List of admirals of Croatia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Admirals from Croatia served in many naval forces on the eastern Adriatic seaboard. First admirals (Jakov de Cessamis Šubić and his son Matej, Rafael de Sorba etc.), were mentioned in 1350s as commanders of the royal fleet of Croatian-Hungarian king Louis I.[1][2] Officers from today's Croatia served in various navies in control of Croatia or its parts. For instance, Jusuf Mašković served as a grand admiral of Ottoman Navy in 1630s; Ivan of Vrana was a Venetian admiral in late 16th century, taking part in the Battle of Lepanto.[3] Croatian personnel served in the Venetian Navy until its demise in 1797 and, in modern times, in Habsburg/Austro-Hungarian Navy as Croatia was a constituent part of the monarchy (until 1918). First Croatian admirals distinguished themselves commanding Habsburg ships in First Italian War of Independence in 1848.
Croatian admirals helped lead Austro-Hungarian Navy through World War I and later oversaw the creation and development of Royal Yugoslav Navy in the interwar years (1918–1941). In World War II they found themselves on opposing sides, as some chose to collaborate and joined rather limited Navy of Independent State of Croatia (1941–45), while others founded guerilla Partisan Navy, which liberated the Croatian Adriatic and later developed into Yugoslav Navy (1942–91). Croatian admirals co-led Yugoslav Navy during the Cold War, overseeing its development of submarines and frigates, strengthening its capacities. After 1991, breaking off from Yugoslav Navy, Croatian admirals steered Croatian Navy through the Croatian War of Independence from Yugoslavia (1991–5) and worked on joining NATO (2004).
What follows is a list of naval officers from the territory of today's Republic of Croatia. For a list of admirals of the modern, post-1991 Croatian Navy, see List of Croatian Navy admirals.
In Yugoslav Navy, Branko Mamula was promoted to the rank of the Fleet Admiral in 1983. In Croatian Navy, rank of Fleet Admiral was introduced in 1995 as the naval equivalent to the five-star rank of the OF-10. Commending him on his role as the commander of Croatian Navy during the War of Independence (1991–5), president Tuđman conferred the rank on admiral Letica. Sveto Letica-Barba was the first and so far the only Croatian flag officer to hold this rank.
| Name | Born | Died | Date of rank | Navy | Crew/Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sveto Letica | 4 April 1926 | 6 November 2001 | March 1996 |  Yugoslav Navy  Croatian Navy | 1950 | Served in Yugoslav Navy 1942–86, retired as viceadmiral and retroactively promoted to the rank of admiral. Reactivated in 1991 |
| Branko Mamula | 30 May 1921 | 19 October 2021 | 22 December 1983 | Yugoslav Navy | 1958[4] | |
Admirals
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| Name | Born | Died | Date of rank | Navy | Crew/Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mate Jerković | 1905 | 1980 | 1956 | Yugoslav Navy | People's Hero of Yugoslavia | |
| Bogdan Pecotić | 1912 | 1998 | 1968 | Yugoslav Navy | People's Hero of Yugoslavia | |
| Ljubo Truta | 1915 | 1991 | 1969 | Yugoslav Navy | People's Hero of Yugoslavia | |
| Maximilian Njegovan | 31 October 1858 | 1 July 1930 | 23 February 1917 |  Austro-Hungarian Navy | 1877 | Commander of Austro-Hungarian Navy 1917–8 |
| Dragutin Prica | 1867 | 1960 | 6 September 1929 |  Royal Yugoslav Navy | 1885 | Served as a rear admiral in Austro-Hungarian Navy until 1918 |
| Viktor Wickerhauser | 1866 | 1940 | 30 April 1930 | Royal Yugoslav Navy | 1885 | Served as a rear admiral (1917) in Austro-Hungarian Navy until 1918[6] |
| Božidar Grubišić | 1932 | 2021[7] | 1988 | Yugoslav Navy Croatian Navy | Joined Croatian Navy in 1991, his earlier rank confirmed | |
| Ivo Purišić | 1920 | 1976 | 1974 | Yugoslav Navy | ||
| Petar Šimić | 1932 | 1990 | 1989 | Yugoslav Navy | ||
| Davor Domazet-Lošo | 1948 | 2000 | Croatian Navy | retired in 2000 | ||
| Vid Stipetić | 1937 | 2011 | 2002 | Croatian Navy | 1959 | retired in 2002[8] |
| Robert Hranj | 1962 | 11 March 2020[9] | Croatian Navy | 1985[10] | retired in June 2024[11] | |
| Tihomir Vilović | 1924 | 2008 | 5 July 1984 | Yugoslav Navy | Retired as viceadmiral in April 1984; in July retroactively promoted to the rank of an admiral | |
Vice Admirals
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| Name | Born | Died | Date of rank | Navy | Crew/Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zdravko Kardum | 1953 | 4 September 2023[12] | 2009 | Croatian Navy | retired in 2011 | |
| Ante Urlić | 1957 | 2013 | Croatian Navy | 1977 | retired in 2014 | |
| Davorin Kajić | 1957 | 2020 | 1995[13] | Croatian Navy | 1958 | retired in 2002 |
| Edgar Angeli | 1892 | 1945 | 1943 |  Navy of the Independent State of Croatia | ||
| Andrija Božanić | 1906 | 1989 | 1961 | Yugoslav Navy | People's Hero of Yugoslavia | |
| Josip Grubelić | 1918 | 2006 | 22 December 1971 | Yugoslav Navy | served as an NCO in Royal Yugoslav Navy | |
| Mladen Marušić | 1923 | 2009 | 22 December 1976 | Yugoslav Navy | ||
| Benko Matulić | 1914 | 1976 | 22 December 1968 | Yugoslav Navy | ||
| Milan Vraneš | 1922 | 22 December 1975 | Yugoslav Navy | |||
| Josip Žužul | 1923 | 1993 | 22 December 1974 | Yugoslav Navy | ||
| Ante Paić | 1923 | 2009 | 22 December 1977 | Yugoslav Navy | ||
| Momčilo Novaković | 1916 | 1988 | 22 December 1967 | Yugoslav Navy | People's Hero of Yugoslavia | |
| Nikola Aračić | 1915 | 1978 | 22 December 1966 | Yugoslav Navy | ||
| Pero Bogunović | 1924 | 2012 | 22 December 1978 | Yugoslav Navy | ||
| Veljko Dokmanović | 1926 | 1982 | 22 December 1978 | Yugoslav Navy | 1/ | |
| Nikola Steinfel | 1889 | 1945 | May 1944 | Navy of the Independent State of Croatia | 1909 | retired as SotL Captain of Royal yugoslav Navy in Feb 1940 |
| Marijan Polić | 1876 | 1958 | 6 September 1935 | Royal Yugoslav Navy | 1893 | Retired in April 1940 |
| Dušan Rakić | 1943 | 2020 | 1994 |  Yugoslav War Navy | 117/1965[14] | left Yugoslav navy (SFRY) in 1992 as captain (kbb) |
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