[烛光生存狂]-罗马尼亚空军—

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1st Fighter Group

IAR-80战斗机整流罩上的第一战斗机大队标志

On 25 October 1939 the 2nd Fighter Flotilla was created. It consisted of the 1st and 4th Fighter Group. The 1st Fighter Group was commanded by lt. cdor. av. Govela and was equipped with 20 P.11fs, divided between the 41st and 42nd Squadron.

1939年19月25日，组建了第2战斗机联队，该联队下辖第1和第4战斗机大队。大队指挥官为Govela少校，下辖第41和第42战斗机中队，共装备了20架P.11F。

On 18 December 1940 it moved on the Floresti airfield. In January 1941, 7 of the group's pilots were designated to start training on the IAR-80 and in June, the 1st Fighter Group became the 1st Training Group and moved to Turda in Transylvania. This unit was suppose to prepare the future IAR-80 pilots. The PZL fighters were assigned to the 3rd Fighter Flotilla.

1940年12月18日第一战斗机大队进驻弗洛雷斯蒂(Floresti)机场。1941年1月，大队的7名飞行员受命开始接受IAR-80型飞机的改装训练。6月第1战斗机大队更名为第1训练大队，并移驻位于特兰西瓦尼亚的图尔达(Turda)。该训练大队主要负责培训IAR-80型战斗机飞行员。大队原先装备的PZL战斗机被分配到了第3战斗机联队。

On 1 July, the 41st Fighter Squadron, completely equipped with IAR-80s, joined the 8th Fighter Group on the front. In August, the 42nd Squadron was joined with the badly hit 52nd and formed the IAR equipped 42/52nd Fighter Squadron, which was also assigned to the 8th Fighter Group.

7月1日，第41战斗机中队，全部换装了IAR-80战斗机，被编入第8战斗机大队开赴前线。8月，第42战斗机中队和在之前的战斗中遭受重创的第52战斗机中队合并组成了为第42/52战斗机中队，同样被编入第8战斗机大队。

In September 1943 the 1st Fighter Group was reactivated. It now had 3 squadrons: 55th, 63rd and 64th and was based on Targsorul Nou airfield, in Romania. In November it was moved on the Rosiorii de Vede airfield, as part of the air defense of Bucharest and of the Ploesti area. Also, the 43rd Squadron replaced the 55th. The group was put under the command of cpt. cdor. av. Ioan Sandu.

1943年9月，第1战斗机大队恢复建制。下辖第55，63和64三个战斗机中队，驻扎于罗马尼亚境内的Targsorul Nou机场。11月，该联队移驻Rosiorii de Vede机场，开始参与布加勒斯特和普洛耶什蒂地区的空防。此外，第43中队替换了原先的第55中队。伊万-桑杜(Ioan Sandu)中校成为了大队的指挥官。

Ioan Sandu中校和他的两位中队长(Gulan中尉，Stefanescu上尉)在一起

On 4 April 1944, took place the first raid of the US 15th Air Force over Romania. 24 IAR-80Cs of the 1st Fighter Group took off to intercept the bombers. As a result, the group claimed 10 B-24s shot down, of which only 8 were confirmed. One of them belonged to the unit's commander, cpt. cdor. av. Ioan Sandu. The group lost 1 airplane and another two crash landed. Three pilots were wounded. One of them however managed to come back with his airplane to base and make a safe landing.

1944年4月3日，在罗马尼亚境内第一战斗机大队和美军第15航空队的轰炸机群发生了第一次交战。一共起飞了24架IAR-80C型战斗机进行截击。战斗中大队声称击落了10架B-24轰炸机，但其中只有8架被证实。其中的一架击落战绩属于大队长伊万-桑杜中校。大队自身损失1架，2架迫降，3名飞行员负伤。

The following day the Americans returned. The group scrambled 23 fighters. The 63rd and 64th Squadrons encountered only a lone B-24, which escaped in the clouds. Only the 43rd manage to find a formation of about 30 B-24 and attacked them and shot down 3. During this mission the American fighters also made their presence felt. Adj. av. Raghiga Dumitrescu was engaged by four P-38s. He managed to fire on one of them and smoke started to come out of the Lightning. He was attacked by the others and went down in flames. He was the first pilot lost by the group. Another two airplanes crash landed and two pilots were wounded.

