Overview of 15.(kroat.)/JG 52 Victory Claims
| Date | Croat Pilot | Location | Type Claimed | Outcome | Details of Soviet Aircraft Lost (Pilot / Unit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Late Oct (29–31) | Mato Dukovac | Crimea (Bagerovo area) | LaGG-3 | Overclaim(Damaged) | Unnamed pilot (wounded, returned to base) / 863rd IAP |
| Late Oct (29–31) | Dragutin Gazapi | Crimea (Bagerovo area) | Unspecified | Overclaim | None |
| Late Oct (29–31) | Other Pilots (2 claims) | Crimea (Bagerovo area) | LaGG-3, Il-2 | Overclaim | None |
| 01 Nov | Mato Dukovac (Claim 1) | Eltigen beachhead | Il-2 | Victory | Crew survived (unnamed) / 8th Gv.ShAP |
| 01 Nov | Mato Dukovac (Claim 2) | Eltigen beachhead | Il-2 | Victory | Crew survived, 1 gunner wounded / 47th ShAP |
| 01 Nov | Eduard Martinko (4 claims) | Eltigen beachhead | 2x Il-2, Pe-2, Airacobra | Overclaim | None |
| 01 Nov | Dragutin Gazapi (2 claims) | Eltigen beachhead | La-5, Airacobra | Overclaim | None (La-5s were not even present) |
| 01 Nov | Vladimir Salomon | Eltigen beachhead | Unspecified | Overclaim | None |
| 01 Nov | Zdenko Avdić | Eltigen beachhead | Unspecified | Overclaim | None |
| 02 Nov | Mato Dukovac | Kerch area | Il-2 | Victory(Unspecified match) | Unspecified Il-2 unit |
| 02 Nov | Eduard Martinko | Kerch area | I-153 "Chaika" | Overclaim | None (Biplanes did not fly by day) |
| 02 Nov | Josip Kranjc | Kerch area | LaGG-3 | Overclaim | None |
| 02 Nov | Zdenko Avdić (2 claims) | Kerch area | Unspecified | Overclaim | None |
| 06 Nov | Dragutin Gazapi | Kerch area | LaGG-3 | Overclaim | None |
| 06 Nov | Ivan Baltić | Kerch area | LaGG-3 | Overclaim | None (Possible fit for 25th IAP, but heavily overclaimed) |
| 11 Nov | Eduard Martinko | Kerch area | Pe-2 | Overclaim | None (Soviet aircraft grounded due to weather) |
| 12 Nov | Mato Dukovac | Azov Sea (near coast) | DB-3 (Il-4) | Overclaim | None (367th BAB, 30th ORAP had no operational losses) |
| 13 Nov | Josip Kranjc (2 claims) | Kerch area | LaGG-3 / Yak-1 / Airacobra | Overclaim | None |
| 13 Nov | Zdenko Avdić | Kerch area | LaGG-3 / Yak-1 / Airacobra | Overclaim | None (790th IAP forced landing was likely technical) |
| 13 Nov | Eduard Martinko (2 claims) | Kerch area | LaGG-3 / Yak-1 / Airacobra | Overclaim | None |
| 13 Nov | Dragutin Gazapi | Kerch area | LaGG-3 | Overclaim | None |
| 15 Nov | Josip Kranjc | Perekop area | Airacobra | Overclaim | None |
| 15 Nov | Zdenko Avdić | Perekop area | Airacobra | Overclaim | None |
| 20 Nov | Josip Kranjc & Zdenko Avdić (3 claims total) | Kerch area (Chushka Spit) | LaGG-3 | Overclaim | Jr. Lt. Ya. I. Kholyavko (249th IAP) likely shot down by German aces |
| 21 Nov | Mato Dukovac (Claim 1) | Kerch area | Airacobra | Victory | Jr. Lt. P. F. Kulagin (KIA / 57th Gv.IAP) OR Jr. Lt. F. E. Rusakov (parachuted) |
| 21 Nov | Mato Dukovac (Claim 2) & Zdenko Avdić | Kerch area | LaGG-3 / Yak-1 | Potential Victory(Contested share) | Lt. N. G. Sharonov (88th IAP) or Jr. Lt. K. G. Morozik (42nd Gv.IAP) |
| Late Nov / 01 Dec | Unspecified Croat Pilots (4 claims) | Northern Crimea | 3x Airacobra, A-20 Boston | Victory (1 of 4 entries confirmed) | One Soviet plane confirmed shot down (names/units not detailed) |
| 04 Dec | Mato Dukovac | Eltigen / Churbash area | LaGG-3 | Victory | Jr. Lt. A. G. Tsarenko (KIA) / 249th IAP |
| 04 Dec | Eduard Martinko | Eltigen area | LaGG-3 | Overclaim(Damaged) | Lightly damaged Airacobra from 66th IAP |
| 05 Dec | Mato Dukovac (2 claims) | Kerch area | LaGG-3, Il-2 | Overclaim | None (979th IAP and 4th VA recorded zero losses) |
| 05 Dec | Ivan Baltić | Kerch area | Il-2 | Overclaim | None |
| 06 Dec | Mato Dukovac (Claim 1) | Eltigen area | LaGG-3 | Overclaim(Damaged) | Lightly damaged LaGG-3 / 805th IAP |
| 06 Dec | Mato Dukovac (Claim 2) | Eltigen area | LaGG-3 | Overclaim | None |
| 06 Dec | Mato Dukovac (Claim 3) | Eltigen area | Airacobra | Victory | Jr. Lt. M. K. Krbashyan (Forced landing) / 66th IAP |
| 06 Dec | Eduard Martinko | Eltigen area | Airacobra | Overclaim | None |
| 08 Dec | Mato Dukovac | Sivash area | Airacobra | Overclaim | None (16th Gv.IAP suffered no damage/losses) |
Pilot Scores & Summaries
1. Mato Dukovac
- Score: 5 Victories, 1 Potential Victory / 11 Claims
- Summary: Dukovac stands out as the squadron's only effective asset. Even with a significant margin of overclaiming, he is the sole pilot verified to have cleanly destroyed Soviet aircraft during this campaign, scoring against Il-2s, a LaGG-3, and an Airacobra, in addition to one contested multi-unit engagement.
