Romanian army in the second world war. A little-known Soviet-Romanian military commonwealth of the Second World War. Struggle for the implementation of democratic reforms
T.A. POKIVAYLOVA
ROMANIA IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN ROMANIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY
Romanian historiography devoted to the study of the history of the Second World War is extremely extensive and multifaceted. Since the late 1940s, a huge number of works have been published that consider both general and individual issues of the history of Romania during the Second World War. They cover the domestic and foreign political development of the country, its socio-economic situation, national problems and other aspects. These are collective works, and monographs, and numerous articles, and memoirs, and publications of documents, etc.
In the development of post-war Romanian historiography, several main stages can be distinguished, each of which has its own specific, to a certain extent qualitative, differences, determined by the conditions of the country's political development and the characteristics of political regimes.
At the first stage (1944-1947), during the period of the most acute struggle of political forces for power, with a significant influence on the development of political processes, the presence on the territory of Romania of the Red Army and the Soviet military administration, there was still political pluralism in public life, which was reflected in historiography1 . This led to a fairly wide range in approaches and assessments of the events of the Second World War, including the period of preparation and implementation of the act of August 23, 1944, when the Romanian dictator I. Antonescu was overthrown, Romania withdrew from the war in which it participated on the side Nazi Germany as her ally, and went over to the side of the anti-fascist coalition. Different points of view, depending on the political orientation of the authors, existed at that time in assessing the role and place political parties during the war years, in the overthrow of the Antonescu regime, the influence of objective and subjective factors on the evolution of the political situation, etc.
Of the works related to professional research, one can name the books of L. Patrascanu, a prominent figure in the Communist Party of Romania (CPR), a member of the anti-fascist underground who took part in the preparations for the change of regime in August 1944. His works "Under three dictatorships" and "Main Problems Romania" he began to write before the war, and they saw the light after the liberation of Romania from fascism. The author focused on the analysis of Romanian fascism, its origins and social base, exploring the state of Romanian society on the eve of World War II, the initial period of the war and at the time of the country's withdrawal from it. He also published several articles on the preparation and implementation of the act of August 23, 1944 (note that in the documents of the CPR of that period about the events of August 23, 1944, no.
Pokivaylova Tatyana Andreevna - Candidate of Historical Sciences, Senior Researcher Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
1 See: Marxism and historical science in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe. M., 1993, p. 183, 185-188; Pokivailova T.A. Anti-fascist resistance movement in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe. Issues of national historiography. - Anti-fascist resistance movement in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe. M., 1993, p. 184-187.
referred to as a coup d'etat, which was organized "only under the influence of the victorious offensive of the Soviet Army")2.
Many of the works of 1944-1947. were memoirs in nature and came out from the pen of various politicians. Some of the memoirs were reprinted in the 1990s. It is characteristic that almost all politicians, except for the extreme right, then recognized the decisive role of the Soviet Union in the defeat of Nazi Germany, in the liberation of Romania by the Red Army3.
Modern Romanian historians emphasize that it was precisely the pro-Soviet political forces in Romania, primarily the communists, who propagated and introduced into the public consciousness the idea of the decisive role of the victories of the Red Army in the liberation of Romania from fascism4.
A new stage in the development of Romanian historiography dates back to the late 40s - early 60s of the 20th century, to the period of the formation of the Soviet-type regime in the country (1948-1953) and its evolution.
The Soviet historical science then had a great influence on the conceptual provisions of the Romanian Marxist (communist) historiography. There were no particular differences on the main problems of covering the events of Romanian history, including the period of World War II, between Romanian and Soviet historians. In those years, the leading role in historical science was occupied by the historian and communist academician M. Roller. In 1947, he published "History of Romania", which began to be considered a new history textbook and was reprinted several times (in 1948, 1952, 1956). The work was translated into Russian in 1950. The Foreign Literature Publishing House presented the book as a popular essay5.
In the sections devoted to the history of the Second World War, the author writes about the attack of Romania on the USSR together with Nazi Germany, about the loss of Romanian national independence, about the robbery together with the Germans Soviet territories characterizing this period as anti-people. As the first experience of such a publication, the "History of Romania" could not be flawless. Politicization of history, schematism, simplification of political processes, restructuring on a new methodological basis, developing questions national history in line with the documents and instructions of the central bodies of the Romanian Workers' Party (RRP) were fully inherent in the works of that period6. In the same vein, the events related to the participation of Romania in the Second World War were conceptually considered in the works of Marxist historians of the older generation, such as P. Constantinescu-Yash, and representatives of the new generation - A. Roman, I. Georgiou, V. Livyanu, B Belteanu (B. Kolker) T. Udrya, E. Campus, P. Nikita, A. Petrik and others7
2 Päträcanu L. Sub trei dictaturi. Bucureti, 1944; Probleme de bazä ale Romaniei. Bucureti, 1944; Georgiou-DezhG. Articles and speeches. M., 1956, p. 22; Udrea T. 23 August 1944. Controverse istorico-politice. Studiu istoriographic. Bucure^ti, 2004, p. 13-18.
3 Pokivailova T.A. Decree. cit., pp.185-187.
4 Constantiniu F. De la Räutu §i Roller la Mu§at §i Ardeleanu. Bucure^ti, 2007, p. 127-285; Buga V. Politica PCdR fatä de Uniunea Sovieticä în etapa finalä a celui de al doilea räzboi mondial. - Materials of the bilateral commission of historians of Russia and Romania. X scientific conference. Moscow, October 2005. M., 2007, p. 145-149.
5 History of Romania. Abbreviated translation. Ed. M. Roller. M., 1950, p. 535-539.
6 Constantiniu F. Op. cit., p. 209; Tugui P. Istoria §i limba românâ în vremea lui Gheorghiu. - Dej. Memorii unui ^f de secjie a CC al PMR. Bucureçti, 1999, p. 10-11, 13-14, 22.
7 Kolker B.M. Lupta de eliberare nationalä în România în anii 1941 - 1944. - Studii. Revista de istorie, 1954, No. 4; Roman A. Situatia politicä din România înainte conferentiei nationale (23 August 1944 - octombrie 1945). - Zece ani de la conferinta nationale. 1945-1955. Referate prezintate la sesiunea §tiintificä istoricä din 8-10 decembrie 1955. Bucureçti, 1956, p. 82-114; Gheorghiu I., Roman A. Din lupta PCR pentru scoaterea României din räzboiul antisovietici §i întuarcerea armelor împotriva hitleriçtilor. -Anale, 1956, No. 3, p. 61-87; CPR - organizer §i conducätorul luptei pentru rästurnarea dictaturii fasciste antonisciene §i întoarcerea armelor împotriva cotropitorilor hitleriçti. Bucureçti, 1956; Constantinescu-Ia§i R. Eliberarea României de sub jugul fascist §i însemnarea ei istoricä. - Anale, 1959, No. 4.
After Stalin's death in Romania, as well as in other countries of the Eastern bloc, there was some liberalization and emancipation of historical science. The new generation of historians was not weighed down by the old stereotypes of bourgeois historiography. However, the old stereotypes have been replaced by new ones associated with a narrow class interpretation of history, a simplified interpretation of events, a lack of professionalism, and a lack of a sufficient source base. In addition, the pressure of the party leadership on historians and their subordination to party instructions remained in full measure. Any deviation from the political slogans proclaimed by the WRP and the historical schemes built on this basis received a negative assessment. Thus, for example, an article by the Romanian researcher E. Campus "Some aspects of international relations during the Second World War", published at the end of 1955 in the journal "Research and Articles", was sharply criticized and accused of "objectivism", for the fact that she "did not reveal the secret negotiations that were taking place between the representatives of the USA and Britain and Hitler's Germany" and did not emphasize "the qualitative differences between the position of the Soviet Union and the USA and Britain with regard to the problems of the anti-fascist coalition", etc.8
A new round of ideological pressure from the Romanian leadership on historical science was designated in 1957-1958. The decisions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU, followed by a certain democratization in Poland, Hungary and other countries of people's democracy, had an ambiguous effect on the social and political life of the socialist countries, in particular Romania. The leader of the Romanian Communists, G. Gheorghiu-Dej, was among those who, in fact, did not recognize the decisions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU, especially those concerning Stalin's personality cult and its consequences. The struggle within the RRP ended with the victory of G. Georgiou-Deja and his supporters. Fear of the democratization of the country and the weakening of personal positions, the desire to keep social and political life under control pushed the party leadership to increase ideological pressure on the social sciences.
The participation of Romanian troops in the hostilities on Eastern Front:
1) "33-day battle" for the capture of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina (June 22 - July 26, 1941) by the forces of the 3rd and 4th Armies, with the participation of the German 11th Army.
2) The Battle for Odessa (August 14 - October 16, 1941), carried out mainly by the forces of the 4th Army
3) The campaign of the German (11th Army) and Romanian (3rd Army) troops in the direction of the Southern Bug - the Dnieper - the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov to the area of \u200b\u200bBerdyansk and Mariupol, also known as the "Nogai Steppe" (August-October 1941) .
4) The Battle for Crimea, which took place mainly in the autumn of 1941, when part of the troops of the 11th German Army, led by General Erich von Manstein since September 1941, stopped the advance to the Sea of Azov, redirecting, together with the 3rd Romanian Army, to liquidate the forces of the Red Army located on the Crimean peninsula. Then, in the winter and early summer of 1942, units of the 11th Army and selected Romanian units stormed the Crimea, culminating in the capture of Sevastopol on July 4, 1942.
. 5) Stalingrad "epopee - in turn, divided into several periods: the campaign of the Romanian troops (by the forces of the 3rd and 4th Armies) together with the Germans in the direction of Stalingrad (June 28 - September 1942). 3rd Romanian the army operated as part of Army Group "B", next to the 6th German, 2nd Hungarian, 8th Italian and 4th German tank, finally fortifying in the area of the bend of the Don, while the 4th Romanian the army took a position advanced directly to the city from the south-western side, in the so-called "Kalmyk steppe" assault on Stalingrad in September-November 1942; defensive battles, after the start of the Soviet counteroffensive (November 19-20). the army was torn in two, and at the same time the 15th, 6th and main part of the 5th divisions were surrounded. Later, these formations, forming the group of General Lasker, will try in vain to break out of the ring in a westerly direction. Military operations in the Kuban ( February 1 - October 9, 1943), which represented a retreat th battles of the Romanian and German troops, whose task previously included the storming of the Caucasus and which, after the defeat of the main strike force near Stalingrad, left the positions they had conquered and retreated to the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov with the aim of further evacuation to the Crimea.
The defense (October 1943 - April 1944) and the abandonment (April 14 - May 12, 1944) of the Crimea, which took place under the blows of the Red Army from the northeast.
The retreat of the German and Romanian armies (winter 1943/1944), under the growing pressure from the Soviet troops, was carried out in the direction of Donetsk-Dnepr-Southern Bug-Dniester-Prut.
