The spring of 1995 did not bring peace to the land of Bosnia. The new commander of UN forces in Bosnia, Lieutenant General Rupert Smith, has twice ordered air strikes against Serb artillery positions in the vicinity of Sarajevo.
On May 25, American F-16s and Spanish EF-18As launched laser-guided bombs into Serbian ammunition depots south of Pale.
Fighter-bomber "McDonnell-Douglas" EF-18A "Hornet" of the 51st squadron of the Spanish Air Force, which took part in the bombing of the Bosnian Serbs
The next day, the Fighting Falcons repeated their attack on warehouses in Pale.
To protect themselves from further raids, the Serbs resorted to a proven means - 400 peacekeepers were taken hostage.
Polish "peacemaker" chained by the Bosnian Serbs as a "human shield" to the radar building
On June 2, 1995, Serbian anti-aircraft gunners with a Kvadrat air defense missile "shot" the F-16S of one of the "February 28 heroes" - Captain Scott O'Grady, who managed to eject.
The rescue of the pilot by a group of "valiant" American special forces and his return to his homeland was arranged in the United States with great fanfare. This was talked about and shown excitedly on all American national television channels.
Scott O'Gredy on the deck of an American aircraft carrier
However, Russian volunteers say something else:
One day in July, we, five Russian volunteers, were getting by passing cars to the city of Pale. At one of the military police posts, they learned that a downed American pilot was in the Yugoslavs' trailer.
The pilot sat at the table and devoured the contents of the army pot with gusto. His overalls were covered in mud and swamp mud, his face was bitten by mosquitoes and was badly swollen. Seeing us, the American stopped eating and, turning to us, quickly started talking about something. One of our guys was fluent in English. It turns out that the pilot was trying to explain why he was here. He told the circumstances under which he was shot down by the Yugoslav air defense systems. Having ejected from the crumbling plane, the pilot landed by parachute into the swamp and … almost drowned in the bog. Luck finally turned away when hordes of mosquitoes attacked him at night. Then it started raining and he was very cold.
Why, having matches in his pocket, he didn’t start a fire, we didn’t understand. To top it all off, the American managed to twist his leg. After wandering through the woods, the downed pilot finally came out onto the road. Seeing the first car passing by, he raised his hands and gave up.
Now the pilot was confused and quick to talk about how he loved the Serbs and the Slavs in general. According to him, the United States is waging an unjust war, and therefore he did not want to fight, but he was forced. "Clinton is a fascist!" The American shouted. "He sent me to bomb!"
After a while, a car approached the military police carriage to take the pilot to the headquarters. "It's time!" - said the senior post. All rose in unison. One of the Serbs straightened the machine gun belt that had slipped from his shoulder and pushed the American towards the exit.
Yankee understood these movements in his own way. Apparently deciding that he would now be taken out to be shot, he let out a heartbreaking cry. Falling to the floor, sobbing, he grabbed the Serb's legs. He lamented something about his children and his wife, tried to kiss the boots, as it seemed to him, his future "executioner". The Serbs did their best to calm the American, but in vain. The pilot went into a real hysteria. It all ended with the Serbs losing patience. Grabbing the soldier limp with horror by the legs, they dragged him out into the street and threw him into the car.
A week later, we learned that the Serbs had returned the pilot to the Americans.
Some more time passed. The episode of the meeting with the downed pilot began to be forgotten, when suddenly … having turned on the TV in the evening, they saw an old acquaintance on the screen. What he was now! New dress uniform, eagle eyes, courageous expression, proud posture.
In the White House, Clinton presented the order to the air ace, and the voice-over called him a real hero and an example for the whole of America.
After the awarding ceremony, our "hero" gave interviews to numerous journalists: he told in detail how he was shot down by the vile Serbs. From his narration, one could understand how skillfully he escaped the persecution. Hiding in the forest, he knocked the dogs off the trail, using various Indian tricks, which he learned as a child, in a scout detachment. All this time he did not turn off the radio beacon. According to him, on the third day, the Serbs still overtook him, but then helicopters with the American marines arrived …
Summing up his monologue, the hero of America declared: "Serbs are primitive savages and barbarians." Based on this conclusion, he called on the US President not to stand on ceremony with those "who stand in the way of world civilization …"
I watched and listened. I recalled how, quite recently, this "hero" crawled at the feet of the "barbarians" and kissed their shoes. Yes, apparently, it has become a bit tough in America with real - simple, modest and, most importantly, not fake heroes.
By the spring of 1995, the armed forces of Croatia were prepared for a military solution to the issue of Serbian Krajina - the restoration of the unitary state of Croatia within the borders of the former union republic.
On March 26, 1995, the air defense of the Serbian Krajina was shot down by the Croatian Mi-24 during a reconnaissance mission.
