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The Hungarian River Flotilla (Magyar: Folyamőrség Flottilla) is a tactical brigade-level brown water naval branch of the Hungarian Armed Forces headquartered in Ujpest, Budapest. Subordinate to the "Honvéd" Explosive Ordnance Disposal & Warship Regiment since 2001, the River Flotilla is tasked with range of missions within the territorial boundaries of the Republic of Hungary, including: environmental policing, counter-terrorism, and border security along Hungary's waterways.[1]

Naval forces

Patrol Boat Regiment (Budapest) two mine countermeasures vessels

• EOD patrol craft Ercsi
• EOD patrol craft Baja

River Security Regiment

• vessels “Óbuda”,
• vessels “Dunaújváros”,
• vessels “Dunaföldvár”
• vessels “Tass”.

Danube Flotilla of the Imperial and Royal Navy Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet Duna Flottillájának (1871–1918)
Active	1871 – 30 Oct 1918
Disbanded	1918
Country	Hungarian Kingdom
Type	Brown-water navy
Size	c. 1700 personnel
Garrison/HQ	Budapest
Engagements	World War I Invasion of Serbia
Insignia
Naval Ensign (1871-1915)
Naval Ensign (1915–1918)

Danube Guard Duna Őrség (1919)
Active	21 March 1919 – 1 August 1919
Country	Hungarian Soviet Republic
Type	Brown-water navy
Size	c. 1700 personnel
Garrison/HQ	Budapest
Engagements	Hungarian–Czechoslovak War Hungarian–Romanian War
Insignia
Naval Ensign (1919)

Warship Group Hadihajós Csapat (1919–1921) Royal Hungarian River Guard Magyar Királyi Folyamőrség (1921–1939) Royal Hungarian Army River Forces Magyar Királyi Honvéd Folyami Erők (1939–1945)
Active	1 March 1921 – 8 May 1945
Country	Hungarian Kingdom
Type	Brown-water navy
Size	c. 1700 personnel
Garrison/HQ	Budapest
Engagements	World War II Invasion of Yugoslavia Eastern Front
Commanders
Commander	Olaf Richárd Wulff (first) (1921–1933) Ödön Trunkwalter (last) (1944–1945)
Insignia
Naval Ensign (1921–1939)
Naval Ensign (1939–1945)

"Honvéd" Warship Department Honvéd Hadihajós Osztály (1945 – 1948) "Honvéd" River Guard Honvéd Folyamőrség (1948 – 1950) "Honvéd" River Flotilla Honvéd Folyami Flottilla (1950 – 2001)
Active	14 May 1945 – 30 Jun 2001
Country	Hungarian Kingdom Second Hungarian Republic Hungarian People's Republic
Allegiance	Warsaw Pact (since 1955)
Type	Brown-water navy
Size	c. 1700 personnel
Garrison/HQ	Budapest
Engagements	Cold War
Commanders
Commander	Olaf Richárd Wulff (first) (1921–1933) Ödön Trunkwalter (last) (1944–1945)
Insignia
Naval Ensign (1946–1948)
Naval Ensign (1948–1950)
Naval Ensign (1950–1955)
Naval Ensign (1955–1957)
Naval Ensign (1957–1991)

1st "Honvéd" Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Warship Battalion 1. Honvéd Tuzszerész és Hadihajós Zászlóalj (1 Jul 2001 – 1 Mar 2007) 1st "Honvéd" Explosive Ordnance Disposal and River Flotilla Regiment 1. Honvéd Tűzszerész és Hadihajós Ezred (1 Mar 2007 – today)
Active	1 July 2001 – today
Country	Hungary
Allegiance	NATO
Type	Brown-water navy
Size	c. 1700 personnel
Garrison/HQ	Budapest
Engagements	European migrant crisis
Commanders
Current commander	Lieutenant Colonel Zsolt Szilágyi
Insignia
Naval Ensign

History

Early History of Danube Flotilla

The Hungarian Danube flotilla was In the early fifteenth century a line of defense against the Turks, stretching from Belgrade to Klissa. There was a second line to the rear, already on Hungarian territory, along the southern border of Transylvania, through Karansebes and Temesvar, then along the Danube, the Sava, and the Drava.

Considering the geography of the Hungarian theater of operations, the Danube flotilla and its sailors were crucial. Their maintasks were to control the waterways, to secure the routes of reinforcement and supply, and, furthermore, to provide support for the land forces.

The Siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) occured in July 1456. The city and the fortress was defended by John Hunyadi against the overwhelming Turkish army (under the command of Sultan Mehmed II - the conqueror of Constantinople). By 22nd of July the Turkish army had to retreat, and the battle ended with a huge Hungarian victory. The Ottoman Empire did not start any major campaign against the Hungarian Kingdom until 1521.

