The life and legacy of Dezső Szentgyörgyi – Hungary’s top fighter ace
Exactly 80 years ago, on 25 March 1945, the Hungarian Gold Medal for Bravery for Officers was awarded to vitéz Dezső Szentgyörgyi, who remains Hungary’s most successful fighter pilot.
Early years, inspiration and training
Szentgyörgyi was born on 6 January 1915 in Kőkút and developed a passion for aviation from a young age. He consciously pursued a career in flying from childhood, particularly inspired by Charles Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight in 1927. After completing eight years of primary and secondary education, he trained as a mechanic. In 1933, he volunteered at the Börgönd airfield near Székesfehérvár, where he was assigned to a flight testing unit as a junior assistant in the air force. He graduated from fighter pilot school in 1938 with honours, and due to his exceptional intelligence and aptitude, he quickly rose to become one of the Hungarian Air Force’s top pilots.
World War II: Hungary’s highest-scoring fighter pilot
By 1939, holding the rank of sergeant, he joined the 1st Fighter Squadron in Szolnok. He was deployed to the Eastern Front with his unit in the summer of 1942, flying Re.2000 Falco and Bf 109 aircraft as part of the 1/1 “Dongó” squadron. He achieved his first aerial victory on 26 June 1943, against a Soviet Yak–1 near Belgorod, Russia. By the time he returned home in September of that year, he had downed three more enemy fighters and destroyed one ground-attack aircraft and one bomber in the vicinity of Kharkiv.
After completing officer training, Dezső Szentgyörgyi resumed service in May 1944 with the 101st Homeland Fighter Squadron, which later became a regiment.
Dezső Szentgyörgyi’s impressive record is partly due to the fact that he never crashed, nor was his aircraft ever shot down during the war. In addition to his exceptional piloting skills and tactical acumen, Soviet pilots recognised and respected him as a formidable adversary. Over the course of the war, Dezső Szentgyörgyi flew more than 220 missions and achieved 29 confirmed aerial victories, making him the most successful Hungarian fighter pilot of all time.
During the U.S. Air Force bombing raids on Hungary up to late August, he shot down four B–24 heavy bombers and two escort fighters. He went on to achieve 17 more aerial victories against Soviet forces supporting the Red Army, downing his final aircraft on 16 April 1945 over German territory. By that date, Dezső Szentgyörgyi had been awarded the Gold Medal for Bravery, according to Telex.
Tragic end as a civilian pilot
After the war, Szentgyörgyi was taken as a prisoner of war but began working as a commercial pilot in 1946 with MASZOVLET. He was later arrested during political purges in the 1950s but released in 1956. He continued flying with MALÉV, accumulating over five million flight kilometres.
Szentgyörgyi’s life came to a tragic end on 28 August 1971. That day, Malév Flight MA-731, a Soviet-built Ilyushin Il-18V (registration: HA-MOC), crashed into the Baltic Sea near Copenhagen’s Kastrup Airport while approaching from Oslo. Szentgyörgyi, who had logged over 7,000 hours on the Il-18, was the flight’s captain. The crash was likely caused by a rare and dangerous weather phenomenon known as a microburst—a sudden and intense downdraft.
Although the landing gear was deployed and the pilots applied maximum thrust, there was not enough time or altitude to recover. Most of the crew and passengers perished; only two passengers survived. Szentgyörgyi’s body was recovered from the sea, and investigations confirmed drowning as the cause of death. Danish, Hungarian, and Soviet experts participated in the investigation, which concluded in 1974.
The disaster ranks among Hungary’s worst aviation tragedies and deeply shook the nation. Particularly heartbreaking is the fact that he died just three weeks before his planned retirement. He is buried in Farkasréti Cemetery in Budapest. After 1989, memorial plaques were erected in his honour in Enying and Budapest, and a public square in Enying was named after him.
Perhaps most significantly, the vitéz Dezső Szentgyörgyi 101st Air Wing of the Hungarian Defence Forces bears his name. Its personnel regularly honour his memory, and his legacy continues to inspire future generations of Hungarian pilots. His passion for aviation lives on through his family as well: his son, vitéz Dezső Szentgyörgyi, also flew for Malév, and his grandson, Captain Dezső Szentgyörgyi, served in the airlift squadron at the Kecskemét Air Base, reports FEOL.
To read or share this article in Hungarian, click here: Helló Magyar
Read also: