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With the creation of a Ministry of Aviation and Marine (Ministerulaeruluisi Marinei) in 1936, the Rumanian airarm, now known as the Fortelor Aeriene Regal ale Romania (Royal Air Forces of Rumania), or

FARR, gained a greater degree of autonomy. Administered by the Comandamentul Fortelor Aeriene (Air Forces Command) which was directly responsible to the Ministry, the FARR was split between the

three Air Regions into which Rumanian territory was now divided: Regiunea 1-A Aeriand with Headquarters at Iasi, Reginnea 2-A Aeriand with Headquarters at Cluj, and Regiunea 3-A Aeriand with

Headquarters at Bucharest. At the same time, the number of Flotile was increased from six to ten three fighter, three bomber, three reconnaissance and one naval and, by 1938, the FARR possessed a

personnel strength of 5,900 officers and men, and a first-line aircraft inventory of 340 warplanes, including 25 naval aircraft. There were also 260 training and reserve aircraft, and thus, numerically, the

FARR was a substantial force, although serviceability gave serious cause for concern, this being primarily the result of the wide diversity of types* in FARR service. From 1936 greater emphasis had been

placed by the FARR on bombing capability, and in that year eight twin-engined Potez 543 bombers had been purchased from France. An order had also been placed in Poland for 24 examples of the

LWS-4 Zubr (Bison) bomber, but with the crash of the LWS-1 prototype on 7 November 1936 and the loss of two members of the FARR purchasing commission, this contract had been cancelled, and,

instead, an order placed in France for a similar quantity of Bloch 210s, delivery of the French bombers commencing on 4 June 1937 and continuing until mid- summer 1938. Twenty-four S.M.79B bombers

each powered by two Gnome-Rhone radials were purchased from Italy during the course of 1938, and the year also saw the placing of an order for 20 Potez 633 light bombers, deliveries of which began

before the end of the year.

In 1936, the PZL P.24E had been selected as a successor to the P. 11 as the standard Rumanian single-seat fighter, six examples being purchased from the parent company in 1937, together with a

manufacturing licence, and IAR producing a further 50 during 1938-9. Other foreign aircraft purchases at this time included a number of C.R.D.A.Cant Z.501 flying boats for the re-equipment of the Flotila

de hidroaviatie, some Nardi FN.315 and Focke-Wulf Fw 44 Stieglitz trainers, and five Potez 65s for use as paratroop transports. The IAR factory at Bra§ov had meanwhile completed the prototype of the

IAR 37 light reconnaissance-bomber biplane which had been ordered into production for the FARR.

In the meantime, Rumania had vacillated between a policy of friendship towards the democratic countries and a growing reliancc upon Italy and Germany, while endeavouring to form an alliance with

Poland for the purpose of establishing a common defensive neutrality bloc between Germany and the Soviet Union. Internal strife had resulted, on 10 February 1938, in King Carol establishing a personal

dictatorship, but by the end of the year, Rumania found herself in a most hazardous situation, facing the revisionist claims of Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union for areas of Rumanian territory, and

coveted by Germany on account of her oil, wheat and strategic position. On 24 March 1939 a five-year economic treaty was concluded with Germany, and the interpretation of this treaty was to form a point

of dispute between the two countries for many months. In an attempt to offset the effects of the German treaty, Rumania concluded a trade treaty with Britain on 12 May, and Britain and France jointly

guaranteed Rumania’s territorial integrity in the event that she should have to face German aggression.

In so far as the FARR was concerned, these treaties meant changes in its sources of aircraft supply, and the variety of aircraft in its inventory was now further expanded by the arrival of a number of

German aircraft. Initially the quantities were insignificant, comprising nine Messerschmitt Bf 108B liaison aircraft, a few Focke-Wulf Fw 58 Weihe crew trainers, 24 Heinkel He 112B fighters, and some

Czech-built Bloch M.B.200s. A licence was acquired by the IAR for the Junkers Jumo 211Da engine, a further 24 S.M.79B bombers were ordered from Italy with these engines, and a manufacturing licence

for the airframe was purchased, the Jumo-engined S.M.79B subsequently being built by the IAR as the S.M.79-JR.