22nd of July is now a National Memorial Day in rememmbrance of the victory and of the fallen heroes (Hunyadi himself died shortly after the battle) The Hungarian Danube Flottila (oaring boats - "sajkas" ) played an important part in the victory, so in 2012 the three Nestin class minesweepers of the 1st EOD and Warship Regiment - as today's Danube Flottila - fired a gun salute in Budapest in front of the Castle Hill. At 10.30 a.m., the Bomb Disposal and Naval Regiment of the Hungarian Defence Forces commemorated the heroes with a salute.

Improving the river fleet

The river fleet (Hungarian: flottila or naszád) was composed of wooden galleys, rowboats (later upgraded to gunboats) and smaller ships, which were capable of sailing up the rivers Danube, Tisza and Sava. The victory at the Belgrade (Nándorfehérvár) in 1456, where the fleet played a significant role in breaking through the Turkish river blockade to bring relief to the besieged city, showed its importance and signaled the beginning of a recognition of its significance. It also encouraged King Matthias to build a larger and better-equipped navy.

However, before we get acquainted with Mátyás' navy, we need to talk about a new, modern type of warship, which probably appeared in Hungary after the battle of Nándorfehérvár. Unfortunately, we can only rely on assumptions about its origin, but it is certain that in a very short time it became widespread, displaced the sluggish derel and fought successfully with its full-bodied galley, both literally and figuratively. Not only the origin of the ship, but even the origin of its name is obscured.

According to Szentkláray, when László V. (1452-1457) accompanied by ulrik Cillei, after the death of János Hnyadi, arrived at the Futak (Futog, Yugoslavia) parliament in Vienna in August 1456, he made his way to St. Petersburg by boat, the light, armored carpenter in Nassau on German ships with pointed noses, also equipped with sails and armaments. These constitutions were called Nassauers by the German escort after their place of construction ; the ship is also mentioned in contemporary German monuments as Nassaren, Nassauen. The name was also adopted by the Hungarians.

Regarding the establishment of the ship type in Hungary, we can only limit ourselves to assumptions. It can be assumed that after Cillei's death, the ships were simply seized by Mihály Szilágyi. As the Nassads were faster and more manoeuvrable than with galleys, deregles or ladikis, they were classified into the Nándorfehérvár and Zimony ship classes, and based on their pattern, Hungarian ship weavers also began construction.

Whether or not this assumption is correct, perhaps future research may still decide. It is certain, however, that a few years later, during the reign of Matthias Hunyadi, who became king in the second year after László V's visit, many such Nassads sailed on the Danube, and the name "royal sailor" changed to "Hungarian queen" . .

Matthias (1458-1490), the ruler of the Great Renaissance, completely reorganized the country's defense in order to secure his policy. It is well known that the creation of a well-paid, permanently armed mercenary army, the Black Army, was a pioneer in European relations. Within the framework of the permanent force, a well-armed, striking water force was also included.

And here we return to Matthias. During the king's campaigns, he used the navy from the first years of his reign, and used it mainly in border protection. He expanded his staff and fleet with Serbs fleeing the Turks - the Hungarians called them raids. There were many sailors among the Serbs. The Turks were as much an enemy as we were, since the Ottoman power began to establish itself in the country that had been under constant constant controversy in the year of Matthias' rule. The trained, war-torn military population was used by the Hungarian king, and they received accommodation, mercenaries and even land at the fortifications along the Danube.

In exchange for this, they fought together with the Hungarian water army, sometimes on their own, so in 1458 at the siege of Galambóc, in 1460 at Szendrő, Sarnó and in 1462 at Futak, where 17,000 Christians were released from Turkish captivity. When Matthias's army and his navy fought with it in the north, in Austria, in the Czech Republic, at the southern ends, Serbian sailors guarded the border.

To the ambitious plans of the king, he gradually built and strengthened his army, so much so that during his reign he had control of one of the most modern armies in Europe. As part of army development, he completed the development of the water warfare in 1476. A record of the fleet has survived, on the basis of which we can see in front of us the entire Hungarian Danube fleet, which consisted of 364 floating units.

At the time of King Matthias their effectives were still around 10,000, with 360 boats. Since they were manned by South Slavs, mainly Serbs and Croats, the two major ports of operations were Belgrade and Szabács (Šabac). In 1475, concomitantly with the introduction of field guns, he ordered the installation of artillery onto the river barges as well as bombards able to shoot cannonballs ranging from 100 to 200 pounds (45 to 91 kg) In 1479, he had a mixed fleet of 360 vessels, a crew of 2600 sailors, and a capacity of 10,000 soldiers on board.[16][23]

Matthias also secured an exit to the Adriatic Sea, the city-port of Zengg from which Balázs Matthias could embark for his maritime campaigns.[24] Matthias could also monitor the trade going through the Danube Delta to the Black Sea from the City of Kilia, but during his reign, it was seized by the Moldavian Army supported by the Ottoman Fleet.[25]

