Defence minister’s visit to the military port
Szöveg: hm.gov.hu | 2010. július 21. 6:41Dr. Csaba Hende, the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Hungary paid a visit on Friday to the HDF 1st Honvéd EOD and Warship Battalion where, following the warship and EOD demonstration of the corps, he also briefed them on the overhaul of the Lajta monitor.
The minister was received by Col. (eng.) Gábor Hajdu, the commander of the regiment. Following that the troops held a demonstration with military dogs. Cpt. Zsolt Szatai, the head of the military dog training unit of the 1st Honvéd EOD and Warship Battalion told Csaba Hende about the training scheme.
After the demonstration the minister engaged in conversation with the trainers, which was followed by the divers’ display. Together with the representatives of the press, the minister embarked a minesweeper sloop.
He said on August 20, 2010, monitor Lajta, an especially valuable river warship will be re-inaugurated on the Danube in front of Parliament. The vessel is owned by the Hungarian State Treasury, managed as an asset of the Ministry of Defence, and registered in the Institute and Museum of Military History. The warship was built in 1872 in the Újpest plant of the First Hungarian Pest–Fiume Dockyard Ltd., and entered service in 1875 with the Danube Flotilla. It went through baptism by fire in 1878, for it was fighting the Serbians near Szabács, then between 1914 and 1918, it was fighting in the First World War. In 1919, the ship also participated in the famous monitor rebellion.
The defence minister emphasised that from 1922, the ship was working as a dredger, and after 1946, a floating machine was also installed. "The ship has been overhauled with the help of the tender won by Zoltán Steamer Public Foundation in 2009: the foundation has been working under the continuous professional control of the MoD Institute and Museum of Military History," said Csaba Hende. He added: on August 20, when the vessel will be consecrated again, the minister’s wife will take on a major role as the godmother of the ship. Finally Csaba Hende said that every military needs symbols. "This ship, which is unique in the world will serve as a floating museum where everyone who is interested can see how the Danube was protected. The ship has experienced fierce battles, it has been pierced by bullets, real blood was shed here for the homeland."
