Is the only general historical dictionary of Serbo-Croatian. Its first editor was Đuro Daničić , followed by Pero Budmani and the famous Vukovian Tomislav Maretić . The sources of this dictionary are, especially in the first volumes, mainly Štokavian . There are older, pre-standard dictionaries, such as the 1791 German–Serbian dictionary or 15th century Arabic-Persian-Greek-Serbian Conversation Textbook . The standard and
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#1732844540285972-465: Is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Serbian airspace, and jointly with the Serbian Army , to protect territorial integrity of the country. Serbian Air Force was established in 1912, thus making Serbia one of the first fifteen states in the world to have an air force. It was subsequently absorbed into the air forces of various Yugoslav states between 1918 and 2006. The idea to form air forces in
1053-767: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Serbian, written in the Cyrillic script : Сва људска бића рађају се слободна и једнака у достојанству и правима. Она су обдарена разумом и свешћу и треба једни према другима да поступају у духу братства. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Serbian, written in the Latin alphabet : Sva ljudska bića rađaju se slobodna i jednaka u dostojanstvu i pravima. Ona su obdarena razumom i svešću i treba jedni prema drugima da postupaju u duhu bratstva. Article 1 of
1134-632: The Balkan Wars and World War I . Tomić belonged to the first class of six Serbian pilots trained in France in 1912. In August 1914, he participated in the first aerial dogfight of the war, when he exchanged gunfire with an Austro-Hungarian plane over western Serbia. In the winter of 1915, during the Serbian Army 's retreat across Albania to the Greek island of Corfu , he evacuated General Petar Bojović from Scutari by plane, delivered mail by air and transported
1215-478: The First Balkan War , it sent six soldiers to France to receive pilots' training and ordered 11 French planes. On 29 April 1912, Tomić was sent to France to attend Louis Blériot 's flying school in Étampes , near Paris . He graduated on 1 October 1912, after four months of training, and was issued diploma #1026. This made him one of Serbia's first military pilots. By the time Tomić had returned home, Serbia
1296-619: The Proto-Slavic language . There are many loanwords from different languages, reflecting cultural interaction throughout history. Notable loanwords were borrowed from Greek, Latin, Italian, Turkish, Hungarian, English, Russian, German, Czech and French. Serbian literature emerged in the Middle Ages , and included such works as Miroslavljevo jevanđelje ( Miroslav's Gospel ) in 1186 and Dušanov zakonik ( Dušan's Code ) in 1349. Little secular medieval literature has been preserved, but what there
1377-782: The Royal Serbian Army was first mentioned in the General Army Formation Act from 2 August 1893. This act envisioned that within each division of the Army be formed one air force balloon company. The first aviation pioneer in Serbia was Lieutenant Kosta Miletić (1874–1953), trained as a balloon pilot at the Technical Aeronautical School in Saint Petersburg, Russia, from 1901 to 1902. On the recommendation of Miletić,
1458-479: The Salonika front . He flew a Nieuport 23 fighter on a number of combat missions over Bulgarian-occupied Macedonia as part of Escadrille 387 . At about 10 a.m. on 17 April 1917, Tomić and his escadrille attacked a group of 14 Bulgarian planes conducting a bombing raid against the Serbian rear. His plane sustained serious damage during the encounter; it was struck by a number of incendiary bullets and its fuel line
1539-650: The Serbian Government 's gold and hard currency reserves from Niš to keep them from falling into enemy hands. Following the occupation of Serbia by the Central Powers , Tomić went to France and flew over the Western Front , where he had one confirmed kill. He returned to the Balkans in late 1916, conducted combat missions over Bulgarian-occupied Macedonia and shot down one enemy plane. Tomić continued flying after
1620-499: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Miodrag Tomi%C4%87 Miodrag Tomić ( Serbian Cyrillic : Миодраг Томић ; 17 May [ O.S. 5 May] 1888 – 20 February 1962) was a Serbian and Yugoslav military pilot who flew during
1701-405: The 2006 Constitution . The Latin script continues to be used in official contexts, although the government has indicated its desire to phase out this practice due to national sentiment. The Ministry of Culture believes that Cyrillic is the "identity script" of the Serbian nation. However, the law does not regulate scripts in standard language , or standard language itself by any means, leaving
