Airbridge between the Allies and Yugoslavia 1941-1945

Diplomsko delo skuša predstaviti delovanje zračnega mostu, torej pot pretoka materiala in osebja preko zraka, med zavezniki in Jugoslavijo v obdobju med letoma 1941-1945. Po nemškem napadu in naglem padcu Kraljevine Jugoslavije so morali zavezniki ponovno vzpostaviti stike z Jugoslavijo oz. z jugoslovanskimi odporniškimi gibanji. Tako k četnikom kot k partizanom je bilo tekom vojne poslano več zveznih misij, med katerimi so izpostavljene Hudsonova, Deakinova in najpomembnejša, Macleanova. Delo se nato osredotoči na organizacijo elementov zavezniškega sredozemskega vojnega letalstva, ki je bilo vpleteno v posebne operacije, kot jih vojaška nomenklatura imenuje. Do ustanovitve Force 266 na začetku leta 1944, kmalu po teheranski konferenci, so bile posebne operacije koordinirane v širši organizacijski strukturi za celotno sredozemsko bojišče. Potem se je razvila organizacijska struktura, ki je bila izključno namenjena za Jugoslavijo in Albanijo. Ustanovitev balkanskega vojnega letalstva je predstavljala zadnjo reorganizacijo, ki je močno olajšala koordinacijske napore. V zračnem mostu so bile vključene enote mnogih zavezniških narodov, med glavnimi seveda Britanija, ZDA in Sovjetska zveza. Glavni metodi odlaganja materiala sta bili ali odmetavanje zabojnikov na pripravljena spuščališča ali pristajanje na partizanska letališča. Razvoj partizanskih letališč tekom leta 1944 je omogočil tudi bolj pogosto in množično evakuiranje ranjencev, beguncev in rešenih zavezniških letalcev. V Jugoslaviji se je zgodilo več množičnih evakuacij, med katerimi je morda najbolj impresivna evakuacija beguncev iz Bele krajine marca 1945. V reševalnih operacijah zavezniških letalcev ne smemo pozabiti tudi na napore lokalnega prebivalstva in odpora.The undergraduate thesis attempts to illustrate the function of the airbridge – the way materials and personnel were transferred by air - between the Allies and Yugoslavia in the period between the years 1941 and 1945. After the German attack and the subsequent swift fall of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia the Allies had to regain their communication links to Yugoslavia or rather the various Yugoslav resistance movements. Throughout the war many liaison missions were sent to both the Chetniks and the Partisans. The stressed examples are the missions of Hudson, Deakin and, most importantly, Maclean. The thesis then focuses on the organization of the Mediterranean Allied Airforce elements that were involved in special operations, as the military nomenclature calls them. Until the foundation of Force 266 at the beginning of 1944, shortly after the Teheran conference, special operations had to be coordinated in the broader organizational structure of the entire Mediterranean theatre. After that the organizational structure, which was focused solely on Yugoslavia and Albania, began to be developed. The foundation of the Balkan Air Force represented the last major restructure that greatly eased the efforts of coordination. The airbridge involved many air units belonging to several allied nations, chief among them were those of Great Britain, the USA, and the Soviet Union. The main methods of delivery were either by air drop to designated drop zones, or by landing on partisan airfields. The development of partisan airfields throughout 1944 enabled more frequent and massive evacuations of wounded, refugees and rescued Allied airmen. A few mass evacuations happened in Yugoslavia, among which the most impressive was the evacuation of refugees from Bela krajina during March 1944. We must also be mindful of the great efforts undergone by the local civilian population and resistance that made the rescue of Allied airmen possible