Hungarian Forces

Fighter Ace Szentgyörgyi (von SaintGeorge) Hungary

MTI

Dezső Szentgyörgyi (D. von SaintGeorge) was 18 years old when he volunteered for the Royal Hungarian Air Force, finished aviation school in Szekesfehervar with excellent ratings, and then was trained as a fighter pilot. His first victory over an enemy plane, a Soviet Yak fighter, took place in June 1943, followed by 142 sorties and 6 kills on the Eastern Front, flying a Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighter plane. The 101st "Puma" Fighter Group was formed in May 1944 in Western Hungary, Szentgyörgyi was transferred there, and soon 6 Allied bombers fell to his guns. By the summer of 1944, he was a flight leader and was promoted to Ensign in November 1944. He scored an additional 17 kills, the last on 16 April 1945, mainly against Soviet fighter planes. Never shot shot down, by the end of the war he had made more than 220 sorties, and had 29 confirmed kills, becoming the most successful Hungarian fighter pilot of WW2. After the war, he was jailed for six years by the Communist regime, from 1956 flew as a commercial pilot, and today, in free Hungary, an air force base is named in honor of his service to his country.