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#17328445402851782-531: The Air Force and Air Defence Command, as well as the Aeronautical Overhaul Institute and Air Medical Institute. There are three operating air bases: Batajnica Air Base , Lađevci Air Base and Niš Air Base . In addition other bases (Jakovo, Zuce, Pančevo, Kragujevac, Novi Sad) house air defence units. Long-range surveillance radar station is located at Murtenica . Aircraft previously operated by
1863-503: The Air Force underwent several developmental stages, the first major air force modernization being performed from 1953 to 1959. Aircraft made in the West (such as German Dornier Do 28 ) were introduced thus broaching the era of jet aviation. With the forming of first helicopter squadron in 1954 the chopper units were also incorporated within the reorganised Air Forces branch, renamed to Yugoslav Air Force ( Jugoslovensko ratno vazduhoplovstvo ). At
1944-449: The Air Force. With the establishment of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia , an Army Aviation Department was formed out of Serbian and ex-Austro-Hungarian (Croatian and Slovenian) personnel. In 1923, a major initiative was launched to replace World War I era aircraft still in service with more modern designs. Contracts were placed abroad and with newly established local factories. The Aviation Department
2025-668: The Banat between early May and late August 1915. In October 1915, Serbia was invaded by a combined Austro-Hungarian, Bulgarian and German force. The Serbian Army was overwhelmed within weeks and forced to retreat across Albania to the Greek island of Corfu . The small Serbian Air Force withdrew from its headquarters in Banjica to Kruševac via Mladenovac , Smederevska Palanka and Jagodina . In Kruševac, Tomić and lieutenant Živojin Stanković were tasked with destroying four obsolete planes to keep them from falling into enemy hands. Upon completing
2106-549: The Blériot XI and took off the following morning, headed for Durrës . The Blériot XI was designed to fly for a maximum of four hours, but Tomić managed to keep it flying for the duration of the four-and-a-half hour flight to Durrës and landed safely on a field near the town. Locals soon discovered the plane and escorted Tomić and Milekić to Serbian envoy Panta Gavrilović. Tomić recovered from his ordeal and later evacuated General Petar Bojović from Scutari to Lezhë . Heavy winds over
2187-583: The Czech system with a one-to-one grapheme-phoneme correlation between the Cyrillic and Latin orthographies, resulting in a parallel system. Serbian is a standardized variety of Serbo-Croatian , a Slavic language ( Indo-European ), of the South Slavic subgroup. Other standardized forms of Serbo-Croatian are Bosnian , Croatian , and Montenegrin . "An examination of all the major 'levels' of language shows that BCS
2268-498: The German air attack on city of Kragujevac on 30 September 1915, air defense artillerist Radivoje-Raka Lutovac from "Tanasko Rajić" Regiment, shot his first hit, by his artillery modified gun, a Farman airplane with two crew members. The period between two world wars was marked by a significant growth of Air Force, accompanied by the production of modern and sophisticated aircraft, with then ongoing organizational-formation changes within
2349-768: The Latin alphabet whereas 36% favors the Cyrillic one. Latin script has become more and more popular in Serbia, as it is easier to input on phones and computers. The sort order of the ćirilica ( ћирилица ) alphabet: The sort order of the latinica ( латиница ) alphabet: Serbian is a highly inflected language , with grammatical morphology for nouns, pronouns and adjectives as well as verbs. Serbian nouns are classified into three declensional types, denoted largely by their nominative case endings as "-a" type, "-i" and "-e" type. Into each of these declensional types may fall nouns of any of three genders : masculine, feminine or neuter. Each noun may be inflected to represent
2430-410: The Latin script predominates, although both scripts are commonly seen. The Serbian government has encouraged increasing the use of Cyrillic in these contexts. Larger signs, especially those put up by the government, will often feature both alphabets; if the sign has English on it, then usually only Cyrillic is used for the Serbian text. A survey from 2014 showed that 47% of the Serbian population favors
