Romanian Army in Hungary???

[Dou25]

I just joined the forum. And I really like the website lots of good info.

I collect old militay bolt action rifles. I use to have a Czech VZ-24 rifle. It was a Romanain contract gun used in WWII. I wish I still had that rifle.

In reguards to my question about Hungary. I just got a Mosin Nagant model M-44. It was made in 1953 and looks like it hase seen alot of use.
I was told and I have read that most of these M-44's where used in the Hungarian uprising of 1956. Now that I have this gun I noticed the bolt is a Romanian bolt. I know Romania made M-44's in the same years as Hungary 1953-1955. So I was wanting to know if the Romanian Army was in any way helping the Hungarians during the uprising?.

I'm also on the hunt for a Romanian M-44 rifle. I will add one to my collection soon.

Thanks for any informaton you can give me.

[Dénes]

QUOTE

I was wanting to know if the Romanian Army was in any way helping the Hungarians during the uprising?.

No. By the contrary, Bucharest volunteered to help the Soviets crushing the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, but the offer was not accepted by Moscow. There were several reconnaissance flights performed over Hungary, but that's about all.

Col. Dénes

[Dou25]

Thanks for the info Denes.
So the Hungarian Army was on the Soviets side.?
I'm new to this and I dont know much Hungarian history.
Thanks for the info.

[Dénes]

No, the Hungarian Army joined the Revolution of Oct. 1956 and was fighting, alongside civilians, against the Soviets.

It is said that parts of the capital, Budapest, were destroyed even more than during the bloody siege of Dec. 1944/Jan. 1945...

Col. Dénes

[Iamandi]

Wow. You know more details?



Iama

[Florin]

QUOTE

....... By the contrary, Bucharest volunteered to help the Soviets crushing the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, but the offer was not accepted by Moscow. There were several reconnaissance flights performed over Hungary, but that's about all. Col. Dénes

There was at least one reconnaissance flight performed by the other side: the revolutionary government of Hungary.
The Hungarian plane reached the sky above Bucharest, but the reaction in the chain of Romanian military information and control system was so sluggish, that at the moment when the Romanian anti-aircraft canons got the order to fire, the Hungarian plane was far away, back to Hungarian territory. So they fired against an empty sky, just to follow the order.

I learned about this while serving in the Radiolocation branch, in the Army.
The lesson was that while in the 50's the time from seeing the spot on the Radiolocation screen to the order to intercept was hours, in the mid 80's it was minutes. (This is about Romania only.) For a country as Romania even minutes it's too slow.
The Russians had in the 80's planes able to fly with 1 kilometer per second, so you can do the math yourself.

About the Romanian government... As in Hungary before and after the short revolution, it did not represented the people. And moreover, in Timisoara and other cities of Romania public protests were managed by Hungarian and Romanian students, united for that occasion. The arrests which followed literally wiped out whole branches of Universities.

[Florin]

QUOTE

..... It is said that parts of the capital, Budapest, were destroyed even more than during the bloody siege of Dec. 1944/Jan. 1945... Col. Dénes

QUOTE

Wow. You know more details?

When you walk in the center of Budapest, you can still see the shell scars on some buildings.

[Florin]

About the flight of the Hungarian plane which reached the sky above Bucharest... It was not for reconnaissance, as I wrote, but to throw political leaflets.
This was waste of fuel, I would say. Political leaflets are not efficient in short time, even in a democracy. Moreover, leaflets from a foreign country have much less chance to pass a mesage than leaflets issued inside. If you add to that the severe and tight dictatorship endured by the Romanians in that moment, and the severe control and frightening resulting from this, it was really waste of fuel.