Armed Services
In 1990 the YPA consisted of the ground forces, air force, and navy. They
were organized into four military regions including the Split Naval Region.
The regions were further divided into districts that were responsible for
administrative tasks such as draft registration, mobilization, and construction
and maintenance of military facilities. Of the YPA's 180,000 soldiers,
airmen, and sailors, more than 100,000 were conscripts.
Ground Forces
The ground forces, or army, led the armed services in personnel. In 1990
the army had 140,000 active-duty soldiers (including 90,000 conscripts)
and could mobilize nearly 450,000 trained reservists in wartime. The army
comprised several major service branches, including infantry, armor, artillery,
and air defense, and smaller support branches such as the signal, engineering,
and chemical defense corps.
The army was organized into three military regions and ten army corps
headquarters. The military regions and corps headquarters were responsible
for forces and operations in three strategic areas: Slovenia and northern
Croatia; eastern Croatia, Vojvodina, and Serbia; and Kosovo and Macedonia.
In 1990 the army had nearly completed a major overhaul of its basic force
structure. It eliminated its old divisional infantry organization and established
the brigade as the largest operational unit. The army converted ten of
twelve infantry divisions into twenty-nine tank, mechanized, and mountain
infantry brigades with integral artillery, air defense, and antitank regiments.
One airborne brigade was organized before 1990. The shift to brigade-level
organization provided greater operational flexibility, maneuverability,
and tactical initiative, and it reduced the possibility that large army
units would be destroyed in setpiece engagements with an aggressor. The
change created many senior field command positions that would develop relatively
young and talented officers. The brigade structure also was more appropriate
at a time of declining manpower.
Tank brigades comprised two or three battalions. They operated about
750 Soviet T-54 and T-55, 290 Yugoslav M-84, and some United States-made
M-47 tanks. The LCY held about 550 Soviet T-34 and United States-produced
M-4 tanks in storage as reserves. The army's tanks were in many respects
its most obsolete forces. The T-54/-55 was a frontline model during the
1960s. The M-47, T34 , and M-4 were tanks of World War II and the early
postwar era. Domestic production of the M-84 (basically a version of the
Soviet T-72 built under license in Yugoslavia) was slowly providing the
army with a late 1970s and 1980s model (see Arms Procurement below).
Link to Yugo Kit Page
Mechanized infantry brigades lacked sufficient mechanization. In 1990
fewer than 1,000 armored combat vehicles and personnel carriers served
almost 50,000 troops in frontline infantry units. Far fewer than one-half
of all brigades were substantially mechanized. The majority of mechanized
units were concentrated in eastern Croatia, Vojvodina, and Serbia along
what would be the main axis of a Warsaw Pact invasion of Yugoslavia.
The army had over 400 M-980 armored combat vehicles and 300 M-60P armored
personnel carriers produced domestically. The infantry also operated more
than 200 Soviet-made BTR-152, BTR40 , and BTR-50 armored personnel carriers,
which had been purchased in the 1960s and 1970s. It had 100 M-3A1 half-tracked
personnel carriers produced by the United States and a small number of
new Romanian TAB-72 armored personnel carriers. Armored reconnaissance
vehicles included a few older Soviet BTR-40s, newer BRDM-2 models, and
domestic BOV and M-8 vehicles.
Artillery regiments were well equipped with Soviet, United States, and
domestic systems. Soviet artillery in these units consisted of approximately
1,000 towed 122mm howitzers, 130mm guns, 152mm gun/howitzers, and 155mm
howitzers. There were about 700 older United States 105mm and 155mm towed
guns and domestically produced models such as the M-65 in the artillery
regiments. Towed pieces were very important for operations in the country's
mountainous terrain. Artillery units operated Soviet 100mm and 122mm and
Yugoslav-produced 105mm M-7 self-propelled guns. Those units had over 6,000
82mm and 120mm mortars, including a self-propelled 82mm mortar mounted
on an M-60PB variant of the standard armored personnel carrier.
Artillery units operated several battlefield missile systems including
160 128mm YMRL-32 and M-63 multiple-rocket launchers. The arsenal included
four launchers for Soviet FROG-7 surface-to- surface missiles. First fielded
in 1967, the unguided FROG-7 had a range of 100 kilometers.