美国人继续着他们的轰炸，这次大队的23架战斗机紧急起飞进行拦截。第63和64中队只遇到了一架失去云层掩护的B-24轰炸机。第43中队遭遇到了一个大约有30架B-24的编队，很快就击落了其中的3架。在这次空战中,Raghiga Dumitrescu下士遭遇到了对方4架P-38的攻击，在迫使其中的一架“闪电”退出战斗后，他的座机被其余的战斗机击中冒烟起火。由此他也成为了第1战斗机大队损失的第一名飞行员。另有2架飞机迫降，2名飞行员负伤。

The next raid was 15 April. From the 1st Fighter Group 24 IAR-80Cs took off, but only a celulă (Romanian for Rotte) from the 63rd Squadron stumbled upon an enemy formation. The result was one B-24 shot down and one IAR-80 damaged. On 16 April there was another raid, but the 25 of the group's fighters, which were scrambled, didn't encounter the enemy.

4月15日，第1战斗机大队起飞的24架IAR-80C型战斗机，只有第63中队的一个双机编队发现了美国人。击落了一架B-24，一架IAR-80受损。4月16日，出动了25架战斗机但没有遭遇敌机。

On 21 April, the bombers of the 15th Air Force returned this time with a powerful fighter cover. From the 1st Fighter Group, 26 airplanes took off at 11:20. A patrulă (Romanian for Schwarm) from the 43rd Squadron encountered about 30 unescorted B-24s, attacked and shot down 2. Another patrulă, however, was surprised by Mustangs from the 31st Fighter Group as they were coming out of the clouds and all four were shot down. A third patrulă attacked a B-24 which was separated from the bomber formation and probably shot it down. The 63rd Squadron attacked also a bomber formation, but lost it in the clouds. The airplanes got separated during their attempt to follow the B-24s and soon were attacked by P-38s. The day was a regular carnage for the 1st Fighter Group: 5 pilots killed, 2 wounded and 6 airplanes destroyed and another 4 damaged.

4月21日，美国第15航空队的轰炸机在强大的战斗机护航下再次出击。11：20分，第1联队的26架战斗机升空。第43中队的一个四机编队遭遇了30架没有战斗机护航的B-24轰炸机，击落2架。另一个四机编队则被以云层为掩护的美国第31战斗机大队的“野马”全部击落。第三个四机编队对一架落单的B-24发起了攻击，可能把它击落了。第63中队此时也对一个美军轰炸机编队发起了攻击。但他们最后却在云层中丢失了目标。在罗马尼亚飞行员试图单独尾随B-24时遭到了护航的P-38战斗机的袭击。这一天对第一战斗机大队来说简直就是一场“屠杀”：5名飞行员阵亡，2人负伤，6架战斗机被击落，4架击伤。

Three days later, another raid took place. 16 IARs from the 1st Fighter Group were sent to meet the bombers. A patrulă from the 43rd Squadron encountered about 150 B-24s and attempted to attack them, but were themselves attacked by P-51s and had to flee. Adj. av. Constantin Popescu remained behind his comrades and stumbled upon a formation 40 B-24s. He surprised them and downed three. A formation from the 63rd Squadron spotted a lone P-38, which they probably shot down. Only one of the group's IAR-80C was damaged.

换装了两门20mm毛瑟机炮的IAR-80B，1944年分配给了第一战斗机大队

3日后，第1战斗机大队的16架IAR奉命起飞拦截美军轰炸机。第43中队的一个四机编队遭遇了多达150架B-24轰炸机的庞大机群，在试图攻击机群之前他们就遇到了护航的P-51。罗马尼亚人只能撤出战斗。负责殿后的Constantin Popescu下士偶然发现了一个有约40架B-24的美军轰炸机编队。他对这个编队进行了突袭并击落了其中的3架。第63中队的一个机群遭遇了一架P-38战斗机并可能将其击落。战斗中大队仅有一架IAR-80C被击伤。

