Prior to the beginning of the Second World War, the Royal Hungarian Armed Forces - including the Air Force - prepared to engage the Little Entente forces; however, after a short skirmish prior to the war with the Slovaks, during the war, their opponents became the Soviet and American aviators. The Hungarian aces fought gallantly against such heavy odds and, after the war's end, the new Hungarian communist regime turned against them as well; this book is the unique story of the 38 Hungarian air aces of the Second World War. The overwhelming majority of the related materials have been lost or destroyed, so the author has demonstrated truly Herculean efforts during his 23-year-long extensive research to write this monumental work. The book is based mostly on previously unpublished primary sources from Hungarian, German, Russian and American Archives, and also on the preserved documents of the aces and their families. The text is not limited to the highly detailed biographies of the 38 Hungarian aces; it also covers some important and related aspects such as air victory confirmation systems, air combat tactics and obtained awards. Besides this, the book contains more than 350 rare images - many of them are previously unpublished - and a selection of superb colour profiles, which show camouflage and markings for the aircraft of the aces. AUTHOR: Csaba B. Stenge was born in 1975. He is a historian and his PhD describes the history of the Royal Hungarian Air Force in the Second World War. The focus of his research is aviation and military history - especially of the Hungarian Armed Forces and Air Force in the Second World War. He has spent the last two decades conducting intensive research - both in archives and with veterans and their families - looking for surviving wartime materials relating to the Royal Hungarian Air Force. He has written eight books and more than a hundred scholarly articles in the Hungarian, English, German and French languages. 335 b/w photos/ills, 14 colour photos, 50 tables