2511-450: The Latin script tends to imply a cosmopolitan or neutral attitude, while Cyrillic appeals to a more traditional or vintage sensibility. In media, the public broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia , predominantly uses the Cyrillic script whereas the privately run broadcasters, like RTV Pink , predominantly use the Latin script. Newspapers can be found in both scripts. In the public sphere, with logos, outdoor signage and retail packaging,
Serbian Air Force and Air Defence - Misplaced Pages Continue
2592-651: The Royal Serbian Army posed messenger pigeon stations and bought two free spherical and one tied kite balloon from the August Ridinger company from German city of Augsburg. At the reception ceremony, on 19 April 1909, Kosta Miletić flew a spherical balloon called "Srbija". One balloon was provided from Russia. A gas chamber was ordered from the Dillmann company in Berlin, and a field winch from Saint Petersburg. A hydrogen unit
2673-726: The Royal Yugoslav Air Force had 494 airplanes, only 269 of a modern type. Thus the ratio in the beginning of operations was 5:1 in favor of the Axis powers, and if counting only modern Yugoslav aircraft the ratio climbs to 7:1 in favor of the Axis powers. In spite of huge logistic difficulties and acts of treason (proclamation of the puppet-state Independent State of Croatia on 10 April 1941) the Royal Yugoslav Air Force fulfilled its duties with honor. Yugoslav airmen (5th and 6th Fighter Regiment pilots especially) fought courageously against an enemy superior both technically and numerically. During
2754-632: The Salonica front line, with the support of the Allied forces, the Serbian Aeroplane Wing was reorganized. From mid-1916 to 1918 at the Serbian part of the new established frontline, five squadrons (N521, N522, N523, N524 and N525) were operated and were staffed mostly of French and Serbian personnel. These air force units were officially known as the Serbian Army Air Service and were attached to
2835-509: The Serbian Aeroplane Wing. The French squadron held the frontline from Smederevo to Loznica, and the Serbian wing from Smederevo to Golubac. After the conquest of Serbia by the Central Powers in the autumn of 1915 and the great retreat of the Serbian army to the Greek island of Corfu , the Salonica front was formed. During the invasion on Serbia in October 1915, Manfred von Richthofen ("Red Baron")
2916-609: The Serbian Air Force were the MiG-21 , Soko J-21 Jastreb , Soko G-2 Galeb , Dornier Do 28 , and the Antonov An-26 . The rank insignia of commissioned officers . The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel . Serbian language Serbian ( српски / srpski , pronounced [sr̩̂pskiː] ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs . It
2997-655: The Serbian Air Force. The First Balkan War broke out in October 1912; Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia waged it against the Ottoman Empire . In this war, the Serbian Aviation Command had its first combat experience. In February 1913, the High Command of the Royal Serbian Army formed an expeditionary Coastal Airplane Detachment in order to aid the Montenegrin army against Ottoman troops who were reinforced at
3078-648: The Supreme Command of Royal Serbian Army which was a part of Allied Macedonian Army. In the beginning of 1918 the new reorganisation was started when the 1st Squadron was formed on 17 January, and the 2nd Squadron on 1 May 1918, staffed with Serbian personnel. Serbia formed on 8 June 1915 one of the first air defense and air warning units in the world. This was due to the massive onslaught of German and Austro-Hungarian aircraft. The first airplane shot down by ground fire unit in World War I happened over skies of Serbia. During
3159-690: The Yugoslav Air Force was active providing transport and close air support missions to Yugoslav Ground Forces, but was gradually forced to abandon air bases outside of ethnic Serbian held areas. The Yugoslav Air Force equipment in Bosnia and Herzegovina was given to the new Republika Srpska Air Force and used during the War in Bosnia . In 1991 and 1992, the Yugoslav Air Force lost a total of 46 airplanes and helicopters in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The bulk of
3240-581: The Yugoslav Air Force was inherited by the newly-formed Air Force of Serbia and Montenegro in 1992. An important portion of the 1999 war between Yugoslavia and the NATO coalition involved combat between the Air Force of Serbia and Montenegro ( Ratno vazduhoplovstvo Srbije i Crne Gore ), which was the predecessor of today's Serbian Air Force, and the opposing air forces of NATO . United States Air Force F-15s and F-16s flying mainly from Italian air bases attacked