Britain, by now thoroughly alarmed by the extent of the German penetration of Rumania, agreed, in something of a diplomatic gamble to persuade Rumania into the allied fold or, at least, to remain

neutral in the struggle that was now so obviously imminent, to contribute 12 Hawker Hurricane I fighters and 34 Bristol Blenheim I bombers to the FARR inventory. The first of the Hurricanes was, in fact,

despatched to Rumania on 28 August 1939, only a few days before war broke out in Europé, and the first batch of 13 Blenheim Is followed in November. A second batch of 20 Potez 633s had been

withheld by the French government, but in mid- September 1939, the FARR received an unexpected windfall whea the surviving aircraft of the Polish Air Force flew in to Rumanian airfields. These.

comnrised 39 PZL P.37 Los bombers, 30 PZL P.23 Karas light reconnaissance bombers, 17 Lublin R.X1II and 11 RWD-14 Czapla army co- operation aircraft, and 38 P.7 and P.ll fighters, as well as several

commercial transports. These aircraft were promptly absorbed by the FARR which simultaneously increased both its numbers and its maintenance problems.

Before the end of the first month of hostilities in Europé, Rumania’s position had become extremely precarious. The Rumanian government had relied upon German-Soviet antagonism and its own

friendship with Poland, but Germany and the Soviet Union had suddenly become allies and had divided Poland between them. Rumania now found herself powerless to resist the pressures that were being

exerted upon her by her neighbours. On 27 June 1940, Soviet forces occupied Bessarabia and northern Bukovina. The Rumanian government renounced the British guarantee, and the Wehrmacht

immediately began to infiltrate the country, ostensibly to protect the Rumanian oil fields. On 30 August,

Germany and Italy forced Rumania to cede northern Transylvania to Flungary, and on 6 September the dismem- berment was completed when Southern Dobruja was ceded to Bulgaria.

On the credit side, Rumania, losing most of her minorities, became ethnically united; her armed forces were still intact, and her natural resources, and in particular the Ploesti oil wells (which Winston

Churchill was later to refer to as the “taproot of German might”), gave her some bargaining power. General lon Antonescu now took over the government, placing Rumania squarely in the Axis camp and,

on 23 November, signing the Axis Tripartite Pact.

Rumania goes to war

During the winter of 1940-1, a substantial Luftwaffe training mission arrived in Rumania, together with a number of Heinkel He 111H-3 bombers, Junkers Ju 87B dive-bombers, and Junkers Ju 52/3m

transports, and on 22 June 1941, when Rumanian forces attacked the Soviet Union in concert with the Wehrmacht, the FARR comprised the following: Three fighter flotile with a total of 12

squadrons (five equipped with the P.ll, four with the P.24, one with the Hurricane, and two with the He 112B); three bomber flotile with a total of 20 squadrons (two with Bloch 210s, two witlj Potez

633s, three with P.37s, three with Blenheim Is, three with He 11 lH-3s, four with S.M.79Bs, and three with Ju 87Bs); three reconnaissance flotile with 18 squadrons (three with P.23s and the

remainder with I AR 37s, 38s or 39s), and one naval flotile with two squadrons (ont equipped with Z.501 flying boats

and the other with He 114B-2 floatplanes). The statutory strength of each fighter squadron was 12 aircraft and that of other squadrons was nine aircraft. The FARR order of battle thus comprised 504

aircraft excluding reserves.

The FARR was deployed—under the overall command of Luftflotte 4 in support of the Rumanian 3rdand4th Armies’ thrust into Bessarabia, and, subsequently, the Ukraine, which culminated in the

capture of Odessa on 16 October.

During this initial stage, at least 12 of the bomber squadrons (S,M.79Bs, Potez 633s, Ju 87Bs, He lllHs, P.37s and Blenheims) were committed, togetherwith virtually the entire reconnaissance and

light bombing force, and four fighter squadrons (one with He 112Bs and the remaining three with P.24s), together constituting more than 10 per cent of all aircraft employed in the initial assault on the

Soviet Union. Although aerial opposition encountered was modest, attrition suffered by the FARR was inordinately high, largely as a result of the multiplicity of aircraft types being operated and the

maintenance difficulties in consequence. By the end of 1941, the Rumanian forces had suffered 70,000 dead and 100,000 wounded, the number of Rumanian divisions in the Soviet Union had been

reduced from a peak of twenty-two to six, and almost the entire FARR element had been pulled back for re-equipment and regrouping.with two squadrons (ont equipped with Z.501 flying boats and

the other with He 114B-2 floatplanes). The statutory strength of each fighter squadron was 12 aircraft and that of other squadrons was nine aircraft. The FARR order of battle thus comprised 504

aircraft excluding reserves. The FARR was deployed—under the overall command of Luftflotte 4in support of the Rumanian 3rdand4th Armies’ thrust into Bessarabia, and, subsequently, the Ukraine,

which culminated in the capture of Odessa on 16 October.