In the Jagellonian period they dwindled to 1000. Presumably, there could not have been more than 50 boats at this time.

http://mohacsicsata.blogspot.com/2013/05/matyas-kiraly-hajohada.html http://en.wiki.x.io/wiki/Black_Army_of_Hungary#Improving_the_river_fleet

Development of Danube Flotilla after 1848

The history of modern Hungarian warships began on July 25, 1848, with the launch of the War steamer Lázár Mészáros (Országos Hadigőzös Mészáros), more commonly known as the Butcher Warrior. The responsible Hungarian ministry ordered the arming of four Danube and five Tisza steamers, and also ordered the construction of two new armored steamers for the Óbuda Shipyard. These measures, as well as the assignment of ten Danube ships to military service, laid the foundation for Danube river guard activity and thus for the support of land forces from the water.

The first experimental use of a steamship on the Danube took place in 1817, regular steamship operation did not exist until the DDSG in 1831. In the course of the revolution in 1848, the Hungarian government bought the steamship Franz I from the DDSG and had it rebuilt and armed. On July 25, the occupation was sworn in. On August 19, 1848, this ship was involved in fighting with Croatians and on October 13, 1848 it reached Hainburg . The early onset of winter forced it into the DDSG shipyard in Alt-Ofen on November 18, 1848 . An attack by imperial troops under Alfred I. Prince zu Windisch-Graetz in the winter of 1848/1849 led to the Tisza . On January 5, 1849, the stuck steamer was captured, confiscated and renamed General Schlick .

General Schlick came to Vienna in the spring of 1849 . Despite the peace after the victory over Hungary, the General Schlick remained armed and became the first ship of a new Danube flotilla.

In 1850 a new Danube flotilla was set up with a base in Pest . The second ship of the new Danube Flotilla was put into service on May 31, 1852. Archduke Albrecht's steam engine had been ordered by the then Hungarian government in England during the revolution , but could not be delivered because of the fighting. The officers 'and non-commissioned officers' school was established in Klosterneuburg near Vienna from 1853 . In 1854 the General Schlick was decommissioned and replaced by the Graf Schlick , built in Klosterneuburg and commissioned in 1859. The Kaiserjacht Adlerwas converted into a war steamer in 1860 due to a lack of demand. Another planned ship was not purchased.

https://honvedelem.hu/hirek/while-civilians-were-rowing-warship-crew-gave-blood.html https://www.haborumuveszete.hu/minden-ami-uszik/4249-163-eve-bocsatottak-vizre-a-meszaros-hadigozost-

Integration into the Austro-Hungarian Navy

In 1861 the management of the Danube Flotilla was taken over by the Navy.

The fact that France delivered five modern armored gunboats to Turkey in 1864 , which were superior to the Austrian ships , was no obstacle for Austria to completely dissolve the Danube flotilla in 1866 and to sell the DDSG steamers.

After the defeat of the War of Independence, the flotilla corps was abolished, which was only re-established after the 1867 compromise - as the Danube Flottilla - as a detachment of the Fiume Maritime Command.

Monitor warships were first deployed by the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy's Danube Flotilla. Warship construction at Hungarian shipyards burgeoned after Conciliation in 1867. The first pair of monitor ships were completed in spring 1871.

In 1871 a new Danube flotilla was set up. The most important type of ship were the so-called “ monitors ”, which were first built and used during the American Civil War . As a result of this change, in 1872, the Mureş and Leitha monitors came into system. These two monitors at this time represented the pinnacle of technical standards, and with their commissioning, the development of the Danube Flotilla began. These ships, which had guns in rotating towers, were named after rivers in Austria and Hungary ( Leitha , Szamos , Körös , Temes (I), Bodrog , Enns , Inn , Sava and Bosna ).

They were supported by 14 patrol boats, which were designated with lower case letters (a, b, c, ...) and a torpedo boat . During the First World War , various auxiliary ships were also used (armed steamers, mine-layers, mine clearers, traindeams, hospital ships, barges).

The main duty of the Maros and the Leitha (later the Lajta) was to provide artillery support for land troops, as well as to protect bridges and other strategic objects near the water, with a baptism of fire occurring in a battle at Szabács on the Száva River in 1878. The Danube flotilla was first used during the occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1878.

In August 1914 the Austro-Hungarian Danube Flotilla Donauflottille (Kmdt.: Fregattenkapitan Friedrich Grund) consisted of: On the Danube: 1 Monitorgruppe: "Temes" (flagship) and "Bodrog" plus Patrouillenboot "B" and "F" 2 Monitorgruppe: "Szamos" and "Koros"; P-boot "C" 13 additional support ships/boats Patrouillenbootsstation Pancsova: P-boot "D" and "G" On the Sava: Monitorgruppe: "Maros" and "Leitha"; P-boot "H" 3 support ships. http://www.gwpda.org/naval/fdah0002.htm

https://www.haborumuveszete.hu/minden-ami-uszik/4249-163-eve-bocsatottak-vizre-a-meszaros-hadigozost-

During the First World War, the ships of the Danube Flotilla carried out a fight against targets on land due to a lack of opponents at sea. Serbia had no Danube fleet and the strong Romanian Danube flotilla avoided fighting with the Austro-Hungarian flotilla. The flotilla suffered losses of people and material through artillery fire from positions on land and through sea mines .