Battle on the territory of Moldova (since August 20, 1944). After a broad offensive in the Iasi-Kishinev region, deployed by the forces of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts of the Red Army, the Romanian-German units, squeezed by the enemy, were unable to further resistance.
In general, the Romanian land army fought the Red Army for a long time, lost more than 600,000 soldiers and officers killed, wounded and captured on the territory of the USSR, and on the whole very, very seriously helped Germany in its efforts to conquer the USSR. Efforts were not crowned with success - but the Romanians tried very hard!
By the way, the Romanian aviation was also not a "whipping boy" for the Red Army Air Force. Romania fielded more than 400 aircraft for the war with the USSR (672 in total in the Air Force). These are 162 bombers: 36 German Heinkel-111N-3, 36 Italian Savoia Marchetti SM. 79V, 24 French Potez-633V-2 and 12 Block-210, 40 British Bristol-Blenheim Mk I, 24 Polish PZLP.37V Los, 36 Romanian IAR-37. These machines, although not the last word of aviation, but they can’t be called a “museum” either: these types or their analogues were in service with the warring countries of Europe in 1939-1941 and were in no way inferior to the main Soviet front-line bombers.
For 116 Romanian fighters, the picture is even more interesting: 40 German Messerschmitts Bf-109E and 28 Heinkel-112, 12 British Hawker Hurricane Mk I, 36 Romanian IAR-80, whose performance characteristics are better than those of our I-16 and I- 153, and the "Messers" - no worse than the latest MiG-3, Yak-1, LaGG-3. Polish-made fighters PZL.P.11 and PZL.P.24 (another 120 units) - those, however, are no longer a “fashion cry”, but no more outdated than our I-15, I-153 and I-16 - in rarely participated in battles. Scouts "Blenheim", IAR-39, seaplanes "Kant" Z501 and "Savoy" SM.55 and 62 are not worse than the R-5, R-10 or MBR-2 and Sh-2 of the eastern enemy.
The structure of the Romanian Air Force on the Eastern Front:
Flotilla Group Squadron Armament
1st bomber flotilla (Flotila 1 Borabardament) Gr.1 Bomb. Esc.71 Bomb.
SM.79B "Savoie" Esc.72 Bomb. SM.79B "Savoy"
Gr.4 Bomb. Esc.76 Bomb. PZL P.37B Los
Esc.77 Bomb. PZL P.37B Los
Gr.5 Bomb. Esc.78 Bomb. He-111H-3
Esc.79 Bomb. He-111H-3
Esc.80 Bomb. He-111H-3
2nd bomber flotilla (Flotila 2 Borabardament) Gr.2 Bomb. Esc.73 Bomb. Potez 633B-2
Esc.74 Bomb. Potez 633B-2
- Esc.18 Bomb. IAR-373
- Esc.82 Bomb. Bloch 210
1st Fighter Flotilla (Flotila 1 Vanatoare) Gr.5 Van. Esc.51 Van.
He-112B
Esc.52 Van. He-112B
Gr.7 Van. Esc.56 Van. Bf-109E-3/E-4
Esc.57 Van. Bf-109E-3/E-4
Esc.58 Van. Bf-109E-3/E-4
Gr.8 Van. Esc.41 Van. IAR-80A
Esc.59 Van. IAR-80A
Esc.60 Van. IAR-80A
2nd Reconnaissance Flotilla (Flotila 2 Galati) - Esc.11 Obs.
IAR-38
- Esc.12 Obs. IAR-38
- Esc.13 Obs. IAR-38
- Esc.14 Obs. IAR-39
- - Esc.1 Obs./Bomb. Bristol "Blenheim" Mk.I
The armored forces of Romania on June 22, 1941 consisted of 126 R-2 tanks (Czech LT-35 of a special modification, at that time a very, very decent vehicle), 35 R-1 light tanks (as part of motorized regiments of cavalry divisions); in addition, 48 cannon and 28 machine gun Renault FT-17s were in reserve. Plus, 35 Polish tanks Renault P-35 interned in 1939.
So, as the reader can see, the Romanian army was by no means as helpless and weak as it is sometimes presented in various kinds of "historical" literature!
The Romanians fought against us until September 1944, constantly keeping military contingents of 180,000 - 220,000 bayonets and cavalry on the Eastern Front. It was a very significant support for the Wehrmacht, no matter what our marshals and generals later said in their memoirs.
However, in the history of World War II, it is not mentioned in sufficient detail that the Romanian army at the final stage of the war quite steadfastly and skillfully fought in the same ranks with the Red Army against the now common enemy - the German Wehrmacht.
The history of such an unexpected military commonwealth was as follows:
By August 1944, it became clear that the sector of the Soviet-German front, which was held by the Romanian troops, would no longer stand and could soon simply collapse, plus the general desertion from the Romanian army began, the soldiers went home in whole units.
The top leadership of the country realized that a little more and Romania would simply be occupied, moreover, it would turn up ruinous reparations and become part of the general system of countries defeated in another world war.
The main obstacle in getting out of the war was the Romanian military dictator Antonescu, it was he who prevented Romania from having time to jump into the last carriage along with all the victorious countries.
Events happened quicklyOn August 23, 1944, Antonescu was summoned by King Mihai I to the palace, where he demanded that he immediately conclude a truce with the Red Army. Antonescu refused, offering to continue the war against the USSR and that it was necessary to warn his own about a truce. ally - Germany at least 15 days in advance. Immediately after this, Antonescu was arrested and taken into custody, and already on August 24, Romania announced its withdrawal from the war.12-th of September1944 Romania and the USSR signed an armistice.
From the Armistice Agreement with Romania on September 12, 1944 (extract):
I. From 04:00 on August 24, 1944, Romania completely ceased hostilities against the USSR in all theaters of war, withdrew from the war against the United Nations, broke off relations with Germany and its satellites, entered the war and will wage war on the side of the Allied Powers against Germany and Hungary in order to restore its independence and sovereignty, for which it puts up at least 12 infantry divisions with reinforcements.
The military operations of the Romanian armed forces, including the navy and air fleet, against Germany and Hungary will be carried out under the general leadership of the Allied (Soviet) High Command ...
4. The state border between the USSR and Romania, established by the Soviet-Romanian agreement of June 28, 1940, is being restored ...
II. Losses caused Soviet Union hostilities and the occupation of Soviet territory by Romania, will be reimbursed by Romania to the Soviet Union, and, taking into account that Romania not only withdrew from the war, but declared war and is waging it in practice against Germany and Hungary, the Parties agree that compensation for these losses will be produced by Romania not completely, but only partially, namely: in the amount of 300 million Amer. dollars with redemption within six years in goods (petroleum products, grain, timber, sea and river vessels, various machinery, etc.) ... ( In subsequent years, this amount was significantly reduced by the Soviet government. - Ed.)
14. The Government and the High Command of Romania undertake to cooperate with the Allied (Soviet) High Command in detaining persons accused of war crimes and trying them.
15. The Romanian government undertakes to immediately disband all pro-Hitler (fascist), political, military, paramilitary, and other organizations hostile to the United Nations, in particular the Soviet Union, propaganda located on Romanian territory, and continue to prevent the existence of such organizations. ..
19. The Allied Governments consider the decision of the Vienna Arbitration ( Vienna Arbitration - this is the name of the decision taken by Nazi Germany and fascist Italy in August 1940 in Vienna on the rejection of Northern Transylvania from Romania. - Ed.) non-existent and agree that Transylvania (all or most) be returned to Romania, which is subject to approval in a peace settlement, and Soviet government agrees that the Soviet troops for this purpose take part in joint military operations with Rumania against Germany and Hungary.
"Foreign policy of the Soviet Union in the period Patriotic War", vol. II, M., 1946, pp. 206, 208 - 209. http://historic.ru/books/item/f00/s00/z0000022/st017.shtml
As can be seen from this agreement, Romania was given significant concessions to compensate the Soviet Union for the losses it suffered during the war, but most importantly, the Romanians received for their entry into the war on the side of the Allies the strategic region of Northern Transylvania, which had previously been given by Germany to the Hungarians as a bonus for a future union.
However, Transylvania still needed to be recaptured from the Germans and Hungarians, the Romanians hastily set about forming a group of their troops for joint operations with the Red Army as part of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. For these tasks, the Romanian command re-created the 1st Army on the basis of infantry divisions and training units previously withdrawn from the Crimea andthe new 4th Army (almost entirely made up of training units), in total, the Romanian group consisted of 15 infantry divisions.
On September 1, the creation of the 1st Romanian Air Corps (Corpul 1 Aerian Roman) was announced to support the Soviet offensive in Transylvania and Slovakia. A total of 210 aircraft, half of which were German-made, so it turned out that ground troops The Red Army in some areas was supported by Romanian pilots on Henschels, Junkers and Messers. Later, another Romanian air corps was formed.
After some hesitation, and they were, the Soviet command finally decided to use the Romanian troops on their front, the Soviet commanders had concerns about the combat capability of the Romanian troops, but subsequent events showed that they were in vain.
Soon the Romanian royal army took part in the hardest battles that were fought at that time in most of the territory of Hungary, the last ally of the Germans, the Hungarians, realized that their fate was to be among the defeated and therefore they were not going to give Transylvania to the Romanians easily.
At the end of 1944-1945, the Romanian ground forces took an active part in the Bucharest-Arad and Debrecen operations.
The Romanian troops suffered especially heavy losses while participating in the Budapest operation, two Romanian armies acted in this direction at once, it was then, in the hardest street battles during the capture of Budapest, that the Soviet and Romanian soldiers acted together, in close cooperation and with mutual support.
So, for example, the 2nd tank regiment of the “new” Romanian army, consisting of a headquarters, a reconnaissance company (8 armored vehicles and 5 armored personnel carriers), the 1st tank battalion (8 Pz. IV and 14 TAs) and the 2nd tank battalion (28 R-35/45 and R-35, 9 T-38, 2 R-2, 5 TACAM R-2), in March 1945, was sent to the front in Slovakia.
It is noteworthy that he was subordinate 27th tank brigade The Red Army - it was against her that the Romanian tankers fought in August 1944.
On March 26, having crossed the Hron River, Dumitru's unit broke into German positions, destroying 6 anti-tank guns and capturing a battery of 15 cm howitzers. Further progress was stopped by a counterattack by the German Tigers. The Romanians had to retreat. Surprisingly, they never suffered losses from experienced Germans.
On March 28, a tank unit under the command of Dumitru again attacked the Germans near the village of Mal-Schetin, where his crew, together with the crew of Sergeant Cojocaru, destroyed a StuG IV assault gun, an armored personnel carrier and two anti-tank guns, as well as several transporters. The Germans retreated, and the Soviet infantry occupied the village.
