Operation Munich. Romanian cavalry crossing the Prut River to reoccupy Moldavia. Employed in brigade-sized divisions, cavalry units were among Romania's best troops.

At 0100hrs on Sunday, 22 June 1941 Army Group South issued codeword
"Wotan", indicating Barbarossa would begin as planned in little more than two hours. The German Army's senior officer, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, commanded 46 1/2 divisions along a front of more than 800 miles. His headquarters, under Chief of Staff General of Infantry Georg von Sodenstern, had proved itself in France. Von Rundstedt managed the Reich's version of coalition warfare, with Hungarian, Italian, Romanian and Slovakian formations under command. With the largest operational area of any Army Group, yet only one Panzer group, his men had four difficult tasks: Destroying Red Army units to their front; capturing the Ukrainian capital of Kiev and the Dnepr River crossings; seizing the Donets Basin (Donbas), and opening the route to the Caucasus oil region.
Osprey Publishing - Operation Barbarossa 1941 (1) Army Group South

Romanian cavalry, 1941

A Bf 109E-3 of GrupuI 7 Vânătoare prepares for take-off from Karpovka West airfield, Stalingrad, in November 1942. 'Yellow 45' (Wk-Nr. 2731) survived the Soviet encirclement in late November, when 12 of the group's Emils were abandoned. Note the girl's name Ileana painted on the engine cowling, 'Yellow 45' soldiered on with Gr. 5 Vân. in the coastal patrol role over the western shores of the Black Sea.
The Red Army's winter offensive began in the sector held by the Romanian 3rd and 4th Armies on 19 and 20 November 1942, respectively. This shifted the focus of air operations to ground support for troops cut off from the rear and cover for transport aircraft supplying the encircled units. In the days following the Soviet onslaught, Grupul 7 Vânătoare also found itself cut off. Once the seriousness of the situation was realised, personnel at Karpovka prepared for defence, and the airfield's few flak guns were organised in an artillery role, their primary job being to protect the aircraft. This was done just in time, for at dusk on 22 November, the first Red Army reconnaissance vehicle appeared on the horizon and was quickly knocked out by the flak guns.
Before dawn the next day Soviet tanks arrived in strength. Romanian deliberations on how to meet this threat were cut short by the tanks firing across the airfield. For the airmen, there was only one solution - take to the air, regardless of the attacks and the darkness. Accordingly, all 16 airworthy Bf 109Es were hastily prepared for a night take-off for which their pilots were not trained. Radio equipment and armour was stripped from each fighter to make room for a passenger - either a pilot whose aircraft was unserviceable or a ground-crewman.
As soon as the aircraft engines were started, the Russian tanks headed for the airfield,. The first Messerschmitt attempting to take-off suffered a direct hit and crashed in flames. Then two other fighters collided while taking off in the darkness. Both were set on fire. But the flames helped the other pilots see the makeshift runway and they were able to get airborne. All remaining aircraft were able to escape the hell of Karpovka, as well as the nearby airfields not yet overrun by the Soviets. But the crews of the Rumanian flak guns stayed to fight, and most were killed or captured. Twelve Bf 109Es were left behind to fall into Soviet hands, together with large quantities of ammunition, fuel and other materiel.
The Rumanian retreat continued well into the New Year, with fighter pilots continuing to evacuate one airfield after the other, IAR 80/81-equipped Grupul 6 and 8 were finally withdrawn to Romania in mid-January 1943. By then, their pilots had claimed 26 kills, plus 15 confirmed and two unconfirmed victories, in 33 aerial battles. Some 14 aircraft were in turn lost in combat, together with 11 in accidents and six captured.
Thanks to an infusion of replacement aircraft from German stocks, Grupul 7 Vânătoare soldiered on alongside the few surviving He 111 Hs at Stalino - this ad hoc group comprised ten Bf 109Es and six He 111Hs. After limited activity with its few serviceable aircraft, this last ARR unit was ordered back to Romania in mid-February. By the time of the final withdrawal, Messerschmitt pilots had claimed nine Yak- 1s, two Hurricanes and one 'Curtiss' shot down, plus three enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground. Gr. 7 Vân. lost 22 Bf 109Es either in combat, in accidents or just abandoned during the retreat.
The top ace of the Stalingrad campaign in respect to overall claims was Adj. Av. Teodor Zabava of Grupul 8 Vânătoare with six victories. His score comprised three Yaks confirmed as destroyed in aerial combat, plus another Yak and a MiG unconfirmed and a fifth Yak shared with Adj. Av. Marian Dumitrascu. But it was Cpt. Av. Emil Droc (a former IAR test pilot who volunteered for service with Gupul 6 Vânătoare) who had the most confirmed kills - two Yaks and two MiGs, plus an unconfirmed ground victory. (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces - 54 - Romanian Aces of World War 2)


Romanian Bf 109E-3 Stalingrad

General (r) Ioan Dicezare, passed away August 10th, 2012, 2 days shy of his 96th birthday, he was the last survivor of ”Grupul 7 Vânătoare” pilots who managed to escape the Stalingrad encirclement. Rest in peace, general!