Mi-24 Croatian Air Force
Operation Byasak (outbreak) carried out by the Croats against the Serbian Krajina in May resulted in the establishment by Zagreb of control over Western Slavonia.
During the operation on May 2, 1995, a pair of MiGs, one of which was piloted by the deserter pilot Rudolf Peresin, was tasked with striking one of the Serbian military installations in Bosnia. However, the Croats missed the mark. As a result, according to the Serbian side, two children, six and nine years old, were killed.
The air defense of the Serbs in the area turned out to be extremely strong - the object was covered by 14 anti-aircraft guns and several calculations of MANPADS. The MiG Pereshin was hit by a MANPADS missile of the Bosnian Serb army, as a result of which the machine became uncontrollable. The pilot ejected from the plane at an extremely low altitude (below 50 meters) at a dangerous angle and landed on the territory of the Serbs, while the plane itself flew over Sava to the Croatian-occupied coast by inertia. Since then, Pereshin disappeared without a trace, apparently captured. Three years later, on August 4, 1997, his remains were finally handed over to his family, and on September 15, 1997, he was buried with military honors in the Mirogoy cemetery.
Led by Pereshin, brigadier Zdenko Radulich, managed to reach the airbase on a heavily damaged MiG.
In July, Dutch F-16A attacked Serb positions in an attempt to rescue Muslim militants trapped in Srebrenica.
In August, the Croats carried out Operation Oluja (storm) to defeat the Serbian Krajina. The purpose of the operation was formulated at a meeting with his generals by Tudjman himself: "To strike at the Serbs, after which they will never recover in this area!" Heavy fighting unfolded in the area of the strategic Dinara mountain range, with the Mi-8 becoming a key delivery vehicle for Croatian artillery. 9 Mi-8s involved in Operation Oluya were used to increase the maneuverability of ground forces and transport the wounded; fire support was provided by the Mi-24V. For the purpose of "self-defense" on August 4, 1995, American fighter-bombers (two F-18Cs under cover of a pair of EA-6Bs) destroyed the radar and communication system of the Krajina Serbs, after which the air defense of the Serbian Krajina no longer posed a great danger. Two hours later, the Croatian army of 138 thousand people crossed the border of the Republic of Serbian Krajina in 30 places. Croatian Mi-8s landed a large assault force in the rear, which, under the command of American advisers, launched an offensive in the rear of the Serbs. From the air, the attackers were supported by Croatian MiG-21s. In total, the Croatian Air Force performed 180 sorties. Although the Serbian air defense, according to the reports of the Americans, was suppressed, two Croatian aircraft, according to the Serbs, were still shot down. In turn, the Croats claim to have shot down two Serbian planes.
To repel the aggression, 30 thousand Serbian fighters, not really trained and insufficiently armed, were too few. On the second day of the operation, the Croats with the help of the Mi-8 unsuccessfully (right on the minefield) landed troops. In this operation, helicopters flew 11 sorties, transported 480 soldiers and 85 tons of cargo. Four days later, the Republic of Serbian Krajina was gone, 250,000 Serbs fled to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, about two thousand Serbs were killed.
During the entire period of hostilities, not a single case of air battles between Serb and Croat aviation was recorded. However, Zagreb claims more than a hundred destroyed Serbian aircraft! Nevertheless, the Croats managed to capture several aircraft of the Air Force of the Serbian Krajina, including the G-2A Galeb, J-1 Yastreb, J-20 Kragui, and UTVA-60. For a while, these aircraft were used for flights.
Light attack aircraft J-20 "Kragui" of the Serbian Krajina Air Force captured by the Croats
The Croatian Air Force took direct part in the operation of the Bosnian Muslims against the Serbs in the Banja Luka area, known as the Mistral. On September 8, 1995, while performing a mission to provide close air support for ground forces in difficult weather conditions, a Croatian Mi-24 crashed in the vicinity of the village of Mrkonich Grad. After a combat mission to support the Bosnian Muslims on September 13, one Mi-24 counted 42 holes from 12.7 mm bullets and several holes from 20 mm shells. On September 19, the Mi-8 was seriously damaged by anti-aircraft machine gun fire from the Serbian M-84 tank, the pilot was wounded, but the crew managed to reach Croatia.
Another large-scale attack by NATO aircraft on the Bosnian Serbs was provoked on August 28, 1995 by another mortar attack on Sarajevo, as a result of which 37 civilians were killed. A few hours after the shelling of the capital of Bosnia, NATO and the UN completed preparations for a series of punitive air raids. These strikes changed the balance of power in the Balkans in the most dramatic way. On the evening of 28 August, a small British garrison was ordered to leave Gorazde for safety reasons. The clock began counting down to take off the planes.