On August 11th, the Danube Flotilla undertook the first major combat operation. On September 14th, units of the Danube Flotilla fired at Belgrade , causing ammunition dumps to explode in the old Belgrade fortress Kalemegdan . The first, still very primitive Serbian drifting mine was fished out of the Danube on October 19, 1914 and defused. The fleet tried to protect itself from the mines with improvised protective devices, but this did not always succeed. But mines were also brought out by the Danube Flotilla itself. Between December 12 and 15, 1914, units of the Danube Flotilla and army troops occupied Belgrade.

Afterwards, she became the flagship of the Danube flotilla participating in the second occupation of Belgrade. She was in action against the Romanian troops crossing the Danube, and also supported the Central Powers crossing of the Danube at Svishtov.

April 17, 1917, when a Spanish officer mission under General Burguete visited the Danube flotilla, among other things, brought high visitors, and on April 20, two Turkish naval officers came to study. The German Kaiser Wilhelm II and the Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand I came to visit on September 21, 1917. On this occasion, the Austrian Corvette Captain von Förster, Chief of Staff of the Danube Flotilla, was personally awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class by Wilhelm II . On September 22nd, the Monitor Inn was sunk by a mine hit upstream of Brăila . Corvette captain von Förster was killed. The Inn was lifted between October and November - the interested spectator was Duke Carl Eduard von Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha , who was visiting the flotilla at the time - and the corvette of Corvette Captain von Förster was recovered. He was buried in the Vienna Central Cemetery.

The most adventurous attempt to fight the ships of the Danube flotilla was made by the Russian Empire. Three submarines specially designed for the river conditions of the Danube were built. Only one of them was used and it was captured almost undamaged on March 12, 1918. The plan to create this submarine in the Adriatic Sea and use it there failed due to the unseaworthiness of the spoils of war.

When, after the peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk, due to Bolshevik unrest, the Central Powers urgently needed trade in coal and grain across the Black Sea could not be started, ships of the Danube flotilla were transferred to the Dnieper on April 10th . Their mission was to support and protect German and Austro-Hungarian troops who had been in Odessa and Nikolajew since mid-March 1918 .

On September 12, 1918, the successful Danube flotilla returned to the port of departure in Brăila. With the end of the Danube Monarchy, the history of the Austro-Hungarian Danube Flotilla also ended. Fate of the Danube Flotilla

On October 30, 1918, IV. Charles, the last Hungarian king, ordered the division of the fleet between the states of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. After that, on November 6, 1918, the units that could still be captured arrived in Budapest.

On November 13, 1918, Hungary was asked by the war winners in the Belgrade Military Convention to surrender the monitors in Budapest and a large number of other ships. On December 8th, five monitors (Bosna, Sava, Enns, Temes (I), Körös) were confiscated from a specially set up English Danube flotilla and transferred to Belgrade and repaired so that they could be used by the SHS state's navy. These ships were handed over to the Serbs on December 31, 1918.

After the proclamation of the Hungarian Soviet Republic under Béla Kun on March 21, 1919, two monitors were moved to Budapest to evacuate the Allied military mission threatened by the Red Army (March 22–24, 1919).

The remaining in Budapest and already disarmed combat ships were made ready for use by the troops Béla Kun and partly also in the struggles against the Czechs - they had Upper Hungary occupied - employed.

Yet, the short-term Soviet Republic in Hungary in 1919, urged the reinstatement of the Danube fleet, therefore the vessel, by that time renamed Lajta was deployed once more. In this period, she fought against the Czech interventionist troops between Komárom and Esztergom.

In the same year in June, Lajta and her sister ship, Maros took an active part in the so-called "monitor-revolt", named after these monitors taking part in it, which was one of the first anti-communist rebellions in the world. A military takeover was to be organized in Budapest as a demonstration against the current communist dictatorship, and a very important part would have been naval support from the Danube. When the monitors appeared on the river, they hoisted the red-white-green national flag, instead of the Soviet red one. People welcomed them, but the revolt was soon suppressed by Hungarian communist forces. During the "monitor-revolt", Captain László Csicsery died on board Lajta.

After the First World War

After the First World War, ships were seized, surrendered, and, after the period of the Soviet Republic, distributed among the successor states. At the end of 1919, all units of the former Austro-Hungarian Danube Flotilla were under Allied control.