On March 31, Romanian tankers and Soviet infantrymen met a strong German group - it included a platoon of Tigers, a platoon of heavy anti-tank self-propelled guns (Dimitra believed that these were Ferdinands), as well as a company of Hungarian tanks Pz. IV. The allies were also attacked by German aircraft. At the same time, one German bomber was shot down and fell next to the Tigers, damaging two of them. Incredible military success! Taking advantage of the confusion of the enemy, the Romanian tankers launched an attack, destroying two and knocking out two more Hungarian tanks.
The Germans retreated, but the damaged "Tigers" were never abandoned, dragged with them, taking them in tow. http://www.tankfront.ru/snipers/axis/ion_s_dumitru.html
Subsequently, the Romanian troops participated in the West Carpathian operation and at the final stage of the war in the Prague offensive operation.
The total losses of the Romanian troops after August 1944 amounted to 129,316 people, of which 37,208 people died, died from wounds and went missing, 92,108 people were wounded and sick
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%F3%EC%FB%ED%E8%FF_%E2%EE_%C2%F2%EE%F0%EE%E9_%EC%E8%F0%EE %E2%EE%E9_%E2%EE%E9%ED%E5
According to other sources, the total losses of the Romanian troops killed and missing in battles with the Wehrmacht amounted to 79,709 people.
http://vladislav-01.livejournal.com/8589.html
Another source indicates that in total Romania lost 170 thousand in battles with German and Hungarian troops. The correct number is probably somewhere in the middle.
But they fought especially actively and effectively as part of the Soviet troops - these are Romanian pilots, even though, by the end of 1944. Romanian military aviation was in a rather deplorable state.
The first sorties over Czechoslovakia were carried out by Romanian aviation as part of the 5th Air Army of the Red Army Air Force. Attack aircraft worked in the interests of the 27th and 40th Soviet combined arms armies.
In the second half of December, when fighting moved to the territory of Slovakia, the Romanian aviation corps had 161 combat aircraft. In reality, the number of aircraft fit for flight was much smaller: due to the lack of spare parts, combat readiness did not exceed 30-40%. The largest group that the Romanians sent to combat missions there was a six, but more often they flew in fours. The critical situation with spare parts for German-made equipment forced several serviceable aircraft to be cannibalized. Several serviceable and damaged captured aircraft were handed over to the Romanians by the Soviet command.
Despite all the efforts of the Romanian pilots, they were unable to satisfy the requirements of the Soviet command that were far from reality. Two - three sorties a day to attack the positions of the German-Hungarian troops seemed an impossible task. Nevertheless, the constant strikes that the Henschels and Junkers inflicted on fortified defense points, railway stations, and reconnaissance brought tangible benefits to the Red Army troops.
The importance of the actions of the Romanian pilots was repeatedly noted by thanks in the orders, some pilots received Soviet military orders and medals. http://www.allaces.ru/cgi-bin/s2.cgi/rom/publ/01.dat
February 14, 1945 the air war became even more violent. Five Romanian Hs-129s destroyed four trucks and several wagons in the vicinity of Podriceni. Then the Henschels, together with Ju-87 dive bombers, attacked the Lovinobanya railway station. This day was also not without losses: one Henschel crashed in Miskolc during a flyby after engine repairs, the adjutant pilot Vasile Skripchar died. The violinist was known in Romania not only as a pilot, but also as a talented reporter and artist.
On January 15, the first goal of the offensive operation was achieved - the Soviet troops liberated Luchinets. During the offensive, Romanian aviation carried out 510 sorties, flying 610 hours and dropping about 200 tons of bombs. The pilots bombed nine prefabricated trains, three fuel trains, three important bridges and a large number of pieces of equipment. The reports of the Romanian pilots were reflected in the operational reports of the command of the Soviet 27th combined arms and 5th air armies. http://www.allaces.ru/cgi-bin/s2.cgi/rom/publ/01.dat
On February 20, the commander of the 5th air army, General Ermachenko, and the chief of staff of the 40th army, General Sharapov, arrived at the command post of the 1st Romanian air corps. The generals discussed with the Romanian officers a plan for future actions. On the morning of February 21, the guidance officers of the 1st Air Corps of the Romanian Air Force moved to forward observation posts to study the terrain in detail and prepare the data necessary for planning air strikes. In a speech to the Romanian pilots and technicians, the Soviet general, in particular, said an interesting phrase: "... we hope that our Romanian comrades will not let us down." And they did not disappoint.
In some areas, direct air support for the advancing troops was assigned exclusively to the Romanian Air Force. Bad weather delayed the start of aviation combat work by one day. On February 25, the sky cleared of clouds, the planes were able to take off.
This day is marked in the history of the Romanian Air Force with unusually high activity, victories and losses. In 148 sorties, Romanian pilots dropped into positions German troops in the Ochova-Detva-Zvoleska Slatina triangle there are 35 tons of bombs. The pilots reported about three destroyed half-tracked armored vehicles, one self-propelled artillery mount, two cars, five horse-drawn carts and eight machine-gun nests, and many enemy soldiers and officers destroyed. When attacking ground targets, the Henschel of adjutant Viktor Dumbrava received a direct hit from an anti-aircraft gun projectile, the pilot hardly pulled it over the front line and plopped down on an emergency landing near Detva.
The 25th was also a busy day for the fighters. On the fifth sortie that day, Captain Cantacuzino and his wingman adj took off. Traian Dbrjan. Above the front line, they found eight Fw-190Fs storming the Soviet troops. Without hesitation, they rushed into battle, and one by one.
http://www.allaces.ru/cgi-bin/s2.cgi/rom/publ/01.dat 
This is how the Romanian pilots, not sparing their lives, covering our troops from the air.
On May 6, the last offensive wars in Europe - a breakthrough to Prague. Romanian aviation supported the ground forces advancing on Proteev. On May 7, Romanian pilots managed to destroy 15 vehicles northwest of Proteev.
On May 8, pilots stormed columns of enemy troops and equipment on the roads in the vicinity of Urchitsa and Vyshovitsa. The 2nd Fighter Group lost its last pilot in the war - it was slt. av. Remus Vasilescu.
On May 9, 1945, only IAR-39 biplanes took off under the escort of Messerschmitts, who scattered leaflets. The Germans surrendered without offering resistance.
However, the war for the Romanian aviators ended a little later. On May 11, the Romanians carried out, struck at parts of the Russian liberation army General Vlasov. The Vlasovites had nothing to lose, and they desperately resisted in the forests under the Hungarian Ford. On the evening of May 11, 1945, the planes (several bombers under cover of four Bf-109Gs) returned from the last sortie of the Romanian Air Force in World War II. Over the territory of Czechoslovakia, Romanian pilots fought for 144 days.
In total, until the end of the war (on May 12, 1945), the 1st Corps accounted for 8542 sorties and the destruction of 101 enemy aircraft (together with anti-aircraft gunners). Losses amounted to 176 aircraft shot down by fighters, air defense and destroyed in numerous accidents in bad weather conditions in the winter and spring of 1945.
There is concrete data only on the participation of Henschels, on the rest - fragmentary data. So, in five months of hostilities, from December 19, 1944 to May 11, 1945, the pilots of the 41st assault squadron ("Henschels") completed 422 sorties, flying 370 hours and dropping 130 tons of bombs. As a result of the squadron's actions, 66 columns of enemy troops were dispersed, 185 cars and 66 horse-drawn carts were destroyed, Henschel pilots smashed 13 trains at railway stations, among other destroyed enemy property - artillery pieces, mortars, machine guns. The squadron lost eight HS-129B attack aircraft. Pilots "pieces" only in Slovakia made 107 sorties, flying 374 hours. They dropped 210 tons of bombs on 37 railway stations and 36 enemy positions. 3 tanks, 61 trucks and 6 anti-aircraft batteries were recorded as destroyed.
During the entire war, the Romanian Air Force lost 4172 people, of which 2977 fought for Germany (972 dead, 1167 wounded and 838 missing) and 1195 fought against Germany (respectively 356, 371 and 468).
http://www.allaces.ru/cgi-bin/s2.cgi/rom/publ/01.dat
Thus, the Romanian Royal Army, starting the war as one of the main allies of the German Wehrmacht, ended it as one of the main allies of the Red Army, in the southwestern direction of the Soviet-German front.
The paradox of history, however, was that many Romanian soldiers and officers in the victorious year of 1945 had both the Romanian awards they received for the capture of Sevastopol and the Soviet medals for the capture of Budapest on their dress uniforms.
Romanian King MihaiIstill remains the only living cavalier of the highest Soviet military order "Victory"
(Romania. Continued)
First World War
Main article: Romanian campaign (1916–1917)
During the First World War, Romania at first adhered to neutrality, then entered on August 28, 1916 on the side of the Entente under the influence of the victories of the Russian army. On August 15 (August 28), 1916, Romanian troops entered Transylvania. At first, the offensive was successful for Romania, but problems with logistical support quickly affected, and after the transfer of German troops from Western Front the situation worsened sharply. The troops of the Central Powers quickly defeated the relatively weak Romanian army and by the end of 1916 occupied Dobruja and all of Wallachia, including the capital, Bucharest. The royal family, government and parliament moved to Iasi. The army and a significant part of the civilian population retreated to Moldova.
The Second World War
Romania in 1941
Main article: Romania in World War II
During World War II, Romania was an ally Nazi Germany. Romanian troops participated in the war against the USSR. From the Soviet territories occupied by Romania, three new provinces were created: Bessarabia, which included the right-bank part of the Moldavian SSR, the Izmail region, Transnistria, which included the left-bank part of the MSSR and parts of the Odessa, Nikolaev and Vinnitsa regions of the Ukrainian SSR, and Bukovina, formed by the Romanian authorities on the territory of the occupied Chernivtsi regions of the Ukrainian SSR USSR.
Until 1944, there was a limited military contingent of the Wehrmacht in the country. The German air defense units have created a strong air defense system to protect the oil fields of the Ploiesti region from the air attack of the United Nations aircraft.
The Ploiesti region throughout the war was the main supplier of oil for the economy of the Third German Reich and was repeatedly subjected to Allied air bombardments. anti-Hitler coalition and shelling from the sea by warships of the Soviet Navy.
In August 1944, King Mihai I, allied with the anti-fascist opposition, ordered the arrest of Antonescu and the pro-German generals and declared war on Germany. After that, Soviet troops were introduced into Bucharest, and the allied Romanian army, together with the Soviet one, fought against the Nazi coalition in Hungary, and then in Austria.
After the Second World War, Romania fell into the sphere of influence of the USSR, the country has established Soviet system legislature, but allowed controlled democracy in local elections.
In 1965, Nicolae Ceausescu came to power, who pursued a more independent policy. In particular, he condemned the entry of Soviet troops into Czechoslovakia in 1968, continued diplomatic relations with Israel after the six-day war in 1967, and established diplomatic and economic relations with the Federal Republic of Germany. But between 1977 and 1981, Romania's foreign debt increased from $3 billion to $10 billion, which increased the influence of international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The policy of austerity, as well as the beginning of perestroika in the USSR, led to an increase in dissatisfaction with the policies of Ceausescu.