2. Eduard Martinko
- Score: 0 Victories / 8 Claims
- Summary: Martinko achieved a rapid "paper-ace" reputation that was entirely detached from physical results. His reports were highly imaginative, logging daylight engagements with biplanes that were only flying at night, and counting a lightly damaged Airacobra as a downed LaGG-3.
3. Zdenko Avdić
- Score: 0 Victories, 1 Potential Victory / 5 Claims
- Summary: Avdić built an unverified ace status out of fabrications until his final mission on 21 November. In that final clash, his only plausible tie to a real loss was a shared, heavily contested engagement with German pilots, which ended when he was severely wounded and lost his hand.
4. Dragutin Gazapi
- Score: 0 Victories / 4 Claims
- Summary: An aggressive young pilot who reported downing aircraft that were completely absent from his sector, such as La-5 fighters. His brief, over-inflated career came to an end on 27 November when he was shot down and killed by veteran Soviet aviators.
5. Josip Kranjc
- Score: 0 Victories / 4 Claims
- Summary: Kranjc was credited on paper with multiple double-kills in mid-November. Soviet logs prove none of these matched actual losses; where real Soviet planes did go down near his claims, they were definitively claimed by neighboring veteran German aces.
6. Ivan Baltić & Vladimir Salomon
- Score: 0 Victories / 2 Claims (Baltić) ; 0 Victories / 1 Claim (Salomon)
- Summary: Inexperienced rookies whose claims did not result in enemy losses. Salomon was shot down early on 7 November and froze to death in the Azov Sea. Baltić continued to log entries against heavily armored Soviet strike aircraft but failed to achieve verified destructions.
Not only that but they suffered badly too
Overview of 15.(kroat.)/JG 52 Combat Losses
| Date | Croat Pilot | Location | Type Flown | Outcome | Details of Soviet Aircraft Responsible (Pilot / Unit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02 Nov | Mato Dukovac | 10km from Mariental (Gornostaevka) | Bf 109G-4 (W.Nr. 14975) | Shot Down (Forced belly landing, 80% damage, aircraft written off) | Airacobra — Either Lt. P. A. Krasnov or Jr. Lt. G. P. Kolontaenko / 11th Gv.IAP VVS ChF |
| 02 Nov | Dragutin Gazapi | Kerch sector | Bf 109G-6 (W.Nr. 19543) | Damaged in Action (Radiator pierced, 20% damage, safely landed and repaired) | Airacobra — Either Lt. P. A. Krasnov or Jr. Lt. G. P. Kolontaenko / 11th Gv.IAP VVS ChF |
| 07 Nov | Vladimir Salomon | Baksy – Mayak area (Azov Sea) | Bf 109G-6 (W.Nr. 20039) | Shot Down / KIA (Bailed out into the freezing sea, froze to death before rescue) | Yak-1 — Highly likely Jr. Lt. N. F. Raenko / 42nd Gv.IAP |
| 21 Nov | Zdenko Avdić | South of Kerch | Bf 109G-6 "White 13" (W.Nr. 18497) | Shot Down / WIA (Shell exploded in cockpit, arm amputated, survived but career ended) | LaGG-3 — Sr. Lt. A. T. Kankoshev, Gv. Jr. Lt. N. F. Raenko (both 42nd Gv.IAP), or Lt. N. S. Shakhin (88th IAP) / 229th IAD |
| 27 Nov | Dragutin Gazapi | Northern Crimea | Unspecified Messerschmitt | Shot Down / KIA (Aircraft completely destroyed, pilot killed) | Airacobra — Unnamed pilot / 16th Gv.IAP |
| 28 Nov | Vladimir Nahod | Northern Crimea | Unspecified Messerschmitt | Shot Down (Aircraft damaged, forced emergency landing on own territory) | Airacobra — Unnamed pilot / 16th Gv.IAP |
Additional Loss Insights
- Technological Strain: Beyond these direct aerial combat losses, the squadron suffered from poor maintenance levels. On average, only one-third of their Messerschmitt aircraft were functional at any given moment due to technical wear and pilot accidents (such as Zvonimir Rajterić, who completely totaled his plane on a regular take-off roll on 29 October).
- Severe Attrition: The article tracks that by February 1944, the relentless pressure from Soviet Airacobra and Yak regiments caused nine total Croatian pilots to be killed or severely wounded(including leader Mato Dukovac himself, who was shot down and sent to a hospital on 28 February), completely shattering the unit's combat efficiency before they were pulled from the front lines.
Is this the lowest victory accuracy ever?
(Information comes from the link provided at the top. AI was only used to make the tables look neat and proper with all the information itself coming from the article)
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