On April 15, 1920, the Allied Ambassadors' Conference approved the division of the former combat ships: • Austria: Fogas, Csuka, Persch, Stör • Hungary: Catfish, Compo, Viza, Salmon • Kingdom of SHS: Bodrog, Enns, Bosna • Romania: Sava, Inn, Temes • European Danube Commission: Maros, Leitha, Szamos, Körös (all disarmed to be used as a pontoon .)

However, there were still changes in this division, so that Austria finally received the ships Fogas, Compo, Persch and Stör (III), which arrived in Vienna on January 28, 1921 and were to be demobilized at the Korneuburg shipyard within four months.

The four ships awarded to Austria by the Allies were later sold to Hungary.

In April 1919 the Hungarian government established the Naval Forces (Hadihajós csapat, literally "warship group") under the authority of the Defence Ministry for the purpose of patrolling the Danube

On November 29, 1920, Hungary took over four guards. After that, the establishment of river policing, under the authority of the Minister of the Interior, began. The Hungarian government set up the Royal Hungarian River Guard in 1921 (their badge in the picture), from which time the organized river policing and warship activities took place under the Hungarian flag.

It was replaced on 1 March 1921 by the civilian Royal Hungarian River Guard (Magyar Királyi Folyamőrség) under the Interior Ministry.

Between March 1927 and May 1930 it expanded to about 1700 personnel, a number that held until the end of World War II. From 1931, the unit existed as a separate weapon type under the name River Forces, On 15 January 1939 the River Guard was renamed the Royal Hungarian Army River Forces (Magyar Királyi Honvéd Folyami Erők) and placed under the Defence Ministry. It used naval ranks until 1 July 1944, when it switched to army ranks. In April 1941 it took part in the invasion of Yugoslavia. From April 1944 on its minesweepers assisted the Kriegsmarine (German navy) in clearing the Danube of aerial mines.

Following the upland mobilization in 1938, construction of new warships began. These ships were able to search for and clear all types of mines introduced during World War II. A II. During World War I, the river forces also took part in the April 1941 military operations in Yugoslavia. The units of the Guards Regiment also provided the Sava and the Drava. The main activities of the River Forces were limited to cargo insurance and demining.

In April 1944, the Allies began installing magnetic mines, which posed a new challenge to the unit because they did not have the means to clear it. To help, the German navy sent special troops to the Danube and deployed Ju-52 minesweepers and demagnetized warships and merchant ships. It was then that mine explosive devices mounted on towed trawls were first used on the Danube. As a result of the sacrificial work, at the end of August 1944, our officers managed to neutralize the first three British mines and thus get to know its structure. Nevertheless, the loss of the ship was large and the mine risk could not be completely eliminated.

The Allied Air Force, led by the Royal British Air Force, installed nearly 1,400 magnetic and induction mines in the Danube in 1944 to prevent river navigation and the transport of goods. As a result of the mine explosions, 99 floating units sank and 143 suffered significant damage. On the part of the River Forces, the Hegyalja minesweeper sank in the Komárom area. The ship units left Budapest at the end of November 1944 and marched to the inter-island section, then retreated in March 1945 to the upper Austrian Danube section, where on May 8, 60 percent of the ship's captivity was taken prisoner by the United States.

https://www.haborumuveszete.hu/minden-ami-uszik/4249-163-eve-bocsatottak-vizre-a-meszaros-hadigozost-

Under Communism

The Interim National Government and the Allied Powers concluded a ceasefire on January 20, 1945. Soviet Admiral Trainin, head of the naval department of the Allied Control Commission (SZEB), suggested to Marshal Vorosilov that Hungarians should also be involved in demining the Danube because their own forces were insufficient. Following the decision, at the Soviet instruction, the interim government began setting up a new warship class.

On May 14, 1945, the Ministry of Defense issued the stock of the Defense Forces Warship Division. The main task of the new organization was to demining the Danube and Lake Balaton. Between 1946 and 1950, 14 wooden body, FAM minesweepers (pictured) were built. They carried out demining tasks and then demolished them after 1952.

The Honvéd Hadihajós [Army Warship] Department, whose principal responsibility was the river Danube, was formed on on 14 May 1945 [the word Hadihajós is Hungarian for warship]. Despite the sacrifices and heroic action during the period 1948-1951, three ships were destroyed (Baikal, Dömös, Tass). The Hadihajós Unit, suited to the task of implementing mine clearance, was organized in 1951 to 1991.

The discharge was officially completed by the end of 1948. Despite the sacrificial and heroic activity, three ships exploded in the period between 1948-1951 (Bajkál, Dömös, Tass), no mines were found during recent research. The Warship Division, which performed its task excellently, was reorganized into a regiment in 1950, into a brigade in 1951, and until 1991 it was called the Independent Warship Brigade.

