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 The
founder of “Ikarbus” is Dimitrije Konjovic, a pilot, naval officer
and a renowned Serbian industrialist. He was born in 1888 in
Stanisici near Sombor, in the family of teacher Pavle Konjovic. His
older brother was a famous Serbian composer Petar Konjovic and his
cousin was a prominent painter Milan Konjovic.
Having completed elementary and secondary education, he attended the
prestigious Military Academy in Pula. During the First World War he
was a marine officer in the Austro-Hungarian navy. Serbian and
French people are forever grateful to him for his valiant and heroic
acts.
Thanks to him, in the winter of 1916 the Gospel of Miroslav, one of
the major Serbian cultural heritage artifacts was preserved. Instead
of bombing Serbian troops loading the ships in the Adriatic port of
San Giovanni de Medua as ordered, he turned his plane and dropped
the bombs in the sea. It turned out that the ships were carrying a
special cargo with the Gospel of Miroslav, accompanied by the future
Serbian patriarch Gavrilo, which was thus saved.
 The
same year, Konjovic entered the history books as the first pilot who
destroyed a submarine from the air, a French submarine in the
Adriatic. When he saw that there were survivors after he dropped the
bombs, he came down in his hydro-plane and saved them. For this
heroic act, the French Government awarded him on 14 February 1968 a
special recognition for heroism, humanity and compassion in sea
battles. Even today at the official site of the French Navy there is
a picture depicting Konjovic saving the sailors.
As captain of the frigate in 1918 he greeted the victorious units of
the Army of the Kingdom of Serbia, handed them over the frigate and
all assets of the Austro-Hungarian army in Kumbor, Boka Kotorska.
Soon after joining the service of the Army of the Kingdom of the
Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, he joined the navy in Novi Sad and
remained in active service until 1923.
Having completed the service in the Army of the Kingdom of the
Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, he embarked upon a new enterprise – the
creation of “Ikarus” – the first Yugoslav and Balkan airplane
factory. He was the company director and one of the major
share-holders for almost 20 years.
As soon as German occupation forces came to Serbia, Dimitrije
Konjovic was arrested and thrown in the camp in Banjica. A Wehrmacht
officer, his former colleague from the college in Pula, who toured
the camp saw Dimitrije and asked him what he was doing there.
Konjovic replied: “Your people arrested me.” As a token of
friendship he was released and spent his war years on an estate near
Belgrade.
After the country was liberated, he started to re-build the factory.
He was a director although the new authorities appointed a new
manager. Along with other share-holders he was compelled to sell his
shares. He was later charged with alleged “business cooperation with
the occupier”, whereby his personal assets were confiscated as well
as his shares in “Ikarus”. In 1947 he moved to Beska with his family
and became a farmer. He returned to Belgrade in 1961 after he
retired and died there in 1982. He was married twice and had four
children.
Dimitrije Konjovic will be remembered as a visionary who made his
dreams come true, a great patriot, humanist and the company’s
director who personally as a pilot tested every plane manufactured
in his factory.
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