One of the 25 Italian-built Saiman 200 trainers and liaison aircraft delivered directly by Italy during 1943 to the Independent State of Croatia’s Air Force. The aircraft of the photo has the Croatian markings adopted on 1944. Also this two-seat in tandem biplane, as the other Croatian Air Force’s airplanes, was during the operations against the Tito’s partisan forces most of all to deliver mail and fresh meat to isolated or surrounded Croatian garrisons. The survivor Saiman 200 was inherited by the new Yugoslav Air Force. Victor Sierra

Croatian Air Force’s Saiman

The aircraft visible beyond a group of Yugoslav partisans at Vis island is the Fiat G.50bis number 3505, ancient Italian military registration MM6197, of Independent State of Croatia’s Air Force (Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske-ZNDH), the pilot of them, Andrija Arapovic, defeated on 1944 for join the Tito’s Yugoslav Liberation Forces. This aircraft survived to war and to post-war and is the same plane today preserved in the Belgrade’s Air Force Museum, unique exemplar of Fiat G.50 still existing in the world. The biplane scarcely visible in background on the right seems one of two Italian-made SAIMAN 200 which defected at Vis in the same 1944. Victor Sierra

Croat G.50 deserter

Jewish memorial in North Wales UK where the members of X Troop trained. If you are familiar with the Tarantino film Inglourious Basterds it is based (loosely) on these British Jewish Commandos who were the real Inglourious Basterds, brainchild of Lord Mountbatten and named The X Troop by Winston Churchill-Full story here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1186731/The-real-Inglourious-Basterds-Why-Britains-secret-Jewish-commandos-far-heroic-Nazi-scalpers-Tarantinos-new-film.html


