What with all the concentration on camouflage and colors for the major powers, it is often that some of the other participants in WWII get overlooked. Such is the case for the Hungarian air force. Like Germany, Hungary was severely limited in what they could put in the air and a national air force was strictly forbidden. Unlike Germany, it took the nation quite a while to finally declare a national air arm and that was in 1938.

From there the air arm grew, both as a result of purchasing aircraft from overseas and by building up an indigenous aircraft industry. As is frequently the case, those airplanes bought from overseas sellers were not the top of the line for the most part. The seller nations had their own requirements to meet before being able to provide to others. Even when newer equipment entered service, it was not infrequent that the airframes would have some miles on them  and would need some refurbishment prior to use.

This volume continues from the excellent first one and covers the following types:  He-112, Avia B.534, PZL P.11a, Re-2000, Weiss-Manfred WM-23, a variety of Bf-109G versions, the locally built Me-210Ca, the Bf-110F/G and the FW-190A/F/G.

Some of the aircraft were available in very small numbers, sometime as few as a single example. The Hungarians built their own version of the Re.2000, some with Italian engines and some with locally built WM-14, 14 cylinder engines, giving the aircraft a rather interesting look. The Me-210 was also built locally, incorporating many Me-410 features, such as the lengthened fuselage. These aircraft performed as poorly as fighters as did their German counterparts. The 109G was also built locally with a portion of the production going to the Luftwaffe. These were primarily G-4, G-6 and G-14 variants. Those FW-190s used by the Hungarian Air Force were mostly late war fighter bomber version. In this case, the 190 units did not see all that much combat as they were only operational in the last months of the war. By that time, the Soviet Army was moving so quickly that bases were quickly over-run and the lack of fuel pretty much brought things to a slow crawl at best.

 Each section not only gives a rundown on the types service but also we are treated to a great selection of period photos, a few of them in color. This is further enhanced by a large number of full color profiles based on some of the photos that are in each section.

This is all followed up with several appendices that include a fascinating look at how the artist is able to provide an accurate color profile of various types, a procedure that is a lot more involved than I would have thought. This is then followed by a listing of aces. In actuality, this lists pretty much every Hungarian pilot that had a confirmed or even a claimed victory for which no additional eye witness was available. In this section are a number of photos of the planes that were shot down.  It is superbly researched, just like the rest of the book. Like the initial volume, it is an outstanding book that is well researched, provides us with a bevy of interesting photos and is just the perfect book for the modeler and enthusiast alike. These two volumes are sure to be the standard on the subject for quite some time to come. Highly recommended. 

April 2014