The Romanian Air Corps or Aviation Corps (RAC) () was the air arm 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 ...

until the formation of the

Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) () is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five air bases, a logistics base, an air defense brigade, an air defense regiment and an ISR (Intel ...

. It was established on 1 April 1913 as the Military Aeronautics Service () and subordinated to the Engineer Inspectorate, being organized in two branches – the

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

and the

balloon A balloon is a flexible membrane bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. For special purposes, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), ...

branch. On 23 August 1915, the RAC was formed as an independent military arm and operated until 1 January 1924 when it became an equal to the Army and Navy, being redesignated as the Royal Romanian Air Force ('' Aeronautica Regală Română''). In 1913, the newly established Military Aeronautics Service participated in the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict that broke out when Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia and Kingdom of Greece, Greece, on 1 ...

. Being organized in two sections, the Aeronautics Service carried out

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 ...

liaison Liaison or Liaisons may refer to: General usage * Affair, an unfaithful sexual relationship * Collaboration * Co-operation * Liaison, an egg-based thickening used in cooking Arts and entertainment * Liaisons (''Desperate Housewives''), a 2007 ...

and leaflet dropping missions over

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. In 1915, the Air Corps gained independence from the Engineer Inspectorate. When Romania entered 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 ...

on the Allied side in 1916, the RAC was organized into 4 squadron groups, each assigned to an army, and 4 balloon sections. Limited by the few aircraft the Corps had available, the Romanian airmen carried out mainly

aerial reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or Strategy, strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including Artillery observer, artillery spott ...

and

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

missions, though bombing missions with Romanian-made bombs were also executed. At the end of 1916, the RAC was reorganized with the help of the French Military Mission. After the reorganization, it had 3 Aeronautical Groups, each assigned to a Romanian or Russian army, and 5 balloon companies.

Beginnings

The first flight of Romanian military personnel happened on , when Marius Willemot, a French engineer from

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 ...

, took

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 ...

s (Maj.)

Iacob Lahovary Iacob N. Lahovary (; 16 January 1846 – 7 February 1907) was a member of the Romanian aristocracy, a general, politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of War and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Romania. Life and care ...

Constantin Poenaru Constantin Poenaru (April 8, 1842–1912) was a Romanian general. Born in Bucharest, Poenaru attended the local officers’ school from 1859 to 1861, followed by the École supérieure de guerre in Paris. A second lieutenant from 1861, he ros ...

and Dumitrescu in flight over the city with his

hydrogen balloon Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all normal matter. Under standard conditions, hydrogen is a gas of diatomi ...

named (''Michel-le-Brave''). The last flight of this

took place on , Willemot flying together with

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

(Col.)

Nicolae Haralambie Nicolae Haralambie (August 27, 1835 in Chișinău – April 3, 1908 in Bucharest) was a Romanian soldier and politician. In 1861, he headed the Bucharest police. As a colonel, he took part in the dethronement of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza in 1866 ...

Ion Ghica Ion Ghica (; 12 August 1816 – 7 May 1897) was a Romanian statesman, mathematician, diplomat and politician, who was Prime Minister of Romania five times. He was a full list of members of the Romanian Academy, member of the Romanian Academy an ...

and a third person. Following the use of a balloon in the military exercises of 1891 and 1892, the first balloon unit of the Romanian Army was established in 1893 as part of the 1st

Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

Company in the 1st

Engineer Regiment Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while consideri ...

, under the command of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

(Lt.) Eugeniu Asachi. The balloon unit, called the

Aerostat An aerostat (, via French) or lighter-than-air aircraft is an aircraft that relies on buoyancy to maintain flight. Aerostats include unpowered balloons (free-flying or tethered) and powered airships. The relative density of an aerostat as a ...

ion Section, was equipped with a French spherical captive balloon, which was replaced with a German

kite balloon A kite balloon is a tethered balloon which is shaped to help make it stable in low and moderate winds and to increase its lift. It typically comprises a streamlined envelope with stabilising features and a harness or yoke connecting it to the mai ...

in 1903. The necessary hydrogen was purchased from Austria-Hungary until 1905 when the equipment needed for its the production and storage was purchased. In the beginning, the captive balloon was used for

aerial surveillance Surveillance aircraft are aircraft used for surveillance. They are primarily operated by military forces and government agencies in roles including intelligence gathering, maritime patrol, battlefield and airspace surveillance, observation (e.g ...

in support of the

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

that defended the

fortifications of Bucharest The fortifications of Bucharest are a ring of thirty six fortifications (18 forts and 18 batteries) built in late 19th century that surround Bucharest, the capital of Romania. A report by the War Ministry led the celebrated Belgian military arch ...

. Then, the balloon was used in the field training exercises from 1907-1911. The positive results encouraged the officials to acquire 3 more kite balloons and the necessary mobile devices to produce and store hydrogen, which was used to inflate the balloons, and to transport the equipment into operational theaters. On 20 November 1909, Cerchez & Co., the first aircraft company, the first aerodrome and the first flight school of Romania was founded at

Chitila Chitila () is a town in the west of Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania, situated to the north-west of Bucharest. It is often seen as a satellite town of Bucharest. One village, Rudeni, is administered by the town. Transport Chitila is linked to B ...

. The school, conducted by French flight instructors, had five hangars,

bleachers Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports-fields and at other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step enabling access to a ...

for spectators and workshops where

Farman Farman Aviation Works () was a French aircraft company founded and run by the brothers Richard, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 1936; during the French nationalization and rational ...

airplanes were built under license. Also in November 1909, the Romanian Minister of War commissioned

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 ...

to build the

A Vlaicu I The A Vlaicu I was the first powered airplane built by Aurel Vlaicu. Design and development After flying his glider in Binținți, Aurel Vlaicu moved to the Kingdom of Romania. With help from Romanian-Transylvanian expatriates in Buchares ...

airplane at the

Bucharest Army Arsenal The Army Arsenal of Bucharest () was the main arsenal of the Romanian Army, established in 1861 with the task of manufacturing, maintaining, and storing weapons, as well as limbers and caissons for the artillery. The old flags, uniforms, and weap ...

. The aircraft first flew on 17 June 1910. In September, during the fall

military exercise A military exercise, training exercise, maneuver (manoeuvre), or war game is the employment of military resources in Military education and training, training for military operations. Military exercises are conducted to explore the effects of ...

, Vlaicu flew his airplane from Slatina to

Piatra Olt Piatra-Olt is a town in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania. The town administers five villages: Bistrița Nouă, Criva de Jos, Criva de Sus, Enoșești, and Piatra. The town is an important railway station and road intersection. It officially became a to ...

carrying a message, Romania thus becoming one of the first countries to use airplanes for military purposes. The English historian, Michael J.H. Taylor noting: "In 1910 the Romanian military aviation was established, being one of the nations that adopted aviation for military purposes. The Romanian aviation participated, with great success, in the campaigns of the First World War." In April 1911, the Ministry of War ordered 4

s, this was followed by an order for 2 more Farmans. These licensed-built airplanes started to be delivered from 30 August. In the same year, the first officers began training at the flight school, '' Sublocotenent'' (Second Lieutenant - Slt.)

Ștefan Protopopescu Ștefan Protopopescu (14 January 1886 – 10 October 1929) was a Romanian officer and aviation pioneer, he held the no. 1 pilot license in Romania, being the first licensed pilot in Romania and the first pilot of the Romanian Army. Military care ...

receiving the first pilot license in Romania and becoming 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 ...

