WesWorld

Novosti New Services – Smederevo – Tuesday, 18 July 1939

Chief of the Defence Staff General Dusan Simovic revealed today that in a surprise move the Royal Yugoslav Army had chosen to adopt the British-designed Ordnance QF 25-pounder Gun Howitzer as its standard field piece. General Simovic defended the choice of the weapon based upon its excellent characteristics and the availability of deliveries from Messrs Vickers-Armstrong – it is expected that initial deliveries will commence sometime in the autumn. He also announced that an agreement had been reached with Messrs. Vickers-Armstrong to manufacture the weapon under licence in Yugoslavia at the works of the Serbian Mining and Industrial Company here. When asked about the work previously announced regarding development of an indigenous divisional gun to modernize the Army’s artillery park, General Simovic replied that work on the divisional gun – first begun in November 1938 – would continue to be funded.


Novosti News Service – Belgrade – Monday, 7 August 1939

In a joint news conference today Minister of Industrial Development Zoran Simic and Minister of Transport Petar Kersovani announced the successful conclusion of negotiations surrounding two major industrial projects that will mark a new phase in the nation’s economic development. A consortium of European industrial firms, led by the Transall Corporation, will take a major stake in the long-languishing Zastava Truck Factory at Kragujevac. Reports suggest that Transall is willing to commit up to 15,000,000 francs in the project, which will see the production of heavy motor vehicles for both the civil and military market. But over-shadowing this substantial investment was the decision of the Austin Motor Company of Birmingham, England, to commit to establishing an assembly and manufacturing plant for its civil motorcars at Priboj. The decision of these major international industrial firms to invest in Yugoslavia represents the deep faith and level of support exhibited in the financial community for the policies of the Government and in the ability of Yugoslavia to move forward among the community of nations.


The Defence Ministry – Belgrade – Tuesday, 29 August 1939

Among the guest lecturers scheduled to speak at the winter term of the Command and General Staff College are two prominent officers of the Deutsches Heer – Generalmajor Erwin Rommel and Oberstleutnant Ernst Volckheim. Generalmajor Rommel, presently commanding an infantry division of the Heer , will speak of the role of infantry in modern, mobile warfare. His book, Infanterie greift an , is on the required reading list of students at the Command and General Staff College. Oberstleutnant Volckheim, an officer of the Panzer troops, will lecture on the development of tank warfare and the role of combined arms. He comes highly recommended by Generalleutnant Heinz Guderian, who regrettably, was unable to accept the invitation offered to him due to his duty commitments.


Novosti News Service – Bar – Monday, 18 September 1939

The British freighter Bencruachan off-loaded today the first batch of twenty-five Miles Master training aircraft to be delivered to the Royal Yugoslav Air Force.

Delivery Status Report, 30 September 1939

Deliveries this quarter under FY38 procurement contracts

Explosia – Cordite – 100 tonnes
Explosia – Trotyl – 100 tonnes
First Brno – Rifle Barrels – 5,000
First Brno – Rifle Receivers – 5,000

Deliveries this quarter under FY39 procurement contracts

Skoda 6LT 2-ton Truck – 69
Skoda 6ST 4-ton Truck – 38
Skoda VL2 2-ton Trailer – 18
Tatra 93 2-ton Truck – 69
Tatra 111 10-ton Truck – 19
Ford 91 1-ton Chassis – 360
General Motors CC-453 3-ton Truck - 400

FlaK33 88mm Heavy AA Gun (M39) – 15
Krauss Maffei Half Track Tractor – 15
Krauss Maffei Half Track Service Vehicle – 2

M34 75mm Mountain Howitzer (Skoda) - 2
M35 105mm Heavy Field Gun (Skoda) - 2
M37 150mm Heavy Field Howitzer (Skoda) - 2


Other Ground Force Equipment Deliveries

Panzer IVD – 34 (ex. Heer)


Aircraft Deliveries

Bayerische Flugzeugwerke Bf109A – 26 (ex. Luftwaffe) (Military)
Junkers Ju87B – 24 (ex. Luftwaffe) (Military)
Focke Wulf Fw190A - 25
Miles Master – 25 (Military)
Lockheed Model 18-08 Lodestar – 2 (Civil)


LT.38 Tank Production at the State Locomotive Works

Jul 1939 – 16
Aug 1939 – 16
Sep 1939 – 18

Bu.181 Bestmann Production at the State Aircraft Factory

Jul 1939 - 2
Aug 1939 - 4
Sep 1939 - 8