Broken Wings: The Hungarian Air Force, 1918-45

349 Pages·2016·18.845 MB·English

by  Stephen L. Renner

BROKEN WINGS

BROKEN
WINGS
The Hungarian Air Force,
1918–1945
Stephen Renner
Indiana University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis
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Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
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© 2016 by Stephen Renner Sciences— Permanence of Paper for
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The views expressed in this book are t hose Z39.48-1992.
of the author and do not reflect the views
of the Department of Defense or any of its Manufactured in the United States of
components. Amer i ca
Cataloging information is available from
All rights reserved the Library of Congress.
No part of this book may be reproduced ISBN 978-0-253-02294-3 (cloth)
or utilized in any form or by any means, ISBN 978-0-253-02339-1 (ebook)
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tocopying and recording, or by any infor- 1 2 3 4 5 21 20 19 18 17 16
I will convince them of the tremendous importance of aviation to
our country’s reconstruction, and that without its development, a
broken- winged Hungary w ill fall b ehind the other p eoples of the
world.
— Colonel István Petróczy, 1921

Contents
Acknowl edgments ix
Note on Sources and Translation xi
List of Abbreviations xiii
1 Legacy: 1811–1918 1
2 Upheaval: 1918–1919 42
3 Evasion: 1920–1927 73
4 Theory: 1927–1937 106
5 Real ity: 1927–1937 143
6 In de pen dence: 1938–1940 190
7 War: 1941–1945 239
Conclusion 299
Bibliography 305
Index 319

Acknowl edgments
I must thank Professors Robert J. W. Evans and Sir Hew Strachan
for their guidance, perceptive insights, and encouragement.
For his assistance on matters of style and grace, and for excising
as many infelicities as pos si ble, I s hall always be grateful to my late
friend Mr. Rodney Allan.
I could not have completed this book without the assistance
of the archivists in Budapest: at the Defense Ministry Archives
and Library, Mr. Balázs Kiss and Ms. Judit Hegedűs; at the Na-
tional Archives, Ms. Ildikó Szerényi and Mr. Ádám Török; at the
Transportation Museum and Archives, Mr. Sándor Krizsán. I am
especially indebted to Professor Miklós M. Szabó (Lt. Gen., ret.),
author of the best works on the Hungarian Air Force. Professor
Szabó is a tireless correspondent and made time to meet me in
Budapest. That meeting was facilitated by János Isaszegi, PhD
(Maj. Gen., ret.), who also helped me with publications from
Zrinyi Press. Col o nel Greg Clawson and his wife Laura provided
amazing hospitality during my trips to Hungary. Professor Eric
Weaver of Debrecen University pointed me to critical sources and
provided invaluable editorial assistance throughout the proj ect.
I thank my extraordinary friends, Szabolcs Takács and Andrea
Szentendrei, whose calls and emails on my behalf are the least of
their contributions.
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