Post-socialist Romania
In December 1989, the Romanian Revolution took place, as a result of which Ceausescu was overthrown and executed, and power passed into the hands of the National Salvation Front, an interim parliament was created - the Council of National Unity.
In May 1990, the first free presidential and parliamentary elections were held.
On March 29, 2004, Romania joined NATO, and on January 1, 2007, it joined the EU.
General condition, main indicators
Advantages: oil reserves, potential for tourism, declining inflation. Strong recovery since 2000 thanks to export growth.
Weak sides: strong corruption, high inflation (8.1% in 2008). The protracted transition from a planned to a market economy. Slowly advancing market reform. Small volume of foreign investments.
One of the largest sectors of the economy is oil production, Rompetrol occupies a significant market share, but oil reserves are insignificant and its production is constantly decreasing.
Hour 0. The Air Force Headquarters issues Combat Order No. 1001: all aviation formations must comply with Operational Directives Nos. 33, 34 and 35, developed during the period April-June 1941: reconnaissance and bomber aircraft will cross the eastern border of Romania, the river. Prut, at 4 o'clock in the morning! All aviation units read the Appeal to the troops, signed by General Ion Antonescu, the supreme commander ("Fighters, I order you to cross the Prut!") and Order No. 1 for the Air Force, signed by squadron general aviator Gheorghe Zhienescu: "Flyers, you have the honor to carry to victory on three-colored cross in the sky of Romanianism! The task for today is this: if the crew has used up all the ammunition, but could not win the battle, it sends its car to the enemy aircraft! (I find it difficult to literally translate, but the meaning is this: not shot down - ram the enemy plane!) Young flyers, the Motherland expects from you complete self-sacrifice ... "
GAL completed 12 combat missions: 5 for bombing, 4 for long-range reconnaissance and 3 for short-range. 124 aircraft were involved (56 bombers, 64 fighters and 4 reconnaissance aircraft).
At 03.50, a Bristol Blenheim aircraft (tail number "36") set off for long-range reconnaissance. Crew: crew commander, lieutenant commander Corneliu Batacuy, commander of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron; junior lieutenant Nicolae Urytu - letnab; and junior military specialist Vasile Caruntu - radiotelegrapher. The aircraft did not carry defensive weapons and did not have fighter cover. He bombed the airfields in Ungheni and Belgorod-Dnestrovsk and discovered and transmitted by radio the coordinates of the airfields in Kulevcha and Bolgrad. In the Bolgrad area, the reconnaissance aircraft was intercepted by Soviet fighters and shot down. The pilots of this crew became the first losses of the Romanian aviation in the Second World War.
In the future, bomber sorties, from 03.50 to 13.15, were covered by fighters.
Results of the first day of the war: 48 enemy aircraft destroyed (8 - in air battles, 3 shot down by anti-aircraft artillery and 37 destroyed on the ground). Own losses: 11 aircraft destroyed, 37 crew members killed, wounded or missing.
Squadron General Aviator Gheorghe Zhienescu said later: "Small but determined, our Air Force rushed into the sky, starting a life-and-death battle with the enemy air spike."
On June 22, 1941, units of the Romanian army and the German Wehrmacht were on alert on the eastern border of Romania, on the river. Rod. In the north, in Bukovina, the 3rd Romanian Army was located (commander: General Petre Dumitrescu). The following combat mission was entrusted to it: the liberation of the city of Chernivtsi, the development of an offensive towards the Dniester and the Bug, bypassing the enemy grouping in the direction of Odessa-Crimea.
In the east, on the Prut, the 11th Army of the Wehrmacht was located (commander: General R. von Schobert). Task: advance in the direction of Chisinau-Tiraspol-Nikolaev, with the support of the forces of the 4th German Air Corps and the 1st Romanian Armored Division. The 4th Romanian Army (commander: General Nicolae Chuperca) was also located on the same sector with the task of advancing in a southerly direction towards Bolgrad-Belgorod-Dnestrovsk-Odessa. The Combat Air Group (GAL) was tasked to support the actions of the 4th Romanian Army, mainly in the areas of crossing the river. Rod. The development of the offensive of the 3rd Romanian Army led to the liberation of the city of Chernivtsi on July 5, 1941. Chisinau was liberated on July 16, 1941. The Dniester was completed by July 26, 1941, when the Romanian troops entered Belgorod-Dnestrovsk.
But the fighting continued. GAL continued to make sorties over the river. Dniester and r. Bug against the retreating enemy.
The most fierce battles unfolded in the area of the bridgehead at n. n. Falciu, Tsiganka-Stoenesti-Kania region, where the Romanian troops tried to gain a foothold on the left bank of the river. Rod. Ground troops from the 5th Romanian Army Corps were supposed to secure the right flank of the front and advance on Chisinau in the region of the hilly-forested Korneshti. The operation to force the river. Prut, launched on July 4, 1941, was provided with bomber and fighter aircraft from the GAL. By July 12, 1941, the situation of the 5th Romanian Army Corps became critical. Bridgehead at N. p. Falciu was under threat. The GAL intervention was swift and effective: 9 bombing sorties by 113 aircraft (59 bombers and 54 fighters) between 0850-1940. This made it possible to cancel the retreat scheduled for the night of July 12-13 across the river. Prut of the 5th Romanian Army Corps. Romanian pilots showed their best side, performing heroic deeds. So, junior lieutenant aviator Vasile Claru from the 2nd Fighter Flotilla, in an air duel with six enemy aircraft, having used up all the ammunition, rammed an enemy fighter with his IAR-80. The feat of the pilot was duly appreciated - he was posthumously awarded the highest award of the Romanian army - the Military Order "Mihai Vityaz". On the same day, July 12, 1941, lieutenant aviator reserve engineer Ioan Lascu died a heroic death. He was shot down on He.112 in the Tsiganka area. Returning from a combat mission against ground forces, he refused to be replaced, and was shot down in a dogfight on his next sortie. He was also awarded the Military Order "Mihai Vityaz".
During the campaign in Bessarabia, Romanian aviation shot down 242 enemy aircraft (83 in air battles, 108 destroyed on the ground and 51 shot down by anti-aircraft artillery). Their losses amounted to 43 vehicles (7 - in air battles, 13 destroyed on the ground, 4 shot down by anti-aircraft artillery and 18 - not installed). Losses in the crews - 117 people, of which 46 officers, 25 non-commissioned officers, 9 military specialists and 37 privates. In total, the losses of the personnel of the Romanian aviation were as follows: 252 people, of which 57 were killed, 108 were wounded and 87 were missing.
Battle for Odessa
The capture of the city of Odessa was one of the priorities of the Romanian army. Odessa was a powerful naval base and a constant threat to Romania, as it was located 150 km from Sulina and the mouth of the Danube, about 300 km from Constanta and the bridge over the Danube at Cernavod, and 200 km from Bucharest and the Ployesti oil region. Valya Prakhovey. The offensive of the 4th Romanian Army against Odessa lasted 70 days, from August 8 to October 16, 1941. In total, in 1941, the Romanian troops fought for 118 days. Only from the 4th Romanian Army, 340,223 military personnel (12,049 officers, 9,845 non-commissioned officers and 318,329 soldiers) were involved in the offensive against Odessa. Of these, 90,000 were lost killed, wounded and missing (officers - 28.5%, non-commissioned officers - 14.6% and soldiers - 28.7%).
The performance of the GAL combat aviation in this operation was impressive: 5594 aircraft were involved; 1733 sorties were completed (163 reconnaissance, 344 bomber, 714 fighter and 512 communications). 1249 tons of bombs were dropped on the enemy; 151 enemy aircraft were shot down. Their losses amounted to 20 destroyed aircraft.
The landing of Soviet troops at Chebanki-Grigorievka, east of Odessa, on the night of September 21-22, 1941, created a real threat to the Romanian troops. The 5th Romanian Army Corps and the 13th Infantry Division were forced to retreat. GAL for ten hours (07.55-18.10) involved 94 aircraft (32 bombers and 62 fighters), of which 71 operated directly in the landing zone. At n.p. Dalnik, east of Odessa, on the night of October 1-2, 1941, Soviet troops managed to encircle units of the 4th Romanian Army, the situation of which became critical. And only the active intervention of GAL aviation (40-60 aircraft were involved daily) saved the situation, and even then, only by October 4th.
During the offensive operation on Odessa, on August 21, 1941, near the settlement. Vasilyevskaya, the commander of the 7th Fighter Group, captain-commander (posthumously) Alexandru Popishtyanu, holder of the Order of Mihai Vityaz, died in an air battle.
On October 16, 1941, Romanian troops entered Odessa, and thus the 1941 campaign was practically over. Parts of the GAL returned to their homeland to make up for losses. Various aviation units remained in the combat zone, subordinate to the 3rd Romanian Army, as well as military units located in Tiraspol, Nikolaev and Odessa. The result of the GAL activity in the 1941 campaign was impressive: 7857 aircraft flew on missions; 2405 sorties were completed; 266 enemy aircraft were destroyed; 1974.86 tons of bombs were dropped. Their losses amounted to 40 aircraft.
Restoration of aviation units. Air Force equipment plan for the 1942-1943 campaign.
Restoration of aviation units in the winter of 1941-1942. was a difficult and complex process that involved the psychological and physical recovery of the crews, the repair of equipment, the replacement of losses and the replacement of equipment. For 1942-1943 A plan was adopted to equip the Air Force by importing equipment from Germany and the local aviation industry. A major role in this was assigned to the IAR Brasov plant, which covered 50% of the Air Force's requests (IAR-80, 81, 37, 38, 39 aircraft, aircraft engines and other equipment) and was one of the largest aircraft factories in Southeast Europe (about 5,000 workers). ).
Also, he provided for the creation of the required number of anti-aircraft batteries for:
a) air defense of the territory of the country,
b) air defense of ground units at the front,
c) support of aviation units.
This plan was only partially implemented fast development events did not allow suppliers to fulfill their obligations.
At the beginning of 1942, there were only units on the Eastern Front, aviation and anti-aircraft, subordinate to the 3rd and 4th Romanian Armies, since the enemy's aviation units were not active.
Romanian aviation on the Stalingrad front and at the bend of the Don (1942)
1) GAL (commander: squadron general aviator Yermil Georgiou) with 17 squadrons (2 - reconnaissance, 4 - heavy bombers, 3 - light bombers, 6 - fighter, 2 - fighter-bomber / assault);
2) Air Force of the 3rd Army with 3 reconnaissance squadrons and an anti-aircraft artillery regiment (8 batteries: 2 - 75mm, 5 - 37mm and 1 - 13.2mm);
3) Air Force of the 4th Army with 3 reconnaissance squadrons and a group of anti-aircraft artillery (6 batteries: 2 - 75mm, 3 - 37mm and 1 - 13.2mm);
4) 4th Air Defense Brigade with 21 batteries (8 - 75mm, 11 - 37mm, 1 - 13.2mm and 1 - radar); and
5) Advanced Aviation Zone with 2 regional technical bases, 5 mobile workshops, 1 ambulance aircraft, 1 air transport group and 3 motor transport columns.