In the photo above Slt. av. loan Dicesare, is seated in his personal mount, Bf 709 E-3, No. 9, prior to a combat sortie over Soviet-held Bessarabia. Notice the name painted on the cowling, meaning ”C’mon girl”, as well as the five oblique bars, representing successful ground-attack missions. Note the additional external armour glass on the windscreen.

Romanian airforce in the first day of war, 22 June 1941.

Gruparea Aeriana de Luptă (GAL) - the main ARR strike force employed in the 1941 campaign - performed 12 combat missions (five bombing, four long-range reconnaissance and three short-range reconnaissance), involving a total of 124 aircraft (56 bombers, 64 fighters and four recce aircraft). Besides GAL units, aircraft assigned to various army units, as well as home defence units, performed combat missions. The air element of the 4th Army logged 13 combat missions, aircraft of the 3rd Army three missions, while aircraft of the 3rd Air Region performed five recce missions over Southern Bessarabia. Finally, several ARR seaplanes also took off to reconnoitre the coastal areas of the Black Sea.

The very first Romanian aircraft to cross the Romanian-Soviet border was a Bristol Blenheim of Escadrila 1 recunoaştere (Est. 1 rec. - 1st Reconnaissance Squadron), assigned to GAL. The lone aircraft penetrated Southern Bessarabia at around 0400, well before dawn, with the task of reconnoitring and bombing the Soviet airfield at Bolgrad. However, it was unable to finish its mission, as it was attacked by a Soviet fighter and shot down, crashing near Vulcănesti, close to Lake Yalpug. All three crewmembers of Blenheim No. 36 perished, including the experienced 40-year-old Major pilot. They were the very first Romanian airmen killed in action during the 1941 campaign.

The other unescorted Blenheims of the same Squadron, sent out to reconnoitre and bomb the airfields of Culevcea, Ialoveni and Akkerman (Cetatea Albă), were also attacked, but eventually managed to return home. No. 3 was hit by Flak in the left engine and rear fuselage over Tighina, and was forced to belly-land in friendly territory near Focşani. No. 22 also lost one engine over enemy territory could manage to return to base. Just minutes after the first reconnaissance aircraft crossed the River Pruth, the first wave of bombers followed. Starting at 0340, nine Savoia S.79B bombers of Grupul 1 bombardament (Gr. 1 bomb.), escorted by 16 I.A.R. 80s of Grupul 8 Vânătoare (Gr. 8 Vân.), targeted VVS airfields at Bolgrad and Bolgarijka (Bulgărica) in Southern Bessarabia. Soviet Flak and fighters responded in force, claiming two Savoia boinbers shot down close to Bolgarijka (Bulgărica), Nos. 1 and 17, while one I.A.R. fighter, No. 56, force-landed in friendly territory, near Brăila. Another Romanian fighter, No. 18, was also hit in combat, but pilot, Sit. an Gheorghe Postelnicu, returned to base, despite being wounded in the head and neck. No. 52 was also hit during the mêlée, but returned safely. The Romanian fighters claimed four Soviet fighters shot down, while the rear gunner of Savoia No. 18, Serg. Jack Peremans, and of No. 11, Serg. Gheorghe Nistorescu, claimed an enemy fighter each - identified as “Severskys” - shot down west of Bolgrad at 03/10. Both victories were later on confirmed by ARR headquarters. Most probably these were the first confirmed air victories achieved by ARR airmen in the 1941 campaign. The Savoia bombers claimed four Soviet aircraft destroyed on the ground and the airfield`s installations were reported damaged.

Ten minutes after the Savoias, another bombing wave took off from Romanian Moldavia. However, this time they were heading north, towards Kishinev (Chişinău), the capital of Bessarabia - an area actually assigned to the aircraft of Luftflotte 4. Between 0350 and 0520, 17 He 111 Hs of Grupul 5 bombardament (Gr. 5 bomb.), escorted by 27 fighters, attacked the two airfields located north and south of Kishinev (Chişinău), as well as the large motor pool at Tiraspol. Despite heavy Flak, all aircraft returned to their bases one-and-half-hours after take-off. Ten to 12 Soviet fighters were claimed as destroyed on the ground, as well as a significant number of vehicles.

