Croatian Air Force trainers
Martin Scharenborg and Ramon Wenink flew with the Croatian Air Force’s Fixed-Wing Squadron at Zadar-Zemunik to report on its wide variety of tasks and the challenges it is currently facing.
It is a busy morning at the 93. zrakoplovna baza (93.ZB, 93rd Air Base) at Zadar-Zemunik. As a commercial Boeing 737 awaits its air traffic control clearance for a flight to Frankfurt, a handful of Zlin 242Ls and PC-9Ms queue up before entering Zadar’s active runway after the low-level departure of a Hrvatsko ratno zrakoplovstvo (HRZ, Croatian Air Force) Bell 206 helicopter. It’s the daily routine for the air arm’s training centre.
Located on the west coast of Croatia between the cities of Rijeka and Split, the air base at Zadar-Zemunik has been the hub of military aviation training since long before the country broke away from Yugoslavia. Until 1991, various training units at the base operated aircraft including the G-2 Galeb, G-4 Super Galeb, UTVA 75, An-2 and the SA341 Gazelle. After Croatia declared its independence in June 1991, the Yugoslav National Army attempted to occupy most of its territory. The Geneva Accord in November 1991 brought an end to hostilities between the two count…