3321-429: The alphabets are used interchangeably; except in the legal sphere, where Cyrillic is required, there is no context where one alphabet or another predominates. Although Serbian language authorities have recognized the official status of both scripts in contemporary Standard Serbian for more than half of a century now, due to historical reasons, the Cyrillic script was made the official script of Serbia's administration by
Serbian Air Force and Air Defence - Misplaced Pages Continue
3402-471: The auxiliary Dabića airfield. From that airfield, Captain Živojin Stanković and 2nd Lieutenant Miodrag Tomić on 13 August 1914 commenced their first reconnaissance flights in the World War I . Tomić took off from the airfield at Jevremovac on 27 August. Above Mišar he encountered an enemy plane Parabellum which opened fire on Tomić, who did not expect this but he avoided it with an appropriate and fast maneuver, so
3483-679: The beginning of 1915, armed with machine guns and bombs, Serbian pilots succeeded to fight back the enemy by attacking their aircraft flying over the Serbian sovereign territory or by bombing the important targets in the background positions. Because of air superiority of the Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops over the Serbian Front, in March 1915 the French squadron (Escadrille MF 99 S) arrived under command of Captain Roger Vitrat to aid
3564-423: The beginning of 1960s Soviet supersonic fighter MiG-21 was introduced, followed by intensive growth of Yugoslav aviation industry in that period. A number of jet planes prototypes were constructed, which served as basis for the development of training fighters and fighter aircraft, such as Soko G-2 Galeb and J-21 Jastreb , G-4 Super Galeb and Soko J-22 Orao and the most advanced Soviet fighter aircraft MiG-29
3645-420: The beginning of the 13th century, the entire official correspondence of Dubrovnik with states in the hinterland was conducted in Serbian. In the mid-15th century, Serbia was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and for the next 400 years there was no opportunity for the creation of secular written literature. However, some of the greatest literary works in Serbian come from this time, in the form of oral literature,
3726-439: The choice of script as a matter of personal preference and to the free will in all aspects of life (publishing, media, trade and commerce, etc.), except in government paperwork production and in official written communication with state officials, which have to be in Cyrillic. Traffic signs and directional signs, and place names, on main or international roads are to be written with both Cyrillic and Latin script To most Serbians,
3807-642: The country's hard currency reserves. In Kosovo, Tomić contracted typhus . On 19 November, he and aerial mechanic Miloje Milekić landed in Prizren . They spent the next two days wandering the countryside and walking through knee-deep snow. During the day, the air temperature reached −40 °C (−40 °F). The two stayed near their plane, waiting for orders from the Serbian High Command. On 21 November, Tomić and Milekić received orders to destroy their plane and go to Albania on foot. They decided against destroying
3888-455: The defending Serbo-Montenegrin fighters, usually MiG-29s , which were in bad shape, due to lack of spare parts and maintenance. A total of six MiG-29s were shot down in 1999, of which three were shot down by USAF F-15s , one by a USAF F-16 , and one by a RNAF F-16. One aircraft was hit by friendly fire from the ground. Another four were destroyed on the ground. During the course of the air war, Serbo-Montenegrin anti-aircraft defenses downed
3969-524: The dialects of Šumadija-Vojvodina and Eastern Herzegovina ), which is also the basis of standard Croatian , Bosnian , and Montenegrin varieties and therefore the Declaration on the Common Language of Croats, Bosniaks, Serbs, and Montenegrins was issued in 2017. The other dialect spoken by Serbs is Torlakian in southeastern Serbia, which is transitional to Macedonian and Bulgarian . Serbian
4050-568: The early 19th century, Vuk Stefanović Karadžić promoted the spoken language of the people as a literary norm. The dialects of Serbo-Croatian , regarded Serbian (traditionally spoken in Serbia), include: Vuk Karadžić 's Srpski rječnik , first published in 1818, is the earliest dictionary of modern literary Serbian. The Rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika (I–XXIII), published by the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts from 1880 to 1976,
