That Time a Communist Country was Given a Ton of American-made Fighter Jets

Now it might sound odd, but in the 1950s and 60s, communist Yugoslavia was actually more friendly with the West than it was with Moscow.

You see, Yugoslavia’s dictator Tito Broz had a falling out with then Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Basically, Stalin wanted Yugoslavia to be under Moscow’s influence and Tito was not having it. As a result, Yugoslavia made an effort to reach out and normalize relations with Western powers such as the U.K. and U.S. This was part of Tito’s policy of having friendly relations with both East and West, without getting involved with the politics.

Yugoslavia’s Air Force Upgrade

So when Yugoslavia needed to upgrade their Air Force for what they thought could be a possible Soviet invasion, the West began to deliver combat aircraft to the Yugoslav Air Force.

Initially, they received World War II-era fighters like the P-47 Thunderbolt and even Mosquito Fighter Bombers. But at the start of the 1960s, “Retired” F-86 Sabers and F-100 Super Sabers had entered service as well.

Transition to Soviet Jets

Eventually, relations between Tito and Moscow improved and Yugoslavia began to replace their American jets with more advanced Soviet models.

But the Sabers did give the Yugoslav Air Force their first real taste of operating supersonic aircraft, giving them some much-needed experience for when Soviet-made MiGs began to join their ranks.

~NC