Early military service Škorpik was born on 2 April 1919 in Brodarica near
Zadar. After completing his high school education, he enrolled in the Naval Academy from which he graduated in 1940, serving in the
Royal Navy ( – KM) with the rank of (
Corvette Lieutenant). When the
Axis invasion of Yugoslavia commenced on 6 April 1941, Škorpik was the second-in-command of the
motor torpedo boat Četnik based in
Šibenik. With Yugoslavia soon surrendering to the Axis, Škorpik took
Četnik to Divulje near
Split in order to avoid capture by the Italians and possibly to join the nascent
Navy of the Independent State of Croatia ( – RMNDH). Arriving in Divulje, he attempted to damage the boat before departing for
Split and eventually to
Zagreb where joined the armed forces of the newly-established Axis puppet state
Independent State of Croatia ( – NDH). His first and only posting with the NDH forces was that of a harbour officer in
Makarska, where he soon came in touch with local members of the
communist party, eventually becoming its member in late 1941. After months of secretly spreading propaganda material and passing information on Italian and NDH plans to the communists, Škorpik was ordered by the Party to abandon his post and make way to the
Biokovo mountain. On 1 December 1942, Škorpik, his father,
NCOs Stjepan Muhtić and Ratko Franković with the help of several partisans of the Biokovo Battalion "Vid Mihaljević", escaped Makarska taking with them dozens of rifles and ammunition. Škorpik left a proclamation calling on other naval personnel to follow their example, asserting the "truncated Croatian Navy existed only on paper" and how "... our fleet has been treacherously handed over to the enemy... using their guns to attack our villages and cities".
Yugoslav Partisans Ten days later, Škorpik made his way from Biokovo to the Fourth Operational Zone Headquarters () in
Glamoč, from where he continued to
Bosanski Petrovac arriving on 18 December. There, he was invited to the
Supreme Headquarters to brief the Party leadership on the actions carried out by Partisan forces on the sea and discuss future possibilities. Writing on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Yugoslav Navy in 1952,
Josip Broz Tito recounted meeting Škorpik: On same day of 18 December, The Supreme Headquarters issued the order for the creation of the Naval Section () adjunct to the Fourth Operational Zone Headquartersd with Škorpik in command. Škorpik assumed command in
Livno on 23 December with the task of gathering personnel and forming the First Naval Detachment (), while Muhtić and Franković were instructed to return to the coast and establish naval stations. The Naval Detachment was formed in Podgora on 23 January 1943 composed of around 150 partisans and a flotilla consisting of two armed boats. The Naval Section was disbanded in February when the Fourth Operational Zone Headquarters became the
9th Division Headquarters, while Škorpik assumed the command of the Naval Detachment. After several successful defensive actions along the
Makarska Riviera, the Detachment was reorganized in March 1943 as the Biokovo Partisan Detachment with Škorpik continuing his command. In mid-May, he assumed the role of the Chief of Staff of the Cetina Detachment, followed by the role of commander of the Group of Cetina Battalions in August. Following the
Italian surrender in September 1943, the Partisans took control of the
Dalmatian coast and islands previously occupied by Italian forces, prompting German forces to recapture Split, Šibenik and Zadar fearing a potential Allied amphibious landing. On 19 September 1943 the Coastal Command ( – OK) was formed in Split with Škorpik as its commanding officer. The OK consisted of an armed ships
flotilla, the 1st Island Brigade,
coastal artillery and a single
floatplane. It began operating in a situation where Partisan and German forces were engaged in heavy fighting for Split, while the unit itself lacked any serious supplies or equipment to fulfill the tasks set before it. The order to retreat from Split was given on 23 September and on 25 September, the OK relocated to
Bol on
Brač. With Split occupied by German Forces, the OK found itself without a line of communication with their superiors - the Fourth Operational Zone Headquarters - which was relocating to the
Livno Field. Following a meeting held on 29 September between the OK staff and members of the Provincial Committee of the Communist Party, the OK was dissolved and reformed as the Armed Ships Fleet Headquarters () under Škorpik, while the 1st Island Brigade and coastal artillery batteries became standalone units. Faced with an increasingly difficult situation due to a lack of medical supplies, food and materiel for their ships, it was decided that a delegation consisting of former OK members,
political commissar Sergije Makiedo and technical officer Adam Armanda, will take the steamboat
Bakar to Italy and make contact with Allied Forces. Despite being instructed before the retreat from Split not travel to Italy without the approval of the Supreme Headquarters, Škorpik nonetheless authorized the mission. Once the news of the first Partisan mission to Italy reached the Supreme Headquarters, the Fourth Operational Zone Headquarters summoned Škorpik to report on the event, which he did, despite reports from others involved explaining their actions not arriving yet. Until the situation was resolved, Škorpik was assigned the position of the Chief of Staff of the 3rd Dalmatian Brigade which would be his final posting. On 18 October 1943 the Navy of the People's Liberation Army ( – MNOVJ) was formed by the order of the Supreme Headquarters. Škorpik was initially expected to assume the role of the Chief of Staff but ultimately never did. There are some inconsistensies regarding the date of Škorpik's death: according to , Škorpik was killed by the Ustaše in early October, a fact unknown to the Supreme Headquarters when they issued their original order for the formation of the MNOVJ. According to others, he was killed by the Ustaše on 7 November near the
village of Zagorje. == Legacy ==