Dukovac in front of his Messerschmitt Bf 109 in the Soviet Union
Born
(1918-09-23)23 September 1918 Surčin, Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary
Died
6 June 1990(1990-06-06) (aged 71) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Allegiance
Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1937–1941) Independent State of Croatia (1941–1944) Nazi Germany (1941–1944) DF Yugoslavia (1944–1945) Syrian Republic (1946–1948)
Service/branch
Royal Yugoslav Air Force Croatian Air Force Luftwaffe Yugoslav Air Force Syrian Air Force
Years of service
1937–1945 1946–1948
Rank
Poručnik
Battles/wars
World War II:
Invasion of Yugoslavia
Eastern Front
1948 Arab–Israeli War
Mato Dukovac (23 September 1918 – 6 June 1990) was the leading Croatian fighter ace of World War II, credited with between 40 and 44 confirmed victories. He joined the Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia following the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, and then the Luftwaffe, with which he flew combat missions on the Eastern Front. His tours of the Eastern Front spanned October and November 1942, February to June 1943, and October 1943 to March 1944. He defected to the Soviet Union on 20 September 1944 and was returned to Yugoslavia in November 1944. He worked as a flight instructor for the Yugoslav Air Force in Pančevo and Zadar before defecting to Italy in April 1945.
Dukovac left Italy in 1946 and became a captain in the Syrian Air Force. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, he flew combat missions against Israel. Following the war, he emigrated to Canada and started a family there. He died in Toronto in 1990.
MatoDukovac (23 September 1918 – 6 June 1990) was the leading Croatian fighter ace of World War II, credited with between 40 and 44 confirmed victories...
Romanian ace and the 3rd highest scoring ace of the European Axis powers MatoDukovac, the highest scoring Croatian ace Ilmari Juutilainen, the top flying...
October 1944 Croatia Lieutenant Cvitan Galić, 23 June 1943 1st Lieutenant MatoDukovac Estonia Senior Lieutenant Hando Ruus [et], 30 December 1944 Finland General...
governments from refugee camps in Italy. Among the foreign instructors were MatoDukovac (a leading Croatian Air Force fighter ace of World War II) and Fritz...
Babić Mijo Babić Rafael Boban Mile Budak Eduard Bunić Fedor Dragojlov MatoDukovac Jure Francetić Miroslav Filipović Muhamed Hadžiefendić Ivo Herenčić Božidar...
achieved the status of ace, flying the Bf 109, the top scoring being MatoDukovac, with 44 kills. At the end of the conflict, 17 Luftwaffe and Croatian...
Babić Mijo Babić Rafael Boban Mile Budak Eduard Bunić Fedor Dragojlov MatoDukovac Jure Francetić Miroslav Filipović Muhamed Hadžiefendić Ivo Herenčić Božidar...
Babić Mijo Babić Rafael Boban Mile Budak Eduard Bunić Fedor Dragojlov MatoDukovac Jure Francetić Miroslav Filipović Muhamed Hadžiefendić Ivo Herenčić Božidar...
SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Fifty holders Sixty-four holders: MatoDukovac, First lieutenant of the Croatian Air Force; Croatian fighter ace with...
94 kills), Constantin Cantacuzino (Romanian Air Force, 69 kills) or MatoDukovac (Croatian Air Force, 44 kills). The highest scoring Japanese fighter...
Babić Mijo Babić Rafael Boban Mile Budak Eduard Bunić Fedor Dragojlov MatoDukovac Jure Francetić Miroslav Filipović Muhamed Hadžiefendić Ivo Herenčić Božidar...
Babić Mijo Babić Rafael Boban Mile Budak Eduard Bunić Fedor Dragojlov MatoDukovac Jure Francetić Miroslav Filipović Muhamed Hadžiefendić Ivo Herenčić Božidar...
Babić Mijo Babić Rafael Boban Mile Budak Eduard Bunić Fedor Dragojlov MatoDukovac Jure Francetić Miroslav Filipović Muhamed Hadžiefendić Ivo Herenčić Božidar...
preparation to rejoin the fray, but the defection of squadron leader MatoDukovac led to the cessation of Croat aerial operations on the Eastern Front...
Babić Mijo Babić Rafael Boban Mile Budak Eduard Bunić Fedor Dragojlov MatoDukovac Jure Francetić Miroslav Filipović Muhamed Hadžiefendić Ivo Herenčić Božidar...
Babić Mijo Babić Rafael Boban Mile Budak Eduard Bunić Fedor Dragojlov MatoDukovac Jure Francetić Miroslav Filipović Muhamed Hadžiefendić Ivo Herenčić Božidar...
Josip Kazimir Drašković – General in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) MatoDukovac – Croatian World War II fighter ace Mirosław Ferić – Polish fighter pilot...
Global Information
Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1937–1941)
Independent State of Croatia (1941–1944)
Nazi Germany (1941–1944)
DF Yugoslavia (1944–1945)
Syrian Republic (1946–1948)
Poručnik