(Sir) László Háry (11 August 1890,

Gyömöre Gyömöre is a village in Győr-Moson-Sopron county, Hungary. It is around 20 km south of Győr. Notable residents * László Háry (1890-1953), major general, aviator and a Commander of the First Independent Hungarian Air Force * Chaim Sofe ...

– 13 February 1953,

Kistarcsa Kistarcsa () is a town in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. A site of the Kistarcsa concentration camp during the Holocaust. Later an internment camp of State Protection Authority for political prisoners during the 1950s. Histo ...

) was a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

, aviator and a Commander of the First Independent

Hungarian Air Force The Hungarian Air Force ( hu, Magyar Légierő), is the air force branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces. The task of the current Hungarian Air Force is primarily defensive purposes. The flying units of the air force are organised into a single ...

Life

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Háry started as a field pilot, flying behind enemy lines. By July 1918 he had conducted more than 80 air-fights. He was involved in a serious accident and received the Lipót medal. In 1922 Háry started to teach trainee pilots, together with Waldemár Kenese. Later, he became the leader of the Hungarian Aero Association. In 1938 he achieved the rank of Commander. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Háry flew to Italy with his family in a converted

Focke-Wulf Fw 58 The Focke-Wulf Fw 58 ''Weihe'' ( Harrier) was a German aircraft, built to fill a request by the ''Luftwaffe'' for a multi-role aircraft, to be used as an advanced trainer for pilots, gunners and radio operators. Design and development The Fw ...

c Wiehe aeroplane, which had been made available for the use of the then Regent,

Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya ( hu, Vitéz nagybányai Horthy Miklós; ; English: Nicholas Horthy; german: Nikolaus Horthy Ritter von Nagybánya; 18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957), was a Hungarian admiral and dictator who served as the Regent o ...

. In 1946 he was mentioned in dispatches by the Hungarian War Office, but he was not allowed to return to Italy, where his family were still living. He managed to get there one year later, but a year after that, in 1948, he returned to Hungary. In 1949 Háry was imprisoned with his brother after his second return. He was not allowed medicinal treatment, and died of heart failure on 13 February 1953.

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* * Hungarian aviators 1890s births 1953 deaths People from Kistarcsa People from Győr-Moson-Sopron County Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I {{hungary-bio-stub