. On 1 April 1912, the first military flight training school was established 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 ...

. Prince

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 ...

took the initiative to establish the National Air League (), on 5 May 1912, which was located in

Băneasa Băneasa () is a borough () on the north side of Bucharest, in Sector 1, near the Băneasa Lake (). Like every north-side district of Bucharest, it is relatively sparsely populated, with large areas of parkland. Bordering on Băneasa Fores ...

. The League was formed with the aim of supporting the national aviation with money and aircraft. This way, the

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.flight school of Băneasa. The instructors of the flight school were all military pilots. As a result of the rapid development of aviation, it was necessary to regulate its status within the military. A law on the organization of military aeronautics was issued on 1 April 1913 which organized the military aeronautics in two branches – the aviation and the balloon branch. The Military Aeronautics Service was put under the commanded of the General Inspectorate of Engineering and Aeronautics, led by

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 ...

(Gen.) Mihail Boteanu. The law also established the Corps of Permanent Airmen (), consisting of

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

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 ...

s and

mechanic A mechanic is a skilled tradesperson who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially engines. Formerly, the term meant any member of the handicraft trades, but by the early 20th century, it had come to mean one who works w ...

s. It laid down the conditions for admission to flight schools, the system of pilot licensing, the establishment of flight salary premiums, the continuous training of aircrew and the introduction of the higher pilot's license for aviators. This higher pilot's license was given to experienced aviators who performed missions in difficult conditions and its holders were permanently assigned to the Corps of Permanent Airmen. Pilots were required to fly at least 120 hours per year, otherwise, they were excluded from military aviation.

Second Balkan War (1913)

On , Romania mobilized its army against Bulgaria. The Military Aeronautics Service was also mobilized and participated in the campaign which started on 10 July. The Military School and the Aviation Park mobilized 5 "Farmans", which constituted the Section I of Aviation (), commanded by Lt. Ștefan Paraschivescu. Aurel Vlaicu was also assigned to this section with his

A Vlaicu II The A Vlaicu II was the second powered airplane designed and built by Aurel Vlaicu. Design and development The construction of ''A. Vlaicu Nr. II'' was started in December 1910 at the ''Școala de Arte și Meserii'' (Arts and Crafts ...

airplane. was transformed into the Section II of Aviation, contributing with 13 aircraft: 8 twin-seat Blériot monoplanes with 80 hp engines, 2 single-seat Blériots with 50 hp engines, 2 Farman MF.7 and 1

Blériot XXI The Blériot XXI was an early French aircraft built by Blériot Aéronautique. Design The aircraft was a shoulder-wing monoplane powered by a 52 kW (70 hp) Gnome Gamma 7-cylinder rotary engine driving a two-bladed propeller. The pilot ...

with a 70 hp engine. Baneasa-1912

On 24 July,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

(Cpt.) Constantin Fotescu and Cpt. observer Ioan H. Arion, executed the first combat mission, with a reconnaissance flight following the

Vidin Vidin (, ) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin (since ...

- Ferdinandovo road. The Blériot then turned north-west flying over the village of

Rabisha Rabisha ( ) is a village in north-western Bulgaria, in Vidin Province and Belogradchik municipality. Geography Rabisha village is located 45 kilometers from Vidin and 20 km from Belogradchik. It is also located on Archar river. Its popula ...

where Bulgarian troops were stationed. Two cannon shots were fired on the airplane without effect. On 30 July, two Blériots from No. 1 Squadron, Section II took off. The aircraft were flown by: Lt. Nicolae Capșa with Cpt. observer Ioan H. Arion and

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

(Pvt.) Poly Vacas with Cpt. observer Ioan Viieșeanu. The airmen carried out a reconnaissance mission in northern Bulgaria, then landed at

Segarcea Segarcea is a small town in Dolj County, Oltenia, Romania. It has 7,356 inhabitants (2021 Romanian census, 2021 census), in an area of . The town is located towards the western end of the Wallachian Plain, about north of the Danube and south ...

. The intensification of

reconnaissance mission 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 ...

s carried out by Section II prompted the section's commander, Cpt. George Valentin Bibescu, to reorganize its activity. To this end, four Blériots with the 80 hp engines and two Blériots with the 50 hp engines formed the No. 2 and No. 3 Reserve Squadrons. Cpt. Nicolae Capșa and Ioan H. Arion took off on 8 August 1913, at 6.05 a.m., with orders to drop leaflets over

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. The pilot noting: The Romanian airmen continued to fly reconnaissance missions during the war. On 14 August, the Aviation was recalled to Bucharest. From the first experience of war, the ground commanders began to see the advantages of aviation, resulting in the fact that aircraft could be used very effectively in long-distance missions of over over the enemy lines, and in liaison missions with infantry and cavalry. Some shortcomings have also been noted. For example, only one of the five Section I Farmans flew, piloted by Slt. , as the others were missing spare parts. Bristol Coanda - Romania

The year 1913 marked an important point for the Romanian aviation, with new aircraft purchases from France, Great Britain and Germany. At the end of the year the aviation had 20 licensed pilots and was equipped with 34 aircraft, as follows: * Military aircraft: 3

Bristol-Coanda Monoplanes The Bristol Coanda Monoplanes were a series of monoplane trainers designed by the Romanian designer Henri Coandă for the British company British and Colonial Aeroplane Company. Several versions of the plane were built from 1912 onwards with ...

with 50 hp engines; 7 Bristol T.B.8 with 80 hp engines; 4 Farman HF.20; 1

Rumpler Taube The Etrich ''Taube'', also known by the names of the various later manufacturers who built versions of the type, such as the Rumpler ''Taube'', was a pre-World War I monoplane aircraft. It was the first military aeroplane to be mass-produced in ...

with a 100 hp Mercedes engine; 1 twin-seat "Nieuport" with an 80 hp engine; 1

Albatros B.I The Albatros B.I, (post-war company designation L.1) was a German military reconnaissance aircraft designed in 1913 in aviation, 1913 and which saw service during World War I. Design and development The B.I was a two-seat biplane of conventiona ...

with a 100 hp engine; 8 twin-seat Blériot XI with 80 hp engines owned by , which could be mobilized during war. * School and training aircraft: 2 Bristol-Coandă " coté a coté" with 50 hp engines; 2 Bristol-Coandă without an engine; 1 Bristol B.R.7 with a 70 hp engine; 1 Farman model 1912; 2 Blériot XI with

Anzani Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani (1877–1956), which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy. Overview From his native Italy, ...

25 hp engines (owned by ); 1

Nieuport IV The Nieuport IV was a France, French-built sporting, Trainer (aircraft), training and Surveillance aircraft, reconnaissance monoplane of the early 1910s. Design and development Societe Anonyme des Etablissements Nieuport was formed in 1909 by ...

with a 50 hp engine, flown by .

World War I

Neutrality years (1914–1916)

In 1914, 18 students enrolled for pilot training (eight officer cadets and eight non-commissioned officers). The Băneasa Flight School had another 10 students (five officers and five junior officers). With the international situation becoming more and more tense, through Order no. 421/1914, the Ministry of War tasked the command of the Aviation with survey missions in the country, especially around

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 ...

