Lajos Tóth was born in 1922 in Újfehértó. After completing his secondary school studies in Pécs, he enrolled as a cadet at the air force division of the Ludovica Academy in 1940 where he was quickly recognised for his ability to fly. He graduated from the academy as valedictorian and was subsequently commissioned as a second lieutenant at a Hungarian air force base in Kassa where he was selected to become a fighter pilot in 1942.[1]
He shot down his first aircraft, a SovietLa-5, on 5 September 1943. Having been overwhelmed in a dogfight the following month, Tóth was shot down by a Soviet fighter on 3 October 1943 over enemy territory in Ukraine. Despite his wounds, he swam across the Dnieper River where he was wounded a second time by a Red Army machine gunner on patrol before reaching German lines five days later.
His record on the Eastern Front was 95 (possibly 93) sorties and nine kills.[2]
Puma Group
After recuperating from his wounds in Budapest, he was assigned to the 101st Home Air Defence Fighter Wing (101. Honi Légvédelmi Vadászrepülő Osztály) on 1 May 1944 as the commanding officer of the Radish (Ratek) Fighter Squadron where he successfully downed four American aircraft despite having been shot down an additional two times. As the Hungarian government came to approach a level of detente under the guidance of Miklós Horthy, Tóth's energy was again focused on combatting intrusions by the increasingly aggressive Soviet Air Force during Operation Panzerfaust.
In 1945 he accrued 13 kills and was promoted to first lieutenant. His final two victories of the war were the neutralisation of two Il-2 aircraft on 14 April 1945 while over Austria. He completed a total of 181 sorties during his time in service.[3]
Post-War Life and Death
After the conclusion of hostilities, Tóth surrendered to soldiers of the United States Army in West Germany where he was held as a respected prisoner of war. He immigrated to the United States in 1946 after it became apparent that Hungary would fall under the control of the Warsaw Pact. He subsequently returned to Hungary under a general amnesty in 1948 and was re-commissioned as a captain in the Hungarian People's Army. On 3 March 1951, the State Protection Authority arrested Tóth on false charges of conspiracy to foment an anti-communist uprising. He was sentenced to death on 11 June 1951. He was subsequently rehabilitated and posthumously promoted to lieutenant colonel after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990.
His remains were found in September 2002 in plot 298 of the New Public Cemetery in Rákoskeresztúr under another name. He was positively identified in 2003 by DNA testing. He was reburied nearby in plot 301 with full military honours.
References
Notes
^B. Stenge Csaba – Elfelejtett Hősök – A Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő ászai a II. világháborúban, Zrinyi Kiadó, 2016 p. 98.
^B. Stenge p. 105.">>B. Stenge Csaba – Elfelejtett Hősök – A Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő ászai a II. világháborúban, Zrinyi Kiadó, 2016 p. 105.
^B. Stenge p. 110.">>B. Stenge Csaba – Elfelejtett Hősök – A Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő ászai a II. világháborúban, Zrinyi Kiadó, 2016 p. 110.
Bibliography
Becze Csaba – Elfelejtett Hősök – A Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő ászai a II. világháborúban, Puedlo Kiadó, 2006, ISBN963-9673-06-4
B. Stenge Csaba – Elfelejtett Hősök – A Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő ászai a II. világháborúban, Zrinyi Kiadó, 2016, second, extended edition ISBN978-963-327-649-5
Pataki I./Rozsos L./Sárhidai Gy. – Légi Háború Magyarország Felett I., Zrínyi Kiadó, 1992, ISBN963-327-154-1
Pataki I./Rozsos L./Sárhidai Gy. – Légi Háború Magyarország Felett II., Zrínyi Kiadó, 1993, ISBN963-327-163-0
Punka György – Hungarian Aces of World War 2, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, England, 2002.
Punka György – A "Messzer" – Bf 109-ek a Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierőben, OMIKK, 1995, ISBN963-593-208-1
Punka Gy./Sárhidai Gy. – Magyar Sasok – A Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő 1920 – 1945, K.u.K. Kiadó, 2006, ISBN963-7437-51-7
Tobak Tibor – Pumák Földön-Égen, Lap és Könyvkiadó Kft., 1989, ISBN963-7403-35-3