4131-465: The end of the Balkan Wars, the Royal Serbian Army promoted Tomić to the rank of second lieutenant . At the outbreak of World War I , the Royal Serbian Army had only three planes, one of which was piloted by Tomić. His plane was quite primitive even for 1914. Misha Glenny , a journalist who has written extensively on the Balkans, likens it to "a box kite on perambulator wheels". At the beginning of
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#17328445402854212-460: The following days, pilots Miloš Ilić, Stanković and Tomić dropped a number of small bombs and conducted reconnaissance flights. After Bulgaria attacked Serbia at Bregalnica, the Second Balkan War began. The first reconnaissance mission had been performed by Miodrag Tomić, and after that Tomić and Stanković took turns and during a period of a month and a half, as the war with Bulgarians lasted,
4293-588: The matrix of Serbian Church Slavonic . By the beginning of the 14th century the Serbo-Croatian language, which was so rigorously proscribed by earlier local laws, becomes the dominant language of the Republic of Ragusa . However, despite her wealthy citizens speaking the Serbo-Croatian dialect of Dubrovnik in their family circles, they sent their children to Florentine schools to become perfectly fluent in Italian. Since
4374-407: The most notable form being epic poetry . The epic poems were mainly written down in the 19th century, and preserved in oral tradition up to the 1950s, a few centuries or even a millennium longer than by most other "epic folks". Goethe and Jacob Grimm learned Serbian in order to read Serbian epic poetry in the original. By the end of the 18th century, the written literature had become estranged from
4455-415: The noun they modify, but must agree in number, gender and case with the modified noun. Serbian verbs are conjugated in four past forms— perfect , aorist , imperfect , and pluperfect —of which the last two have a very limited use (imperfect is still used in some dialects, but the majority of native Serbian speakers consider it archaic), one future tense (also known as the first future tense, as opposed to
4536-517: The noun's grammatical case , of which Serbian has seven: Nouns are further inflected to represent the noun's number , singular or plural. Pronouns, when used, are inflected along the same case and number morphology as nouns. Serbian is a pro-drop language , meaning that pronouns may be omitted from a sentence when their meaning is easily inferred from the text. In cases where pronouns may be dropped, they may also be used to add emphasis. For example: Adjectives in Serbian may be placed before or after
4617-626: The only completed etymological dictionary of Serbian is the " Skok ", written by the Croatian linguist Petar Skok : Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika ("Etymological Dictionary of Croatian or Serbian"). I-IV. Zagreb 1971–1974. There is also a new monumental Etimološki rečnik srpskog jezika (Etymological Dictionary of Serbian). So far, two volumes have been published: I (with words on A-), and II (Ba-Bd). There are specialized etymological dictionaries for German, Italian, Croatian, Turkish, Greek, Hungarian, Russian, English and other loanwords (cf. chapter word origin ). Article 1 of
4698-682: The outbreak of war. In the autumn of 1912, Serbia got the aircraft for its armed forces. and on 24 September 1912 by the Act of the Minister of Army Radomir Putnik , an Aviation Command was established in Niš. Serbian Aviation ( Srpska avijatika ) comprised the Aircraft Detachment (which counted 12 aircraft), the Balloon Company, the pigeon post and the airbase . This date is regarded as the official founding of
4779-407: The plane did not sustain any hits. It was probably the first exchange of fire between aircraft in history. Serbian pilots who were actually skilled and experienced from the Balkan Wars had succeeded to give the valuable information about the number, the movements, and the position of the enemy troops. They contributed to early Serbian victories in 1914 at Cer Mountain , Kolubara and Drina river. At
4860-413: The second conditional (without use in the spoken language—it should be used for impossible conditional clauses). Serbian has active and passive voice . As for the non-finite verb forms, Serbian has one infinitive , two adjectival participles (the active and the passive), and two adverbial participles (the present and the past). Most Serbian words are of native Slavic lexical stock, tracing back to
4941-433: The second future tense or the future exact, which is considered a tense of the conditional mood by some contemporary linguists), and one present tense . These are the tenses of the indicative mood. Apart from the indicative mood, there is also the imperative mood . The conditional mood has two more tenses: the first conditional (commonly used in conditional clauses, both for possible and impossible conditional clauses) and