Turnu Măgurele Turnu Măgurele () is a municipiu, city in Teleorman County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. Developed nearby the site once occupied by the medieval port of Turnu fortress, Turnu, it is situated north-east of the confluence between ...

Mărășești Mărășești () is a small town in Vrancea County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It administers six villages: Călimănești, Haret, Modruzeni, Pădureni, Siretu, and Tișița. Geography The town is located in the eastern part of the county, on th ...

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 ...

and

Medgidia Medgidia ( or ; historical Turkish names: ''Karasu'' or ''Carasu'', ''Mecidiye'' or ''Megidie'') is a city in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, south-eastern Romania. History Archaeological findings show that Dobruja was inhabited since the ...

with the goal of setting up fuel depots in case of mobilization, as well as for the identification of fields where reserve aerodromes could be set up. Through continued propaganda in the support of equipping the aviation with flying machines, the residents of

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 ...

gathered funds and bought a Bristol T.B.8, the same was done by the residents of

Silistra Silistra ( ; ; or ) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Silistra is the administrative center of the ...

and

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

. Visiting Romania in the summer,

Tsar Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He marrie ...

enjoyed a special welcome. While the Imperial ship was from the Romanian coast, two flights, one of Bristol-Coandă airplanes and another of Blériots, flew out to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

over the Imperial ship. The Romanian pilots simulated an aerial battle at an altitude of , executing dives and loops and impressing the Tsar. After the outbreak of the war, the Crown Council invoked by

Carol I Carol I or Charles I of Romania (born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – ), was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as ...

chose neutrality for Romania. Soon after this decision, King Carol I died and was succeeded by Ferdinand I to the throne. During the neutrality period, Romania invested in reorganizing, equipping and training its armed forces, allocating 17-22% of the country’s budget for defense. However, the money spent for defense was insufficient to acquire all the necessary equipment to modernize the entire military. Although Romania had the facilities to manufacture Farman and Bristol-Coandă airplanes under French and British license, the Ministry of War preferred to import airplanes. Military pilots continued their training for participation in an eventual military campaign. The Romanian airmen believed that politicians did not understand the role of military aviation in setting policies. Therefore, between 1914 and 1916, some enthusiastic pilots along with some experts from the Army Arsenal decided to experiment with dropping Romanian-designed bombs and practiced attacking ground targets from the air. On 12 January 1915 the first launching of a Romanian-made bomb from a height of took place. Two kinds of bombs were tested: one of and the other of , with the latter being rated as the best one to be launched by hand. At the end of July 1915, the Aviation had 34 aircraft. Romanian WW1 Pilot badge

New Romanian

aviator badge An aviator badge is an insignia used in most of the world's militaries to designate those who have received training and qualification in military aviation. Also known as a pilot's badge, or pilot wings, the aviator badge was first conceived to re ...

s for pilots and observers also appeared in 1915. For officers, the badge was of silver metal and was worn on the chest on the left side and for non-commissioned officers it was made of silk of the same color and was worn on the left sleeve. An important stage in the evolution of the Romanian military aviation was the establishment of the Romanian Air Corps on 23 August, which was put under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel (Lt. Col.) Constantin Găvănescu. Following the reorganization of the aviation, the flight school of Cotroceni was disbanded and the training of pilots and observers was taken over by the Băneasa school of the Air League. To ensure the good running of the activity, 78 military specialists were dispatched to the aerodrome. At the end of 1915, the newly independent RAC was somewhat better equipped due to the ordered airplanes arriving from France, 37 pilots and 25 observers were also licensed this year. Continuing their training missions, the Romanian pilots were well prepared for the future conflict. Arriving at Bucharest on 4 August 1916, the French pilot Jules de Lareinthy de Tholozan noted:

Campaign of 1916

On 28 August 1916, Romania entered the war on the side of the

Entente Entente, meaning a diplomatic "understanding", may refer to a number of agreements: History * Entente (alliance), a type of treaty or military alliance where the signatories promise to consult each other or to cooperate with each other in case o ...

. When the mobilization was decreed, the RAC had 44 aircraft ready. Of the 44 aircraft ordered from France, 23 were available: 8 Farman MF.7/ MF.11, 5 Blériot XI, 1 Farman HF.20, 4

Voisin III The Voisin III was a French World War I two-seat pusher biplane multi-purpose aircraft developed by Voisin in 1914 as a more powerful version of the 1912 Voisin L. It is notable for being the aircraft used for the first successful shooting down ...

/ V, 4

Morane-Saulnier Aéroplanes Morane-Saulnier was a French aircraft manufacturing company formed in October 1911 by Raymond Saulnier and the Morane brothers, Léon and Robert. The company was taken over and diversified in the 1960s. History Model development ...

monoplanes, 1

Caudron G.3 The Caudron G.3 was a single-engined French sesquiplane built by Caudron, widely used in World War I as a reconnaissance aircraft and trainer. Development The Caudron G.3 was designed by René and Gaston Caudron as a development of their earli ...

; an Aviatik C.I was also delivered from Germany and another 20 aircraft were available from the flight schools: 10 Bristol T.B.8, 7

Bristol Coanda Monoplanes The Bristol Coanda Monoplanes were a series of monoplane Trainer (aircraft), trainers designed by the Romanian designer Henri Coandă for the United Kingdom, British company Bristol Aeroplane Company, British and Colonial Aeroplane Company. Se ...

, 3 Farman HF.20. All aircraft were initially unarmed, the machine guns for the airplanes started to arrive only from September 1916. At the beginning of the campaign, the RAC was organized as such: * (1st Squadron Group) - The group had 2 squadrons. * - assigned to the Romanian 2nd Army. * - assigned to the Romanian 3rd Army. The group had 3 squadrons: , and . * - assigned to the Northern Army. * The RAC also had 4 balloon sections, each with 1 Drachen captive balloon. 1916 - Tun antiaerian de 57 mm sistem Negrei in pozitie de lupta

1916 - Tun antiaerian de 57 mm sistem Negrei in pozitie de lupta

The

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

deployed 22

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

squadrons on the Romanian Front, totaling over 250 aircraft. They also deployed 20 balloon companies (10 Austro-Hungarian, 8 German and 2 Bulgarian), as well as 4 Zeppelins ( LZ 81, LZ 86, LZ 97 and LZ 101). On 15 August, the Romanian Anti-aircraft Defence Corps was established, with the mission to protect the important civil and military objectives against enemy aerial attacks. The Corps had 113 anti-aircraft guns, including "Negrei" and " Burileanu" gun systems, some machine guns and searchlights. Bucharest was protected by the Anti-aircraft Defence Branch of the Capital City, which was equipped with twenty 75 mm guns adapted for anti-aircraft use, two "Negrei" system 57 mm guns, 16 anti-aircraft machine guns and 8 sections of 60 and 90 cm searchlights. At the beginning of the campaign, the Romanian Air Corps carried out surveillance and photographic reconnaissance missions to support the land forces. In the southern theater of operations, Romanian airplanes discovered German, Turkish and Bulgarian troop movements and informed the commanders of the 3rd Army, via thrown messages. This helped to prevent the troops from

Dobrudja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; or ''Dobrudža''; , or ; ; Dobrujan Tatar: ''Tomrîğa''; Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and ) is a Geography, geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century betw ...

and the forces deployed south of the Danube River from being surrounded. On the front 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 ...

