Emanoil Ionescu
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Emanoil Ionescu (17 March 1893 – 13 July 1949) 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
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and commander of the
Royal Romanian Air Force The Air Force branch of the Royal Romanian forces in World War II was officially named the (ARR, ), though it is more commonly referred to in English histories as the (Royal Romanian Air Force, FARR), or simply (Romanian Air Force). It provided ...
's between September 1943 and March 1945.


Biography


Early life and military career

Emanoil Ionescu, nicknamed "Pipițu" by friends and fellow aviators for the way he scolded them, was born on 17 March 1893 in Tămpeni, now Movileni,
Olt County Olt County () is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (the regions are separated by the Olt River, Olt river). The capital city is Slatina, Roma ...
. After attending the primary school in his native village, he enrolled at the Boys' Normal School in
Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...
, where he graduated from in 1911 allowing him to work as a teacher in Tămpeni. While in Craiova, he attended an air show at the Craiova Hippodrome, becoming fascinated by aviation. On 1 June 1915, he joined the Infantry and Reserve Officers Military Training School as a first step towards the Aviator Officer School. He graduated three months later with the rank of '' Plutonier'', being assigned to the 43rd Infantry Regiment. He was soon promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant and passed into reserve. On 15 August 1916, he enrolled as a volunteer at the
Aviation School Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...
in
Cotroceni Cotroceni is a neighbourhood in western Bucharest, Romania, located around the Cotroceni hill, in Bucharest's Sector 5. The nearest Metro stations are Eroilor, Academia Militară, and Politehnica. History The Hill of Cotroceni was once cove ...
. With the school moved to
Botoșani Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa. Origin of the ...
during the war, he obtained his pilot's license on 11 July 1918, after which he was assigned to the 1st Aeronautical Group. Soon after, he became the commander of the S.2 Squadron. In the spring of 1919, when the Hungarian communist army attacked Romania, Lieutenant Ionescu was assigned with his squadron to the
5th Aviation Group The 2nd Guard Aviation Flotilla (), also known as ("2nd Guard Aeronautical Flotilla") was an Aviation Flotilla of the Royal Romanian Air Force formed in 1929 following the general restructuring of the Air Force. In 1930, it became patroned by Kin ...
in
Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...
, an air subunit made available to General
Gheorghe Mărdărescu Gheorghe D. Mărdărescu (4 August 1866 – 5 September 1938) was a Romanian army major general during World War I, a commander during the Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919, and Minister of War from 1922 to 1926. Mărdărescu was born in Iași ...
, commander of the Romanian forces in
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
during the
Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War (; ) was fought between Hungary and Kingdom of Romania, Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. After the ...
. In April-June 1919 he carried out several combat missions aboard
Sopwith 1½ Strutter The Sopwith Strutter is a British single- or two-seat Multirole combat aircraft, multi-role biplane aircraft of the First World War.Lake 2002, p. 40. It was the first British two-seat tractor configuration, tractor fighter and the first Briti ...
aircraft, gathering information and bombing enemy targets.


Interwar period

Ionescu was promoted to Captain in April 1920, and appointed squadron commander; the following year he was promoted to Major, and given the command of an air group. From 1925 to 1937 he flew intensely and became known to the public after the "Raid of Greater Romania" (3,700 km in 11 hours, with a stopover), done with in 1927. From 1927 to 1929 he attended the Higher War School. He also attended the
air observer An air observer or aerial observer is an aircrew member whose duties are predominantly reconnaissance. The term originated in the First World War in the British Royal Flying Corps, and was maintained by its successor, the Royal Air Force. An a ...
school, and was sent to
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
on two occasions to attend other courses there. In April 1937, he took command of the 3rd Fighter Flotilla, based in
Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...
, with the rank of Captain-Commander; half a year later, he was promoted to (Commander). Between 1938 and 1939, Ionescu held the position of professor at the Higher War School and commander of the "Aurel Vlaicu" Military Aviation School in
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 ...
.


