Izidor Kovárik (29 March 1917-11 July 1944) was a fighter pilot in the

Czechoslovak Air Force The Czechoslovak Air Force (''Československé letectvo'') or the Czechoslovak Army Air Force (''Československé vojenské letectvo'') was the air force branch of the Czechoslovak Army formed in October 1918. The armed forces of Czechoslovakia ce ...

(1938–39) and

Slovak Air Force The Slovak Air Force, known since 2002 as the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic ( sk, Vzdušné sily Ozbrojených síl Slovenskej republiky), is the aviation and air defense branch of the Slovak Armed Forces. Operating 23 airc ...

(1939–44) who became a

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

on the Eastern Front in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He became Slovakia's second-highest scoring fighter ace, shooting down 28 Soviet aircraft and probably one more. He was killed in an aircraft accident in 1944.

Early life

Kovárik was born in 1917 in

Kopčany Kopčany (german: Koptschan or ; hu, Kopcsány) is a village in western Slovakia, near the border with the Czech Republic. History The oldest historical records to mention Kopčany date from 1392. However, the village is much older. In the 9th ...

, a village in what was then the

Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen ( hu, a Szent Korona Országai), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River) were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire exis ...

, near the border with

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

. Kovárik joined the Czechoslovak Air Force in April 1938, and was posted to flying school at

Spišská Nová Ves Spišská Nová Ves (; hu, Igló; german: (Zipser) Neu(en)dorf) is a town in the Košice Region of Slovakia. The town is located southeast of the High Tatras in the Spiš region, and lies on both banks of the Hornád River. It is the biggest tow ...

in eastern

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

SVZ service

In March 1939

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

partitioned Czechoslovakia and made the Slovak Republic a

client state A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...

. Kovárik continued his training with Slovakia's new air force (SVZ) and qualified in November 1939. In December he was posted to the 11th Fighter Squadron, which was equipped with

Avia B-534 The Avia B-534 is a Czechoslovak biplane developed and manufactured by aviation company Avia. It was produced during the period between the First World War and the Second World War. The B-534 was perhaps one of the most well-known Czechoslovakia ...

fighter biplanes. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Slovakia joined the war on the German side. Kovárik's squadron remained stationed near Bratislava until November, when it was posted to

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. In October 1942 he flew a Praga E-241 as a courier pilot. Ondřej Ďumbala, leader of the 13th Fighter Squadron, noted Kovárik's talent and recommended him for further training. In November and December 1942 Kovárik was trained to fly the German Messerschmitt Bf 109E monoplane fighter. He shot down his first Soviet aircraft in January 1943. By March he had shot down 11 aircraft, been shot down once but survived. Germany awarded him the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

Second Class. Kovárik later flew missions over the

Kuban River The Kuban; Circassian: Псыжъ, ''Psyẑ'' or Псыжь, ''Psyź'' ; abq, Къвбина, ''Q̇vbina'' ; Karachay–Balkar: Къобан, ''Qoban''; Nogai: Кобан, ''Qoban'') is a river in Russia that flows through the Western Cauca ...

and

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

. He had won 28 confirmed victories by July 1943, when he was recalled to Slovakia. In February 1944 he began to be trained on the more modern Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6.

Death

In April 1944 Kovárik was posted to Sliač Airbase in central Slovakia as a flying instructor. On 11 July he was training a young pilot, Ladislav Ciprian, in a

Gotha Go 145 The Gotha Go 145 is a German World War II-era biplane of wood and fabric construction used by ''Luftwaffe'' training units. Although obsolete by the start of World War II, the Go 145 remained in operational service until the end of the War in Eu ...

biplane. When the aircraft was at an altitude of one of its port wings broke. Both Kovárik and Ciprian baled out, but the cords of their parachutes became caught in the aircraft's rudder. The Gotha crashed east of

Zvolen Zvolen (; hu, Zólyom; german: Altsohl) is a town in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers, close to Banská Bystrica. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the West ...

, killing both men.

Achievements and awards

Kovárik was Slovakia's second-highest-scoring fighter ace of the Second World War. Only Ján Režňák won more victories than he. Kovárik was awarded Nazi Germany's second-highest decoration: the

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold. He was also awarded the ''

Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe The ''Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe'' (Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe) was a Luftwaffe award established on 27 February 1940 by ''Reichsmarschall'' Hermann Göring, the ''Reich'' Minister of Aviation and Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe. It was of ...

'', Iron Cross First Class and

Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe The Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe (german: Frontflugspange) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to aircrew and certain other Luftwaffe personnel in recognition of the number of operational flights flown. It was instituted by ...

in addition to his earlier Iron Cross Second Class. The Slovak Republic awarded him its ''Za Zasluhy'' ("For Merit") medal, second and third class, War Victory Cross Order sixth class and ''Pamätný odznak Za ťaženie proti ZSSR'' ("Commemorative medal for the struggle against the USSR") first class.

References

This article incorporates CC-BY-SA text from translation of Izidor Kovárik in

Slovak Wikipedia The Slovak Wikipedia ( sk, Slovenská Wikipédia) is the edition of Wikipedia in Slovak. It was started on before 23 September 2003, only becoming active in the summer of 2004. It cleared the 15,000-article mark in September 2005 and the 50,0 ...

o
8 November 2017

Notes

Bibliography

External links

* – short film of Ján Režňák and Izidor Kovárik being awarded the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovárik, Izidor 1917 births 1944 deaths People from Trnava District Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 1st class Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd class Slovak aviators Slovak military personnel of World War II World War II flying aces Czechoslovak military personnel killed in World War II