, executed the first reconnaissance missions. On 16 September, a German aircraft that was flying over

Călărași Călărași (), the capital of Călărași County in the Muntenia region, is situated in south-east Romania, on the banks of the Danube's Borcea branch, at about from the Bulgarian border and from Bucharest. It is one of six Romanian county se ...

was intercepted by the

Farman F.40 The Farman F.40 was a French Pusher configuration, pusher biplane reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft was also used as light bomber aircraft in the early part of World War I and later it was used as a Trainer aircraft, trainer. Development D ...

of Lt. Panait Cholet and observer Ioan Gruia. Using the onboard Hotchkiss 8 mm machine gun, Gruia damaged the enemy airplane which crash-landed near Silistra. This was the first Romanian air victory of the war. In order to improve the support for the land forces, the airmen decided to extend their missions by dropping bombs on enemy targets by hand in the absence of proper bomb dropping equipment. They threw and Romanian-designed "Drosescu" bombs against enemy troop concentrations at Lepnic and Gogolia, against the

Svishtov Svishtov ( ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town in northern Bulgaria, located in Veliko Tarnovo Province on the right bank of the Danube river opposite the Romanian town of Zimnicea. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous S ...

railroad station and the fuel depot in Rusciuk, on the Southern front. Troops and command centers at field army and

army corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

level, along the Northern front, were also targeted. Nieuport 11 C

At the beginning of October, the French Military Mission, led by General

Henri Mathias Berthelot Henri Mathias Berthelot (7 December 1861 – 29 January 1931) was a French general during World War I. He held an important staff position under Joseph Joffre, the French commander-in-chief, at the First Battle of the Marne, before later commandin ...

, arrived in Romania. The Mission was composed of 500 commissioned officers and 1150 non-commissioned officers, corporals, soldiers and civilians with different specialties. The aviation component consisted of 42

commissioned officers An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

, 45

non-commissioned officers A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

, 36

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

s and 162 soldiers and civilians (pilots, aerial observers, specialists in balloons, communications and wireless telegraphy, etc.). The Mission’s main aim was to transfer France’s knowledge and experience to its Romanian allies. The French worked to improve command and organizational structure, equipment and the training level of both leaders and combat personnel. In order to meet the objective, the members of the Mission became directly involved and assumed command positions. In this regard, Major De Malherbe was appointed as Commander of the military aviation through Order no. 11/17 October 1916, and Major Gheorghe Rujinschi, the RAC’s Commander, became his deputy. Between 1 August 1916 and 1 January 1917, the RAC received, following some procurement contracts, 152 aircraft: 11

Bréguet 5 The Bréguet Bre.V B.2 bomber and Bréguet Bre.V Ca.2 escort fighter were France, French biplanes of World War I which were developments of the Bréguet 4 , Bréguet Bre.IV bomber.Green, W. and Swanborough, G.; ''The complete book of fighters'', ...

and 12 Bréguet-Michelin equipped with 37 mm cannons, 10 Caudron G.4, 18

Nieuport 11 The Nieuport 11 (or Nieuport XI C.1 in contemporary sources), nicknamed the ''Bébé'', is a French World War I single seat sesquiplane fighter aircraft, designed by Gustave Delage. It was the primary aircraft that ended the Fokker Scourge in 1 ...

, 10

Nieuport 21 The Nieuport 21 (or Nieuport XXI C.1 in contemporary sources) was a French single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft used during World War I. The aircraft was used by the French, Russian, British and American air forces. After the war, the Nie ...

and 91 Farman F.40. Aside from the airplanes, Romania also purchased various equipment for reconnaissance and bomber aircraft, as well as a few thousands of "Gros" and "Michelin" type bombs and ''

Le Prieur Yves Paul Gaston Le Prieur (23 March 1885 – 1 June 1963) was an officer of the French Navy and an inventor. Adventures in the Far East Le Prieur followed his father in joining the French navy. As an officer he served in Asia and used traditio ...

'' rockets. On 25 October 1916, 6 aircraft (including Farman HF 27 and

Nieuport 12 The Nieuport 12 (or Nieuport XII in contemporary sources) was a French Biplane#Sesquiplane, sesquiplane reconnaissance, fighter aircraft and trainer used by France, Russia, United Kingdom, Great Britain and the United States during World War I. ...

s) of

RNAS The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps ...

Wing 2 arrived in Romania from

Imbros Imbros (; ; ), officially Gökçeada () since 29 July 1970,Alexis Alexandris, "The Identity Issue of The Minorities in Greece And Turkey", in Hirschon, Renée (ed.), ''Crossing the Aegean: An Appraisal of the 1923 Compulsory Population Exchang ...

as part of the ''Romanian Flight'' mission. Another 3 aircraft arrived on 21 November. The airplanes were part of the contract signed by the Romanian representatives with their British counterparts. The British trained the Romanian pilots until January 1917, when they left the country.

Bombing raids

1916 - Zepelin german deasupra Bucurestiului

A few hours after Romania's declaration of war,

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

Geissert (commander of zeppelin LZ 101, stationed at

Yambol Yambol ( ) is a city in Southeastern Bulgaria and administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha river in the historical region of Thrace. It is occasionally spelled ''Jambol''. Yambol is the administrative cente ...

, Bulgaria) received the order to bomb Bucharest. The zeppelins carried out raids on Bucharest, as well as on the

oil refineries An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefied pet ...

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Ble ...

. On 4/5 September, while on a bombing raid over Ploiești, LZ 86 was hit by Romanian artillery, which damaged one of its

gondola The gondola (, ; , ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, in a scul ...

s. The zeppelin tried to return to the base in

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

but while on the way, the damaged gondola detached, causing the ship to become unbalanced. The airship crashed near Utvin, killing nine of its crewmen, including the commander. Another zeppelin, , would also be damaged by anti-aircraft fire while over Bucharest on 26/27 September. The airship crash-landed near

Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo (, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is the historical and spiritual capital of Bulgaria. Often referred to as the "''City of the Tsars''", Velik ...

while trying to return to base. The German bombers stationed in northern Bulgaria also carried out raids in Romania. The port of

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 ...

was a regular target for the bombers. Another priority target was the

railroad bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somet ...

Cernavodă Cernavodă () is a town in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania with a population of 15,088 as of 2021. The town's name is derived from the Bulgarian ''černa voda'' ( in Cyrillic), meaning 'black water'. This name is regarded by some s ...

. The initial raids against Cernavodă were ineffective, owing to the light weight of the bombs used. Better results were obtained once the bombers began receiving bombs. Aircraft were used to attack enemy assembly areas and bivouacs, as well as munitions dumps. On 2 December, a Romanian aircraft flown by the French Lt. De Maille and by Lt. Eugeniu Iorgulescu executed a raid on Sofia. The raid was meant as a reply to the bombings of Bucharest. The Romanian crew dropped three "Drosescu" bombs over the

Royal Palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania {, class="wikitable" width="95%" , - bgcolor="white" !align=center, Residence !align=center, Photo !align=center, City !align=cen ...

, which was hit and caught fire. The anti-aircraft artillery around the city managed to hit the airplane which was forced to land, the crew being taken prisoner. At the end of the year, General

Constantin Prezan Constantin Prezan (January 27, 1861 – August 27, 1943) was a Romanian general during World War I. In 1930 he was given the honorary title of Marshal of Romania, as a recognition of his merits during his command of the Northern Army and of th ...