Aviation units, operationally subordinate to the 4th German Air Fleet, were located at two base airfields, Tatsinskaya and Morozovskaya, located between the Don and Donets, and four advanced airfields, Karpovka, Shutov, Bukovskaya, Pereyaslovskiy. The actions of the Romanian aviation were aimed at supporting the 6th German Army in the Stalingrad region and the 3rd Romanian Army at the bend of the Don. In the battle for Stalingrad, the Romanian fighter aircraft accompanied the German bomber aircraft during all its sorties. Basically, bombs were dropped on the northern part of the city, on fuel depots and railway tracks. At the same time, Romanian aviation operates in the northern direction of the offensive of the 6th German Army in the Kotluban area. It bombs concentrations of infantry, armored and motorcades, railway tracks and buildings at the Kotluban, Katlinino, Ilovinskaya and Frolov stations. In September-October 1942 alone, 46 enemy aircraft were reported shot down in air battles (38 were confirmed). Until November 19, 1942, Romanian reconnaissance aviation informed the command about the accumulation of enemy troops in the Kletskaya and Serafimovichi sectors and at the Chebotarev bridgehead, directly in front of the positions of the 3rd Romanian Army.
The Soviet counteroffensive on November 19-25, 1942 in the zone of the 3rd Romanian Army forced it to retreat and in March 1944 reach the northeastern borders of Romania. The German 6th Army was surrounded and capitulated at Stalingrad, as were most of the Romanian ground units around the Don bend. Due to adverse weather conditions, the actions of the Romanian and German aviation were very limited.
The encircled group of General Mikhail Lasker was supplied with aviation as far as possible. On the morning of November 22, Captain Valentin Stanescu flew around the encircled troops on the Fieseler Storch and landed near the village. Golovsky, which housed the headquarters of the 6th Romanian Infantry Division. He brought to General Petre Dumitrescu, commander of the 3rd Romanian Army, the last message of the encircled, signed by Generals Lascar, Mazarin and Sian:
"1. The situation is very difficult. This morning (November 22) a very powerful tank attack began, with the support of the Katyushas on the left of the D.5I sector, on the right of the D.6I sector and on the left of the D.15I sector. The ring is shrinking every hour.
2. Only 40 artillery shells left. Most mortar mines have been used up. The infantry has very little ammo. Anti-tank artillery of all calibers is ineffective against enemy tanks. Infantry perishes under the tracks of tanks.
3. A very large number of wounded, but very few medicines.
4. We can hold out until tomorrow at most. People haven't eaten for three days. On the night of November 22 to November 23, a breakthrough is planned in the direction of Chernyshevskaya.
7 IAG located at the Karpovka airfield, on November 22 and 23, was forced, using the guns of the Bf.109G aircraft, to repel enemy attacks and evacuate under fire to the West, to the Morozovskaya airfield.
1st Romanian Royal Air Corps
In the period April-June 1943, at the Kirovograd airfield, with the support of the Luftwaffe, the 1st Romanian Royal Air Corps was created. The German side provided aircraft for all types of aviation (fighter, bomber, assault, reconnaissance), which were purchased by the Romanians; training of crews and ground personnel; provision (repair, fuel, etc.). In operational terms, the Corps was subordinate to the 4th German Air Fleet. On June 16, 1943, the 1st Romanian Royal Air Corps (commander: Squadron General Aviator Emanoil Ionescu, nicknamed "Pipitsu") entered the battle. He carried out both independent operations and in support of the Romanian-German troops operating on the Eastern Front, in the areas of Mius-Izyum-Donets, the bend of the Dnieper-Dnieper, Bessarabia, Moldova, covering their retreat to the West.
On June 15, 1943, the combat component of the 1st Romanian Royal Air Corps included: 1 reconnaissance squadron with 12 Ju.88D-1 aircraft; 1 fighter air group (3 squadrons) with 40 Bf.109G aircraft; 1 air group of heavy bombers (3 squadrons) with 25 aircraft (12 less than required by the state) Ju.88А; 1 air group of dive bombers (3 squadrons) with 29 aircraft (12 less than required by the state) Ju.87; 1 transport squadron with 4 Ju.52 aircraft; 1 liaison squadron with 10 Fieseler Fleet and IAR-38 aircraft; 1 anti-aircraft artillery regiment (3 divisions) with 78 anti-aircraft guns to provide air defense of airfields. In August 1943, the 8th Assault Air Group (3 squadrons) arrived at the front with 34 Hs.129 aircraft. Thus, in the 1st Romanian Royal Air Corps, there were 140 combat and 14 auxiliary aircraft, and 78 anti-aircraft guns.
Intensive use of equipment (5-6 and even 8 sorties / day / attack aircraft and 4-6 sorties / day / fighter) led from the very first months of the fighting to a strong deterioration of equipment (less than 52% of combat-ready aircraft). For the period 06/16/43-06/16/44, fighter aviation had the largest number of days with sorties (256) and sorties (6006); next were attack aircraft (185, 3869), dive bombers (160, 3644), and heavy bombers (161, 2579). Heavy bombers dropped 3,742.5 tons of bombs on the enemy.
According to archival data, the fighter aircraft of the 1st Romanian Royal Air Corps during this period won 299 confirmed air victories with the loss of 109 of their aircraft (of all types). In total, the Air Force won 401 victories, of which: anti-aircraft artillery - 62, heavy bombers - 13, dive bombers - 12, etc. The highest losses were among attack aircraft - 40, followed by fighters - 25, heavy bombers - 21, dive bombers - 15 and reconnaissance aircraft - 7. (I know that the sum of these numbers is not 109, but so in my source) Of the total number of losses , 86 were operational and 23 were lost in various accidents. Another 391 aircraft of the 1st Romanian Royal Air Corps were damaged in various accidents, but needed to be repaired in the field or at the factory. Thus, 500 aircraft were put out of action.
Human losses for the above mentioned period amounted to 84 people. The greatest losses were among officers (pilots) and non-commissioned officers (pilots) in bomber (12; 4) and assault (4; 9) aviation ...>
Large aviation losses are explained by the complexity of the tasks performed (low flight altitude, density of anti-aircraft fire, etc.) and the enemy's numerical superiority (1:3, and even 1:5 for fighter aircraft).
In 1944, the 1st Romanian Royal Air Corps was stationed in the south of Bessarabia and in Moldova. In March 1944, the eastern and northeastern parts of Romania again became a theater of operations. Until August 20, 1944, the front stabilized at the line of the Carpathians-Pashkany (or more correctly Pashkany)-Iasi-Chisinau.
In the period April-August 1944, the following events took place: the retreat of the German-Romanian troops from the Crimea and the American-British bombing of the Romanian territory, in particular the oil region of Ploiesti-Prahova.
Evacuation of the German-Romanian troops from the Crimea
The evacuation of the German-Romanian troops from the Crimea was carried out in two stages, and each time only with the personal permission of Hitler, who did not want to cede the Crimea, adhering to the geopolitical principle: "who owns the Crimea controls the Black Sea."
On April 9, 1944, from the Romanian troops in the Crimea were: 65083 people (2433 officers, 2423 non-commissioned officers and 60227 privates); 27472 horses; 7650 wagons; 1811 motor vehicles, including motorcycles; 206 guns; 293 anti-tank guns; 12 tanks, etc.
The results of the first phase of the evacuation of the German-Romanian troops from the Crimea (April 14-27, 1944): 72,358 people were evacuated by sea, 25 convoys were escorted by warships and partially by aircraft. Of the total number of evacuees, only 20,779 were Romanians, of which 2,296 were wounded. By air, by Romanian and German military transport aircraft, 6365 people were evacuated, of which 1199 Romanians (384 wounded).
The second phase of the evacuation (May 9-12, 1944) took place with heavy losses, since sea convoys, deprived of air cover, were constantly attacked by Soviet aircraft. Losses amounted to: 9 sunk and 5 damaged ships, and about 9,000 people were killed, of which 3,000 were Romanians.
Against the Germans
On August 23, 1944, a revolution took place in Bucharest and King Mihai officially announced the start of the war with Germany and its allies.
This development of events was a complete surprise for both the Romanian and German pilots. The seizure of aircraft and property of the Luftwaffe began. The Romanians got only 228 aircraft, but most of the airworthy machines were transferred to the new allies - the Red Army Air Force. Here is what the famous Soviet ace Skomorokhov recalled about this: "... German aircraft - Me-109 and FV-190 were captured at Romanian airfields. We had the opportunity to fly on them, to better study their strengths and weaknesses. And we immediately took advantage of this so suitable occasion. We quickly got used to the cockpit equipment of captured vehicles and began to try it in flights. Then we conducted a whole series of training air battles: "Messers" and "Fokkers" against "Lavochkins". We managed to identify many curious features in enemy vehicles, which later brought us invaluable benefit."
The cars that escaped confiscation received the identification marks of the new Romanian Air Force - red-yellow-blue cockades.
The first sortie of the Romanian Air Force was an attack by a pair of IAR-81Cs on a small post in Tanderey. As the prisoner later claimed German officer after the raid, out of 80 soldiers of the garrison, only 27 survived.
Almost immediately, the Germans began to bombard Bucharest. The fighters of the 7th and 9th fighter groups were raised to defend the capital, transferred to the Popesti-Leordeni airfield. They didn't have to be bored. So, already on August 25, Captain Cantacuzino (the best Romanian ace of World War II) led six Bf-109Gs to intercept 11 He-111s heading towards the city. The bombers went without cover, and as a result, the Luftwaffe missed six cars (three cars were shot down and three more were damaged). On the way back, the Romanian pilots found a group of Ju.87s, also marching without cover. It was not a sin to take advantage of this, and soon one "piece" was already burning out on the ground. Only a small remnant of fuel and ammunition from the attackers saved the "laptezhniki" from complete defeat. The next day, the Messers shot down three more German planes and destroyed two Ju-52s on the ground.
In total, until August 31, only the 9th IAG completed 41 sorties. The pilots scored 7 confirmed victories, three more were recorded as hypothetical and two machines were destroyed on the ground. After the “battle for the capital”, the 7th IAG was disbanded (due to the presence of literally several airworthy vehicles) and merged into the 9th IAG (Captain Lucian Toma was appointed the new commander).
