escorting a group of Ju 87s and Junkers Ju 88 medium bombers when they came across 25 Soviet fighters and flying boats over the Black Sea. Dukovac claimed another LaGG-3, but again no-one witnessed it. The following morning, Dukovac was on patrol with another pilot near Karbardinovka when they came across six Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 fighters. Dukovac claimed one, but the other pilot's aircraft was hit and they had to retire. Later that day, Dukovac and another pilot engaged several LaGG-3s between Novorossiysk and Gelendzhik; Dukovac claimed two, one of which was not witnessed. On 22 April, Dukovac was attacking shipping in Novorossiysk when he had to force-land his aircraft with engine problems. He flew another mission in a different aircraft later that day over the Black Sea, downing an Ilyushin DB-3 bomber. On 25 April, Dukovac and two others flew an escort mission for Henschel Hs 129 ground-attack aircraft and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters attacking shipping near Primorsko-Akhtarsk, during which the Croat pilots assisted in the sinking of two small vessels. On 27 April, Dukovac accounted for another LaGG-3 between Krymskaja and Abinskaja during a Heinkel He 111 escort. Dukovac claimed a victory over another LaGG-3 during a patrol three days later, but it was not seen by his wingman, as they had become separated during the fight. On 1 May, Dukovac sank a small vessel. The following day, he and three other Croat pilots were escorting a group of He 111s when two LaGG-3s tried to intercept the formation. Dukovac and another pilot both claimed to have downed one Soviet fighter each, but their destruction was not witnessed. On 3 May, a morning mission saw Dukovac claim one of four LaGG-3s encountered near Krimskaja. In the afternoon of 3 May, Dukovac and another pilot were escorting Hs 129s when they encountered a group of seven Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft and six fighters. During the engagement, Dukovac's aircraft was damaged and he force-landed, but not before claiming one of the Il-2s. The following morning, Dukovac and two others sortied on a He 111 escort mission, after which Dukovac again force-landed, this time near Varenikovskaya. On 5 May, Dukovac made three claims: two LaGG-3s in the morning, and another during a Ju 87 escort mission in the evening. The following evening, Dukovac shot down another LaGG-3 while escorting Ju 87s. On 8 May, he claimed yet another LaGG-3 during an