Ștefan Protopopescu (14 January 1886 – 10 October 1929) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n officer and

aviation pioneer Aviation pioneers are people directly and indirectly responsible for the creation and advancement of human flight capability, including people who worked to achieve manned flight before the invention of aircraft, as well as others who achieved si ...

, he held the no. 1 pilot license in Romania, being the first licensed pilot in Romania and the first pilot of the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

Military career

Ștefan Protopopescu, "Bîrță" for friends, was born on 14 January 1886 at

Turnu Severin Drobeta-Turnu Severin (), colloquially Severin, is a city in Mehedinți County, Oltenia, Romania, on the northern bank of the Danube, close to the Iron Gates. It is one of six Romanian county seats lying on the river Danube. "Drobeta" is the name ...

. After graduating from Traian High School in his hometown, he attended the School for Military Engineer Officers in Bucharest, receiving the rank of '' Sublocotenent''. Attracted by aviation, he started pilot training at the flight school from Chitila together with Lt. Stelian Boiangiu, Slt. Nicolae Druțu and Slt. Gheorghe Negrescu. He graduated on 9 July 1911, receiving the no. 1 pilot license in Romania, being followed by , who received his license 8 days later. After getting his license, he participated in the autumn military maneuvers that took place at

Pașcani Pașcani () is a city in Iași County in the Western Moldavia region of Romania, on the Siret river. , it has a population of 30,766. Five villages are administered by the city: Blăgești, Boșteni, Gâstești, Lunca, and Sodomeni. The city der ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

in September 1911, together with pilots

George Valentin Bibescu George III Valentin, Prince Bibescu (; 22 March 1880 – 2 July 1941) was a Romanian early aviation pioneer and automobile enthusiast. Family His parents were Prince George Bibescu (1834–1902; son of Gheorghe Bibescu) and Valentine de Riquet ...

, , Gheorghe Negrescu, Nicolae Capșa and Poly Vacas. For his actions, he was decorated, along with the others, with the '' Virtutea Militară 1st class'' medal. Once the maneuvers were finished, Protopopescu carried out an air tour, on the

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Turnu-Severin Drobeta-Turnu Severin (), colloquially Severin, is a city in Mehedinți County, Oltenia, Romania, on the northern bank of the Danube, close to the Iron Gates. It is one of six Romanian county seats lying on the river Danube. "Drobeta" is the name ...

route, being accompanied by his colleague, Gheorghe Negrescu, with another airplane. It was the first flight of its kind in Romania. The "raid" began on the morning of 22 October 1911 and was finished on the 27th after some technical difficulties. He also performed the first non-stop flight on the

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

route. In the summer of 1912, while flying on a Farman, Protopopescu took part in experiments related to the use of

wireless telegraphy Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is the transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using electrical cable, cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimenta ...

for the navy and aviation, considered by some to be among the first in the world. The ''Gazeta ilustrată'' of 1912 wrote: "''A problem that foreign countries were unable to solve was solved in Romania, thanks to the efforts of Captain Zaharia of the Navy and G. Rotlender; it is the use of Marconi's great invention, wireless telegraphy, via the aeroplane. The experiments made the other day at Constanța have been entirely successful. It was possible to transmit communications easily and accurately from the aeroplane over a distance of 30 kilometres. Knowing that the aeroplane was piloted by Ștefan Protopopescu, it goes without saying that the flying machine behaved wonderfully in the atmosphere during the experiments.''" After briefly training other pilots at the Cotroceni flight school, in the autumn of 1912 he was sent to France where he attended the Higher School of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, returning in August 1914 after graduating. On this occasion, he became known among French pilots as an incomparable flyer. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served in the ''Grupul 3 Escadrile'' (3rd Squadron Group) assigned to the

1st Romanian Army The First Army was a field army of the Romanian Land Forces, active from 1916 to 2000. The successor of the First Army was the 1st Infantry Division. World War I The First Army took part in the Romanian Campaign of World War I. Its comman ...

. He was then assigned as co-commander of ''Escadrila N.3'', sharing command with

Maurice Gond Colonel Maurice Roch Gond (31 May 1884 – 11 May 1964) was a World War I flying ace who played a much more important role in his nation's affairs than six aerial victories might suggest. He was a professional soldier who worked his way up from ...

. From the beginning of the summer of 1917, he was tasked with creating a new fighter unit. The new unit was called ''Escadrila N.11'' (N.11 or Nieuport 11 Squadron) and it was a fighter squadron composed of only Romanian airmen with Protopopescu as its first commander. Pilots such as Vasile Craiu, , Egon Nasta, Paul Magâlea and Ion Muntenescu, all awarded with the

Order of Michael the Brave The Order of Michael the Brave () is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King of Romania, King Ferdinand I of Romania, Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign (World War I), Romanian Campaign of the World War I ...

