The 461st Light Combat Aviation Squadron (''

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

: 461. eskadrila lake borbene avijacije / 461. ескадрила лаке борбене авијације'') was an aviation squadron of Yugoslav Air Force formed in 1953 at Niš airfield as Training Squadron of 29th Aviation Division (''

: Trenažna eskadrila 29. vazduhoplovne divizije / Тренажна ескадрила 29. ваздухопловне дивизије'').

History

Squadron was part of 29th Aviation Division. It was equipped with US-made F-47D Thunderbolt fighter-bombers and Yugoslav-made Ikarus Aero 2 trainers. In 1959 due to the Drvar reorganization this squadron became the Light Combat Aviation Squadron of 3rd Air Command (''

: Vazduhoplovna eskadrila lake borbene avijacije 3. vazduhoplovne komande / Ваздухопловна ескадрила лаке борбене авијације 3. ваздухопловне команде''). Squadron was again renamed and renumbered in April 1961 as 461st Light Combat Aviation Squadron. In same year new Soko 522 trainer aircraft have been introduced replacing older Thunderbolts and Aero 2 aircraft. By order from June 8, 1968, it has been disbanded. It was reestablished by order from March 7, 1973, at Pančevo airfield as part of 98th Aviation Brigade. Soko 522 trainers were replaced with Utva 66 liaison aircraft and Soko J-20 Kraguj

counter-insurgency aircraft Counter-insurgency aircraft or COIN aircraft are a specialized variety of military light attack aircraft, armed with aircraft artillery and/or portable rockets and designed for counter-insurgency operations, armed reconnaissance, air escort of ...

during the 1976 and 1977. Squadron has become independent under 1st Air Corps in 1978 by order from November 1976. 461st Squadron has been disbanded by order from November 16, 1981. Its personnel and equipment were attached to the 525th Training Aviation Squadron.Dimitrijević, Bojan. ''Jugoslovensko Ratno Vazduhoplovstvo 1942-1992''. Beograd, 2006, p. 370.

Assignments

* 29th Aviation Division (1953–1959) * 3rd Air Command (1959–1964) * 98th Aviation Brigade (1964-1968, 1973-1978) *

1st Aviation Corps First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

(1978-1981)

Previous designations

*Training Squadron of 29th Aviation Division (1953-1959) *Light Combat Aviation Squadron of 3rd Air Command (1959–1961) *461st Light Combat Aviation Squadron (1961-1981)

Bases stationed

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

(1953–1968) *

Pančevo Pančevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Панчево, ; ; ; ; ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is located on the shores of rivers Timiș (ri ...

(1973–1981)

Equipment

F-47D Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II fighter aircraft built by Republic Aviation from 1941 to 1945. Early designs XP-47 (AP-10) In response to a United States Army Air Corps, USAAC requirement for a new fighter ...

(1953-1961) * Ikarus Aero 2B/C (1953–1961) *

Soko 522 The Soko 522 was a two-seater Yugoslav military training and light attack aircraft produced in the 1950s by SOKO in Yugoslavia. History The Soko 522 was designed by Yugoslav engineers Šostarić, Marjanović and Čurčić at the Ikarus Aircraft ...

(1961-1968, 1973-1977) *

Soko J-20 Kraguj The Soko J-20 Kraguj (from ) is a light military, single-engine, low-wing single-seat aircraft with a metal airframe, capable of performing close air support, counterinsurgency (COIN), and reconnaissance missions, that was designed by VTI and ...

(1976-1981) *

Utva 66 The UTVA-66, is a STOL light utility / liaison aircraft produced in the former Yugoslavia. A development of the UTVA-56, it first flew in 1966 and was intended largely for use by the Yugoslav People's Army, Yugoslav military. Description The UT ...

(1977-1981)

References

Yugoslav Air Force squadrons Military units and formations established in 1953