Military Parachute History of Hungary

The author shall summarize the history of Hungarian military parachuting and share it with those interested in the topic. The article begins with the Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops of the Austro-Hungarian Empire parachute activities followed by the history of the participation in World War II and during the Warsaw Pact era until recent years. In Hungary, so far, only a few books have been published covering the history and activities of parachute and special forces units.


Introduction
During the first years of the 1914-1918 war, the parachute was largely unknown among the Hungarian and Austrian military aviation troops. The use of parachutes started in 1917 within the units of captive (observation) balloons; at the end of the war it was increasingly used by combat pilots and crew members.
Until the end of the war, all in all, 177 jumps occurred, nearly all of them out of a captive balloon, only 8 jumps were counted out of airplanes. 54 jumps out of captive balloons were because of aviation attacks, 115 were made for training reasons. From planes 6 jumps were counted; all caused by aviation attacks, 2 due to plane crashes. 162 jumps out of the balloons happened without any complications, in 5 landings some persons were slightly, and 2 of them were fatally, injured. 2 jumps out of airplanes happened without any complication, in one of them a person was slightly injured and four fatally.

The Beginning
Lieutenant Theodor Spalek, equipped with a "Brunner" parachute made most of the drops all with smooth landings. He parachuted down from an altitude of between 300 and 700 meters twelve times. Lieutenant Leopold Gorke parachuted down from an altitude of between 90 and 400 meters six times, all jumps with smooth landings. [1: 276] On 30 th November, 1917 Lieutenant Alfred Bibicas, a member of the 13 th Balloon Company, was killed while dropping out of his burning captive balloon because his parachute was damaged by the burning parts of the balloon.
On 23 rd March, 1918 Lieutenant Antal Boksay, a member of the 24 th Reconnaissance Aviation Company, tested the German Heinecke I. parachute by jumping from 2000 m. [2: 32] Establishment of Parachute Units On

Changes after the Cold War
Since 1989, when the political changes took place in Hungary, the armed forces have been undergoing constant reduction. In

The 2 nd Special Forces Regiment (2016-)
The 1,200-strong 2 nd Special Forces Regiment was established in 1 st January, 2016.
The soldiers applying to join the unit must first undergo a very rigorous assessment and selection process. The future members of the regiment all want to be among the best, but due to the very heavy physical and mental strain, only 10-15 percent of the applicants are able to meet the requirements.
The Special Forces Regiment can be deployed "by land, by water, under water and by air", both in Hungary and abroad. The Hungarian Special Forces enjoy international recognition, and, for example, they have led the special forces group of seven countries in Afghanistan for six months. [7]

Missions
The scope of the battalion's duties is defined by the Ministry of Defence in 229-50/2015.

Structure and organization
The regiment was made up of combat, combat support and combat service support sub-units. Two combat battalions fulfil the regiment's main tasks. [8] The 34  The battalion was named after Count László Bercsényi in 1990. The unit took part in securing the Southern borders during the Balkan War. [9] Since

Missions
The scope of the battalion's duties is defined by the Ministry of Defence in 158/2005 deed of foundation: • solutions to unexpected events with the use of military force; • execution of special operation missions under national and NATO command; • combating terrorism (military aspect); • contribution to peacekeeping operations; • participation in peacetime or combat search and rescue operations; • crisis management.

Structure and Organization
The battalion was made of combat, combat support and combat service support sub-units. Two combat companies fulfil the battalion's main tasks. In connection with the special organization within the unit, they are able to carry out special operation missions with small units (12 men group) up to platoon level.

Objective
To deploy in the European Union and NATO peacekeeping missions, in accordance with the national interest of Hungary.

Missions
The battalion was an armed tactical unit with armed and professional subunits in its organization. Its technical equipment was modified for air transportation and the soldiers are trained and prepared for implementing extraordinary tasks. Within the range of battalion's tasks, are wartime missions as well as other military operations.

Missions in wartime:
• crisis management; • special operations; • special infantry tasks; • airborne and air assault operation; • combat search and rescue.

