Mato Dukovac

Mato Dukovac
Dukovac in front of his Messerschmitt Bf 109 in the Soviet Union
Born	(1918-09-23)23 September 1918 Surčin, Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary
Died	6 June 1990(1990-06-06) (aged 71) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Allegiance	Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1937–1941)  Independent State of Croatia (1941–1944)  Nazi Germany (1941–1944)  DF Yugoslavia (1944–1945)  Syrian Republic (1946–1948)
Service/branch	Royal Yugoslav Air Force Croatian Air Force Luftwaffe Yugoslav Air Force Syrian Air Force
Years of service	1937–1945 1946–1948
Rank	Poručnik
Battles/wars	World War II: Invasion of Yugoslavia Eastern Front 1948 Arab–Israeli War

Mato Dukovac (23 September 1918 – 6 June 1990) was the leading Croatian fighter ace of World War II, credited with between 40 and 44 confirmed victories. He joined the Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia following the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, and then the Luftwaffe, with which he flew combat missions on the Eastern Front. His tours of the Eastern Front spanned October and November 1942, February to June 1943, and October 1943 to March 1944. He defected to the Soviet Union on 20 September 1944 and was returned to Yugoslavia in November 1944. He worked as a flight instructor for the Yugoslav Air Force in Pančevo and Zadar before defecting to Italy in April 1945.

Dukovac left Italy in 1946 and became a captain in the Syrian Air Force. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, he flew combat missions against Israel. Following the war, he emigrated to Canada and started a family there. He died in Toronto in 1990.