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#17328445402855022-433: The second one in world aviation history. Mihajlo Petrović , the first trained Serbian airplane pilot, completed his training at the famous Farman pilot school in France and was awarded the international FAI license no. 979 in June 1912; his Serbian pilot's license carries the number 1. The next day, pilots Lieutenant Živojin Stanković and Sergeant Miodrag Tomić successfully completed their first reconnaissance flights, and in
5103-466: The spoken language. In the second half of the 18th century, the new language appeared, called Slavonic-Serbian . This artificial idiom superseded the works of poets and historians like Gavrilo Stefanović Venclović , who wrote in essentially modern Serbian in the 1720s. These vernacular compositions have remained cloistered from the general public and received due attention only with the advent of modern literary historians and writers like Milorad Pavić . In
5184-455: The task, Tomić and Stanković manned two small biplanes and headed for Peć . Tomić successfully reached Kosovo, but Stanković did not. His plane crashed near the town of Kuršumlija , leaving him seriously injured. Tomić continued south, successfully transporting the Serbian Government 's gold reserves out of Niš and ensuring they did not fall into the hands of the Central Powers . He also flew important mail in and out of Serbia, and evacuated
5265-446: The town caused Tomić's plane to crash on 23 January 1916. He escaped unharmed. While the Serbian Army recovered on Corfu, Tomić was assigned to the Western Front and flew with a French escadrille— Escadrille 389 . During his time in France, he successfully downed one German plane. Colonel Dushé, the C.O. of the Serbian Air Force, commended Tomić on 16 November 1916. Tomić soon returned to the Balkans, ready to conduct aerial missions on
5346-406: The town of Shkodra near the Adriatic coast. Air support for this formation was assigned to the newly established Coastal Airplane Squad, the first Serbian air combat unit, with 4 airplanes ( Blériot XI one-seater, Blériot XI two-seater, Deperdussin TT and Farman HF.20 ) and 5 pilots under the command of Major Kosta Miletić. In March 1913, this combat air unit was relocated near the frontline at
5427-470: The two airmen performed 21 reconnaissance missions, of which Tomić did 14 flights. During one flight above Kriva Palanka, Tomić encountered a Bulgarian plane in the air, but neither one had weapons and they just greeted one another by hand waving. General mobilization in the summer of 1914 found the Serbian Aeroplane Wing not well prepared. The Aeroplane Wing had only 9 aeroplanes of which 7 were in flying condition. Five planes and three pilots were relocated to
5508-443: The war and became head of the Royal Yugoslav Air Force 's pursuit squadron in Novi Sad . During World War II , he was captured by the Germans and detained as a prisoner of war . Tomić left Yugoslavia following the war and settled in the United States with his wife. He died in Chicago in 1962. Miodrag Tomić was born on 17 May [ O.S. 5 May] 1888 in the village of Stragari , near Kragujevac . Matrilineally, he
5589-416: The war operations a total of 1,416 take-offs was made, 993 of which were performed by fighters and 423 by bombers. During this short war 135 flight crew members and 576 ground personnel lost their lives. About 300 Royal Yugoslav Air Force personnel evacuated, first to Greece then to Crete . After the Battle of Crete they went on to the deserts of the Near and Middle East, where for a short time they found
5670-400: The war, Tomić was attached to the 1st Danube Division. On the afternoon of 12 August 1914, he flew a reconnaissance mission over Šabac , and disclosed to the Serbian High Command that, contrary to initial reports, the Austro-Hungarians had not set up pontoon bridges on the Sava and were attempting to cross the river with boats. On 15 August, Tomić encountered an enemy plane while conducting
5751-567: Was a descendant of Serbian warlord Tanasko Rajić , who was killed fighting the Ottomans during the First Serbian Uprising . Tomić finished primary school and gymnasium in Kragujevac. In 1905, he enrolled into non-commissioned officers' school. He graduated successfully and became a member of King Peter 's Royal Guard. Serbia had been the first country in the Balkans to take interest in aerial warfare. Shortly after Austria-Hungary 's annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908, Serbia purchased two German reconnaissance balloons. In 1912, prior to