During this initial stage, at least 12 of the bomber squadrons (S.M.79Bs, Potez 633s, Ju 87Bs, He lllHs, P.37s and Blenheims) were committed, togetherwith virtually the entire reconnaissance and

Soviet Union. Although aerial opposition encountered was modest, attrition suffered by the FARR was inordinately high, largely as a result of the multiplicity of aircraft types being operated and the

maintenance difficulties in consequence. By the end of 1941, the Rumanian forces had suffered 70,000 dead and 100,000 wounded, the number of Rumanian divisions in the Soviet Union had been

reduced from a peak of twenty-two to six, and almost the entire FARR element had been pulled back for re-equipment and regrouping.The total personnel strength of the FARR had now risen to

more than 13,000 (including personnel of the anti-aircraft artillery component), and during the first months of 1942 additional equipment was forthcoming from Germany. Sixty-nine Bf 109E-4 fighters

arrived to replace the surviving He 112B and P.24E fighters of Flotila 1 vinåtoare; Junkers Ju 88A-4s replaced Potez 633s in the Flotila 2 Bombardement, the latter being relegated to the advanced

training role in which they were supplemented by refurbished ex-Armée de 1’Air Potez 63.1 ls supplied by the Vichy government in exchange for oil, and a second batch of 12 He 114 floatplanes was

delivered to the Flotila de hidroaviatie.

By July 1942, the number of Rumanian divisions in the Soviet Union had once more risen to 22, these advancing with German forces on Stalingrad where the advance bogged down. By September

the number of Rumanian divisions committed had increased to 34, but the FARR forces deployed in their support were weaker than in the previous year. The FARR component deployed in the

Soviet Union was designated the Corptd Aer ian, or 1st Air Corps, this comprising two fighter groups each with two squadrons of Bf 109Es, two bomber groups each of three squadrons, one

operating the S.M.79-JR and the other operating the He 111H-3, one dive bomber group with two squadrons of Ju 87Bs, and several light bomber and reconnaissance groups operating the

Blenheim, the 1AR 37, the 1AR 38 and the IAR 39.The Soviet offensive in the Stalingrad area began on 19 November 1942, the Rumanian 3rd Army taking the initial impact and losing 75,000 men

within four days. The Soviet forces then concentrated on the Rumanian 4th Army to the south, armoured spearheads being followed up by great bodies of cavalry, and the Rumanian and German

forces reeled back as the Soviet pincers closed on Stalingrad. Having suffered a severe mauling, the Rumanian forces in the Soviet Union were reduced to 10 divisions, but the Corpul 1 Aerian was

greatly increased in strength.

Operating as a component of the 1 Fliegerkorps, the Corpul 1 Aerian received 70 Bf 109G-6s and G-8s to re-equip its four- squadron (Escadrile 45, 46, 47 and 48) fighter component based at

Mariupol (Zhdanov) in the Ukraine; Ju 87D-3s and D-5s supplanted the Ju 87B-2s of the Grupul 3 picaj, the three-squadron (Escadrile 84, 85 and 86) dive bomber group; sufficient Ju 88A-4s had

been obtained to equip all three squadrons (Escadrile 75, 76 and 77) of Grupul 5 bombardement; Ju 88D-ls had been made available to equip a long-range reconnaissance squadron (Escadrilä 2),

and a ground attack unit, Grupul 8 Asalt, had been formed with three squadrons (Escadrile 41, 42 and 43) of Henschel Hs 129Bs. Other components of the Corpul 1 Aerian, which was operating

primarily in the Zaporozh’ye area of the Ukraine, were two transport squadrons (Escadrile 112 and 118) operating the Ju 52/3m, four liaison squadrons (Escadrile 111, 113, 114 and 115) with the

Fieseler Fi 156 Storch, and three bomber squadrons (Escadrile 78, 79 and 80) equipped with the He 111H-3, the original deliveries of this aircraft from Germany having by now been supplemented

by licence-built He 111 H-3s from SET. Finally, there were four squadrons (Escadrile 11, 12, 13 and 14) operating the indigenous I AR 80 and I AR 81 which combined the tactical reconnaissance

task with fighter-bomber and close-support duties. One other FARR unit operating in the Soviet Union under 1 Fliegerkorps but not attached to the Corpul 1 Aerian was the Grupul 6 picaj with three

squadrons (Escadrile 81, 82 and 83) equipped with the Ju 87D-1, D-3 and D-5. Thus, in the summer of 1943, the FARR was committing some 350 aircraft to the Russian Front.