On 5 May, the 1st Fighter Group scrambled 19 airplanes to meet the attackers. They encountered a large formation of B-24s, escorted by 80-90 fighters, and engaged them. Nine Liberators were claimed shot down, but eight were later confirmed. The group suffered no casualties. The next day, the 15 IAR-80Cs, which took off to intercept the American formations, claimed 7 aircraft, 5 bombers and two P-38s. One Romanian pilot was wounded. Their luck changed on 7 May. Only one B-24 was shot down by adj. av. Dumitru Chera. The group had one wounded pilot and 3 damaged aircraft. The next raid was 18 May, when 19 IARs from the 1st Fighter Group took off to engage the bombers of the 15th Air Force. The entire group attacked a formation of B-17s a

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2nd Fighter Group

The 2nd Fighter Group was created on 1 October 1940. It was made up of the 45th and 46th Fighter Squadron, equipped with the obsolete P.11f and was stationed on the Tecuci airfield. In June 1941, it was split between other units and disbanded.

1940年10月1日组建了第2战斗机大队.下辖第45和第46战斗机中队.装备落后的P.11f,驻防泰库奇(Tecuci)机场.1941年6月,大队解散人员和装备并入其他部队.

The 2nd Fighter Group was reformed during the winter of 1943/1944. It was made up of the 65th, 66th and 67th Fighter Squadron, all equipped with IAR-81Cs. In March it was assigned to the Ianca airfield.

1943/1944年期间第2战斗机大队进行了重组.下辖第65,66和67战斗机中队,全部装备IAR-81C.3月移防到Ianca机场.

On 4 April 1944 the 15th US Air Force started its air offensive against Romania. Fearing a Soviet offensive, the 7th Fighter Group was sent to reinforce the front in Moldavia. The 2nd Fighter Group with 34 IAR-81Cs was relocated to the Pipera airfield, near Bucharest, to replace it.

1944年4月4日,美国第15航空队开始空袭罗马尼亚.因为害怕苏联人发动进攻,第7战斗机大队被送到了摩尔达维亚.第2战斗机大队的34架IAR-81C来到了布加勒斯特附近的Pipera机场接替了他们的位子.

The first encounter with the American forces was on 21 April, when the group rose to meet them with 34 aircraft. The lack of experience of the pilots caused them to separate and attack individually. Only one squadron made contact with the enemy. They claimed 4 Liberators, but the price was very heavy: 5 airplanes shot down and another one damaged. Two pilots died and the other four were wounded.

4月21日,首次遭遇到了美国人,当时大队起飞了所有的34架飞机.由于缺乏经验导致了飞行员升空后各自为战.仅有1个中队遇到了敌人,罗军宣称击落4架解放者.自己付出的代价也非常重:被击落5架,1架负伤.飞行员2死4伤.

They took off with 27 IAR-81Cs against the raid on 24 April. This time the results were a little better: 7 Liberators claimed (one probable) against one shot down and four damaged airplanes. On 5 May their performance improved: 9 Liberators claimed (3 probable) against one shot down and two damaged. The next day another raid and the group claimed another 14 (3 probable) Liberators for only one loss, the one of cpt. av. Grigore Goga. The 15th Air Force continued its attack on 7 May. The 2nd Fighter Group was again scrambled and sent 22 airplanes against the American formations. This time the pilots claimed only 3 B-24s (one probable). Four IAR-81Cs were damaged. The wreck and the body of cpt. av. Goga were also found this day, near Ploesti.

4月29日,起飞了27架IAR-81C.这次的结果稍微好点:宣称击落7架解放者(可能还有1架),自身损失1架飞机,击伤4架.5月5日,获得了更好的成绩:宣称击落9架解放者(可能还有3架),自身损失1架飞机,击伤2架.第二天,宣称击落14架解放者(可能还有3架),Grigore Goga上尉的飞机被击落.5月7日,第15航空队继续发动空袭.第2战斗机大队升空了22架战机拦截美国人.这次罗军仅宣称击落3架解放者(可能还有1架).4架IAR-81C被击伤.Goga上尉的飞机残骸也在普洛耶什蒂附近被找到了.

