Drava Ship Sinking Commemorated
Tuesday, 12.4.2022 | Culture and traditions
Members of the Serbian Armed Forces have commemorated the anniversary of the monitor ship “Drava” sinking. It was sunk on this day in 1941 after a heroic battle against by far more powerful Nazi forces.
There was a commemoration ceremony in memory of the killed crew at the point of the ship’s sinking on the Danube near Čelarevo. To the sound of ships’ horns and guard’s honorary salute, the SAF delegation laid wreaths into the Danube from a River Flotilla ship. The wreaths were also laid by granddaughters of the late Drava Commander, Navy officer Lieutenant 1st Class Aleksandar Berić.
The Serbian Armed Forces delegation also laid a wreath at the memorial to Aleksandar Berić at a local cemetery in Belegiš, 90km downstream from the sinking point, which is the resting place of this April war hero.
The river monitor “Drava“ had a heroic crew inflicting significant losses on enemy forces, until the final conflict on 12 April 1941, at dawn, when it sank on the Danube's 1287th navigable km, following an unfair battle against German airplanes and deaths of most of his crews.