World War II

When Romania joined the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
on the side of the
Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...
in 1941, he was assigned as commander of the Army Air Command of the 4th Army with the rank of (Air Wing General). The Army Air Command supported the Romanian military actions in crossing the
Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...
and the
Dniester The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...
, with the aviation intervening to stop the enemy counterattacks on 12 July. Ionescu himself flew 40 hours in the operations area under enemy fire. For his actions, he received the
Order of Aeronautical Virtue The Order of Aeronautical Virtue () is a Romanian military decoration created by King Carol II on 31 July 1930. Originally, the Order had three ranks: Knight, Officer and Commander, as well as a "Golden Cross" rank as the lowest one. The first t ...
in Golden Cross with two bars and Knight Class ranks on 1 July 1942. In the next two years, he held important positions in the education system of the
Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
. In September 1943 he became commander of the
1st Air Corps First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
, the only large Romanian air unit on the Eastern Front. In May 1944, he was promoted to the rank of . After
King Michael's Coup King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...
of 23 August 1944, when Romania switched sides to the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
, Ionescu continued to command the Air Corps on the front in Transylvania,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, and
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, providing air support to the Romanian 1st and 4th Armies, as well as the Soviet
6th Guards Tank Army The 6th Guards Order of Red Banner Tank Army was a tank army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, first formed in January 1944 as the 6th Tank Army,Glantz (Companion), p. 66. and disbanded in Ukraine in the 1990s after the dissolution of the Soviet U ...
and 27th Army. He was present with his units on the frontline during important operations, earning the admiration of the Russians. On 4 August 1945, he was decorated 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 ...
3rd Class. On 6 March 1945, he was named Undersecretary of State for the Air in the first Groza cabinet and returned to Bucharest, handing over the command of the Corps to General Traian Burduloiu on 10 March 1945. Shortly after the war, in 1946, he received the rank of (
lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...
).


Later career and legacy

As he did not approve of the post-war army policies, he requested a "special availability leave", receiving it on 7 November 1947 by
Royal Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...
of King
Michael I Michael I may refer to: * Pope Michael I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark in 743–767 * Michael I Rangabe, Byzantine Emperor (died in 844) * Michael I Cerularius, Patriarch Michael I of Constantinop ...
. Through the same decree, he was to be assigned to the reserve on 1 January 1948, being also removed from military controls and transferred to the Bucharest Territorial Center. A year and a half later, on 13 July 1949, he died in Bucharest due to a heart disease. He is buried in the
Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...
, close to
Aurel Vlaicu Aurel Vlaicu (; 19 November 1882 – 13 September 1913) was a Romanian engineer, inventor, airplane constructor, and early pilot.Gheorghiu, 1960 Early years and education Aurel Vlaicu was born in the village of Bințințiencenc in Transylvan ...
's grave. In 2002, the
RoAF 71st Air Base The Romanian Air Force 71st Air Base "General Emanoil Ionescu" (), also known as Câmpia Turzii Air Base, is located in the Communes of Romania, commune Luna, Cluj, Luna near the city of Câmpia Turzii, in Cluj County. The 71st Air Base was found ...
at
Câmpia Turzii Câmpia Turzii (; ; ) is a municipality in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania, which was formed in 1925 by the union of two villages, Ghiriș (''Aranyosgyéres'') and Sâncrai (''Szentkirály''). It was declared a town in 1950 and a city in 1998. ...
was named in his honor. A street in Slatina, and one in Bucharest, are also named in Ionescu's memory.


Awards

*
Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...
(1939) 2nd and 1st Class *
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...
on 10 May 1944 as and commanding general of the Royal Romanian 1st Air Corps *
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 ...
3rd Class (4 August 1945) *
Order of Aeronautical Virtue The Order of Aeronautical Virtue () is a Romanian military decoration created by King Carol II on 31 July 1930. Originally, the Order had three ranks: Knight, Officer and Commander, as well as a "Golden Cross" rank as the lowest one. The first t ...
Golden Cross and Knight Class (1 July 1942) *
Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...
1st Class (9 August 1945)


References


Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ionescu, Emanoil 1893 births 1949 deaths People from Olt County Carol I National Defence University alumni Romanian World War I pilots Romanian people of the Hungarian–Romanian War Romanian military personnel of World War II Romanian Air Force generals Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class