After 10 May the 2nd Fighter Group was split up. The 65th and 66th Fighter Squadron were moved to Petrosani and the 67th to Ianca airfield. On 18 May, they took off to engage the US formations for the last time. The 16 IAR-81Cs attacked again the bomber formations and claimed 3 (one probable) shot down for one loss: cpt. av. Gheorghe Stanica, the commander of the 66th Squadron.

5月10后,第2战斗机大队被拆散.第65和66战斗机大队到了帕特罗萨尼(Petrosani),第67战斗机中队来到了Ianca机场.5月18日,升空最后一次和美国人交战.16架IAR-81C对轰炸机编队进行了拦截,宣称击落3架(可能还有1架),第66中队长Gheorghe Stanica上尉阵亡.

The 7th Fighter Group was again assigned to the defense of the Ploesti area. On 28 May, the 2nd Fighter Group received the order to move with all the squadrons on the Gheraesti airfield and join the 1st Air Corps which was engaged in the battle with the VVS on the front in Moldavia.

第7战斗机大队重新开始防卫普洛耶什蒂.5月28日,第2战斗机大队受命把所有的中队都集中到Gheraesti机场,加入了第1航空军,投入到摩尔达维亚和苏联空军交战.

The first missions were flown on 30 May, when the group made 44 sorties, mostly bomber escorts. Eight IAR-81Cs from the 67th Fighter Squadron engaged a dogfight with about 20 P-39s. One IAR-81 was lost, without achieving any victories. The next day there were another 36 sorties and a dogfight between 8 IAR-81Cs and 15 Soviet P-39s. One plane was lost and another damaged, without achieving any victories over the VVS aircraft. This demonstrated again that the IAR-81 was obsolete and that there was a need for better aircraft. While escorting some Ju-88A4s from the 5th Bomber Group, the pilots from the 2nd Fighter Group even had problems with keeping up with the bombers.

5月30日,执行了第一次任务.一共出动了44架次,大部分是为轰炸机护航.第67中队的8架IAR-81C和大约20架P-39发生激战.1架IAR-81被击落,罗军没有取得战果.第二天出动了36架次,8架IAR-81C和15架苏联P-39交战,损失1架,击伤1架,仍旧没有取得战果.这些都再次证明了IAR-81已经落后了,罗军需要更先进的战机.在为第5轰炸机大队的Ju-88A4护航时,第2战斗机大队的飞行员发现要跟上这些轰炸机都变得很困难.

1944年夏,摩尔达维亚,一位小农民正在"守卫"第2战斗机大队的1架IAR-81C战斗机

The first victory against the VVS came on 6 June 1944, when 4 IAR-81Cs that were protecting a Hs-129B2 formation engaged 2 P-39s. In the following dogfight, adj. av. Mihai Mihordea achieved his 12th victory.

1944年6月6日,终于获得了第1个苏联战果.当时4架IAR-81C在为1个Hs-129B2编队护航时,遭遇到了2架P-39.交战中,Mihai Mihordea下士取得了自己第12次空战胜利.

The group was moved to the Tecuci airfield. Between 5 and 12 June 1944 it had flown 18 missions, totaling 113 sorties. After this period of intense combat came a pause in the operations, which lasted from 26 June to 3 July. After this came the usual bomber or HQ aircraft escort missions.

战斗机大队移防到了泰库奇机场.1944年6月5-12日,执行了18次任务,共起飞113次架次.之后就暂停了行动.最后一次是从5月26日到6月3日.之后就执行轰炸机或者司令部飞机的护航任务.

On 27 July, 16 IAR-81Cs flew to the Husi airfield from where they were supposed to escort Romanian Ju-87Ds from the 6th Dive Bomber Group. The German AA defense of the airfield opened fire on the Romanian formation and continued to fire even when they were landing. As a result, two IARs were damaged and lt. av. Mihail Bulat was wounded. The next day, the same thing. When the 14 IAR-81Cs arrived near the Chisinau airfield, where they had to meet the bombers they had to escort, the German AAA opened fire and another airplane was damaged.

