escort mission for a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch liaison aircraft. On 12 May, reinforcements arrived for 15./JG 52, in the form of some of the pilots that had served on the first tour of the Eastern Front in 1942, along with more former VVKJ pilots. Dukovac did not meet further success until 25 May, when he claimed two Supermarine Spitfire V fighters southeast of Temryuk. Two days later, he and two other pilots surprised eight LaGG-3s west of Trarehof, all of them claiming one, although Dukovac's claim was not witnessed. On 30 May, he was on another He 111 escort mission when he accounted for another LaGG-3. At this juncture, there was a spate of defections from 15./JG 52, with pilots flying to Soviet airfields. The remaining pilots were questioned by the Luftwaffe, the Staffel was withdrawn from the front, and the commander of the HZL was replaced. This was the end of the second tour of 15./JG 52 on the Eastern Front, during which Dukovac had claimed 14 confirmed and six unconfirmed kills, five of which were later confirmed. Third tour The Luftwaffe decided to replace most of the remaining pilots of 15./JG 52 with newly trained men, and several veterans of the Staffel joined them during their fighter training at Fürth. Twelve graduated on 1 October 1943, and under newly promoted Staffelkapitan Oberleutnant Dukovac, they and another two pilots arrived at Nikolayev on 21 October, where they were equipped with eight Bf 109G-4s and G-6s. They deployed to their airfield at Bagerovo and commenced combat missions on 26 October. Three days later, Dukovac scored the first victory of the tour by downing a LaGG-3 south of Kerch. Over the next two days, he claimed an Il-2 and another LaGG-3, then a Ju 87. 1 November was the most successful day for 15./JG 52 for the entire war, with pilots claiming eleven aircraft with no loss, including two Il-2s for Dukovac. He claimed another two Il-2s the next day, but his aircraft was badly damaged by the escorting fighters and he crash-landed near Mariental, escaping unhurt. He followed this up with a claim for a DB-3 on 6 November. On 15 November, the Staffel moved to Karankut, and four days later Dukovac downed yet another LaGG-3. At the end of November, the approach of winter reduced flying operations almost to a halt, but Dukovac downed two Il-2s on 6