Editing Macchi C.205 Veltro (section)

=== In Croatian Service ===
A small batch of C.205s were in service with the [[Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia]], ''Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske'' (ZNDH) in 1944, but the Croatian "Veltros" flew few sorties and were soon overwhelmed by the waves of Allied fighters that swarmed over Yugoslavian skies. On 30 June 1944, three recently arrived C.205s, flown by Eastern Front veterans (Major Josip Helebrant, Oberleutenant Ljudevit "Lujo" Bencetic<ref name="Savic and Ciglic pp. 77-78">Savic and Ciglic 2002, p. 77–78.</ref> and Feldwebel Bozidar "Bosko" Bartulovic<ref name="Savic and Ciglic p. 85">Savic and Ciglic 2002, p. 85.</ref>), along with three inexperienced pilots in C.202s, took off to intercept USAAF Fifteenth Air force bombers heading to bomb [[Blechhammer]], location of [[Nazi Germany]] chemical plants, prisoner of war (POW) camps, and [[forced labor]] camps. The Macchis attacked the USAAF bombers and their escorting fighters, 5th FS/52nd FG P-51 Mustangs over [[Bjelovar]], but five of the Italian-built aircraft were shot down both by the bomber's defensive fire and by the Mustangs. Only Bencetic – an ace with a final score of 15 kills<ref name="Savic and Ciglic pp. 77-78"/> and his "Veltro" succeeded in returning to base at [[Zagreb]].<ref name="Savic and Ciglic p. 66">Savic and Ciglic 2002, p. 66.</ref> Helebrant and Bartulovic bailed out and survived the war, with a final score of, respectively, 11 and eight kills.<ref name="Savic and Ciglic pp. 82-85">Savic and Ciglic 2002, pp. 82–85.</ref>