7月27日,从Husi机场起飞的16架IAR-81C为第6俯冲轰炸机大队的Ju-87D护航.机场的德国防空部队向罗马尼亚人开火,甚至是在他们降落的时候还在开火.结果,2架IAR被击伤,Mihail Bulat中尉负伤.第二天发生了同样的事.当时14架IAR-81C飞到了基希讷乌(Chisinau)机场附近,为轰炸机护航.德国人再次开火,击伤了其中的1架飞机.

Nevertheless, operations continued and they even managed to score some victories. On 10 August, adj. av. Vasile Stana claimed a P-39 and 18 August (the black day of ARR) slt. av. Franz Secicar shot down a DB-3.

尽管如此,罗马尼亚人还是取得了一些战果.8月10日,Vasile Stana下士声称击落了1架P-39.8月18日(罗马尼亚皇家空军黑色的一天),Franz Secicar少尉击落了1架DB-3.

On 20 August, the Red Army launched the "Jassy-Kishinev" (Iasi-Chisinau) offensive. All available forces were thrown against the Soviet attack, including the 2nd Fighter Group. On the first day they flew 36 sorties. They engaged in several dogfights with larger Soviet formations and lost 4 airplanes and another two were damaged. The Romanian pilots claimed three victories, of which two by adj. av. Gheorghe Bucur: 1 LaGG and 1 P-39 probable. The next day, however, brought two victories (La-7s) for one loss. On 22 August there were 9 missions and 52 sorties, mostly escorts for bombers, and lost 3 airplanes to AAA They also provided an escort for marshal Antonescu on his last visit on the front.

8月20日,<

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5th Fighter Group

第5战斗机大队标志

The 5th Fighter Group was created on 15 September 1939. It was made up of the 10th and 11th Fighter Squadron and was equipped with the new He-112Bs, which had just arrived from Germany. In October the two squadrons were renamed 51st and 52nd.

第5战斗机大队组建于1939年9月15日.下辖第10和11战斗机中队装备刚从德国进口的新型He-112B.10月两个中队更名为第51和52中队.

The pilots finished the training on the new aircraft in the spring of 1940. In June, the 51st Squadron was transferred in Transylvania were it was supposed to intercept the Hungarian recon flights. However, they failed, mainly because of the poor speed of the He-112B. On 27 August, lt. av. (r) Nicolae Polizu intruded in the Hungarian airspace and intercepted a Ca-135 on a training flight and seriously damaged it.

1940年春,飞行员完成了新飞机的训练.6月，第51中队被送到了特兰西瓦尼亚(Transylvania)拦截匈牙利的侦察飞机,由于He-112B的速度太慢,任务没有成功.8月27日,Nicolae Polizu中尉侵入匈牙利领空重伤了1架正在做训练飞行的Ca-135轰炸机.

Following the Vienna Diktat, NW Transylvania was given to Hungary. So the 51st Squadron joined the 52nd at Mizil. In October the group was moved on the Pipera airfield, near Bucharest.

伴随着《维也纳解决办法》,特兰西瓦尼亚西北部割让给了匈牙利.第51和52中队都来到了Mizil.10月,第5大队移防到了布加勒斯特附近的Pipera机场.

On 15 June 1941, the 5th Fighter Group, under the command of lt. cdor. av. Gheorghe Miclescu, was moved to the Focsani-North airfield, as part of the preparations for Operation Barbarossa. It had 24 He-112Bs available for action. These were going to be used primarily as ground attack aircraft and not as fighters in the upcoming offensive. The He-112Bs armament: 2 20 mm cannons and 2 7.92 mm machine-guns and six small bombs recommended it for this job, but the lack of armor protection and specialized training for the pilots were the cause for many losses, during air support missions.

On 22 June 1941, the group conducted its first mission. 12 He-112Bs took off to escort several Potez 633 B2 bombers that were supposed to attack the Soviet airfields at Bolgrad and Bulgarica. They reached their second target, there were already about 30 I-16s in the air. Slt. av. Teodor Moscu surprised two Ratas that were just taking off and short one down. He then saw another I-16, which was coming directly at him, and fired again. The Soviet was hit and went down in the Danube. But he had several Soviets on his tail and was hit himself. He manged to maneuver and fire on one of the attackers, before he and his wingman head for home. He managed to put his damaged Heinkel down on the first friendly airfield. Slt. av. Moscu had scored two confirmed and one probable kill.