The third bombing mission commenced at 1050. It involved 13 Potez 63 light bombers of Grupul 2 bombardament (Gr. 2 bomb.), escorted by 12 Heinkel He 112B fighters of Grupul 5 Vânătoare (Gr. 5 vân.).The formation targeted Bolgrad and Bolgarijka (Bulgărica) airfields, and the railway station located north of Belgrad. The airfields and the railway were hit. However, the Romanians paid a heavy price for these results. Thirty I-16s, which took off  from Bolgarijka (Bulgărica) attacked the bombers and their escort, successfully separating the fighters from their chargesThree Potez bombers were lost over enemy territory, while a fourth force-landed in Romania, near Fundeni. Two of the He 112s were also hit in combat, but both returned, one force-landing near Bârlad, while the other returned to its base at 1250.

The fourth ARR bombing mission commenced at 1145 and ended one-and-a-half-hours later. This time, it was the turn of the P.Z.L. P37 bombers of Grupul 4 bombardament (Gr. 4 bomb.) to attempt to neutralise Bolgarijka (Bulgărica) airfield. As with the earlier efforts, they were not successful. Nine “Los” bombers, escorted by six Hurricane fighters of Escadrila 53 Vânătoare (Esc. 53 vân.), performed the mission. They were confronted by approximately 30 I-16s, which took of from Bolgarijka (Bulgărica) and Izmail (Ismail).Two bombers were lost over the target, one shot down by Soviet fighters, while the other fell victim to Flak defence. In turn, the ARR Hurricanes claimed four enemy Fighters without loss.

The final bombing mission of the day was carried out at around noon by I.A.R. 37 short-range reconnaissance and light bombers of Escadrila 18 bombardament (Esc. 18 bomb.). Eight of these obsolescent biplanes, escorted by an identical number of He 112B Fighters of Gr. 5 vân. attempted to surprise VVS aircraft based at Izmail (Ismail). However, they were met over the target by both Flak and fighters. Two of the biplanes were shot down, one by fighters, while the other was hit by ground fire. The combat activity of the GAL units was concluded by three fast reconnaissance missions, each performed by a Bf 109 E “cell” (a two-aircraft basic formation) of Grupul 7 Vânătoare (Cr. 7 rain.).

As mentioned earlier, parallel to GAL missions, other branches of the ARR logged combat missions, mainly reconnaissance flights carried out on behalf of the main army units to which they were subordinated. Escadrile 17 and 22 observaţie (the 17th and 22nd Observation Squadrons - Esc. 17 and 22 obs.), assigned to the 4th Army, flew beyond the River Pruth on seven occasions in order to identify Red Army ground units assembled nearby the border. The information gathered by them was supplemented by further data from deep inside enemy territory, collected during the six sorties tlown by individual Bristol Blenheims of Escadrila 3 recunoaştere (Esc. 3 rec.). Besides their main task, these two-engine aircraft also carried out bombing runs against Akkerman (Cetatea Albă) airfield, as well as enemy river monitors discovered at Reni and Izmail. The Squadron paid a heavy price for the unescorted combat sorties. No. 38 was shot down by Soviet fighters and fell 8 km south of Belgrad killing all three of its crew. No. 37 disappeared in the Kishinev (Chişinău) area, the crew being posted as missing-in-action. Finally, No. 21, still carrying its bomb load, turned over upon landing on Jorăşti airfield. One 20 kg bomb exploded upon impact, destroying the already damaged aircraft, wounding two of the crew and killing a gunner.

The 3rd Army sent out its Blenheims, three times, to reconnoitre Chernovtsy (Cernăuţi) and Rohasna airfields. The unescorted aircraft of Escadrila 4 Recunoaştere (Est. 4 rec.) were met by heavy Flak and numerous fighters. Despite the spirited defence put up by the Soviets, all Blenheims of this Squadron returned to their base. Finally, aircraft assigned to Regiunea 2- a Aeriană (2nd Air Region) performed five reconnaissance missions over various airfields in southern Bessarabia.

The results achieved by ARR units on the opening day of war can be summarised as follows: eight Soviet aircraft shot down in air combat by fighter pilots and air gunners, three by anti-aircraft defence and 37 destroyed on the ground. In turn, 12 Romanian aircraft were lost in combat and two in accidents, along with 37 crew killed, wounded or missing in action. Therefore, 22 June turned out to be the deadliest and most costly day of operations for of the entire war for the ARR. From Barbarossa to Odessa: The Luftwaffe and Axis Allies Strike South-East June - October 1941-Volume 1, D. Bernad, D. Karlenko, J.-L. Roba