On September 1, the creation of the 1st Romanian Air Corps (Corpul 1 Aerian Roman) was announced to support the Soviet offensive in Transylvania and Slovakia. Almost all available cars were transferred to air bases in southern Transylvania. New conditions dictated new rules - there was a radical reorganization of the air forces. And at the beginning of September, the Corps was:
Fighter Command
2nd Fighter Group (IAG): 65th and 66th Fighter Squadrons (IAE) (IAR-81C)
6th IAG: 59th, 61st and 62nd IAE (IAR-81C)
9th IAG: 47th, 48th and 56th IAE (Bf-109G)
Bomber Command
3rd Dive Bomber Group: 74th and 81st Dive Bomber Squadrons (Ju-87D5)
5th bomber group: 77th and 78th bomber squadrons (Ju-88A4)
8th Assault Group: 41st and 42nd Assault Squadrons (Hs-129B2)
11th and 12th Reconnaissance Squadrons (IAR-39)
2nd Long Range Reconnaissance Squadron (Ju-88D1)
transport squadron (Ju-52 and IAR-39, DFS-230 glider tugs)
A total of 210 aircraft, half of which were German-made, which created simply enormous difficulties in operation.
44th IAE (IAR-80B, IAR-81A and Bf-109G)
85th Dive Bomber Air Force (Ju-87D5)
60th assault aero (Hs-129B2)
14th and 15th reconnaissance aero (IAR-39)
Transylvania
In Transylvania, the IAR-81Cs were the first to appear, which on September 7 were relocated to the Tournizor airfield. Two days later, the pilots completed their first sortie. The most unpleasant surprise of the first day of combat for the pilots was the fact of shelling by Soviet anti-aircraft gunners, who damaged one aircraft. The anti-aircraft gunners, who managed to study well the silhouettes of Henschels and other German-made aircraft, opened fire without bothering to study the identification marks. Most could not even think that the Hs-129 or Ju-87 could fight on the side of the Red Army.
The departure of the eight Hs-129B-2 to the German positions in the area of the town of Turda near Koloshvar on September 14, 1944 ended even more tragically. Two Romanian aircraft shot down German Bf.109s from the 52nd Fighter Squadron and two - Soviet anti-aircraft artillery. However, the most severe were the losses of the flight crew - one pilot was killed, and another was seriously wounded in the hospital.
On the same day, the IAR pilots, after attacking the airfield in Someseni, recorded for themselves one Gota transport glider destroyed on the ground. On September 15, the same airfield (near Cluj) was "visited" by the Messerschmitts. The pilots approached from the north (from where they were not expected) and how at the training ground they shot all the equipment that was on the runway. The Re-2000, Fw-58 and three transport gliders of the Hungarian Air Force were brought into the number of those destroyed.
On September 16, IAR pilots first encountered German fighters. While covering the He-111H group, six IAR-81Cs were attacked by a pair of Bf-109Gs. By that time, the Romanian fighters were morally and physically obsolete, and therefore the "Messers", despite the numerical advantage of the enemy, shot down one aircraft - adjutant Iosif Ciuhulescu (adj. av. Iosif Ciuhulescu). On the same day, during a similar sortie, one bomber was shot down and one fighter damaged.
September 18 was marked by the first battle between the Romanian "Messers" and their German counterparts. The score was in favor of the latter - one Romanian fighter was shot down, and the pilot of the second made an emergency landing. After that, the "Messers" were transferred mainly to the escort of attack aircraft and bombers.
On September 23, eight IARs collided with a group of Bf-109Gs of the same size. In the ensuing skirmish (more like a beating), the 2nd Fighter Group lost 3 IAR-81Cs and two pilots. However, adjutant Andone Stavar (adj. av. Andone Stavar) managed to shoot down one of the attacking fighters, but this is more an accident than a pattern.
On the same day, IAR-81C (but from another group - the 6th IAG) also fought one more battle. Over Turda, during the cover of the Hs-129B2 raid, eight fighters were intercepted by eight Fw-190Fs. Soon, the ubiquitous "Messers" JG 52 pulled up to the area. In the battle, the Romanians lost two aircraft and one pilot. On their return, they recorded four downed Germans (but only two victories were confirmed). This was the last battle of the pilots of the group in the IARs - they soon began to master the "Messers" (it is worth noting that they could not master the new machines and the group could not take practically any part in further battles).
On September 25, the Air Corps lost 4 aircraft and 3 pilots at once (all IAR-81Cs). Four days later, another aircraft was lost (and again the pilot died). So in a short time, the 2nd Fighter Group lost 12 aircraft and 8 pilots killed and two wounded. Such catastrophic losses (such a level was not even near Stalingrad in 1942!) led to a complete decline in morale. The pilots began to actively express dissatisfaction, and in the end, the old IARs were transferred to ground attack work.
But the "Messers" distinguished themselves - Captain Toma shot down a Ju-188, but he himself was forced to land in the field (the gunners of the German bomber tried hard). The command of the group was again taken over by Captain Constantin Cantacuzino. In total, Romanian Bf.109s made 314 sorties in September.
In October and November the weather was very bad and the number of flights was minimal. In early November, the remaining IAR-81Cs were transferred to the Turkev airfield in Hungary. However, the Romanians managed to make the first sortie only on the 17th. The task was to attack the German column, very little is known about the results, only Lieutenant Gheorghe Mociornita (Lt. av. Gheorghe Mociornita) recorded a truck destroyed for himself (apparently, this was the only loss of the enemy). Five days later, the same pilot was able to destroy two more trucks, and adjutant Mihai Mormarla (adj. av. Mihai Momarla) destroyed an anti-aircraft battery. However, the losses were quite large: three aircraft were damaged during such attacks (two aircraft were able to make emergency landings on "friendly" territory). These were one of the last sorties in Transylvania, in December the group was transferred to the Miskolc airfield.
On November 17, a lone Ju-87D flew out to attack enemy positions south of Budapest (by the way, it’s completely incomprehensible why one). Naturally, he was attacked by German fighters. The damage was very large, and the pilot Adjutan Nicolae Stan (adj. sef av. Nicolae Stan) was seriously wounded (it is strange that there is no information about the gunner). Fortunately, Romanian fighters appeared in the area and the Germans abandoned the bomber, considering it shot down.
However, despite the unfavorable development of events, Nicolae was still alive and, after two unsuccessful attempts, was able to land on a Soviet airfield. He only had the strength to open the lantern. The pilot was immediately sent to a field hospital, where he met the end of the war.
The fighting in Transylvania continued until October 25, when the Romanian troops reached the modern Hungarian border. During the seven weeks of fighting, the Romanian aviation suffered heavy losses.
Slovakia
The first sorties over Czechoslovakia were carried out by Romanian aviation as part of the 5th Air Army of the Red Army Air Force. Attack aircraft worked in the interests of the 27th and 40th Soviet combined arms armies. In the second half of December, when the fighting moved to the territory of Slovakia, the Romanian aviation corps had 161 combat aircraft. In reality, the number of aircraft fit for flight was much smaller: due to the lack of spare parts, combat readiness did not exceed 30-40%. The largest group that the Romanians sent to combat missions was the six, but more often they flew in fours. The critical situation with spare parts for German-made equipment forced several serviceable aircraft to be cannibalized. Several serviceable and damaged captured aircraft were handed over to the Romanians by the Soviet command.
Despite all the efforts of the Romanian pilots, they were unable to satisfy the requirements of the Soviet command that were far from reality. Two - three sorties a day to attack the positions of the German-Hungarian troops seemed an impossible task. Nevertheless, the constant strikes that the Henschels and Junkers inflicted on fortified defense points, railway stations, and reconnaissance brought tangible benefits to the Red Army troops. The importance of the actions of the Romanian pilots was repeatedly noted by thanks in the orders, some pilots received Soviet military orders and medals.
On December 19, ten Hs-129Bs hit the Rimavska Sobota railway station in two waves, and then attacked a column of German troops on the highway leading out of the city. According to the reports of the pilots, one echelon was burned at the station, and four trucks were destroyed on the highway. Most likely, this was the first sortie of the Romanian aviation over Slovakia.
With the first success came the first losses. Already on the same day (December 19), five Romanian Henschels were intercepted by eight German Bf.109s, one attack aircraft was shot down. The pilot, who was slightly wounded, managed to make an emergency landing in the Miskolc area, during which the aircraft received minor damage.
On December 20, Romanian aircraft again appeared over the Rimavska Sobota station, they attacked the columns of German troops retreating to the west. Another object of the raid that day was the Filakovo railway station and the bridge located not far from it. On December 21, units of the 27th and 40th Soviet combined arms armies struck in the general direction of Luchenets. With the improvement of weather conditions, aviation activity increased. 19 aircraft from Grupul 8 Asalt/Picaj attacked targets located in southern Slovakia and reappeared over Filakovo station. On December 22, three Henschels attacked a column of troops on the street of the village of Zelena. First, the planes dropped bombs, and then they fired at the column with cannon-machine-gun fire.
The commander of the 27th Combined Arms Army, Colonel General Trofimenko, expressed gratitude in an order to the Romanian pilots for their actions from December 20 to 22, 1944. Romanian aviation continued to carry out combat sorties on December 23. "Henschels" bombed a column of German troops numbering 150 vehicles near the village of Kälna. 15 cars were set on fire. On the same day, the Filakovo station was subjected to another raid. On the same day, while escorting several Ju-87Ds, German pilots from JG.52 intercepted a lone Messer, in the cockpit of which sat Adj. av. Ioan Marinciu. At first he fought with two opponents, but soon there were four of them. It is clear that he had very little chance of surviving. The Romanian plane was practically torn to pieces, the pilot was injured in the face, arms and legs. But despite the huge blood loss, he was able to crash-land his Bf-109G6 near Zelok. Thanks to Soviet soldiers, the pilot was immediately sent to a field hospital and survived. By the way, an interesting detail - Ioan is still sure that Erich Hartmann shot him down.
On December 24, only one airworthy attack aircraft remained in the Henschel group, so only Ju-87 dive bombers flew on combat missions. Moreover, when returning, three "pieces" were intercepted by four "Messers". The German pilots mistook them for their own and, waving their wings, to the delight of the Romanian pilots, went home.
On the day of Catholic Christmas, December 25, the Romanian Air Force suffered another loss. A trio of IARs of the 2nd Fighter Group flew out for armed reconnaissance in the Lutsenek area. After they attacked the ground units, a pair of Bf-109Gs took off to intercept them. The battle could not be avoided in the battle of Adj. av. Dumitru Niculescu died, and adj. av. Nicolae Pelin made an emergency landing.
First day last year World War II turned out to be overcast. Thanks to bad weather, the pilots and technicians of both warring parties were able to quietly celebrate the New Year. January 2 froze, the fog cleared, and the war again came into its own. Romanian "Henschels" that day stormed convoys on the roads near the Tomaszow railway station and on the Luchinets-Poltar highway. The 41st Squadron continued active combat operations on January 3 and 5, 1945. The objects of the Hs-129 attacks with Romanian cockades on the wings and fuselages were the railway stations of Kalnia and Luchinets, the retreating columns of German troops in the areas of Tomasovets, Breznichki, Poltar. On January 5, the plane of adjutant Konstinu Bogyan was hit by an anti-aircraft shell, but the pilot was able to bring the damaged car home, to the Miskolc airfield. In all sorties, attack aircraft covered Bf. 109G from Grupul 9 Vinatoare (9th Fighter Group). There was practically no German aviation in the air, so the Romanian "Messerschmitts" joined the attack aircraft and attacked ground targets. For three days in January, Romanian aviation made 107 sorties and dropped 36 tons of bombs.