, the new Chief of the , advised by the Chief of the French Military Mission, decided to reorganize the Air Corps. A new Aeronautical Directorate was created, commanded by Lt. Col. of the French Mission. The task of the director of Aeronautics was to ensure the cooperation between the operations and the information bureaus and to centralize the information obtained during various missions. The RAC was composed of aviation, balloon, photo, meteorology, and training branches. The Commander of the Aviation Branch was Maj. Constantin Fotescu, while the Balloon Branch was commanded by Maj. Ion Iarca. With the new organization, 3 Aeronautical Groups, commanded by Romanian officers were created. However, some of the squadrons of these groups were led by French officers. Each group was assigned to an army and generally had 3 squadrons (2 reconnaissance and 1 fighter). Following the quick advance of the Central Powers, it was decided to move the flight school to

Bârlad Bârlad () is a city in Vaslui County, Romania. It lies on the banks of the river Bârlad (river), Bârlad, which waters the high plains of Western Moldavia. At Bârlad the railway from Iași diverges, one branch skirting the river Siret (river ...

on 27 September. On 15 December, an order to move 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 ...

was received. In June 1917, the school was moved again, with the pilot school moving to

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 ...

and the observer school to

Vaslui Vaslui (), a city in eastern Romania, is the seat of Vaslui County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. The city administers five villages: Bahnari, Brodoc, Moara Grecilor, Rediu, and Viișoara. History Archaeological surveys indicate t ...

. By the end of the campaign, the RAC lost 12 aircraft, and 12 pilots in combat, with another 2 pilots killed in training flights. The numbers of other aircrewmen lost is unknown. The Romanians shot down 5 aircraft in aerial combat, 3 aircraft were shot down by the French airmen and another 23 by the

anti-aircraft artillery Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

Campaign of 1917

On 1 January 1917 the Romanian Air Corps had 58 pilots and 12 observers, another 20 pilots and 18 observers were in training. A number of 53 aircraft were available while others were being assembled or repaired at the workshops of ( RGA), which were the former workshops from Cotroceni and Băneasa that had moved to Iași in 1916. In the winter and spring of 1917, the aviation units were very active, despite the unfavorable weather conditions until the month of April. The 3 Aeronautical Groups were organized as such: * , assigned to the 2nd Romanian Army: ** ** ** * , assigned to the 4th Russian Army (will be re-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 ...

): ** ** ** *: From the beginning of the summer of 1917, 2 new squadrons were created for the group: ** ** ** was also assigned to this group * , assigned to the

(will be re-assigned to the 6th Russian Army): ** ** ** * The RAC also had 5 balloon companies, equipped with Drachen and

Caquot kite balloon Caquot kite balloon (in French language, French ''Caquot Captif'') was a type of non-rigid military observation balloon, designed in 1915 by Albert Caquot. The type became widely used by Allied forces in World War I , World War I warfare for multi ...

1917 - Balon captiv pe frontul din Moldova

From February, the Romanian and French specialists of the 2nd Aeronautical Group were able to intercept and decrypt the German radio messages, which contributed to completing the commanders’ big picture of the enemy’s strength, deployments and intentions obtained through surveillance and photography. In parallel with reconnaissance and combat missions, the aviation bombed enemy military and transport facilities. One of the most important bombing missions was done by the 3rd Aeronautical Group on 31 March, with 19 aircraft. The Romanian and French crews destroyed the railroad, docks and facilities from the Port of

Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2021 Romanian ...

and sank two German military ships. From May onwards, the aviation started night bombings using Farman F.40 and Bréguet bombers against important enemy targets: the Port of Brăila;

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

’s plants; the airfields at

Focșani Focșani (; ) is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the banks the river Milcov, in the historical region of Moldavia. , it has a population of 66,719. Geography Focșani lies at the foot of the Curvature Carpathians, at a point of ...

Covasna Covasna (, , , ) is a town in Covasna County, Transylvania, Romania, at an altitude of . It is known for its natural mineral waters and mofettas. The town administers one village, Chiuruș (). The village has a population of 451 and has an abs ...

Miercurea-Ciuc Miercurea Ciuc (; ; ) is the county seat of Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, a mainly Hungarian-speaking ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and is situated in the Olt River valley. The city administers three ...

and

Târgu Secuiesc Târgu Secuiesc (; , ; ; ) is a city in Covasna County, Transylvania, Romania. It administers one village, Lunga (''Nyújtód''). History The town was first mentioned in 1407 as ''Torjawasara'', meaning in Hungarian “Torja Market”. ( Torja ...

; the

Buzău Buzău (; formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu'') is a city in the historical region of Muntenia, Romania, and the county seat of Buzău County. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carp ...

Râmnicu Sărat Râmnicu Sărat (also spelled ''Rîmnicu Sărat'', , or ''Rebnick''; ) is a municipiu, city in Buzău County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. It was first attested in a document of 1439, and raised to the rank of ''municipiu'' in ...

-Focșani and Buzău-

Făurei Făurei is a town located in Brăila County, 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, Se ...

Ianca Ianca () is a town in Brăila County, Muntenia, Romania. With a population of 8,969 people as of 2021, it is the second-largest urban locality in the county. The town's area is , of which have the status of residential area. The town administers ...

-Brăila railroads and railway stations. On 25 May, two Bréguet bombers, escorted by a third Bréguet, armed with a cannon took off with the mission to bomb the ''Traian'' railway station. After dropping their bombs, the bombers were attacked by enemy fighters. The escorting airplane opened fire with its cannon, hitting one of the opposing aircraft with shrapnel. The enemy pilot barely managed to regain control and avoided hitting the ground. Hearing the noise of the battle, Lt. Vasile Craiu and '' Plutonier'' ( Sergeant First Class) Marin Popescu, who were patrolling in the area, joined in the fighting and drove the enemy fighters away, Craiu managing to damage one of them. Reconnaissance and bombing missions continued through the month of June. The first artillery

salvo A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute. As a tactic in warfare, the intent is to cripple an enemy in many blows at once and prevent them from f ...

s of the in the morning of 22 July marked the beginning of the summer offensive. By this point, the RAC had 80–90 aircraft available, approximately 150 pilots (of which 42 were French) and 84 observers. During the first three days of battle, the Romanian and French airmen carried out some 130 missions, including those of directing friendly artillery fire, with the airmen of the F.5 Squadron directing the Russian heavy artillery fire. All 12 squadrons of the Aeronautical groups participated in the offensive at Mărăști. From 6 August, the Central Powers began their offensive, the beginning of the

Battle of Mărășești The Battle of Mărășești (6 August 1917 – 3 September 1917) was the last major battle fought by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Romania and Russian Empire, Russia on the Romania in World War I, Romanian front during World War I. ...