Structure and Organization
The structure of the battalion consisted of combat, combat support and combat service support subunits.
Within the combat support subunits there were: • combat support company (recce platoon, airborne, engineers platoon, mortar platoon, anti-tank platoon); • a headquarters (HQ) company. The battalion also had a logistic company and a medical centre.
The combat subunits consisted of three air assault companies. During the foundation of the structure, the principal intent of the military superior was to establish a light infantry unit, which can be deployed anytime, anywhere, under any circumstances. Its mission implementation is characterized by considerable independence. [6: 129-130]

History
The 24 th Gergely Bornemissza Reconnaissance Battalion was one of the units in the Hungarian Defence Forces that conducted parachute training. It was established in Esztergomtábor in 1949. After being reorganized a lot, it was located at the István Dobó Barracks (Eger). The primary mission of the unit was to train reconnaissance soldiers able and capable of providing intelligence data at operational level. In 1962, a Long-Range Reconnaissance Platoon was established within the unit with the intention of extending the recce capabilities of the battalion. One year later this platoon was reorganized into a company composed of 6 LR teams which adopted parachutes as a way of deploying troops behind enemy lines. In 1963, the Long-Range Company started its training with volunteers selected from the enlisted. The training jumps have been conducted in different parts of the country, e.g. Balatonkiliti, Pér, Szombathely, Kaposújlak, Szolnok, Mezőkövesd, Verpelét, Kaposvár and Kecskemét. The aircrafts and helicopters that have been used by the battalion were: LI-2, IL-14, AN-2, AN-26, MI-2, MI-8, MI-17 and KA-26. [10: 140-161] During the compulsory military service , approximately 1,600 para-soldiers were trained by the 24 th Recce Battalion. In 2004, compulsory military service ended and therefore that year there was a milestone as regards parachute training as well. The new professional soldiers (mostly recruited from former enlisted and trained ones) meet the increased requirements; more than 80% of them have already completed the free fall course. From 1962 through to 2008, the soldiers of the unit conducted approximately 50,000 jumps. [10: 183] In 2007, the battalion was deployed to the city of Debrecen and became a subordinate battalion of the 5 th István Bocskai Infantry Brigade and was renamed to 5/24 th Gergely Bornemissza Reconnaissance Battalion.

Missions
As a part of the Hungarian Defence Forces (HDF) Land Forces, the Battalion had to prepare the personnel for war operations, to ensure the readiness of combat and transport vehicles, as well as of the weaponry and technical equipment, to store and maintain material supplies, to prepare for mobilization in higher readiness state, to be capable of increasing unit size in a swift and organized fashion during mobilization, and to execute any warfare missions given to the organization. • Base/facility support section. [11] Since the establishment of the 2 nd Special Forces Regiment, all the special training conducted by them and PSTC previously, are not provided any more.

th Szolnok Helicopter Base
The helicopter unit is based at an airfield with a considerable history in aviation, situated near the city of Szolnok and east of the Tisza river. Since the beginning of the 1940's the airfield has been used by military aircraft. The

Organizational Mission
Protecting the airspace, territory and troops of Hungary and its NATO allies, and securing its integrity in cooperation with the units and subunits of NATO and the Hungarian Air Force.

Main Tasks
• Continuous readiness in order to counter the activities of any aircraft that violates the airspace or the aviation regulations, as well as rescuing the crew of any troubled aircraft. • Protecting Hungary and the member states of NATO and their troops against enemy air strikes. • Visual air reconnaissance. • Air support.

Immediate Reaction Forces
The purposes of this organization are: • enforcing regulations on aircraft that violate the airspace or breaches the aviation regulations; • provide air support to Hungarian and NATO Land Forces; • carry out air reconnaissance; • air transportation military personnel and units; • rescuing the crew of any troubled aircraft by a platoon of parachutists. [14: 16] In 2001, the Swedish and Hungarian governments entered into a lease-purchase agreement, with a further modification in 2003, which included 14 Gripen C/D (12 single-seat plus two twin-seat) aircraft. All Gripens were delivered in 2006 and 2007, and, by the end of 2008, the 14 aircraft were in operational service in the Hungarian Air Force.

Mission
To host the NATO Strategic Airlift Command (SAC) and the Heavy Air Transport Regiment equipped with C-17 aircrafts.
To provide Rescue Service for the Hungarian Armed Forces with a parachute platoon.

Conclusions
Since the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact in 1990, Hungary is constantly trying to modernise and downsize its armed forces. Having inherited a legacy of a heavy, slow-moving Warsaw Pact force, it is trying to modify it into a more versatile and modernised NATO force. The Hungarian military has been downsized from 130,000 in 1989, to approximately 24,000 in 2008. Furthermore, the Hungarian armed forces undergo a structural adaptation, which includes the formation of an army composed solely of volunteers, the establishment of mission orientated organisations, and, finally, the construction of a new service culture.
The main tasks now of the restructured parachute and special forces units are to participate in NATO and EU missions.