Arado Ar.96, Hungarian users

 

The Arado Ar.96 was a German single-engined, low-wing monoplane which was made entirely out of metal. It was designed and manufactured by Arado Flugzeugwerke and was exported and produced by various countries abroad. 

One of those users was Hungary which, back in 1938 the newly formed Royal Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légiero in Hungarian language or just MKHL) acquired some few Arado Ar.96A which, together with the Bücker Bü.131 formed the basic trainers of the MKHL. Later, in 1940 the MKHL acquired further unknown numbers of the Ar.96B model. The aircraft served as the basic trainer of the MKHL during the whole war, and, just after the war, in the ensuing chaos, more ex-Luftwaffe machines were captured in Austria, in August 1945. 

In the postwar period, when the Air Force of the Hungarian People's Army (Magyar Néphadsereg Légiereje - MNL) was created in 1948, there were just 4 or 6 (the numbers are not clear) Ar.96B and Bü.131 available as the other ones were either savaged, rusted out or not in flying condition. That's why the Czechoslovakian Avia C.2 (which was the Czechoslovak copy of the Ar.96B) was acquired. In fact, by 1949 30 Avia C.2 were in service with the MNL and served as its main trainer. They were in service until 1954 when they were replaced by Soviet-made trainers like the Yakovlev Yak-11 or the Yakovlev Yak-18.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_Ar_96

2. http://www.repulomuzeum.hu/Tikuldtetek/Nemedi-Varga/Nemedi-Varga.pdf (translated)

3. http://www.publikon.hu/application/essay/125_1.pdf (translated)

4. http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/user/every/all-time-aircraft-used-list-hungarian-air-force.htm (translated)

5. Hikoki books - Hungarian Eagles - The Hungarian Air Forces 1920-1945