. The front of the 1st Romanian army was divided into three sectors, after the number of reconnaissance squadrons. From early morning until nightfall, three Farman F.40s, one for each sector, kept watch for any enemy troop movement. No aircraft left the front area until its replacement arrived after three hours. The front was protected by the fighters of the Nieuport squadrons so that the whole front line of the 1st Army was defended by the aviation. The aviators of the F.7 and F.9 squadrons carried out flights over the enemy positions, observer Constantin Nicolau from noting: In the sectors where the damage done by the Romanian artillery was incomplete, the aviators of F.4 Squadron would carry out bombing missions. The pilots of the N.11 and N.3 squadrons ensured the protection of the front line by engaging enemy aircraft,

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 ...

s happening almost daily, with the aviators of obtaining important victories, for example, Egon Nasta shot down a captive balloon using rockets. The numerous aerial battles and losses caused the Austro-Hungarian High Command to create new dedicated fighter units on the Romanian front. For this, (later re-named to or ) was created and assigned to . The unit's commander, Hauptmann

Karl Nikitsch Hauptmann Karl Nikitsch (17 January 1885—7 September 1927) was a professional soldier who served, in succession, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the First Austrian Republic. His First World War service in the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Ro ...

, requested more modern fighters as "many dogfights are carried out on the Romanian front, the losses in men and material are heavy". In the morning of 19 August, the enemy troops launched an attack aided by a 3-hour artillery barrage, including the use of gas shells over the 3 Romanian divisions. The German infantry managed to occupy the south-west part of Mărășești. The enemy troops were attacked by the aircraft of the F.7 and F.9 squadrons which carried out 14 bombing missions that day. At the same time, the observers directed the fire of the Romanian and Russian heavy artillery batteries, noting: "The shells hit the enemy trenches of the first line with great precision. The first enemy line at Găvanul was completely destroyed, and at Cota 114 a lot of green smoke could be seen." On that day, the crews of the 2nd Aeronautical Group flew on 35 missions, totaling 88 flight hours. The use of the RAC squadrons at the Battles of Mărăști and Mărășești supported the 1st and 2nd Romanian Armies and allowed those commanders to make informed decisions during the battles. The contributions of the RAC during the summer campaign of 1917 were also noted by General Kurt von Morgen. During the month of August, the Romanian forces scored 32 victories, including those scored by the anti-aircraft artillery, with the French aviators obtaining a further 6 victories. After the conclusion of the summer military operations, the aviation continued their missions with the same intensity. From 22 September, with and were transferred to Botoșani. At the start of October, two aircraft from were sent to

Ismail In the biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael (; ; ; ) is the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs. Within Islam, Ish ...

, at the request of Gen.

Dmitry Shcherbachev Dmitry Grigoryevich Shcherbachev (; 18 January 1932) was a general in the Russian Army during World War I and one of the leaders of the White Movement during the Russian Civil War. Biography Early life Shcherbachev was born on (6th wa ...

. The aircraft were tasked with defending southern

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

and managed the shoot down one German aircraft in the

Bolgrad Bolhrad (, ; ; , ) is a small city in Odesa Oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, in the historical region of Budjak. It is the administrative center of Bolhrad Raion (district) and hosts the administration of Bolhrad urban hromada, one of ...

region. On 7 November 1917, Romanian aviators scored 5 air victories through Egon Nasta, Paul Magâlea and Ion Muntenescu, all pilots of and through the crew of Dumitru Crăsnaru and Alexandru Vasilescu from . The Romanian and French aviators continued their missions until 9 December, when the Romanian Government had to sign an armistice with the Central Powers, following Russia's ceasefire agreements. Romania would eventually be forced to sign a peace treaty on 7 May 1918.

Campaign of 1918

From January 1918, the Aeronautical Groups were organized as given: * : ** - renamed to after receiving

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 ...

s ** ** *: All squadrons of this group were based at Bacău. * : ** ** - ex-B.M.8 ** ** *: ** ** - ex-C.12 ** Romanian Sopwith Strutter

On 11 February, the RAC had 78 aircraft available, as follows: 18

Nieuport Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

s, 16 Nieuport 11, 14 Sopwiths, 26

s, 1 Maurice Farman, 2 Caudron G.4 and 1

. The entry of Romanian troops into Bessarabia to drive out the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

troops, prompted the Romanian M.C.G. to send two squadrons, and , to the theater of operations. These squadrons would form and would support the Romanian troops of the in the Bessarabian campaign. The first air missions were executed on 18 January, when three Russian

SPAD VII The SPAD S.VII C.1 was the first in a series of single-seat biplane fighter aircraft produced by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and rugge ...

s flew over Galați, reaching Bârlad. Two Nieuports of N.11 Squadron went out to intercept, but could not catch the Russian airplanes. On 6 February, the Government of Bessarabia requested Romania to provide military aid for attacks on the various bands of looting soldiers and for the protection of the railways and supply depots. The request was sent to Gen. Shcherbachev in Iași, who in turn sent it to the Romanian government. On 25 January, the first Romanian military units formed of Transylvanian volunteers entered

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

. On 7 February, the Romanian M.C.G. sent four divisions to Bessarabia, which were supported by the airmen of . At the request of the 3rd Army Corps, the S.6 Squadron moved to Chilia to carry out missions in the area. Thus, aerial reconnaissance at the mouths of the Danube established that the Bolshevik ships were in the

Ochakov Ochakiv (, ), also known as Ochakov (; ; or, archaically, ) and Alektor (), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Ochakiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. ...

channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Australia in Queensland and pa ...

east of

Vâlcov Vylkove (, ; ; ) is a small city located in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta, at utmost southwest of Ukraine, on the border with Romania. Administratively, it is part of Izmail Raion (district) of Odesa Oblast (region). Vylkove hosts the a ...

. In Bessarabia, the air missions carried out by the F.4 Squadron, protected by Nieuport fighters of the N.3 Squadron, targeted the front sector of

Tiraspol Tiraspol (, ; also /; , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Transnistria, a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the third-largest city. The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River. Tiraspol is a regional hub of cul ...

Grigoriopol Grigoriopol (, , , ) is a town in the Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester, Moldova. It is the seat of the Grigoriopol District of Transnistria. The city is located on the left (eastern) bank of the river Dniester, ...

Dniester river 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 ...

. On 29 February, the French Military Mission left the country. On 3 March, while on a mission in the Tiraspol-Glinajia sector, a Romanian reconnaissance aircraft was damaged and forced to land by Bolshevik soldiers while over Slobozia. Zborul Marii Uniri decolare

Even after the Treaty of Bucharest, relations with the French were kept for the rest of the war. To this end, on 22 October, French aviator Louis Noël flew a

Bréguet 14 The Breguet XIV (in contemporary practice) or Breguet 14 is a French biplane bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. It was built in very large numbers and production continued for many years after the end of the war. The Breguet 14 w ...

from

Salonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

to Iași transporting the Romanian minister

Victor Antonescu Victor Antonescu (; September 3, 1871, Antonești, Teleorman County – August 22, 1947, Bucharest) was a Romanian politician. He served as Minister of Justice from 4 January 1914 to 11 December 1916 and from 14 November 1933 to 1 February 193 ...

, who informed the government about the evolution of the war and about the intent for an eventual re-mobilization of the Romanian Army. For this action, Noël became a Knight of the

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 ...

and was awarded the ribbon of . On 10 November, the second mobilization of the Romanian Army began. On 23 November, Lt. Vasile Niculescu and Cpt. Victor Precup flew from

Bacău Bacău ( ; , ; ; ) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. With a population of 136,087 (as of 2021 census), Bacău is the 14th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the ...