The next day occured also the first loss in combat of an ARR fighter. Twelve He-112Bs of the 5th Fighter Group made a low-level attack on the Bolgrad airfield. They were intercepted by 7 I-153s. The leader of the formation was kap. Piotr Kozachenko (a 15 victory ace of the wars with Japan and Finland). He shot down the He-112B flown by adj. av. Anghel Codrut, who was probably killed. The same day, another 4 He-112s engaged 10 Soviet fighters, but without success.

The ground offensive didn't start in the Romanian sector of the front until the night of 2/3 July. Until then the 5th Fighter Group conducted airfield-strafing missions, just before dawn, followed by attacks on Soviet columns and troops concentrations. The escort missions were rare. On one such mission, on 28 June, one Heinkel was damaged by the Soviet AAA and later crashed, killing the pilot. The same day, another He-112 was shot down and the pilot was wounded.

On 2 July another two airplanes and pilots were lost to ground fire during low-level attacks. However lt. av. Radu Reinek managed to shoot down two Ratas. Three days later, the He-112Bs attacked again the Bulgarica airfield. After dropping the bombs the pilots strafed the lines of camouflaged airplanes. One Soviet I-153 was also shot down, when it was climbing to meet the attackers. The same day, another patrulă (Romanian for Schwarm) provided fighter cover for a bomber formation. They were engaged by 12 fighters. In the following dogfight, 4 VVS aircraft were shot down, for the loss of one He-112B.

This He-112B, flown by adj. av. Aldea Cerchez, was shot down by Soviet AAA on 2 July 1941

The day 12 July was marked by intense air activity, as the Soviet forces were attacking the Romanian 5th Corps in the Tiganca area. The Romanian bombers repeatedly struck the Soviet positions. The 5th Fighter Group attacked artillery bateries and troop concentrations. The He-112B piloted by lt. av. (r) Ioan Lascu was lost and the pilot killed during one attack against Soviet tanks and artillery in the Hârtoapelor Valley. Another He-112 was damaged. Lt. av. Lascu was awarded post-mortem the highest Romanian military order: Mihai Viteazul Order 3rd class. However, during an escort mission that day, slt. av. Ion Zaharia manage to shoot down a I-16, saving a P.37B from the 4th Bomber Group.

On 17 July two He-112Bs of the 5th Fighter Group destroyed a Soviet locomotive. The next day a Heinkel crash-landed in friendly territory after it was damaged during a weather reconnaissance mission.

Because of the severe losses sustained in the first weeks of the campaign, only 14 Heinkels were still available. The 52nd Fighter Squadron transferred its remaining aircraft to the 51st Squadron and then was merged with the 42nd Squadron. Together they formed the 42/52nd Squadron, equipped with IAR-80s.

This He-112B of the 52nd Fighter Squadron was among the few which survived the war

The 42/52nd Squadron was assigned on 15 August to the 8th Fighter Group. Until then, the fighters shot down 5 Soviet aircraft. The 5th Fighter Group was based on the Mamaia airfield with the 51st (He-112B) and 59th Fighter Squadron (IAR-80). Ten days later, during a patrol over the Black Sea, adj. av. Valeriu Eremia from the 59th Squadron shot down a I-16 close to the Serpent Island.

At the end of August, the 42/52nd Squadron replaced the 59th Squadron. The 51st Squadron was assigned to home defense and transferred to Râmnicu Sărat airfield. Only the 42/52nd remained on the front at Odessa.

On 27 August 1941, during a patrol mission, a IAR-80 patrulă from the 42/52nd Squadron encountered 9 Soviet bombers and their escorts. They attacked and shot down 4 of the bombers. The fighters intevened and serg. TR Nicolae Sculi Logotheti shot down one of them. Two days later, the 5th Fighter Group's pilots claimed 5 I-16s during fighter sweeps, but only 4 were confirmed.

