The author presents the unpublished archival document deposited in the Military Historical Archive Bratislava, the content of which is linked to one of the interesting chapters of the Slovak aviation history – operating assignment of the 13th Fighter Squadron on the Soviet-German frontline in 1941. In particular, the study deals with the proposal for extraordinary appointment of the air-force deputy sergeant officer Ladislav Hodra as the air lieutenant, which contain not only his performance on the frontline during the first combat assignment of the legendary fighter squadron but also other information confirming his high personal value as the member of Slovak air-force in the historical period in question.
In the introduction of the published material, the author states that the Slovak Air force, since its origin in March 1939 until its factual end in September 1944 when it lost all the aircrafts with combat value, had been fighting with the issue of morally obsolete aircraft fleet. The efforts of its representatives to modernize the Slovak Air Force fleet by purchasing the modern military aircrafts came across negative opinions of the German Air Force Command in almost all attempts. An exception in this effort to modernize the Slovak Air Force was the purchase of modern German twin-engine spotter planes, Focke Wulf Fw 189A-2. Based on the yet unpublished archival documents deposited in the Military Historical Archive Bratislava, the author introduces the topic of purchase and use of this Wehrmacht’s “Flying Eye” which were popular among pilots in the Slovak Air Force.
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