Romanian Bf-109G-2/R6, ”White 19”, Romanian 7th Fighter Group (attached to Udet Jagdgeschwader), Kramatorskaia airfield, April 1943.

Romanian Bf-109G-2/R6

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

Tribute to Gen. Ioan Dicezare

General GHEORGHE NETEJORU, who is 90 years old today, was born 21 June 1922 an fought as a sub-lieutenant in ”Regimentul 2 Artilerie de Gardă” (2nd Guards Artillery Regiment), he was taken prisoner on 25 august 1944 and spent 10 years as a POW in the Soviet Union. The girl in the photo is his wife, she did wait 10 years for him to return and continued their life together.

Photo credit: the book ”Și eu am luptat în Est” (I also fought in the East) by GHEORGHE NETEJORU, Ed. Militară, 2010.