On 5 September, one patrulă flew a free-hunting mission near Odessa. Several I-16s were attacking the ground troops and the IAR-80s intervened. Soon 3 Ratas were shot down. On 13 September, 8 IAR-80s from the 42/52nd Squadron, joined 4 Bf-109Es from the 7th Fighter Group in an attack of a bomber formation escorted by 14 I-16s. They downed 3 DB-3s and a I-16 was credited as a probable kill. Two days later, a similar Romanian formation engaged 12 Ratas. Of. echip. cls. III Ioan Maga shot down two of them, thus obtaining the ace status with five kills. By the end of the 1941 campaign he would reach the score of seven victories, one of them being obtained the next day, during a bomber escort mission, when the fighters of the 42/52nd Squadron claimed three I-16s.

The Soviet fighters tried to attack the Salz airfield on 23 September, but several IAR-80s and Bf-109Es took off and dispersed them. The pilots of the 42/52nd Squadron shot down 2 of them. The next day, during a patrol, another 2 I-16s were claimed. Another one was credited as a probable, raising the total number of kills

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6th Fighter Group

The 6th Fighter Group was formed on 7 June 1940 and was put under the command of lt. cdor. av. Nicolae Radulescu. It was made up of two squadrons: 62nd and 63rd and was equipped with the already obsolete PZL P.24E. The new group was assigned to the 2nd Fighter Flotilla.

In January 1941, eight of the group's pilots, who mastered the P.24E very well were assigned to the German Fighter School at Pipera airfield, near Bucharest. Some of them were later reassigned to the newly created 8th Fighter Group, the first IAR-80 group.

In June 1941, the 6th Fighter Group was part of the 3rd Air Region. During the first month of war they flew missions mainly against VVS bombers attacking Ploesti or Bucharest, enjoying some success.

After the Red Army had been pushed out of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina and the 4th Army had encircled Odessa, the 6th Fighter Group was transferred on the front, as the possibility of Soviet bombers appearing over the oil fields was much slimmer.

During the 1941 campaign the group claimed eleven Soviet aircraft shot down (of which only five were confirmed) and another six destroyed on the ground. Three PZL P.24Es had been lost. Unfortunately not much is available on the activity of the 6th Fighter Group in the first year of war.

The unit returned to its base at Pipera and in January 1942, as more IARs became available, it started the transition from the P.24E to the IAR-81. Thus the group also received the "Bopi" (Bombardament in Picaj=Dive Bombing) title. The entire summer was dedicated to training on the new aircraft, as the 2nd Fighter Flotilla (to which the group was assigned) was preparing for war.

On 31 August the 6th Fighter Group received the order for departure on the front. It was put under the command of lt. cdor. av. Nicolae Radulescu and was made up of two squadrons: the 61st and the 62nd. They left on 3 September in formations of 8 aircraft each on the route Targsor-Galati-Odessa. Thenext day they continued to Melitopol. However an unfortunate incident occured. The IAR no. 153 flown by slt. av. Bujor Botezatu collided with no. 233 flown by lt. av. Vasile Fortu, resulting in the death of the first. Also adj. av. Dumitru Ilie damaged his IAR-81 no. 163 during landing. Things did not go very well the next day either. Adj. av. Constantin Cameni destroyed his aircraft after running out fuel and making an emergency landing on a field. The same thing happened on 6 September to adj. av. Vasile Chiriac.

Despite all these problems the 6th Fighter Group had reached the Tusov airfield, near Stalingrad, on7 September. The first two missions were flown two days later, totalling 8 sorties. But the first victories came on 13 September when slt. av. Olimp Avram and adj. av. Pompiliu Georgescu each shot down one Yak during a free hunt mission (of the three flown that day). Also adj. av. Gheorghe Pisoschi claimed a Soviet bomber, but it remained unconfirmed.

The next day was even more prolific, the pilots of the 61st Fighter Squadron claiming four Yaks, for the loss of one aircraft. On 15 September another four bomber escort missions (with 14 sorties), another three Yaks claimed (of which two confirmed) and another loss: adj. av. Nicolae Solomon. The following day (16 September) the pilots of the 62nd Fighter Squadron clashed with 6 Yak-1s, claiming four of them.