On January 12, 8 IAR-81s were transferred to Debrecen to strengthen the city's air defense, although the benefits from them were minimal. Although they did distinguish themselves once: on February 9, a pair of such "fighters" intercepted Hs.129, whose pilot tried to desert to the German side. It is clear that the attack aircraft simply did not have a chance. The reality of the war was such that all three pilots knew each other very well, since during the Eastern campaign they served in the same unit!
The next day (that is, January 13th), the commander of the 74th dive bomber squadron lt. av. Badulescu led 7 Ju-87D5s to Budapest. The goal was the Elisabeth Bridge - the main transport artery connecting Buda and Pest and therefore well covered by air defense systems. Soviet bombers made several attempts to destroy it, and now it was the turn of new allies. Having gained a height of 4000 meters, when approaching the city, they received cover - Yaks. Bridge Romanian and Soviet pilots attacked from a dive. The blow was successful - four bombs hit the bridge, and the losses amounted to only one aircraft, the pilot of which was able to land the car at the nearest airfield. However, the bridge continued to function and the four remaining Ju-88A-4s were raised to bombard it. They were led by lt. av. Gheorghe Georgescu (very experienced pilot - 200 sorties throughout the war). Even before approaching the target, one "Junkers" turned back home - the worn-out engine failed. Therefore, the bridge was attacked only by three aircraft from a height of 5000 meters. From a height of 1500 meters they dropped their deadly cargo and at least two 250-kg bombs hit the bridge. Despite heavy anti-aircraft fire, all the vehicles returned home.
On January 19, the traditional winter offensive of the Soviet troops began. The blow was delivered from the border of the western and northern spurs of the Carpathians in the direction of the Vistula and Oder rivers. The right flank of the 2nd Ukrainian Front also took part in the winter offensive. The troops of the 2nd Ukrainian were advancing on the territory of Czechoslovakia. On the first day of the operation, aviation activity was held back by low cloud cover and a snowstorm.
The next day, the weather improved, the command of the 1st Romanian Air Corps threw into battle all the aircraft fit for flight. "Henschels" and "Junkers" of the Romanian Air Force worked directly on the battlefield and struck at the enemy's near rear. At about 16:00, several Ju.87s set off to attack the Banske Bistrich railway station. When approaching the target, the pilot of one machine (adjutant Ion Radu), board. No. 2, was forced to crash land due to engine shutdown. Unfortunately, it happened on the other side of the front. Fieseler Fi.156C was sent to help the crew, but it got stuck in deep snow. Then the Romanian command sent a Fleet F.10G (it is not clear what caused such a decision - after all, the plane was a two-seater !!), but there was no one at the landing site. The German mountain shooters captured Ion Radu, his gunner - Sergeant Constantin Peridzhesku and the Fizler pilot - Lieutenant of the reserve Emil Moga. But this was not known and the pilots were recorded as missing. In reality, they were taken to Banska Bistrich. But after the retreat on March 23, the Germans simply forgot them ... The Romanians were without water and food for three days, until the Red Army entered the city. But their adventures didn't end there. The pilots were in German flight uniforms, without documents, and SMERSH officers "just in case" arrested them. The investigation dragged on for a long time and only on June 12, 1945 did they return to their homeland.
Interestingly, the damaged "thing" was sent to the nearest aircraft repair shop, but they did not have time to repair it.
During the day, Henschels twice attacked the positions of German heavy artillery near Tomashevets and the Lovinobanya railway station. The strongest explosion indicated that the bombs dropped from the Hs-129 hit the ammunition train. According to Romanian data, nine attack aircraft were in the air for 10 hours and 40 minutes and dropped 2,700 kg of bombs on the enemy. However, only seven cars returned home. Two sub-tenants, Alexandra Nicolai and Constantin Dumitru, have been declared missing. The exact cause of the death of the pilots (the fire of the German anti-aircraft artillery or the attack of fighters) remained unknown.
On February 14, the air war took on an even more violent character. Five Hs-129s destroyed four trucks and several wagons in the vicinity of Podrichany. Then the Henschels, together with Ju-87 dive bombers, attacked the Lovinobanya railway station. This day was also not without losses: one Henschel crashed in Miskolc during a flyby after engine repairs, the adjutant pilot Vasile Skripchar died. The violinist was known in Romania not only as a pilot, but also as a talented reporter and artist.
On January 15, the first goal of the offensive operation was achieved - the Soviet troops liberated Luchinets. During the offensive, Romanian aviation carried out 510 sorties, flying 610 hours and dropping about 200 tons of bombs. The pilots bombed nine prefabricated trains, three fuel trains, three important bridges and a large number of pieces of equipment. The reports of the Romanian pilots were reflected in the operational reports of the command of the Soviet 27th combined arms and 5th air armies.
After a few days of respite, the Romanian aviation resumed combat work, now combat missions were carried out in the area of the city of Rozhnava. Soviet troops entered Rozhnava on the night of January 22, a garrison of 1,700 Hungarian and German soldiers surrendered. The weather did not allow the use of aviation until 15 February. The Romanians used three weeks of "vacation" to relocate from Miskolc to Luchinets, closer to the front. On February 15, the commander of the 41st squadron, Lazar Muntyatnu, performed two weather reconnaissance flights (on Hs-129 with tail numbers 336 and 331). Later on the same day, 26 aircraft attacked the railway stations of Zvolen, Brezhno and Khayanachka, which dropped 8 tons of bombs. Adjutant Stefan Puskacz destroyed a locomotive and four wagons with cannon fire. His "Henschel" was damaged by anti-aircraft fire, but Pushkach reached the Luchinets airfield, after landing in the attack aircraft, 14 holes were counted. In total, Pushkach had to make five forced landings during the war, and once behind the front line, while the pilot was lucky every time! After the war, Puskacs remained in socialist Romania, and made an excellent political career.
The next day, Hs-129 attack aircraft and Ju-87 dive bombers attacked the railway stations of Kremnica, Khronska Brezhnitsa and Khayanachka. The Soviet command ordered the 40th combined-arms and 4th Romanian armies to go on the offensive and decisively press the German troops to the eastern bank of the Gron River, the start date of the operation was set on February 24th. At 19.00 on February 20, the commander of the 5th air army, General Yermachenko, and the chief of staff of the 40th army, General Sharapov, arrived at the command post of the 1st Romanian air corps. The generals discussed with the Romanian officers a plan for future actions. On the morning of February 21, the guidance officers of the 1st Air Corps of the Romanian Air Force moved to forward observation posts to study the terrain in detail and prepare the data necessary for planning air strikes. In a speech to the Romanian pilots and technicians, the Soviet general, in particular, said an interesting phrase: "... we hope that our Romanian comrades will not let us down."
Direct air support for the advancing troops was assigned exclusively to the Romanian Air Force. Bad weather delayed the start of aviation combat work by one day. On February 25, the sky cleared of clouds, the planes were able to take off. This day is marked in the history of the Romanian Air Force with unusually high activity, victories and losses. In 148 sorties, Romanian pilots dropped 35 tons of bombs on the positions of German troops in the Ochova-Detva-Zvolesnka Slatina triangle. The pilots reported about three destroyed half-tracked armored vehicles, one self-propelled artillery mount, two cars, five horse-drawn carts and eight machine-gun nests, and many enemy soldiers and officers destroyed. When attacking ground targets, the Henschel of adjutant Viktor Dumbrava received a direct hit from an anti-aircraft gun projectile, the pilot hardly pulled it over the front line and plopped down on an emergency landing near Detva.
The 25th was also a busy day for the fighters. On the fifth sortie that day, Captain Cantacuzino and his wingman adj took off. Traian Dbrjan. Above the front line, they found eight Fw-190Fs storming the Soviet troops. Without hesitation, they rushed into battle, and one by one. It was not difficult for Cantacuzino to shoot down one attack aircraft, but the Messers from I./JG 53 took advantage of the carelessness of the Romanians. The squadron commander Hauptmann Helmut Lipfert shot down Trajan, and the rest took up the captain. Drayan apparently died while still in the air (the irony of fate lies in the fact that it was Lipfert who "put" Trajan "on the wing" - he was his instructor while the squadron was based at the Tiraspol airfield). Cantacuzino fell not far from the Romanian positions and the next day returned to his airfield by car. He told about what happened, but he did not actually see the shooting down of his wingman and stated: "Trajan must be shot down."
The second victory of the day (and the last in World War II) was won by Romanian fighters during a fight with Bf-109K. Its author was adj. Constantine Nicoara. No aircraft were lost, but two were damaged.
The intensity of air strikes by Romanian aircraft on the next day decreased slightly. By evening it began to rain, and visibility decreased to 100 meters. In the last days of February, the air temperature reached +4 degrees, constant rains and melting snow turned the airfields into a sea of water and mud, aviation could not operate until March 4. On March 4, sorties resumed. Grupul 8 Asalt/Picaj aircraft took to the air eight times (15 sorties). The targets of the Henschel strikes were the positions of the Germans in the Zvolen-Lishkovets-Zholna triangle. In the same area, the "Junkers" also operated, which suffered a loss. In the Ivanka area at 20:45 (Moscow time), Lieutenant Sereda from the 178th IAP shot down a "thing", which, according to his report, was German. In reality, he shot down a Romanian plane, fortunately, the crew managed to use parachutes.
On March 6, the object of the raids was the Zvolen railway station, columns of troops, artillery positions 2 km from Zvolen. The Romanians finally suppressed the German artillery batteries on March 7 with two air raids from Grupul 8 Asalt / Picaj ("Henschels" flew on combat missions in threes that day). In the third raid, three Hs-129s defeated a convoy on the street of the village of Slyach.
The morning of March 8 for the Romanian pilots began with the ringing of faceted glasses raised in honor of International Women's Day, into which a clear liquid with a pungent odor was poured. The holiday did not last long, a few minutes after the toast was pronounced, the pilots took their seats in the cockpits of their aircraft. The targets have not changed: Zvolen, Zholna, five machine gun nests on Hill 391 near Zholna.
On March 10, due to bad weather, there were no flights. On March 11, Henschels made 21 sorties (five group sorties). Lieutenant Munteanu made four sorties that day (all on Hs-129 tail number 228), Munteanu flew to Zvolen, Montova, Zholna and again to Zvolen.
On March 13, weather conditions deteriorated again, the weather did not allow aviation to operate for ten days.
