(Top) A Hungarian Me 209Ca-1 of 101/5 szazad 'Puma', Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő. 101/5 was the first MKHL Me 209 unit, formed to provide top cover for Hungarian He 162A-2 'Szalamandra' jet fighters.
All Hungarian Me 209s were assembled from German-made parts at the Duna Repulogepgyar factory at Szigetszentmiklos, just south of Budapest. By May 1946, the 'Pumák', including 101/5, had pulled back to Petersdorf (in Styria, Ostmark).
W-1+14 carries the 'Piros Puma' squadron emblem on its nose. On the tail is the unofficial 'Szárnyas Mókus' ('Winged Squirrel') marking of 101/5 (call sign 'Mókus').
(Bottom) A Croatian Me 209A-2 of 2. Lovacko Jato, 1. Zrakoplovna Skupina, Hrvatsko bojno zrakoplovstvo based at Zagreb. Like all HBZ Me 209s, 'crna 10' was ex-Luftwaffe. These aircraft were intended to protect HBZ He 162s but the Salamanders never arrived in Croatia.
This fighter has an odd mixture of markings. Although the national insignia are of the subdued style approved in June 1945, 'crna 10' retains the 'hi-viz' tail markings. Also visible on the fin are a claimed 4 1/2 kills (3 US and one each Italian and British).
Although detailed to protect the Croatian capital, 'crna 10' was lost off Dubrovnik to a USAAF P-51D of the 100th FS on 19 March 1946. Shot down in flames, 'crna 10' went down
into the Adriatic . The pilot, Poručnik Mihajlo Jelak, was lost with his aircraft.