Cvitan Galić
Cvitan Galić (38 kills) was born on 5 May 1909 in the village of Gorica. Galić was completed pilot training with 7. aviation regiment at Mostar (now in Bosnia and Herzegovina) on 1 November 1930, and became a fighter pilot with 6.1.P on 1 August 1935.
When Nazi Germany invaded, he was serving with Mostar-based III Pilot School. Galić enlisted in the ZNDH (Air force of the Independent State of Croatia – 1941.-1945.) in May, and volunteered for the Croatian Air Force Legion when it was formed. He claimed 24 confirmed, seven unconfirmed (four later confirmed) and two ground victories to become 15(Kroat)/JG 52′s top scorer during its first combat tour. By 22 October 1942 Cvitan Galić had advanced four ranks from sergeant to second lieutenant.
In the spring of 1943 he scored a further ten confirmed and two unconfirmed kills. For these exploits, the Germans awarded Galić the Deutsch Kreutz in Gold on 23 June. During July, as a first lieutenant, he was sent to JG 104 to instruct young Croat pilots. On 20 October he returned to ZNDH, being posted to 22.ZJ, equipped with MS 406s and G.50s at Borongaj.
In December 1943, after visiting his family in Bjelovar (now in Croatia), Cvitan Galić flew back to Zagreb in a PVT trainer, but being ‘not very sober’, he fell asleep, only to wake up just in time to make a crash-landing in partisan-held territory. Having disposed of his flying gear, he was able to persuade his captors that he was also a partisan. He escaped after 48 hours and returned to his unit, but only his previous record saved him from harsh punishment. Galić became commanding officer of 23.ZJ (equipped with 12 MS 406s) on 14 March 1944.
Cvitan Galić was killed on 6 April 1944 during an attack on Zaluzani airfield by South African Air Force Spitfires, and posthumously promoted to captain two weeks later. In 439 sorties on the Eastern Front, Galić claimed a single DB-3, Pe-2, Spitfire and R-10, two MDR-6 flying boats, five Il-2s, four MiG-ls, four I-153s, five I-16s, five MiG-3s and nine LaGG-3s.
source: Croatian Aces of World War 2 – Osprey, Razvoj ZNDH za vrijeme drugog rata – LWD