Antitank regiments had towed antitank guns, recoilless rifles, and Soviet
antitank guided missiles. Antitank guns included 75-mm, 90-mm, and 100-mm
models. They were Sovietproduced with the exception of the 90mm M-63B2,
which was manufactured domestically. The recoilless rifles were manufactured
domestically and included 57mm, 82mm, and 105mm models. Two self-propelled
82mm recoilless rifles could be mounted on an M-60PB armored personnel
carrier. Antitank guided missiles were the Soviet AT-1 and AT-3. They were
used in both antitank and infantry units, but because of their early vintage,
effectiveness against advanced armor was uncertain. The fourwheeled BOV-1
armored reconnaissance vehicle could be equipped with six AT-3 launchers
to serve as a highly mobile antitank platform.
Larger army units had considerable tactical air defense assets, designed
to defend major troop concentrations against enemy air strikes. The ground
forces had four surface-to-air missile regiments and eleven antiaircraft
artillery regiments. The former operated Soviet SA-6 mobile medium-range
surface-to- air missiles as well as large numbers of shorter-range portable
SA-7 and vehicle-mounted SA-9 missiles. Short-range systems also were employed
in infantry units.
Yugoslav antiaircraft artillery regiments operated over 5,000 guns.
Self-propelled gun systems included the Soviet-made 57-mm dual ZSU-57-2
gun systems and the domestically produced triple 20mm BOV-3 and dual 30mm
BOV-30. Large numbers of towed antiaircraft guns of many calibers were
in the inventory. Of both domestic and foreign origin, they included pieces
purchased from the United States, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, and Sweden.
In general, the army's major deficiencies were its lack of adequate
firepower and mobility. Infantry units were insufficiently mechanized to
maneuver on a modern battlefield, and tank forces were largely outdated.
Using equipment from the Soviet Union, the United States, and other countries,
the ground forces had serious logistical problems, including irregular
ammunition supply and maintainance of many nonstandard weapons systems.
The army lacked sufficient fire support from the air force, although by
1990 the latter was acquiring additional ground attack aircraft and helicopters
to perform this mission. The army emphasized developing or obtaining more
effective vehicle-mounted and portable antitank guided missiles and antiaircraft
missiles. A shortage was evident in advanced target designation systems
including infrared sights and laser rangefinders.
Arms Procurement
In 1990 Yugoslavia remained dependent on the Soviet Union for most
heavy armaments and complex weapons systems, including tanks, armored vehicles,
antitank and antiaircraft missiles, and ships. Until the late 1980s, this
created a dangerous situation in which Yugoslavia's principal arms supplier
was also the country's greatest apparent external threat. Therefore, in
1990 Yugoslav arms procurement policy aimed to expand purchases from the
other Warsaw Pact states, the United States, and neutral European countries,
as well as to increase domestic production. Despite significant progress,
self-sufficiency in arms supply remained elusive for both economic and
technological reasons. Yugoslavia's domestic arms industry remained relatively
small, and in 1990 it faced declining export markets.
Ranks, Insignia, and Uniforms
Ranks in the YPA were updated by the Army Law of 1 October 1982. According
to that law, the YPA had five categories of ranks, including general officers,
senior officers, junior officers, NCOs, and soldiers. The soldier and NCO
ranks were private first class, corporal, junior sergeant, sergeant, sergeant
first class, senior sergeant, senior sergeant first class, warrant officer,
and warrant officer first class. Privates first class, corporals, and junior
sergeants wore one, two, and three red chevrons, respectively, on a background
of olive-green, blue-gray, or black--corresponding, respectively, to the
ground forces, air force, or navy. In the army and air force, sergeants,
sergeants first class, senior sergeants, and senior sergeants first class
wore single thin yellow-gold chevrons with one, two, three, and four yellow-gold
stars, respectively. Warrant officers and warrant officers first class
wore two yellow-gold chevrons with one and two gold stars respectively.
The corresponding navy ranks were seaman apprentice, seaman, and petty
officer third class, indicated by one, two, and three red chevrons, respectively.
Petty officers second class wore one red chevron and one red star. Petty
officers first class, chief petty officers, and master chief petty officers
wore two, three, and four yellow-gold chevrons and one yellow-gold star,
respectively. Warrant officers wore one broad and one narrow yellow-gold
chevron and one yellow-gold star. Warrant officers first class wore a second
narrow yellow-gold chevron.
Insignia for commissioned officers were worn on shoulder boards in colors
corresponding to their service branch: olivegreen for the ground forces,
blue-gray for the air force, and black for the navy. Shoulder boards were
piped with single and double yellow-gold braid, respectively, for junior
and senior officers of the army and air force. Shoulder boards of navy
officers were not piped. General officers of all three services wore shoulder
boards piped with twisted gold cord.
