Smaranda Brăescu
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Smaranda Brăescu (21 May 1897 – 2 February 1948) 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 parachuting and aviation pioneer, former multiple world record holder. Her achievements earned her the nickname "Queen of the Heights". In the late 1920s and early 1930s she achieved several notable records, becoming the first Romanian woman to hold a parachuting license, the first European woman to be granted an American pilot license and the women's record holder for highest parachute jump. While visiting
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in 1932 she broke the overall parachuting height record, jumping from around . These feats made her a popular heroine both in Romania and abroad, a status that was further confirmed by her participation as part of a White Squadron medical wing in several battles of
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 ...
. Opposition to the newly installed
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 ...
lead to her being sent to prison in 1946, where she most likely died two years later.


Biography


Early life

She was born in the village of Hânțești, Buciumeni commune, in the present-day
Galați County Galați () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Moldavia region, with the capital city at Galați, between latitude, 45°25'N and latitude, 46°10'N latitude, longitude, 27°20'E and longitude, 28°10'E longitude. It borders the counties of Vaslu ...
. After
World War I 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 ...
she worked as a substitute teacher in her native village.


Career

In 1918, she flew for the first time in a Farman plane piloted by Captain Dumitru Naidinescu. In 1928, while in Germany, she bought a parachute, and jumped for the first time from a height, becoming the first female Romanian parachutist. She obtained her parachuting license on 5 July 1928, while traveling to
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, after a two days course and a jump without incidents. She became the first Romanian woman to ever obtain a parachuting license and one of the first women in the world to do so. This feat made Romania the third country in the world with a female parachutist. In 1930, after a jump near
Satu Mare Satu Mare (; ; ; or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the region of Maramureș, broadly part of Transylvania ...
, she was seriously injured and remained bedridden for six months. On 2 October 1931, Brăescu set the women's world record for highest parachute jump (from around 6,000 meters or 20,700 feet), landing in the
Bărăgan Plain The Bărăgan Plain ( ) is a steppe plain in south-eastern Romania. It makes up much of the eastern part of the Wallachian Plain. The region is known for its black soil and a rich humus, and is mostly a cereal-growing area. It is bounded on the s ...
,
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. In 1932, in her Miles Hawk, she established the record crossing the Mediterranean Sea between Rome and Tripoli – in 6 hours and 10 minutes. On 19 May 1932, she set the absolute world record for highest parachute jump, in
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. It was homologated by the Aero Club of Washington. Sources disagree on the exact height of her jump, but it is usually given at somewhere around 7000 meters. From then on, she becomes a heroine, being escorted by 30 other planes to an air show in Canada, where she is invited. Later that year, Brăescu obtained her private pilot's license in the
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, becoming the first European woman to receive an American pilot's license. She was in the White Squadron medical wing during battles on the Eastern Front in World War II, remaining active until 12 May 1945. She owned two biplanes.


Later life

After World War II, she signed a document condemning the November 1946 election, and was sent to prison for two years. It is believed she died on 2 February 1948, and is possibly buried in the Central Cemetery in
Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
, under the name of Maria Popescu. Her grave is now marked in her name in Cluj


Legacy

A street in Bucharest and the 53rd Commando Battalion of the Special Operations Forces Command are named after her.


References


External links

* Dr. Valeriu Avram
''Smaranda Brăescu, o pasăre în văzduh'' (Smaranda Brăescu, A Bird in the Sky)
in ''Magazin istoric'', January 2001 * Costin Anghel

, in ''
Jurnalul Național ''Jurnalul Național'' is a Romanian newspaper, part of the INTACT Media Group led by Dan Voiculescu, which also includes the popular television station Antena 1. The newspaper was launched in 1993. Its headquarters is in Bucharest Buchares ...
'', 10 April 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Braescu, Smaranda 1897 births 1948 deaths People from Galați County Romanian aviators Romanian schoolteachers Romanian skydivers Romanian women aviators Women aviation record holders Romanian military personnel of World War II Romanian dissidents Romanian people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Romanian detention