Merćep continued work with Edvard's brother Josip and produced three more aircraft in which they trained pilots and gave many performances across Austria-Hungary. Merćep's success was crowned in 1912 when he was declared the best pilot of the Empire. In the meantime Merćep became the member of the Sokol association in Zagreb (1909). After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914, Merćep was jailed as a declared Serb nationalist. After six months and many interventions of his friends he was out of prison only to find out that his hangar and workshop have been destroyed by the anti-Serb mob. This was the last of Merćep's pilot and constructionist career. After the Great War, Merćep initiated the founding of aero club in Zagreb in 1925 and was one of the founders of the Aero-Club of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in the same year. He died in Belgrade. References 1864 births 1937 deaths People from Dubrovnik Aviation pioneers Serbs of Croatia Serbian aviators Austro-Hungarian Serbs Austro-Hungarian emigrants to Serbia