By this time, much more attention was being given to the air defence of Rumania herself, and particularly to the defence of her oil wells and refineries from which came more than half of the petroleum

and lubricants used by the German armed forces. A new Air Corps, the Corpul 3 Aerian, was created specifically for home defence. The TAR at Bra§ov had produced some 120 IAR 80 fighters during

1942-3*, enabling a number of additional squadrons to be formed, including Escadrile 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65 and 66. Apart from new German combat aircraft, the FARR had received 20 Bloch M.B.151s

and 152s, and 150 Dewoitine D.520s for the advanced training role, and various other training aircraft had been obtained, including Bucker Bii 131 s and Arado Ar 96s. In fact, by late 1943, the FARR

had more than 1,300 training aircraft of more than eightv different types! The two naval squadrons (Escadrile 101 and 102) at Constanza and Odessa had replaced their He 114s with Arado Ar 196s,

but the supply of Rumanian-built aircraft had dwindled to a trickle as the factories were choked with aircraft in need of repair. On 1 August 1943, the Ploesti refineries had received their first visit from

B-24 Liberators of the US 15th Air Force, this attack, given the codename Operation Tidal Waxe, proving disastrous for the participants who had to make a 2,300-mile (3 700 km) round-trip. German

intelligence had allegedly cracked the Allied code and tracked the B-24s all the way from .their bases in the vicinity of Benghazi. The lead B-24 carrying the mission navigatör crashed in the

Mediterranean, the lead wave consequently taking a wrong heading just short of the target. and Tidal Wave disintegrated into disastrous for the participants who had to make a 2,300-mile (3 700 km)

round-trip. German intelligence had allegedly cracked the Allied code and tracked the B-24s all the way from .their bases in the vicinity of Benghazi. The lead B-24 carrying the mission navigatör

crashed in the Mediterranean, the lead wave consequently taking a wrong heading just short of the target, and Tidal Wave disintegrated into chaos. Some B-24s followed the lead wave on its wrong

heading, and others that succeeded in reaching the target area flew into an intense barrage of anti-aircraft fire and then ran the gauntlet of large numbers of FARR and Luftwaffe fighters. Of the 163

B-24s that reachcd Rumania no fewer than 54 were shot down. Nevertheless, the capacity of the refineries in the Ploesti area \yas temporarily reduced by 40 per cent at an extremely critical time for

the Axis.

By early 1944, although the number of Rumanian divisions deployed on the Russian Front had once again risen to 25, the FARR contingent had declined considerably in strength, and from

February only one FARR Bf 109G squadron remained, and this, Escadrild 49 based at Saki on the Crimea, possessed a strength of only some five serviceablc aircraft. The other Bf 109G squadrons of

the Corpul 1 Aerian had been pulled back for home defence duties, these operating independently while the similarly-equipped Escadrile 51 and 52 at Tepes-Voda and Mamaia respectively were

operating under the Jagdabschnittsfiihrer Rumänien (Fighter Sector Leader Rumania) which included the Bulgarian Bf 109G- equipped 6 Polk (6th Regiment) as well as Luftwaffe units.

The only major FARR units still in the Soviet Union were Flotila l bombardiere (consisting of Grupul 5 bombardement with two squadrons of Ju 88As, Grupul 3 picaj and Grupul 6 picaj each with three

squadrons of Ju 87Ds, Grupul 8 asalt with three squadrons of Hs 129Bs,and two Ju 88D-equipped reconnaissance squadrons), and Flotila '2 bombardiere (comprising Grupul 1 bombardement with

three squadrons of He 111H-3s and Grupul 2 bombardement with a similar number of S.M.79 squadrons).

A change of sides

On 10 April 1944 Odessa was evacuated by Rumanian and German forces, and Soviet forces entered Moldavia and swept forward, being halted only 11 miles (18 km) from Iasi. The situation inside

Rumania deteriorated rapidly; friction between Rumanians and Germans escalated, and there were numerous incidents of sabotage. Nevertheless, on 20 August, when Soviet forces launched their

offensive across the Prut River, the FARR remained a substantial force, with 37,196 personnel, 508 first-line aircraft distributed between 58 squadrons, and 1,131 reserve and training aircraft. The Corpul l

Aerian had 249 serviceable aircraft in 30 squadrons, and the Corpul 3 Aerian had 191 (including four Gotha Go 242 gliders) in 22 squadrons.