Blaj Blaj (; archaically spelled as ''Blaș''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Blußendref'') is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 17,816 inhabitants as of 2021. The city administers eight villages: Deleni-Obârșie ('' ...

in a Farman F.40 to deliver three important documents, one of which was the letter of Ion I.C. Brătianu to the Romanian National Council. After crossing the mountains, flying at and in a temperature reaching , the airplane landed on

Câmpia Libertății Câmpia Libertății (''The Field of Liberty'') is located in the city of Blaj, in Transylvania, Romania. It was the place where two national assemblies were held during the 1848 Revolution, the first one in May, and the second one in September. ...

to be greeted by the enthusiastic inhabitants of Blaj.

War of 1919

In 1919, the Romanian Army was fighting on two fronts: in Bessarabia where Bolshevik troops were crossing the Dniester and attacking the settlements near the border, and in Hungary, where a

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

was established on 21 March. A report from 25 March showed that Romania had 51 aircraft in service, with another SPAD VII gifted from France at the beginning of the year. In December 1918, 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 ...

() nicknamed was formed. In March 1919, it consisted of 3 squadrons: * - renamed to after receiving Bréguet 14 aircraft * * These squadrons took part in the Hungarian-Romanian War. A number of

Transylvanian Saxon The Transylvanian Saxons (; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen'' or simply ''Soxen'', singularly ''Sox'' or ''Soax''; Transylvanian Landler: ''Soxn'' or ''Soxisch''; ; seldom ''sași ardeleni/transilvăneni/transilvani''; ) are a people ...

airmen who enrolled in the RAC were also assigned to the squadrons of the 5th Aviation Group. On the front in Bessarabia, while on a reconnaissance mission in the Moghilev area on 9 April, a

Nieuport 23 Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

flown by Slt. Ion Dragomirescu was attacked by a Bolshevik airplane. Dragomirescu, who scored 2 other victories while flying for France, quickly shot down the enemy aircraft which crashed in flames near Moghilev. In the morning of 28 April, a LVG C.VI was intercepted and forced to land behind the Romanian lines. The aircraft was being used for flights from

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

to deliver messages to the communist leaders. In the captured documents a letter was found addressed to

Béla Kun Béla Kun (, born Béla Kohn; 20 February 1886 – 29 August 1938) was a Hungarian communist revolutionary and politician who in 1919 governed the Hungarian Soviet Republic. After attending Franz Joseph University at Kolozsvár (today Cluj-N ...

, the leader of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, in which he was requested to intensify the fighting in Transylvania. On 19 April, Lt. Nicolae Drosso and observer Lt. Aurel Constantinescu were assigned to photograph the Bolshevik positions on the left bank of the Dniester. During the mission, an enemy

Anatra Anatra () was an aircraft manufacturer founded by Artur Antonovich Anatra () at Odesa, Ukraine, then Russian Empire in 1913 which manufactured aircraft until 1917. Artur Anatra had previously helped fund the purchase of the first aircraft to arr ...

attacked the Romanian airmen. Constantinescu set the Anatra on fire, causing it to crash with the loss of both crewmen. This was the second aerial victory on the Bessarabian front. 9th Aero Squadron - Fokker D

The Romanian Army advanced quickly, capturing

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

on 23 April and reaching the Tisza River on 1 May. On 19 May, and observer Ioan Vlad shot down an enemy two-seater near the village of

Zagyvarékas Zagyvarékas is a village in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary. Geography It covers an area of and has a population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or are ...

. The Romanian aircraft became more active from the end of May, including missions such as a formation of seven Romanian aircraft bombing the railway station from Miskolc on 1 June. A captured UFAG C.I flown by Slt. Stan Bucur and Lt. Mihail Hurmuzescu was attacked and shot down by 2 Hungarian

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII is a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the '' Fokker-Flugzeugwerke''. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...

s flown by László Újvári and Géza Keisz on 12 June while on a reconnaissance mission, both Romanian airmen losing their lives. On 25 July, the counteroffensive of the Romanian Army began. At this time, had 17 aircraft (including captured ones). Three days later, the first Romanian units crossed the Tisza, being covered by the crews of the N.7 and B.2 squadrons. On 31 July, a formation of Hungarian aircraft attacked the pontoon bridge across the river, but they were intercepted by the pilots of , with Iosif Răcășanu managing to shoot one down. With the end of the war, a number of 150 aircraft were captured from Hungary of which 107 were complete. These included: 22 Hansa-Brandenburg C.I, 20 UFAG C.I, 11 LVG C.VI, 34 Fokker D.VII, 16 Aviatik (Berg) D.I, about 12 Hansa-Brandenburg W.29, 6 Fokker D.VI, 4

Phönix C.I The Phönix C.I, given serial numbers in the Phönix 121 range, was an Austro-Hungarian First World War reconnaissance and general-purpose biplane built by Phönix and Lloyd. Development The Phönix C.I was the first original design developed b ...

and 4 Hansa-Brandenburg FB. 260 engines were also captured. On 19 September, a Zeppelin-Staaken R.XIVa, registered DLR R.70/18 which was used by the

Ukrainian Government The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine (), is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine. As the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, it was formed on 18 April 1991, by the Law ...

for transport, performed an

emergency landing An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...

near Cristinești. On board the airplane were the Minister of Propaganda of the Ukrainian People's Republic and his deputy, journalist . The aircraft, which was badly damaged, was seized by the Romanian authorities. As the German crew refused to give any help in repairing the R.XIVa, Lt. Petre Macavei together with a team of mechanics started the repair work on their own, managing to bring the aircraft to flight readiness on the 29th of October. With Major Haralambie Giossanu as the pilot and Captain Cezar Știubei as the navigator, the airplane took off towards Bucharest. After a short stop at

Adjud Adjud (; ) is a city in Vrancea County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It has a population of 15,178 inhabitants (as of 2021). It lies at a railway junction which has a classification yard and a passenger station. Adjud, situated north of the poin ...

for refueling, the bomber landed at

Pipera Pipera village is a neighborhood in Voluntari, Ilfov County, at the northern edge of the city of Bucharest, Romania. Development Until 1995, Pipera was an ordinary village. After that, an "El Dorado" of land transactions began. Plots of land th ...

after a flight done in 4 hours and 18 minutes. The R.70 was used by the Romanians for several years to train bomber pilots.

Victories and losses

During the campaigns of 1916–1919, Romanian airmen achieved about 10,000 flight hours, had about 700 aerial fights and shot down some 51-91 enemy aircraft, with another 55 shot down by anti-aircraft artillery. Twenty-two Romanian pilots and six air observers were killed in air combat and nine more were shot down by enemy anti-aircraft artillery. Twenty pilots, air observers and technical personnel died in training flights. Eleven airmen were 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 ...

: Lt. Ioan Peneș, Slt. Dumitru Darian, Lt. Petre Ioanin, Lt.

Ermil Gheorghiu Ermil Gheorghiu (13 February 1896, Botoșani – 14 January 1977, Bucharest) was a Romanian general and commander of the Romanian Air Force during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Awards * Knight's Cross ...

, Cpt. Vasile Craiu, Slt. Egon Nasta, Slt. Gheorghe Stâlpeanu, Cpt.

Grigore Gafencu Grigore Gafencu (; January 30, 1892 – January 30, 1957) was a Romanian politician, diplomat and journalist. Political career Gafencu was born in Bârlad. He studied law and received his Ph.D. in law from the University of Bucharest. During ...