On 17 September the 6th Fighter Group flew four bomber escort missions (16 sorties). During the second one, the four IAR-81s engaged four Yaks and adj. stg. av. Florian Budu shot down one. By 1944 he became the highest scoring IAR ace with 16 victories. The third mission was practically identical and slt. av. Ioan Grama scored his first kill. On the last mission of the day, as they were returning to base, the four IAR-81s stumbled upon a formation of 10-12 Soviet bombers and before their escorts could intervene, slt. av. Mircea Dumitrescu shot down a Pe-2. The group also suffered a loss, when slt. av. Olimpiu Avram crash landed his IAR-81 no. 237 near German forward position. But because the Soviets managed to occupy the area for a short while, the aircraft was lost. During the night, 7 or 8 bombers attacked the airfield, lightly damaging one fighter.

The group suffered two losses the following day, one of the pilots being listed as MIA. The other managed to safely bail out. Two days later, another pilot, slt. av. Mihai Weber, was declared MIA, after a bomber escort mission.

The Romanian pilots took their revenge on 27 September, when two IAR-81s clashed with 15 Yaks over Stalingrad. Slt. av. Olimpiu Avram managed to shoot down one of the Soviet fighters, but adj. av. Anghel Niculescu was wounded. He, however, managed to make an emergency landing. The airplane was repairable. The escort missions continued the next days without problems.

On 1 October, the 6th Fighter Group had 25 IAR-81s in its inventory.

Two days later 10 IAR-81s (six in the first mission and four in the second) hit targets in Stalingrad, while other two flew a free hunting mission. In the morning of 4 October seven IAR-81s struck Soviet positions north of the city. Three hours later another six dive-bombers attacked the same area, with good results. One aircraft was damaged by Soviet AAA. The next day, at 0700, four IAR-81s took off with the mission to bomb the Stalingrad Tractor Factory. The AA defence was very strong and two of the airplanes were damaged, but they all scored direct hits.

The group moved to Morozovskaya airfield for winter. But during the following days they also used the Bakovskaya and Pereleasovsky airfields, in order to be able to execute all the escort missions they were required to.

After the Red Army broke the front in November 1942, the group was employed in ground attack and recon missions, when the weather permitted. Thus was lost adj. sef av. Vasile Truica, who was shot down by AAA north of Chernicherskaya.

They started December with two bomber escort missions on 1 and one escort mission the second day. On 6 December, the 8th Fighter Group started to prepare to return home, leaving some of its pilots to the 6th Fighter Group.

A very odd event occurred on 7 December, when, during an escort mission, adj. av. Gheorghe Pisoschi got lost in the myst and stumbled upon three Yaks. He attacked them by surprise, hit one which collided with a second one, both exploding and going down in flames. The same day another dogfight took place between two IAR-81s escorting some He-111s and two Yaks, the Soviets being forced to disengage.

Because of the fact that the number of serviceable aircraft had declined drastically, the 6th Fighter Group was reorganized with material transferred from the 8th Fighter Group, which left on 9 December. The 61st Fighter Squadron received IAR-80A & Bs, while all the IAR-81s were amassed in the 62nd.

The IARs continued to escort Romanian He-111s and German Stukas the next days. Fighting peaked on 12 December when were flown also five dive-bomber missions by the 62nd Squadron. The village Nis - Kalinovsky was set on fire, while the village Zhubovsky was attacked four times. A Yak was claimed by the IARs escorting their colleagues. The next day the group executed 14 missions (45 sorties), of which four in direct support of Romanian ground forces struggling on the river Chir (the 2nd Corps). Four tanks were destroyed and effects on another armored column could not be onserved. The rest were bomber escort missions. Only two were free hunts. During the last one 3 UAR-80s clashed with Yaks, claiming three (but only one was confirmed later).

On 20 December, the group enjoyed some considerable success. At 0830 8 IAR-80s took off on an escort mission for Romanian JRS-79Bs which were supposed to attack Bukovsky. At 0900 the formation was attacked by 5 Yaks. Two minutes later another four Yaks joined the dogfight. However, two Soviet fighters were shot down by slt. av. Baciu and by adj. av. Coceba

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