First Halyard mission evacuation

On this day 76 years ago, the first evacuation of the Halyard mission took place. A total of 225 US and 6 British airmen were evacuated, with an additional 31 Yugoslav, Russian, Italian, and French citizens.

It was a great success, carried out without an incident. First planes landed during the night, on runway visible at moonlight. Remaining planes came in the morning, with fighter cover.

We present the report of George Musulin, sent during the evacuation, we discovered during research in the US Air Force archives.

In it, Musulin explains how he was welcomed when he came back, how the airmen were gathered in Pranjani, what were the difficulties in their rescue, and measures that general Mihailovich took to organize his men to rescue the Airmen.

Photos: Chetniks pose in front of one C-47 planes that came during the daytime on August 10. Airmen enter the plane. Plow marks are visible on the ground, but they were not a problem for Dakota's big wheels, which were made for such rough landing fields.