On the evening of August 29, NATO planes began to conduct Operation Deliberate Force and took off in the evening. In the first wave, there was a strike group of 14 aircraft, which was tasked with suppressing the air defense system of the Serbs, and three fighter-bombers armed with AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles and Laser-guided Peyvway bombs. The air defense suppression group included F / A-18 Hornet, F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter-bombers and EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft.
Electronic warfare aircraft Grumman EA-6B "Prowler", aircraft carrier "America", Operation Deliberate Force, September 1995
In total, the raid was carried out on 15 targets of the air defense system (command posts, communication centers, radar stations, air defense missile systems) in eastern Bosnia. Immediately before the strike with HARM anti-radar missiles, a large number of AGM-141 decoys were launched, which were supposed to activate the work of Serbian radars. The Serbs did not succumb to the ruse.
The first bombs fell on the position of the S-75 air defense system.
The launcher of the S-75 air defense system of the Bosnian Serb army
The main bunker of the air defense of the Bosnian Serbs received direct hits, after which the fire control of the air defense system and anti-aircraft artillery, as well as the radar station, was disrupted.
The work of the air defense missile systems was hampered by interference from the EF-111A and EC-130H aircraft. The RC-135 electronic reconnaissance aircraft flying over the Adriatic was constantly monitoring the work of the radio technical systems of the Serbs in real time.
Immediately after aviation, American warships from the Adriatic worked on the same objects, launching several dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles.
However, this was only the beginning, and the air raids were repeated throughout the day of 30 August. Now the targets were weapons depots, barracks, areas of concentration of troops. The capital of the Bosnian Serbs, Pale, was also bombed.
All strike groups were accompanied by reconnaissance aircraft, which recorded the results of the raids. During the next call, the French Mirage 2000N-K2 from the EC 2/3 Champagne squadron was hit by a Strela-2M MANPADS missile.
Bosnian Serb army soldier with Strela 2M MANPADS
The crew ejected and immediately fell into Serbian captivity. Attempts by the search and rescue service to select pilots ended in failure. MH-53J helicopters from the 20th Squadron of the US Special Operations Forces were fired upon from the ground on approaching the Mirage crash site, and wounded appeared on board. In this connection, the search was curtailed, citing "bad weather". Only in December, when the conflict had already ended, the pilots returned to their homeland, which was preceded by difficult and secret negotiations, with the active participation of the Russian SVR.
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In the evening, the attacks continued, now American A-10 and Dutch F-16s took part in the attacks, and their main weapon was the Maverick ATGM. At night, the AS-130N "gunships" from the 16th Special Purpose Squadron found their targets. In just the first two days of the raids, NATO aircraft flew at least 400 sorties, using up about 2,000 bombs and missiles. Despite numerous victorious reports, the losses of the Serbs in military equipment were minimal. For example, after many days of air attacks, they had fifty (!) Tanks.
On the morning of September 1, NATO announced the cessation of air raids for 48 hours, during this period the Serbs were asked to withdraw all heavy equipment from the Sarajevo region.
During 5 September, four groups of aircraft attacked Serbs on the outskirts of Sarajevo, with the most violent attacks targeting a large ammunition depot in Khadichi and a military town in Lukovica. Approximately 20 aircraft bombed the positions of the Bosnian Serb army.
On this day, NATO aircraft launched strikes not only in the Sarajevo region, but in eastern Bosnia: on command posts, a communications center, ammunition depots and a reserve command post of the Bosnian Serb army. Due to bad weather, many planes returned to Italian bases without dropping a single bomb or firing a single missile. Strike groups insured about 50 aircraft assigned to suppress the air defense system.
On September 6, aviation struck communications centers and severely damaged the road bridge.
Over the next five days, the aviation carried out five raids on objects in Eastern Bosnia per day. The attacks were carried out primarily on ammunition depots and bridges, 12 bridges were attacked. On the fifth day, NATO commanders concluded that nearly all targets in eastern Bosnia were hit.
However, the air raids did not compel the Serbs to lift the siege of Sarajevo. Then NATO decided to expand the list of objects to be destroyed, including in it the position of the air defense missile system in the north-west of Bosnia, around the city of Banja Luka. On September 9, 33 HARM anti-radar missiles were launched following the AGM-141 decoys. The decoy ploy did not work once again. The only success of the raid was the destruction of one air target detection radar of the Kvadrat anti-aircraft missile system.
The air strikes were supplemented by the launch on the evening of September 10 of land-based Tomahawk cruise missiles at the radar and communications center.
Before the cruise missiles were launched, French Jaguars and British Harriers bombed a television tower in Tuzla. The tower served as a relay for radio communications between the Serb headquarters and front-line command posts.
The strikes resumed with the launch of 13 Tomahawk cruise missiles, then US aircraft processed objects and communications centers in western Bosnia with 84 AGM-84 cluster bombs and GBU-15 TV-guided guided bombs. The detached units of the Serb army were disorganized, which the Croats took advantage of, delivering a powerful blow to the east.
