Rudi Čajavec was a Yugoslav

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

 pilot (from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

), best known as the first airman of Partisan

Partisans (Yugoslavia)

The Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia...

 air force.

Rudi Čajavec was born in Zgošća, Kakanj

Kakanj

Kakanj , is an industrial town and a municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located north of Visoko and southeast of Zenica. It was built along the slopes of wide hills on either side of the Zgošća river...

 municipality, Bosnia to a family that originally came from Hrvatsko Zagorje

Hrvatsko Zagorje

Hrvatsko Zagorje is a region north of Zagreb, Croatia. It comprises the whole area north of Medvednica mountain up to Slovenia in the north and west, and up to the regions of Međimurje and Podravina in the north and east...

. Before the war he studied law at University of Belgrade

University of Belgrade

The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...

 where he participated in various left-wing groups and was arrested. He also finished school for reserve officers and was a trained pilot. After Axis

Axis Powers

The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...

 invasion of Yugoslavia

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...

 and establishment of 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...

 he came to Banja Luka where he joined resistance movement

Resistance movement

A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...

. As a reserve lieutenant he was drafted into the Croatian Air Force

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...

 of the NDH.

On May 21 1942 he flew his Breguet 19

Breguet 19

The Breguet 19 was a light bomber and reconnaissance plane, also used for long-distance flights, designed by the French Breguet company and produced from 1924.-Development:...

 biplane and defected with his gunner Mišo Jazbec to Partisans. He landed near Partisan-controlled Prijedor

Prijedor

Prijedor is a city and municipality in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the Bosanska Krajina region....

. The date would later be marked as the Day of Yugoslav Air Force.

Partisans immediately started to use their own plane. On July 2 1942 Čajavec made an air raid on Banja Luka, which included strafing the local airfield, dropping bombs on important city buildings as well as leaflets on city streets. The plane was damaged by anti-aircraft artillery, and Čajavec was forced to crashland on territory controlled by Chetniks

Chetniks

Chetniks, or the Chetnik movement , were Serbian nationalist and royalist paramilitary organizations from the first half of the 20th century. The Chetniks were formed as a Serbian resistance against the Ottoman Empire in 1904, and participated in the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II...

. After they have surrounded him, Čajavec committed suicide to avoid being captured.

After the war Čajavec received the title of People's Hero of Yugoslavia

People's Hero of Yugoslavia

The Order of the People's Hero was a Yugoslav gallantry medal, the second highest military award, and third overall Yugoslav decoration. It was awarded to individuals, military units, political and other organisations who distinguished themselves by extraordinary heroic deeds during war and in...

. A television set factory in Banja Luka was named after him.

Plot of 1979 film Partizanska eskadrila was partially inspired by his act.