Description
100 years of the national aviation industry
Industrial heritage is an important part of cultural heritage and refers to tangible and intangible heritage created in the period from the beginning of industrialization to the present day. Industrialization as the bearer of modernization at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century in these areas marks the entry into the modern age, and therefore its legacy today represents an important part of the national identity.
In 2023, the Republic of Serbia is celebrating a significant jubilee that few countries can boast of – the century of the national aviation industry. From 1923 until the beginning of the Second World War, over 1,500 aircraft were produced in six aircraft factories and twenty aircraft component factories, which accounted for more than half of the aircraft in operational use in the Yugoslav kingdom.
The aviation industry was a significant factor in the development of a predominantly agrarian country and opened the way for the conquest of new technologies and their practical application. A special curiosity is the fact that airplanes were first produced in our country, and only then motor vehicles.
Highly educated professionals from the interwar period formed the basis for the continued development of the aviation industry after the war. In the changed social and political circumstances, airplanes, helicopters and supporting equipment were produced that formed the backbone of the Air Force, sports and commercial aviation, and there were no significant results on the international market.
Carried by a long tradition, aviation companies in Serbia preserve the continuity of aircraft production in this area and achieve significant results on the domestic and world markets.
Expert collaboration: Aeronautical Museum, Belgrade
170 years of the Zastava Arms
Industrial heritage is an important part of cultural heritage and refers to tangible and intangible heritage created in the period from the beginning of industrialization to the present day. Industrialization as the bearer of modernization at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century in these areas marks the entry into the modern age, and therefore its legacy today represents an important part of the national identity.
In 2023, Serbia is celebrating a significant anniversary – 170 years of the existence of the arms industry, i.e. the existence of the Zastava Arms factory, which is its originator and historical bearer. On 27 October, 1853, the first Serbian cannons were cast in Kragujevac. Since then, the Serbian arms industry, specifically through the plants in Kragujevac, has been growing, developing and introducing numerous innovations: the first steam engines were used in Topolivnica (1851), the Military-Crafts School was established – the forerunner of dual education (1854); the first quality control was introduced (1856); the first industrial electric lighting was introduced (1884).
At the World Economic Exhibition in Paris (1889), the weapons factory from Kragujevac was awarded with several medals. The Mauser-Milovanović rifle, Kokinka, created in 1880, in its modified version M1880/1907, was declared the best rifle in the world in 1907. The modernå rifle and ammunition factory was officially put into operation on 27 October, 1928.
After the Second World War, the turning point in the development of the factory is the development of the family of automatic weapons M70 Kalashnikov system. Today, Zastava Arms produces state-of-the-art weapon systems and 95% is export-oriented.
The M19 modular automatic rifle and the M20 modular automatic rifle, in 7.62x39 mm and 6.5x39 mm Grendel calibers, were included in the armament of the Serbian Armed Forces in August 2020 and represent the future in the development of the Serbian arms industry.
Expert collaboration: Zastava Arms Marketing
Artistic realization of the issue: MA Nadežda Skočajić, Academic Graphic Artist
