Ján Gerthofer (27 May 1910 – 9 August 1991) was the third-highest scoring fighter ace from Slovakia during World War II. He accumulated 26 kills.[1]
Gerthofer had joined the Czechoslovak Air Force in 1927 flying bombers. In 1939, he became a pilot in the Air Force of newly independent Slovakia. After completing training on Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aircraft in October 1942,[2] he was appointed deputy commanding officer of 13 JG 52, the Slovak air contingent on the Eastern Front. In 175 sorties he shot down 26 Soviet aircraft.[2]
In the Slovak National Uprising in August 1944, Gerthofer joined the insurgents, but was taken prisoner on 31 August and spent the rest of the war in Stalag XVIII-A.[2]
After the war, Gerthofer served in the re–formed Czechoslovak Air Force before being discharged for political reasons in 1951.[2]