5832-414: Was commenced its first combat flight as a pilot. Also, in the autumn of 1915, the first medical transport of the wounded and sick in world aviation history was conducted in Serbia. One of the ill soldiers in that first medical transport was Milan Stefanik , a Czechoslovakian pilot-volunteer. In June 1916 the reconstituted Serbian army sailed from Corfu and joined the French and British at Thessaloniki . At
5913-411: Was declared by 34.52% of the population. Standard Serbian language uses both Cyrillic ( ћирилица , ćirilica ) and Latin script ( latinica , латиница ). Serbian is a rare example of synchronic digraphia , a situation where all literate members of a society have two interchangeable writing systems available to them. Media and publishers typically select one alphabet or the other. In general,
5994-519: Was embroiled in the Balkan Wars . On 24 December 1912, the Serbian Aviation Command was established in Niš . Tomić was actively involved in the siege of Scutari . On 29 March 1913, Sergeant Tomić and Lieutenant Živojin Stanković spent 45 minutes flying over Scutari at a height of 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) and spying on Ottoman positions. In July 1913, Tomić flew several flights over Bulgaria, conducting reconnaissance missions and dropping small bombs. At
6075-590: Was given the name OЛУЈ (Oluj) , or "storm". It was mostly flown by Tomić. Tomić was ordered to form an aerial unit of the Šumadija Division on 16 August. On 22 October, he became the first Serbian pilot to face enemy anti-aircraft fire when his Blériot XI was targeted by Austro-Hungarian field batteries. The first Serbian escadrille was formed in Belgrade the same day. Tomić went on to participate in multiple combat missions, dropping explosive ordnance on Austro-Hungarian military positions and supply lines. In May 1915,
6156-609: Was introduced in the late 1980s. In June 1991 the Slovenes resistance to re-imposition of federal control over Slovenia rapidly escalated into an armed conflict with Yugoslav People's Army. During the Ten-Day War in Slovenia two Yugoslav Air Force helicopters were shot down, while it launched air strikes on TV transmitters and Slovenian territorial defence positions. During the War in Croatia ,
6237-648: Was promoted to the rank of captain . Tomić remained in the armed forces after the war, serving with the Royal Yugoslav Air Force and becoming the commander of the Novi Sad pursuit squadron. In the 1920s, he achieved the rank of colonel . He married a woman named Danica , who later also became a pilot. In April 1941, Tomić was captured as a prisoner of war during the German -led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia . Following World War II , he and his wife emigrated to
6318-527: Was provided from the Swiss company Oerlikon. The equipment was delivered to Serbia in 1909 and 1910. The first competition for cadet airmen was opened in 1911, and in the following year the first class of Serbian pilots started their flying training in France and got the rank of pilot. They finished the course at the beginning of the First Balkan War with aircraft and the balloons that had already been obtained prior to
6399-575: Was renamed the Aviation Command and placed directly under the control of the Ministry of Military and Navy. In 1930, the Aviation Command was renamed the Royal Yugoslav Air Force ( Jugoslovensko kraljevsko ratno vazduhoplovstvo ). The attacking forces engaged in the April War (6 to 17 April 1941) were 2,373 aircraft strong, including 1,212 aircraft from Germany, 647 from Italy and 287 from Hungary, while
6480-591: Was severed. Unable to continue flying, Tomić was forced to land near Demir Kapija . In another aerial confrontation on 8 July, he successfully shot down a Bulgarian plane. This was Tomić's first recorded kill in Salonika, and his fourth overall. He was commended for this feat on 12 July, by order of the Serbian High Command. Following the Allied breakthrough in Macedonia, Tomić and his escadrille landed at Novi Sad , after which he
6561-521: Was the official language of Montenegro until October 2007, when the new Constitution of Montenegro replaced the Constitution of 1992. Amid opposition from pro-Serbian parties, Montenegrin was made the sole official language of the country, and Serbian was given the status of a language in official use along with Bosnian , Albanian , and Croatian . In the 2023 Montenegrin census, 43.18% declared Serbian to be their native language, while Montenegrin
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