, were part of this squadron. By the end of the war, the pilots of N.11 squadron obtained 15 air victories. On 6 August 1917, he was slightly wounded in the hands and arm during a

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft that is conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requir ...

with two enemy airplanes. From 14 September 1917, became the new commander of the squadron, while Protopopescu was assigned as commander of the Military Piloting School of

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

. From 1918, he was appointed Director of the Aeronautics and on 15 December,

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Protopopescu received the command of ''Grupul 1 Aeronautic''. After the end of the war, he was appointed commander of the Aeronautical Arsenal. In 1929, Lieutenant colonel Ștefan Protopopescu will briefly serve as commander of the Aeronautics Training Center.

Aircraft designer

Protopopescu face-to-face with his cartoon portrait

After the end of World War 1, the problem of manufacturing aircraft in Romania arose as an advantageous solution, able to remove the difficulties that Romanian aviation went through during the war, especially regarding the lack of flight equipment necessary for training. Protopopescu strongly supported the proposal and thus he designed a twin-seat training

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

together with engineers Dumitru Baziliu and Gheorghe Țicău. The airplane was named

Proto 1 Proto 1 was a training biplane designed by Major :ro:Ștefan Protopopescu, Ștefan Protopopescu in collaboration with Dumitru Baziliu and Gheorghe Ticău at Arsenalul Aeronautic in Bucharest in 1922. It was the first Romanian airplane to be built ...

and was built at the newly established

Arsenalul Aeronautic Arsenalul Aeronautic ("Aeronautical Arsenal" in English) in Bucharest was the first factory with an aeronautical profile in Romania. Its activity took place between 1919 and 1939. ''Arsenalul Aeronautic'' manufactured three models of aircraft: Han ...

. After the aircraft was finished in 1922, Protopopescu tested it himself. Romanian Aeronautical Constructions 1905-1974 The qualities of the aircraft led the Ministry of War to order a series of 25 aircraft on 10 January 1923 from the

Astra Aircraft Factory The Astra Aircraft Factory () in Arad was the second Romanian factory to build aircraft. Its activity took place between 1923 and 1925, producing four models of aircraft: '' Astra-Șeșefschi'', Proto 1, Proto 2 and Astra-Proto. History From ...

. However, the Astra factory did not respect the prescriptions of the prototype made at the Aeronautical Arsenal and changed the frame of the wings at its own initiative, and this led to the death of test pilot . Following this accident, Protopopescu together with the engineers from Astra improved the design, and the new

Proto 2 (aircraft) Proto 2 was a training biplane manufactured at the ''Fabrica de avioane Astra'' in Arad, Romania, Arad in 1924. Design and development Following the accident of :ro:Ioan Sava Câmpineanu, Ioan Sava, a new variant of the Proto 1 was created, c ...

started production. Protopopescu went on to design another aircraft at Astra, named Astra-Proto. The airplane was intended for

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

flights and was powered by a Hispano-Suiza 300 hp engine. The prototype passed its tests successfully and although it met the requirements, the factory did not receive orders for serial production. At the request of the Romanian government, Ștefan Protopopescu drew up a memorandum on the establishment of an aircraft and engine factory, a memorandum supported by the Chief of Staff, Colonel Paul Teodorescu. Following this, the Romanian Parliament adopted the "Law on industrial enterprises in connection with national defense" in 1925. This act will mark the foundation of IAR. The last aircraft he would design was the Proto-SET-2, another reconnaissance airplane. The design was made in collaboration with engineer Grigore Zamfirescu, the founder of

SET Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

. With this airplane, the SET company started its activity. It was powered by the Lorraine-Dietrich 450 hp engine and two prototypes were manufactured, one for static tests and one for flight tests. During one of the test flights, the prototype was damaged when the engine caught fire. Although the flight performances and features of the aircraft were comparable with others that were in service with the Romanian Air Force, there were no orders for mass-production.

Awards

Despite receiving the following awards, he never talked about them and never wore them.

Romania

* Virtutea Militară 1st class *

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...

Order of the Crown of Romania The Order of the Crown of Romania is a chivalric order set up on 14 March 1881 by King Carol I of Romania to commemorate the establishment of the Kingdom of Romania. It was awarded as a state order until the end of the Romanian monarchy in 1947. ...

France

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Protopopescu, Stefan Romanian aviators Aviation history of Romania Aviation inventors Aviation pioneers Romanian aerospace engineers Romanian Air Corps officers Romanian Air Force officers Romanian World War I pilots 1886 births 1929 deaths People from Drobeta-Turnu Severin Recipients of the Legion of Honour