Hungarian Forces

Hungarian Me-109 Prepared for Takeoff

During 1942-1943, the Luftwaffe agreed to rearm the Hungarian fighter units on the Eastern front with Bf-109's, including G models. Under a Luftwaffe organizational umbrella, these units engaged mainly in fighter-bomber and strafing attacks, like in the Battle of Kursk. By late 1943, the RHAF began to equip fighter squadrons in the Home Air Defense with Bf 109s. The Hungarian MAVAG factory at Győr produced many of these planes under license. During 'The American Season', between May and August 1944, the so-called Puma fighter group had claimed 15 P-51s, 33 P-38s and 56 four-engine bombers. Hungarian losses were high too: 18 fighter pilots lost their lives. In March, 1945, eight Puma Me-109's attacked 26 Soviet aircraft south of Lake Balaton and shot down five without a single loss. The last 109 was burned by its crew in Austria at war's end.