On March 22, General Traian Bardulu took command of the 1st Romanian Air Corps, replacing General Emmanuel Ionescu, who became Minister of Aviation in the government of Petru Grozu. The change of the corps commander had almost no effect on the daily life and combat work of the personnel. On the day of the change of command, eight Hs-129s stormed the highway west of Zvolen. Romanian aviation bombed the car park in Kovachov, ten horse-drawn carts were destroyed on the streets of Zvolen.
On 23, 24 and 25 March the weather kept the Henschel to the ground. On March 26, only two sorties were made. But on this day, two Romanian pilots on the Bf-109G deserted to the nearest German air base.
It was on March 26 that the city of Zvolen was liberated by the Soviet-Romanian troops. The total retreat of the Germans from Slovakia began. After forcing the Gron River, the offensive of the Soviet troops successfully developed in a westerly direction. The improvement of the weather allowed the Romanian aviation to resume combat work. The iron shock fist of the command of the 1st Romanian air corps was made up of attack aircraft and dive bombers of the 8th group. Accurate air strikes on the enemy cleared the way for the ground forces.
On April 1, the Henschel four attacked the retreating German columns twice on the highway leading from Levine to the west, the planes destroyed 11 horse-drawn carts and five trucks. On April 2, the Romanians made 19 sorties to attack the military echelon at the Nemanka station and an artillery battery located near the station. IAR-81Cs attacked two trains north of Kremnitz and damaged one of the locomotives.
On April 3, the only sortie was made by a trio of Hs-129s, the planes attacked cars near the village of Yalovets. During the raid, Lieutenant Antonescu's plane was hit in the right engine. A plume of smoke trailed behind the engine, flames appeared. Antonescu immediately made an emergency landing. The plane had to be written off after landing, but the pilot escaped with bruises and bumps - a strong armored capsule withstood a collision with the ground.
On April 4, two Henschel fours attacked the concentration of German vehicles and military equipment in the Brezhno area, destroying six pieces of equipment. Toward evening, eight Hs-129s attacked the Brezhno railway station, the pilots reported that a locomotive and four wagons had been destroyed as a result of the impact.
On April 5, twin-engine attack aircraft appeared over Bodorova. The planes left behind 15 burning wagons and the same number of wrecked vehicles.
On April 6, the planes of the 1st Romanian Air Corps moved to the Zvolen airfield. The flight time in the area of the White Carpathians and the Lower Tatras has been reduced. The first sorties from Zvolen were made on Kosice, Belusha, Nozdrovitsa. On April 7, Pukhov, Belusha and Kosice were subjected to air strikes.
On April 11-13, Romanian aviation operated in the areas of Nemtsov, Radzhets, Zilina, Poluvsi, over the Slovak-Moravian border. The next day the planes did not fly due to bad weather.
At dawn on April 15, the weather improved and air attacks resumed. Three waves of Henschels (18 aircraft) bombed and stormed the highway leading to Makov, the railway stations of Nizhna and Shumitsa. Five and a half tons of bombs were dropped, the pilots reported 30 broken cars, two trains and one locomotive. Adjutant Vasile Pescu injured internal organs as a result of exceeding the permissible overload at the exit from the dive. Pescu managed to return to base. Friends pulled the injured pilot out of the cockpit and immediately sent to the hospital. The 20-year-old guy, who had made 225 sorties by that time, remained disabled for life.
On Monday, April 16, the Minister of Defense of Romania, General Vasile Rasceanu, arrived at the front for a visit, personally presenting awards to those who distinguished themselves. Before the eyes of the minister, two Hs-129 troikas left for a combat mission, led by squadron commander Lazar Munteanu. Over Banov, his plane was hit in the right wing plane, as a result, the fuel tank exploded and the engine failed. On one motor, Munteanu was dragged across the Vash River and landed at the Trenchin airfield, just abandoned by the retreating Germans. During a rough landing, the car received additional damage, and Munteanu himself was injured. The aircraft and the pilot immediately came under fire from small arms and mortars from the right bank of the Vash. The life of the Romanian pilot was saved by the commander of the Soviet artillery battery, Lieutenant Tunev, who, on his orders, opened heavy fire on the borders of the airfield, preventing the Germans from approaching the aircraft. The lieutenant personally pulled Munteanu to a safe place, from where the commander of the Romanian assault squadron was sent to the hospital. Munteanu's wounds were not dangerous - on April 21 he returned to his unit.
On April 17, the pilots of the 41st Squadron flew four times into battle without their commander. 16 "Henschels" with bombs and shells struck at the concentration of enemy infantry and equipment, first in the area of Dritomna, then - the Hungarian Brod, Prakshytsi and Korytne. Under Korytnaya, attack aircraft dispersed a column of 60 horse-drawn carts and 30 cars.
The restoration of the Trencin airfield, the Romanian ground services began directly under enemy fire, but bad weather prevented the relocation of aircraft here. For several days, aviation made only reconnaissance flights. Only on April 20, five Hs-129Bs were able to strike at Korytna, the planes suppressed a mortar battery located on the edge of the forest southwest of the village.
On April 21, a trio of Henschels in one sortie first struck at German positions in the Dolne Nemchi area, then at Slavkov. In the next three, the weather worsened again, only once the four Hs-129В managed to bombard Dolnya Nemchi. On the same day, the IAR-81C pilots again distinguished themselves - thanks to improved weather, they completed 31 sorties. During the day, 11 trucks and many infantry were recorded destroyed. But this success was paid for by the death of av. Gheorghe Mociornita (IAR-81C no. 426), whose plane was shot down by air defense. Two and a half weeks remained until the end of the war ...
The statistics of the Henschel combat work in the period from March 25 to April 24, 1945 is as follows: 160 sorties (34 group sorties) with a total duration of 177 hours and 20 minutes were completed; 48.9 tons of bombs were dropped, 122 cars, 91 horse-drawn carts, 4 trains, 3 artillery positions, 1 tank and 1 bridge were destroyed. Romanian aviation did not take part in air battles due to the complete absence of enemy aircraft in the air. Losses amounted to two Hs-129B.
With the advent of spring, it became clear to everyone - the end of the war is not far off, but the finale has not yet arrived. On April 26, the Hungarian Brod became the area of active operations for the aircraft of the 8th group. Three Henschels bombed and stormed the city eight times. In all sorties, the group was led by Lieutenant Munteanu, who on that day flew an aircraft with tail number 222B. Eight raids on the Hungarian Ford were carried out by dive-bombers from the fraternal Escadrile 74 Picaj. The first time on April 26, the planes took off at 7 am, the target of the strike was a bridge near the village of Sucha Lodge. Attack aircraft covered the IAR-81 fighters, but since there was no enemy aircraft in the sky, they joined the Henschels, which attacked the bridge. The bridge was seriously damaged. During the day, attack aircraft attacked enemy positions in areas settlements Sucha Lozh, Hungarian Brod, Dolne Nemchi, three times Hs-129 stormed artillery positions near Nivinitsa. During the day, the Henschels dropped 72 tons of bombs and completed 57 sorties. The pilots of the 2nd Fighter Group flew 68 sorties, firing 23,100 bullets and 4,140 shells. As usual, there were some losses - Adj died on the IAR-81C. av. Constantin Prisacaru. The German anti-aircraft gunners distinguished themselves again, having rich combat experience by the end of the war.
On April 27, in the order on the occasion of the liberation of the Hungarian Brod, the Soviet command noted: "The capture of the city became possible only thanks to the actions of aviation."
On the same day, ten Henschels attacked Tishnov in three waves. On April 28, aircraft did not fly; on April 29, the Romanians bombed and stormed enemy columns on the roads in the vicinity of Dobikovtsy. On April 30, Romanian planes dropped 2,100 kg of bombs on the villages of Nidachlebitsy and Bojkovitsa.
On April 27, the last Junkers in the war was also shot down. In the Dobikovice area, the plane was shot by German anti-aircraft gunners. Pilot - adjutant Paul Lazaroiu was able to use a parachute and was captured, and his gunner (Sergeant George Popescu) died.
In April, according to official data, the "Messers" of the 9th IAG carried out 225 sorties.
On the first day of May 1945, the aircraft flew despite the heavy rain. During one of the raids, the Henschel four dispersed an infantry column southwest of Olomouc. On May 2, the attention of the Romanian pilots was attracted by the Holishov railway station. The raids on the station and the city continued on 4 and 5 May.
May 6 began the last offensive operation of the war in Europe - a breakthrough to Prague. Romanian aviation supported the ground forces advancing on Proteev. On May 7, Romanian pilots managed to destroy 15 vehicles northwest of Proteev.
On May 8, pilots stormed columns of enemy troops and equipment on the roads in the vicinity of Urchitsa and Vyshovitsa. The 2nd Fighter Group lost its last pilot in the war - it was slt. av. Remus Vasilescu.
On May 9, 1945, only IAR-39 biplanes took off under the escort of Messerschmitts, who scattered leaflets. The Germans surrendered without offering resistance.
However, the war for the Romanian aviators ended a little later. On May 11, the Romanians carried out strikes on parts of the Russian Liberation Army under General Vlasov. The Vlasovites had nothing to lose, and they desperately resisted in the forests under the Hungarian Ford. On the evening of May 11, 1945, the planes (several bombers under cover of four Bf-109Gs) returned from the last sortie of the Romanian Air Force in World War II. Over the territory of Czechoslovakia, Romanian pilots fought for 144 days.
In total, until the end of the war (on May 12, 1945), the 1st Corps accounted for 8542 sorties and the destruction of 101 enemy aircraft (together with anti-aircraft gunners). Losses amounted to 176 aircraft shot down by fighters, air defense and destroyed in numerous accidents in bad weather conditions in the winter and spring of 1945.
There is concrete data only on the participation of Henschels, on the rest - fragmentary data. So, in five months of hostilities, from December 19, 1944 to May 11, 1945, the pilots of the 41st assault squadron ("Henschels") completed 422 sorties, flying 370 hours and dropping 130 tons of bombs. As a result of the squadron's actions, 66 columns of enemy troops were dispersed, 185 cars and 66 horse-drawn carts were destroyed, Henschel pilots smashed 13 trains at railway stations, among other destroyed enemy property - artillery pieces, mortars, machine guns. The squadron lost eight HS-129B attack aircraft. Pilots "pieces" only in Slovakia made 107 sorties, flying 374 hours. They dropped 210 tons of bombs on 37 railway stations and 36 enemy positions. 3 tanks, 61 trucks and 6 anti-aircraft batteries were recorded as destroyed.
During the entire war, the Romanian Air Force lost 4172 people, of which 2977 fought for Germany (972 dead, 1167 wounded and 838 missing) and 1195 fought against Germany (respectively 356, 371 and 468).
The Royal Romanian Air Force met the end of the war in even worse condition than on June 22, 1941. In fact, the aviators were left alone with their problems in the face of a complete cessation of the supply of spare parts for aircraft. The future was hazy...
2. Magazines "Modelism" (Romania) for different years
3. Dénes Bernád, "Rumanian Air Force, the prime decade 1938-1947", Squadron/Signal Publications, 1999