, Slt. , Slt. Paul Magâlea, Maj. Constantin Cristescu, Cpt. Mihai Bădescu, Slt. Mihail Hurmuzescu and Lt. Col. Gheorghe Rujinschi. Additionally, the French pilots of the Military Mission shot down 28 aircraft and four officers were decorated with the Order of Michael the Brave: Cpt.

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 ...

, Cpt. Charles Mallet, Cpt. Augustin de Mailly-Nesle and Lt. Roger Lucy. Two airmen of the Military Mission died while flying for Romania, Slt. S. Cordonier and

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

James Texier. Their names were inscribed on the Monument to the Heroes of the Air in Bucharest.

Interwar period

In the early interwar years, the military aviation included seven groups (two reconnaissance groups, one bomber, one fighter and a balloon group, as well as a technical operations and a training group), a seaplane squadron, an arsenal, as well as a central material depot. The Higher Directorate of Aeronautics, headed by Col. Gheorghe Rujinschi, and Maj. Haralambie Giossanu as the Chief of Staff, was the governing body within the

Ministry of War Ministry of War may refer to: * Ministry of War (imperial China) ( 600–1912) * Chinese Republic Ministry of War (1912–1946) * Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria) (1808–1919) * Ministry of War (Brazil) (1815–1999) * Ministry of War (Esto ...

. The "10th Aeronautical Directorate" (), led by Lt. Col. Andrei Popovici, the 5 Aviation Groups, the Sea Aviation Squadron, the Balloon Group and the technical operation group were subordinated to the Higher Directorate of Aeronautics. Subordinated to the 10th Aeronautical Directorate were the Aeronautical Arsenal, led by Major Ștefan Protopopescu, the central materials depot and a technical service led by Maj. Gheorghe Negrescu. Although Romania did not have the financial and industrial resources to form and maintain large aviation units, the development Romanian military aviation managed to kept pace with the other European powers. From 1921, the aviation was organized for peacetime, with units being deployed in almost every province of the country. In order to continue equipping the squadrons of the RAC, Cpt. Mihai Savu was sent to Paris to negotiate the purchase of new airplanes. A contract was signed for the purchase of 101 SPAD fighters, 5 Caudron G.3 and 15 Nieuport 23. These aircraft were delivered by 11 August 1920. Another 150 Bréguets were ordered between 1921 and 1922. The number of aircraft in service with the RAC was about 240, this number will reach 560 by 1924. Following the discussions of a committee formed by Col. Rujinschi, it was decided that aeronautical units would form garrisons in the following places: Iași with the surrounding areas, Bucharest, Galați, Craiova, Brașov and Constanța (where the

hydroaviation A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

was based). It was also decided to introduce the

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

, the type of parachute was to be decided by a study. Maj. Negrescu was in charge of this issue and would start negotiations with American companies in order to acquire the necessary material. In order to maintain the training of all aviation personnel, the aviation units cooperated with the large infantry units in the summer of 1921, in the areas of Sibiu,

Vălenii de Munte Vălenii de Munte () is a town in Prahova County, southern Romania (the historical region of Muntenia), with a population of 12,044 as of 2021. It lies In the Teleajen river valley, north of the county seat of Ploiești. The town's sister cities ...

Făgăraș Făgăraș (; , ) is a municipiu, city in central Romania, located in Brașov County. It lies on the Olt (river), Olt River and has a population of 26,284 as of 2021. It is situated in the historical region of Transylvania, and is the main city of ...

and

Sfântu Gheorghe Sfântu Gheorghe (; or ''Szentgyörgy'' ; ; English lit.: ''Saint George'') is a city that serves as the seat of Covasna County in Transylvania, Romania. Located in the central part of the country, it lies on the Olt River in a valley between ...

. Also in 1921, the first school for aviation craftsmen was founded at the Pipera airfield. The school was moved to

Mediaș Mediaș (; , , Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Medwesch''/''Medveš''/''Medwisch'', ) is the second largest municipiu, town and municipality in Sibiu County, Transylvania, central Romania. Geography Mediaș is located in ...

in 1924 and transformed into the Technical School of Aeronautics, with the classes lasting between six and eight years. Some of the graduates of this school continued their studies, becoming mechanical officers, and others, aeronautical engineers.

Aircraft designs, assembly and production

Aside from Aurel Vlacu, several other inventors designed and built aircraft in Romania, such as Nicolae Saru-Ionescu, who flew an airplane of his own design and construction at Cotroceni in 1911. However, he crashed on 28 August while performing a test flight and did not have the funds to repair his machine. The same year, another inventor, Corneliu Marinescu, designed a three-seat bomber. The airplane, nicknamed , had two seats in the fuselage for the pilot and

observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Fiction * ''Observer'' (novel), a 2023 science fiction novel by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress * ''Observer'' (video game), a cyberpunk horr ...

, while the third seat for the bombardier was located under the fuselage. Although the performances of this machine were reportedly similar to other aircraft used in the military at that time, the authorities did not approve its serial construction. The first license-built aircraft in Romania was the Farman III, with the Ministry of War ordering six from the Cerchez & Co. workshops in 1911. The next initiative to start an aeronautical industry in Romania dates from 30 March 1915. On this date, an association was established with the aim of designing and building aircraft. The 4 signatories were: Ion Stroescu, Tache Brumărescu, Corneliu Marinescu and Nicolae Tănase, but the association failed as it lacked sufficient funds. In 1916, the workshops from Cotroceni and Băneasa were moved to Iași where or RGA was established in a former slaughterhouse. Of the 322 aircraft that were received by Romania during the war, between 242 and 292 aircraft, as well as 545 aircraft engines, were assembled at RGA. With many airplanes arriving severely damaged from the journey through Russia, the engineers from RGA had to either repair or manufacture replacement parts. After the war, in 1919, the RGA was moved back to Bucharest where was established. With the increase in need of training aircraft for the Piloting School of Tecuci, the Ministry of War approved the construction of Hansa-Brandenburg C.I at the new Arsenal. This was the first mass produced aircraft in Romania, with 120 aircraft equipped with Austro-Daimler 160 hp engines being manufactured between 1922 and 1923. The first Romanian-designed aircraft to be serially produced was the

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 ...

, which was designed in 1922 by Ștefan Protopopescu. However, this serial production was stopped following an accident, which resulted in the death of the test pilot Ioan Sava, and the design of the aircraft was improved. After the design changes were finished, 25 new

Proto 2 Proto 2 is the name of the $55 million initiative of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, to create a thought-controlled prosthetic arm. Its predecessor was called Proto 1 and was capable of reasonably complicated movements like ...

airplanes were produced in 1924 at 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 ...

in Arad.

Roundels

File:Roundel of Romania.svg, First roundel of Romania, with the darker blue, seen in use in 1912. File:Roundel of Romania WW1.svg, As the RAC received most of its aircraft from France, the French markings were overpainted with yellow to match the Romanian national colors. File:Roundel of Romania 1916.svg, This roundel is seen on photographs from 1916, appearing on some aircraft. File:Roundel of the French Air Force before 1945.svg, The French roundel was also kept on some aircraft. Mainly on the ones flown by French pilots of the Military Mission, but some Romanian airmen flew on aircraft with French markings as well.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * {{Wwi-air Romanian Air Corps 1913 establishments in Romania Military units and formations established in 1913 Aviation history of Romania Romania in World War I