In the late 1970s, as part of the military technical development, 6 AM river demining vessels were ordered from the Yugoslav shipyard Brodotechnika (Belgrade), which already met the challenges of the modern age. Ships are primarily suitable for mine exploration, clearance, second deployment, and with their 20-millimeter onboard machine guns for water, land, and air purposes.

In the early 1980s, a significant development has been carried into this allegation was six Yugoslav-made mine clearance vessel. Independent since 1991, the Brigade assumed the name Hadihajós Honvéd River Fleet until the end of 2001. In 2001, after the dissolution of the Honvéd River Fleet formed a new organization, the Hungarian army of 1. Honvéd Regiment known as the Tuzszerész and Hadihajós.

Actuality

The name of the corps was changed to the Honvéd River Flotilla in 1991. Its main task in the inland waters of the Republic of Hungary - in co-operation with other armed organizations - was the armed protection of the country, the protection of the most important water industry objects and artefacts against mines. These include mine monitoring, mine search, demining, the provision of boat caravans, the installation and maintenance of river locks, and patrols.

The flotilla is 200l. on June 30, it was abolished during the conversion of the then force. The remaining reduced warship subclass - retaining its main tasks, traditions and the three remaining demining ships (AM-31 in our picture, Dunaújváros) - was merged with the firefighters, and on July 1, 2001, the Hungarian Armed Forces Firefighter and Warship Regiment. The Land Forces units include the MH 1. Honvéd Tuzszerész és Hadihajós Ezred [HDF 1st Honvéd Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Warship Regiment / Battalion ] stationed in Budapest. Hungary had a small Danbian Flottilla, but in 2001 they ceased to exist as a separate military branch. On 30 June 2001 the HDF 1st Honvéd Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Warship Battalion (earlier Regiment) took over the Honvéd Folyami Flottilla. The warship unit was discontinued as a TOE element in July 2001, but the two outfits with a rich history and similar assignments were merged into a single grouping to form the HDF 1st ‘Honvéd’ EOD and Warship Regiment.

The EOD and Mine Clearance Battalion and the warship unit merged into a single unit as of 1 July 2001 under the designation “HDF 1st ‘Honvéd’ EOD and Warship Regiment”, and continued to uphold the distinguished traditions of their predecessors to meet the new challenges of the 21st century. The HDF warship service has undergone a significant transformation over the past few years and continues to grow in importance. The implemented changes in the HDF force structure, the challenges of our age and the altered system of missions and requirements together have had a profound impact on the deployability of the unit and the range of tasks assigned to warship service. Their core roles have been extended to include providing support on water to the EOD missions and ensuring water supply. To enhance the effectiveness of their task execution and reaction capability, two mine countermeasures vessels (the EOD patrol crafts Ercsi and Baja) were introduced into the TOE of the warship subdivision.

The first mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV)/patrol craft of the Hungarian Defence Forces entered service in September 2005. The commissioning ceremony of the refitted AN-2 class minehunter was held in the port of Ercsi. The latest warship of the unit bears the name of this town in Pest County, since by tradition the HDF warships are designated after towns lying on the banks of the River Danube. The warship “Ercsi” entered service following the vessels “Óbuda”, “Dunaújváros”, “Dunaföldvár” and “Tass”. With the “Ercsi” MCMV/patrol craft in service, the EOD unit was ready to start locating, finding and rendering safe the WWII UXOs in the water as well as on the ground.

The second refitted MCMV/patrol craft of the Hungarian Defence Forces was named after a Danubian town too. The AN-2 class MCMV was ceremonially christened in Baja, at the port situated next to the town’s main square in May 2007. By using this refitted mine countermeasures vessel, the HDF EOD personnel are able to destroy and neutralize UXOs found in the River Danube as well as all other navigable waterways of Hungary. The “Baja” was one of the four minehunters in service with the EOD and warship regiment. It took four months to refit the vessel, which involved replacing all the components except the frame. Its main machinery is a diesel engine of the latest Euro-5 standard so the ship can do up to 43 kilometers per hour. This built-in engine is necessary to make sure that the EOD patrol craft can sail in waterways where it has to comply with special environmental protection regulations.

The MCMVs “Baja” and “Ercsi” are two warships in service with the special watercraft EOD platoon of the regiment. The deminer crews of the two warships and the platoon leader had taken the basic EOD course at the unit before they started their training, so they can assist with the work of the EOD divers in case of an actual deployment. The MCMVs are ready to set sail for the scene at very short notice on receiving a call. It takes at least one hour to prepare the other minesweepers for setting sail from the port. The MCMVs have the benefit of being fast, and they allow transportation by a trailer which means that besides the River Danube, they can be deployed on all navigable rivers and lakes/still waters around the country. The only disadvantage is that their electronic crane can hoist up to 250 kilograms at a time, while the davits of the other minesweepers have a lifting power of one ton.