The peak point of the air campaign was the raid of 70 aircraft on objects located in Eastern Bosnia. It seemed that by September 12, all the intended targets had been destroyed, but on that day, Bosnian Serb artillery fired at UN forces in the Tuzla region. NATO was given an excuse to resume raids, to destroy a large ammunition depot in Doboja. Aviation carried out four raids on this object. As a result of a direct hit from a bomb, a warehouse of artillery shells exploded, the cloud from the explosion rose to a height of several hundred meters. The Serbs even decided that NATO was using tactical nuclear weapons.
Four raids were planned for September 13, but bad weather left about 40% of the planes allocated to them on the ground. The last raid in the campaign was carried out by NATO aircraft on a tank repair workshop and an ammunition depot in the vicinity of Sarajevo on the evening of 13 September.
By the time of the end of NATO's "retaliation" on September 13, the number of sorties had already reached 3515, and the total NATO Air Force carried out about 750 attacks on 56 stationary targets, according to NATO estimates, 81% of the targets were damaged or were completely destroyed. Despite all the assurances of Western propaganda, the alliance's aviation did not succeed in "surgical" strikes. Purely civilian objects suffered great material damage, hundreds of residential buildings were destroyed, there were numerous casualties among the civilian population. This is not surprising, since the strikes were delivered mainly from medium heights. The pilots tried once again not to "substitute" under the fire of small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery and MANPADS.
Finally, there is an opportunity to reopen the airlift in Sarajevo, which was closed in April due to heavy fighting in the airport area. The first plane to land in Sarajevo on September 15 was the C-130 of the French Air Force with the French Minister of Defense on board.
The opening of Sarajevo Airport was the first visible success of Operation Deliberate Force. The success, however, was partial: the Serbs complied with the provisions of the ultimatum, but the ethnic war in Bosnia continued. Parts of the Bosnian Serb army fiercely defended Banja Luka. In these conditions, NATO aircraft continued to patrol the airspace of Bosnia. On October 4, the pilots of the American Prowlers reported on the irradiation of their aircraft by the Serbian radar station, after which they fired three HARM missiles on the radar.
The last raid was made by NATO aircraft on October 9, 1995, as a response to the shelling of UN forces in Tuzla by Serbian cannons. Dutch and American air controllers pointed F-16 fighter-bombers from 510 Squadron of the US Air Force to the artillery positions. The first marker phosphorus bomb was dropped off target. The air controllers corrected the course of the "marking" F-16, which precisely marked the target from the second approach. Five "Fighting Falcons", guided by the burning white phosphorus, struck with laser-guided bombs.
On September 11, when American bombs were still falling on the heads of Serbs, the warring parties signed a plan for the so-called "Dayton Accords", according to which Bosnia was divided according to the 49:51 formula in favor of Muslims. Four days later, the Bosnian Serbs effectively ended their war.
Attack aircraft of the Air Force of the Republika Srpska in this war performed about 700 sorties, having flown about 400 hours. This figure is not large, since the targets of the strikes, as a rule, were located, as a rule, near the air bases and often the combat sortie lasted only 5-10 minutes. Combat losses were two J-22 Oraos and six J-21 Hawks. During this period, Bosnian Serb helicopters transported 15,880 passengers, 4,029 wounded and 910 tons of various cargoes - mainly medicine, food and ammunition. In general, helicopters were vital for the Republika Srpska, since they continued to fly, despite the UN introduced "no-fly" zones. Especially risky were flights through the narrow corridor connecting the western regions of the Republika Srpska and Serbia. At least 2 Mi-8s and one Gazelle were shot down.
During the hostilities, 79 soldiers and officers of the Air Force and Air Defense were killed.
Bosnian Serb Army Air Force Pilot
At the expense of the air defense forces of the Bosnian and Krajina Serbs, Western sources include three NATO aircraft, five UAVs, three Croatian MiG-21bis, a Mi-24 combat helicopter and 4-5 Bosnian Mi-8 helicopters and a Ukrainian An-26, which transported weapons to the Muslim enclave of Bihac … In general, NATO pilots rated their opponents quite highly. It is not for nothing that in the spring of 1999, all possible measures were taken to prevent the participation of veterans of the Bosnian war in repelling the NATO aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
On November 21, 1995, an agreement on peace in the republic was initialed in the United States at Wright-Patterson airbase (Dayton, Ohio), and on December 15, a corresponding agreement was signed in Paris.
The civil war in Bosnia is over. According to the Western press, about 200 thousand people died during this war. Up to 2 million more became refugees. The losses of the UN multinational forces during this time amounted to 213 killed and 1485 wounded. However, this was not the end of the bloody drama of the Balkans. Peace never came to the wounded land of Yugoslavia. "Cautious Strike" was soon replaced by "Allied Force".
