Franjo Džal was a colonel in the Independent State of Croatia

Independent State of Croatia

The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...

's air force.

He finished elementary school and gymnasium in Bihać and graduated from the military academy in Belgrade

Belgrade

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

 in 1924. In the Yugoslav Royal Army he finished training as a fighter pilot. During the April War he was serving as a major in Niš

Niš

Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...

. He soon joined the Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia

Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia

The Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia, the Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske was the national air force of the Independent State of Croatia during World War II, founded under German authority in April 1941...

 and was assigned to the Croatian Air Force Legion

Croatian Air Force Legion

The Croatian Air Force Legion , or HZL, also known as the Croatian Legion, was a military unit of the Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia which fought alongside the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1943 and then back on Croatian soil...

.

Džal was a member of the 4th Legionnaire Fighter Wing of the Legion. The Legion was sent to the Eastern Front

Eastern Front (World War II)

The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...

 in September 1941. In February 1942 he became commander of the wing and it soon became known as Džal's Fighter Wing.. On 28. 07. he was shot down by Alexander Pokryshkin but bailed out and survived. By December, the wing returned to the Independent State of Croatia for vacation. The unit returned to the Eastern Front in February of 1943.

Altogether, Džal scored 16 victories in 157 missions. He was later returned to the Independent State of Croatia from flight service and held posts within the command of the air force. With the defeat of the state in 1945 he travelled to the Austrian border to surrender to the Allies

Bleiburg massacre

The Bleiburg massacre, which also encompasses Operation Keelhaul is a term encompassing events that took place during mid-May 1945 near the Carinthian town of Bleiburg, itself some four kilometres from the Austrian-Slovenian border....

. He was soon arrested by the Communist Yugoslavian government and was sentenced to death.