Cseh Valentin szerk.: „70 éve alakult a MAORT” – tanulmányok egy bányavállalat történetéből (2009)
Valentin Cseh: Allied Air-strikes against MAORT's Facilities in 1944
in the vicinity of the r\L\ORT pipeline between Balatonújlak and Balatonmária at 10.25 AM, one of which tore the pipe open, and 8 wagons worth of oil burned up in the resulting fire. On this day, 5 bombs between 220-500 kg fell near drilling plant D-4 in MAORT's Pusztaszentlászló district, but did not cause any damage. Air defence shot down 3 four-engine aircraft in the Újudvar area on this day, with an additional two planes during air combat that developed above Nagykanizsa. Workers apprehended five enemy pilots at Újudvar, and handed them over to the and-aircraft gunners. " s " The 15th Ar Force's 55th Bombardment Wing carried out intensive carpet bombing lasting some five minutes against the Szőny refineries with 100-120 B-24 heavy bombers on August 28, in the course of which approximately one thousand 1000 lb demolition bombs, and numerous 1800 kg fragmentation bombs were dropped, but none of the latter exploded. 20 bombs fell on MAORT's refinery in construction on this occasion. lKI Employees at MAORT's exploratory drilling site at Zalakaros (Újudvar) caught two Americans on September 10, when they abandoned their damaged aircraft, which in turn crashed near Nagybakónak. One month later, on October 7, 1944, the refineries around Vienna were attacked, along with the Zalaegerszeg railway station —which had become important because of the transportation of oil from Zala County, in addition to the railway stations in Szombathely, Komárom and Érsekújvár, and the Győr airport. A gas blow-out 382 occurred at the Lovászi-94 gas injection well in the Lovászi oilfield during the air-raid alarm ordered because of American aeroplanes flying over on October 12, 1944 (some 160 Mustangs engaged the Budapest - Győr - Vienna area on that day). The precursors of this technical accident went back to the air-raid alarm on August 29, when the drill pipe got stuck at a depth of 1358 metres due to the interruption of heating gas on that day. There was an interruption in heating gas supply over 5 hours because of another air-raid warning in ( )ctober, because of which the fire went out under the steam boiler, and as a consequence steam energy ran out, then a blow-out occurred due to the lack of flushing. This blow-out could not be prevented on account of technical reasons. Ernő Budai recalled this incident so: 'The gas blowing from the well shortly ignited™' , and Ultimi netted the Lords?! vicinity with the light of an enormous gas-flare until the beginning of December, throughout the air-raid blackout —as they said, it was possible to read the paper in Lenti at that light." m Because of this, the soonest possible termination of the blow-out became unusually critical for company management, and inland air defence organs alike. The well's technical salvaging began under the direction of János Dinda, the technical director. They managed to implode the well on October 29, but it ignited again on November 4, 6, 8, and 18, and the gas eruption only stopped at 1 PM on December 9 when the crater caved in. The interesting point in this incident was that the burning well served as a very good orientation point for American bombers, and Ernő Buda recollected this so in an interview: "On a study trip I took to the United States later, when we were flying from one of the plants to another one in a light MOIM Arch. P.S. 47 d. 2. t. m MOL-Z535-79t-6cs. œ This blow-out later on had the consequence of gas blow-outs occurring in the Lovászi oilfield at the L-l 1(1, L-150, L-308, and 1.-455 wells between 1949-1966. MOIM Arch. EE. 7. d. Catering began, the blow-out preventor and the rotating table sank, then the derrick subsided as well, and at 7.40 AM on ( ictober 26 the drill pipes set in the derrick touched generanng a spark, and the well ignited. The tlerrick lost its temper in the lire, and collapsed into the crater. M( )IM Arch. B.E. 7. d. m PAPAI 2005 406.
