A son of Regent Horthy of Hungary, Istvan Horthy was a mechanical engineer, pilot, and the country's vice-regent. Shown here, left front, with his unit of fellow fighter pilots,  on active duty at the Don front in 1942, flying Heja planes. He died at the front the same year.

Istvan Horthy and Fellow Hungarian Pilots

The Heja was Hungary's main fighter since 1940,  until replaced by more advanced Messershcmidts in 1943. Based on US plans, manufactured in Italy as Reggiane Re-2000, and modified by MAVAG in Hungary, a squadron of Heja I (later built by MAVAG alone as Heja II) served on the Don front during 1942. This is the model flown by Horthy JR., and it was known for being a difficult plane to control.

HEJA I (Hawk) fighter, Hungarian AF

In the aftermath of fierce Soviet-Hungarian/German urban fighting, punctuated by Allied air raids smashing the city, three survivors cherish the blessings of sunshine amid the ruins of the Hungarian capital in early 1945. The pensive young man is probably a veteran, having escaped the clutches of one or another army.