There were three fighter Flotile with a total of 195 IAR 80s and Bf 109Gs distributed between 20 squadrons; three bomber Flotile comprising eight dive bomber squadrons with 64 Ju 87Ds and IAR 81 s,

eight medium bomber squad-rons with 51 Ju 88As, He 111 Hs and S.M.79s, and three assault squadrons with 32 Hs 129Bs; three army co-operation

Flotile with 11 reconnaissance and observation squadrons flying 94 Ju 88Ds, IAR 38s, IAR 39s and SET 7Ks, two transport squadrons with 17 Ju 52/3ms and four Go 242s, and four liaison

squadrons with 33 Fi 156s, and one naval Flotila with 22 Ar 196s, He 114s and Cant Z.501s.

As the Soviet armour rolled towards Bucharest, King Michael led a plot which overthrew lon Antonescu, and General Johannes Friessner was suddenly faced with the fact that half of his

forces - Rumania’s 25 divisions - had allied themselves with the Soviet forces opposing the 26 divisions of the German 6th and 8th Armies that remained to him. Rumania capitulated on 23

August, most of the German forces were trapped, and on 24 August Rumania declared war on Germany, the Rumanian armed forces receiving orders to attempt to disarm their former

comrades-in-arms. Serviceability in the FARR had dropped alarmingly by 7 September when the Corpul 1 Aerian was subordinated to the 5th Soviet Air Force (Second Ukrainian Front),

strength having also diminished and now comprising 2,915 personnel and 18 squadrons with fewer than 200 serviceable aircraft. From 21 September, the FARR initiated operations against the German

forces, its 18 squadrons possessing 197 aircraft (81 fighters, 24 assault aircraft, 12 dive bombers, 16 medium bombers and 17 reconnaissance aircraft, plus liaison and transport aircraft). By 26 October, the

number of FARR squadrons had been reduced to 15 and the first-line strength to 174 aircraft.

In the meantime, those Rumanian aircraft tactories that had escaped total annihilation had resumed production and repair work, these being crammed with 360 damaged machines (132 FARR aircraft

and 228 confiscated from the Luftwaffe), but the task of making good FARR attrition from these damaged aircraft was complicated by the fact that the Rumanian mechanics were now required also to

maintain Soviet Air Force aircraft. Thus, by the end of 1944, the IAR had succeeded in completing only 46 aircraft that had beenon the assembly line, and had repaired 23 Rumanian and 66 Soviet aircraft.

The ASAM repaired 12 S.M.79-JR bombers during the course of October, and SET repaired 41 reconnaissance aircraft. Three large workshops were also engaged on the repair of damaged aircraft.

With the repaired aircraft, the FARR had succeeded in increasing its squadrons to 20 by the beginning of 1945, by which time the service was engaged on operations in Slovakia. The number of aircraft

on strength totalled 239, these including 88 fighters, 44 bombers and dive bombers, and 54 reconnaissance aircraft. Between 23 August 1944 and 12 May 1945, the FARR flew a total of 4,400 sorties

(2,578 of these between 21 December 1944 and 12 May 1945) against the German and Hungarian* forces, dropping a total of 1,360 tons (1 382 tonnes) of bombs in the process, and claiming the

destruction (including the claims of Rumanian anti-aircraft batteries) of 101 enemy aircraft. Aircraft losses during this period had ranged between 10 and 60 per cent of unit strengths except in the case of

the dive bomber squadrons which lost 95 per cent of their strength.

The FARR saw the end of hostilities with only 10 combat squadrons remaining. These were divided between the Fighter Command (Comandament Vinatoare) and the Bomber Command

(Comandament Bombardement), the former comprising Grupul 1 (Escadrile 63 and 64) and Grupul 2 (Escadrile 65 and 66) equipped with the IAR 80, and Grupul 9 (Escadrile 47 and 48) equipped with the

Bf 109G, while the latter consisted of the Grupul Bombardement (Escadrile 72 and 82) operating a mix of He lllHs, S.M.79-JRs and Ju 88 As, and the Grupul Asalt-Picaj with 16 Hs 129Bs (Escadrilä 41) and

nine Ju 87Ds (Escadrilä 74).