World War II Soviet Fighter Plane Wreckage Found in Hungary

According to information provided by the Military History Museum of Hungary and local sources, the remains of a World War II Soviet Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter plane and personal items belonging to the pilot were found during excavations in the village of Törtel, about 50 miles southeast of the capital Budapest. Excavation work carried out 17 feet underground began in September.

During the excavations led by research team leader István Kocsis, part of the airplane's fuselage was recovered, along with a relatively well-preserved piece bearing its side number and a red star insignia. Among the personal items being studied by museum experts is a book containing the pilot's signature. Once the museum's archaeology department completes restoration and registration procedures, it will exhibit the best-preserved parts of the wreckage.

The recovered remains were linked to an aerial duel that took place over Törtel in November 1944 between German Lieutenant Peter Düttmann and Soviet Lieutenant Alexander Semyonovich Andrianov. It was noted that Andrianov, who survived the plane shot down by Düttmann by parachute, later became a prisoner of war.