In the ground forces and air force, junior officer ranks were junior
lieutenant, lieutenant, captain, and captain first class. Their shoulder
boards had one, two, three, and four small yellowgold stars, respectively.
Senior officer ranks were major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel. Their
shoulder boards bore one, two, or three large yellow-gold stars respectively.
General officer ranks were major general, lieutenant colonel general, colonel
general, and army general. Army general officers wore a crossed sword and
cannon and air force general officers wore an eagle set on a wreath and
one, two, three, and four gold stars, respectively. Tito was the only person
to hold the rank of marshal, and the position was abolished shortly after
his death. The corresponding navy officer ranks were junior lieutenant,
corvette lieutenant, frigate lieutenant, battleship lieutenant, corvette
captain, frigate captain, and battleship captain. The rank of frigate captain,
which had no equivalent in most Western navies, fell between the ranks
equivalent to commander and captain. Junior and senior naval officers wore
shoulder boards with yellow-gold stripes and one yellow-gold star. In rank
sequence, their stripe configurations were one broad, one broad and one
narrow, two broad, two broad and one narrow, three broad, three broad and
one narrow, and four broad stripes.
Senior naval officer ranks were rear admiral, vice admiral, admiral,
and fleet admiral. Senior officers wore one broad band and one, two, three,
and four broad gold stripes, respectively, each with one gold star on the
shoulder boards. The shoulder boards of the naval dress uniform were like
those of the army and air force (except that they showed an anchor instead
of the crossed swords of the army or the cannon and eagle of the air force),
with one, two, three, and four gold stars (see fig. 18).
Soldiers and NCOs were issued uniforms. Soldiers had field and service
uniforms, while NCOs were authorized a dress uniform as well. Because they
held conscript or enlisted ranks, military school cadets wore soldier's
uniforms. Soldiers' winter and summer uniforms were made of light or heavy
wool and cotton in olive-green, blue-gray, and black for army, air force,
and navy, respectively. Navy conscripts and enlisted men also had summer
white uniforms. All soldiers wore neckties of the same colors except in
summer, when the uniform shirt was worn with an open collar.
There were several variations on the basic soldier's uniform. Women's
uniforms were of the same style as those for men, except that a skirt was
substituted for trousers. Airborne troops wore an olive-green beret instead
of the standard garrison or service cap. The naval infantry wore distinctive
blue and white sleeve patches and black berets with anchor and wreath emblems.
Mountain troops wore distinctive stiff field caps with semi-rigid visors
and earflaps. They wore loose winter shirts under which additional layers
could be worn. The shirt itself had a lining and a collar that could be
turned up to cover the neck and chin. The trousers worn by mountain troops
extended just below the knee, with a strap and buckle closure. Leather
leggings, heavy wool socks, and foul-weather capes also were worn by the
mountain troops.
Officers had to procure their own field, service, dress, and full dress
uniforms. They wore insignia on the lapels of the field uniform shirts.
The service uniform differed only in some details from the basic dress
uniform. The shirt buttons of the dress uniform were yellow-gold instead
of the service color. The trousers, jackets, and overcoats were piped along
the seams with distinctive service colors, red for army, blue for air force,
and black for navy. The dress cap visor showed the same piping as the officer's
shoulder boards. The general officer's dress cap had a chin strap of twisted
gold cord. Other officers wore plain plastic or leather chin straps. Full
dress uniforms were blue and were worn with a yellow-gold sash belt lined
with the appropriate service color. Cap emblems all included a red star
with yellowgold rays, given distinctive configurations according to branch.
Air force officers had the red star perched on the wings of an eagle with
a sword clenched in its talons. Airborne officers had the red star resting
on a silver parachute against a blue background. Cap emblems for general
officers showed the same gold wreath as the shoulder boards.
Link to Ironside's Yugo Kit Page
WWW Links to related Yugoslav sites
-
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia - ORBAT
-
Socialistic Federative Republic of Yugoslavia
(Socijalistička Federativna Republika Jugoslavija - SFRJ) Yugoslav
People's Army (Jugoslavenska Narodna Armija)
-
Croatian Armed Forces - ORBAT
-
Bosnia & Herzegovina - Gen
Info (Orbats Below)
-
Macedonian Armed Forces - ORBAT
-
Slovenian Armed Forces - ORBAT
-
Armour
in Kosovo
Note - Some of the above links originate from
within the Yugoslav Theatre of Operations. Therefore, the accuracy
of the info may be questionable.
Regards
Jake
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to SHQ
