Hungarian Air Force 70^th Anniversary - Kecskemét, August 16 & 17

Words and photographs Michael van der Mee, video Jan Loedeman.
Additional photography Remco Donselaar.

August 16th and 17th saw the 70th celebration of the Hungarian Air Force. After the airshow in 2007 this was the second conclusive year in a row Touchdown Aviation was present at the Hungarian Base.

The show started with a fly-past in various formations of the Hungarian Air Force; Mi-8s and Mi-24s supporting the Hungarian Flag were followed by JAS39s, L-39s, An-26 and Yak-52s. International participants in the flying display were present from: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Romania, Turkey, United States and the United Kingdom.

With most of the 2008 shows having a handfull of fighters in the program, Kecskemét was a welcome exception, with Gripens, F-16s and Hornets to name but a few.

The Hungarian Air Force MiG 29 solo display supported a special paint scheme for the occasion showing a tone down version of the camouflage used in the 1940s. On top of the wings a large MÁVAG Héja fighter (a licence built Reggiane RE.2000). In a blue ribon on both sides of the fuselage various fighters and helicopters over 70 years of service are shown.

The Serbian Air Force's two solo displays; the N-62 Super Galeb and the J-22A Orao both had a new special paint scheme. The latter having a red tail with a Serbian cross and a spectacular white eagle on a further black fuselage. The Super Galeb supported an overall blue colour with the types 30^th anniversary titles in yellow on the tail.

The most spectacular display was without doubt the MOL Extra 300 flown by Zoltan Veres. With flying a low, very low pass making rolls over the taxitrack showing he has the Guinness Record of making 408 consecutive rolls. Somehow this pass was only done on the Saturday...

In 2009 Kecskemét opens its gates once more to celebrate 10 years of NATO membership and 60 years of Kecskemét air base. We are already looking forward to it!

The author wishes to thank the Hungarian Air Force for two fantastic days and their hospitality during the show. 

Video of the Hungarian Air Force 70th Anniversary Air Show

In its 70 years of existence the Air Force saw a lot of changes with probably the biggest being the NATO membership in 1999. This meant for as well as the personnel as the inventory major modernizations and the adapting of new standards and tactics.

Following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918, a small air arm was established operating surviving aircraft from Hungarian factories and training schools. This air arm became the Hungarian Red Air Force under the short lived Hungarian Soviet Republic, but was disbanded upon its downfall.

Under the Treaty of Trianon (1920), Hungary was forbidden from owning military aircraft. However, a secret air arm was gradually established under the cover of civilian flying clubs. During 1938, the existence of the air force (Légierö) was made known. The air arm was reorganized and expanded and on January 1st, 1939, it became independent of the army. It subsequently participated in clashes with the newly established Slovak Republic and in the border confrontation with Romania. In April 1941, operations were conducted in support of the German invasion of Yugoslavia and, on June 27, 1941, Hungary declared war on the Soviet Union. On March 1, 1942, the air force was returned to army control. In the summer of 1942 an air brigade was attached to the Luftwaffe's VIII Fliegerkorps on the Eastern Front. Beginning March 1944, Allied bomber raids began on Hungary and progressively increased in intensity. Late in 1944 all efforts were redirected towards countering the advancing Soviet Army, but to no avail. All fighting in Hungary ended on April 16, 1945.

A small air arm was organised along Soviet lines during 1947. Following the communist takeover, Russian military aid was stepped-up and a major expansion program initiated. When Soviet forces invaded in November 1956 to suppress the national uprising, sections of the Hungarian Air Force attacked Soviet forces and resisted Russian attempts to occupy their bases. The resistance was short-lived and the air force was demobilized soon after. A reconstituted air arm was reformed in the following year, but initially only as an internal security force. Gradually, the air force was expanded again, but it remained an integral part of the army and was essentially a defensive force.

During the 1990s all combat aircraft were fitted with new Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems to enable operations in western airspace. In April 2002, Hungary joined the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) pilot training program. And in 2006 the JAS39C/D Gripens entered service.