The Flottilla had 3 relatively old and outdated "AM" (MS-25) type river mineclearing ships, and several motorboats. The mineclearing craft are 27 meters long with a displacement of 72 tons. Three other units of this class, which was built from 1979 through 1981 at Brodotechnika, Beograd, YU, were withdrawn from military service in 2005 and converted into river tour boats.

During 2012 the Hungarian PRT group in Afghanistan removed an important number of magnetic improvised explosive devices (IED), including one emplaced on a tanker truck in the town of Pol-e Khumri. Led by the commander, the Quick Reaction Force and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians of the Hungarian contingent quickly deployed to the scene where they cordoned off the area and cooperated with the EOD technicians of the Afghan national security forces until successfully removing the IED after more than three hours of constant work. Through their action, the Hungarian soldiers have thwarted a bomb attack that would have claimed around 1,500 lives. During their activities in past years two of the best Hungarian EOD officers lost their lives while saving the lives of others.

The dissemination of information on the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and its annexed Protocols within the Hungarian Defence Forces is part of the curricilum of education and training. All relevant provisions are or will be incorporated in the curriculum of Hungarian institutions of higher military education. Education programs for officers and civil servant trainees includ international law. Interpretation and implementation of disarmament and non-proliferation treaties, conventions and regimes etc. are discussed at courses at the University of National Public Administration organised for would be public servants.

At the level of military units these topics are addressed in practice so as to ensure that soldiers can successfully cope with all related tasks. There is a special emphasis on international treaties and ations in the training of peace keeping mission personel. The designated unit of the HDF, the 1st EOD [explosive ordinance disposal] and Warship Regiment regularly holds trainings and demonstrations for civilian organisations, primary and secondary schools.

Destruction of stockpiles of cluster munitions in the presence of international observers and members of civil society began on 24 March 2011. All stockpiles have been destroyed by HDF 1st EOD and Warship Regiment in the period between 24 March and 08 July 2011. In the last few years, warships have undergone a significant transformation. The changes in the structural structure of the Hungarian Armed Forces, the challenges of the age and the changed system of tasks and requirements had a decisive influence on the application possibilities of the regiment and within this on the scope of activities of warships.

The range of tasks arising from the basic purpose has been expanded by providing firefighting tasks from water. In order to perform the task more efficiently and to increase the responsiveness, the stock of the warship subclass was increased by two artillery patrol vessels (Ercsi, Baja). During another organizational change of the Hungarian Armed Forces, the regiment was transformed into an independent battalion on March 1, 2007, renamed the 1st Hungarian Army Artillery and Battalion, and from June 15, 2010 the regiment was organized again. As a result of NATO membership, due to the corps' involvement in international tasks and the Hungarian state's obligation under international treaties to ensure the navigability of the Danube as an international waterway, only with river forces engaged in such activities.

STANAG 2254 (Navigable Inland Waterways), 2255 (Ports) and 2256 (Inland Hydrography), deal basically with navigation issues which, owing to Hungary’s landlocked status and the elimination of the Danube flotilla, do not apply (or apply only to a limited extent) to the Hungarian Defence Forces. Since Hungary has neither a navy nor seaports, the importance of STANAG 2255 Military Geographic Documentation (MGD) on Ports is negligible for the Hungarian Defence Forces.

Freestar STANAG 2254 lists the most important parameters necessary to navigation, such as width, depth, speed, ice coverage or extremities, e.g., excessive changes in the water level of a watercourse or a lake, based on which decisions can be made on the navigability broken down to the various types of vessels. This information may be of special importance since restrictions imposed on commercial ships may not necessarily apply to low draught vessels especially built to the needs of the law enforcement forces. Commercial waterways are marked with buoys; these are maintained by the continuous monitoring of the river or the lake. Such markings, naturally, do not exist on waterways where commercial navigation is prohibited but other water traffic, like patrolling or rescuing, may exist. STANAG 2256 deals with inland hydrography. Although this standard has much in common with STANAG 2254 and 2255, this STANAG was basically not made to meet navigational requirements.

Hungarian mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV)/patrol craft Hungarian mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV)/patrol craft Hungarian mine countermeasures vessels (MCMV)/patrol craft HDF 1st Explosive Ordnance Disposal and River Flotilla Regiment is stationed in Budapest. Within the territory of Hungary all of the EOD incidents are military responsibility. Day after day, they deploy to neutralize the remnants of the Second World War. The unexploded explosive ordnances (UXOs) strewn around the country, including artillery shells, hand grenades, aerial bombs and different types of mines. They also guard and secure River Danube, the main waterway of the nation, and demine if needed. They are ready to neutralize conventional and regular types of UXOs as well as improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the favourite weapons of modern-day terrorism. [16]

In 2018, Lieutenant Colonel Zsolt Szilágyi, the Commander of the HDF 1st “Honvéd” Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Warship Regiment [17]

Restoration of Lajta Boat

Lajta becomes a flagship August 20, 2010 7:31 PM

Best known for her role in the WWI Lajta Monitor currently has a dual role as the flagship of the HDF 1st Honvéd Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Warship Battalion and as a living museum. The ship’s inauguration ceremony was held on the River Danube by the Parliament Building on 20th August. According to traditions Lajta Monitor was christened by the wife of the Minister of Defence, Szilvia Stiber. Ceremonial speeches were given by the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Hungary, Dr Csaba Hende and Lieutenant General Director of the Institute and Museum of Military History Dr József Holló.

