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A white walking out dress uniform to an Air Force Captain |
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| This Captain is touring his home city of Budapest (skyline in the background). He is a veteran of the Hungarian air force from before the war as he wears the WWI Austro-Hungarian Pilots Badge in addition to his Hungarian embroidered pilots wings. |
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| Like many of the services of WWII, officers had choices for evening, tropical or dress wear. This Captain is wearing his summer dress whites, often seen in pictures at dinner parties, walking out, and summer events. |
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A good look at the torso with medal bars. The tie is official issue and is the same color as worn with the tan service dress. The three stripes on the eppaulettes denote the rank of captain. The only thing missing from this outfit is a brocade belt with the Hungarian Air Force buckle in bronze. |
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| The Hungarian Air Force wing. The badge features the Crown of Hungary with the St. Stephen's Cross at the top. The bird is not an eagle. It is a turul, a bird from Hungarian history that would fight to the death if captured. The wing is embroidered in gold for officers. |
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| The back of the badge showing the manufacturer's hallmark which reads "Ungar & Horvath, Bémmüvek, Budapest". As shown in the picture, the wreath was constructed of two parts and riveted together along with the eagle device. The hooks attach to embroidered loops on the uniform. |
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| The front of the 1921 Hungarian Pilot Badge. This is an extremely rare badge as prior to 1918, Hungarian pilots were issued Austrian badges as part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. In 1921, Hungary manufactured a few of its own badges with the Hungarian colors in the shield at the bottom. After WWI, the economy was in ruins, metal was in short supply and the air force was all but eliminated. |
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A beautiful set of ribbons including Hungarian and German awards.
Top Row, L-R:
Order of Merit, Knight Grade, with Swords and "War Ribbon"
Occupation of South Slovakia Medal
Occupation of North Transylvania Medal
Bottom Row, L-R:
Occupation of the Backa-Baranja Medal
German War Merit Cross with Swords
German Winter Campaign in Russia Medal
Romanian Commemorative Medal in the Crusade against Communism |
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A close-up photo showing the special devices applied to the ribbons.
The first device denotes the level of the order, in this case Knight class.
The second device of crossed swords on the War Merit cross denotes that the medal was awarded to soldier (although not combat related. The war merit cross was awarded for bravery not related to direct conflict).
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A close-up of the Occupation of North Transylvania Medal with device: The tural (bird), sword and shield with the Kossuth coat of arms. I do not know what this denotes although I would imagine it was for air force merit service in the campaign. |
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These Captains boards are unique to the white dress uniform as they are thinner and more elegant than those found on the standard service tunic. The piping and tress are gold for officers. Senior NCO boards would be in silver. |
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All images © 2000-2002 Tod Rathbone |
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