As it has previously, this year, too, Jat Airways will mark the anniversaries in an appropriate and dignified manner. But this is also an opportunity to recall together Serbia's civil aviation tradition and history created by Aeroput and Jat.
The earliest ideas about starting civil aviation date back to setting up an Air Club in 1922. The first concrete moves were made three years later - the Central Management of the Aero-Club in 1925 sent to the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Army and Navy a request to include in their respective budgets the following item: credit to subsidise an aviation society. A drive was launched among the public at the time to spread the idea of introducing air transportation. This drive soon yielded results.
|
On February 6, 1926, a conference was held at the initiative of the Aero-Club and principles were laid down for founding a Civil Aviation Society; all the conference participants became co-founders.
The principles were sent to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which endorsed them on March 13. Shares were then offered for sale. |
 |
This process, however, was unexpectedly slow. It became clear that unless a contract with the government was secured to guarantee necessary assistance and facilities, any further work of the society would become meaningless. Such a contract was signed on January 25, 1927, but still the sale of shares fell significantly short of the needed capital. Out of 24,000 shares (to secure six million dinars for the purchase of aircraft), only ten percent were sold. The entire project was in danger of falling through due to legislation regulating shareholder companies. Engineer Tadija Sondermajer, an Aeroput management member, captain in reserve and pilot from the Thessalonica Front, conceived a solution to boost the sale of shares. He proposed a promotional flight from Paris to Bombay, India, with flight lieutenant Leonid Bajdak. The campaign would prove the worthiness and ability of Yugoslav pilots in tough international competition. He counted on the strong propaganda effect of this extraordinary feat to arouse interest in setting up domestic civil aviation and to accelerate Aeroput stock sales.
One of the best reconnaissance planes of the time - the Potez 25, with a 450 HP Loren Dietrich engine, was chosen for the long-distance flight, as the state had been acquiring them at the time.
 |
Extra fuel tanks were installed, allowing the plane to fly 2,000 km in a single flight. Improved versions of compasses were added and other equipment was improved to assist the crew in complex navigation through the uninhabited regions of Central Asia. Following brief preparations, Sondermajer and Bajdak took off from Paris on April 20, 1927. |
The easiest section of the flight was over Belgrade and Asia Minor to Aleppo in Syria, but when they moved over Baghdad and Basra toward Jask, Karachi and Bombay, they encountered desert storms and strong winds that diverted the aircraft from its planned flight route and endangered the crew's lives.
|
On the way back, the experienced pilots again successfully handled several critical situations. Finally, after covering 14,800 kilometers, 14 legs and 11 days of travel, they landed in Belgrade on May 2, 1927. There was a magnificent welcome, as over 30,000 Belgraders welcomed their heroes at the airport at the foot of Bežanijska Kosa. The grand stand was filled with high-ranking officials, and for days the press carried stories about the success of Yugoslav aviation and celebrated the new heroes.
After this feat by pilots Sondermajer and Bajdak, the sale of Aeroput shares rose to unexpected levels. More than 30,000 shares were sold in three months, enabling the new company to weather the crisis. The Society was registered with the Belgrade Commercial Court on June 17, and the Society for Air Traffic Aeroput then became a legal entity. |
 |
The first domestic line - between Belgrade and Zagreb - was launched on February 15, 1928, with the Potez 25 aircraft. By 1931, Aeroput had introduced its first international flight to Vienna, and in addition to increasing the number of flights to Skoplje, the line was extended to include Thessaloniki.
 |
By 1941, Aeroput had introduced increasingly modern aircraft into its fleet (Farman-306, Spartan Cruiser, de Haviland Dragon, Caudron Goeland, Lockheed 10 Electra), while expanding its network of international flights to include destinations such as Graz, Prague, Milan, Budapest, Sofia and Tirana, thus joining the group of major European air carriers. Aeroput discontinued its flights at the outbreak of World War Two, and on April 1, 1947, just two years after the way, Yugoslav Airlines was formed. | |