Laita was launched at the Danube Flotilla in 1872. She fought on the River Sava and took part in the first occupation of Belgrade. On 3rd October 1914 she outfought the French batteries near Szabács but her turret was bumped and the soldiers serving there were all killed in action. In 1894 she was re-armed and re-engined. In 1914-1918 she fought WWI and then in 1919 during the Hungarian Soviet Republic she took part in the fights against the “Reds”. In 1920 after the Trianon treaty the ship was sold at an auction, disarmed and used for civil tasks. From 1922 on she worked as an elevator ship named Lajos József.

Her career was broken for the second time after the 1946 nationalization. She was re-named FK-201 and used as a dredger. The vessel received a protected status by the Museum of Military History in 1993. The nearly 130-year-old ship has been revamped by the Institute and Museum of Military History with the help of European Union funding. Lajta Monitor Museum Ship, which is a unique technical monument of international importance well-known to historians researching warships, has been renovated by the “Zoltán Gőzös” charitable foundation commissioned by the Institute and Museum of Military History. Additional organisations participating in the reconstruction and the re-inauguration: Hungarian National Navigation Association, Europe Group of Companies, TIT Society for the History of Navigation, Modelling and the Preservation of Traditions and the Imperial and Royal Danube Flotilla Society for the Preservation of Traditions.

A monitor was a type of low body, heavily ironclad warship driven by steam engine, which was equipped with a rotating turret. The first monitor in the world, the USS MONITOR, was built in the United States in 1862. Since this warship design proved to work very well, it has spread all over the world: around 200 monitors were built until 1965, of which only 7 exist today, wholly or partially. One of them is our Lajta. It is unique in that this is the only representative of the version where the steering platform is located on top of the turret. Since the 20th August ceremonial inauguration the ship has been open to the public.[18]

Fight agaisnt Illegal Migration

The 1st Explosive Ordinance Disposal and River Flotilla Regiment “Honvéd” of the Hungarian Defense Forces, are working together with the police as of Monday to continuously patrol the Tisza river to control water traffic and prevent illegal crossing of the state border, the Ministry of Defense (HM) announced Friday night.

According to reports, large numbers of illegal border crossings are occurring along the Hungarian border through the Tisza and Holt-Tisza rivers, using boats and other vessels. Therefore, in view of the situation in the Csongrád county section of the border, the National Police Headquarters requested the assistance of the Hungarian Defense Forces.

To this end, the patrol boat ‘Baja’ of the Honvéd Regiment of the Hungarian Defense Forces will conduct continuous patrols in the designated area of the Tisza, in the region of Szeged as of Monday. The ship was transported on road from the capital’s military port to Kisköre on Saturday morning, from where it continued its journey on the Tisza through the Kisköre Vízlépcső-Szeged route.

Interior ministry official warns of increasing migration pressure In the first twelve days of the year, a total 1,630 migrants made attempts to illegally enter Hungary, the interior ministry’s state secretary told a press conference on Monday. Károly Kontrát noted that last year 17,200 illegal entrants were stopped.

Referring to information from Frontex, Kontrát said that in 2019 the number of migrants along the Balkans route had doubled. Currently, there are about 100,000 migrants on their way to Europe and “more and more are approaching the Hungarian border”, he said.

External links

• Mátyás király hajóhada on Mohacsi Csáta blog, May 18, 2013 [1]
• 3th Warship Subdivision / Hadihajós Alosztály Global Security[2]
• MH 1. Honvéd Tűzszerész és Hadihajós Ezred[3]
• Hungarian Armed Forces 1st EOD & Warship Regiment (River Flotilla Division) by Ships Hub 2008[4]
• MILITARY ENGINEERS IN THE HUNGARIAN DEFENCE FORCES by Military Engineering Centre of Excellence 2017[5]
• Illegal Migration: Army Boat to Patrol Tisza by Fanni Kaszás, Hungary Today, September 13, 2018[6]
• Lajta becomes a flagship, Ministry of Defence on Website of the Hungarian Government, August 20, 2010[7]
• Joint exercise of river units of Serbia and Hungary, MINISTRY OF DEFENCE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, September 22, 2017[8]
• Reconnaissance On The River by László Szűcs on Honvedelem.hu, October 1, 2008[9]
• While Civilians Were Rowing, Warship Crew Gave Blood by László Szűcs on Honvedelem.hu, June 22, 2008[10]