Ștefan Burileanu (10 January 1874 – 1944) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n officer, engineer, inventor, and academic who rose to the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in 1933.''Din elita artileriei''
col. prof. univ. dr. Adrian STROEA, col.(r) Marin GHINOIU, București: Editura Centrului Tehnic-Editorial al Armatei, 2012, p. 58-59, Burileanu was born in Burila Mare village,

Mehedinți County Mehedinți County () is a county ( ro, județ) of Romania on the border with Serbia and Bulgaria. It is mostly located in the historical province of Oltenia, with one municipality (Orșova) and three communes ( Dubova, Eșelnița, and Svinița) ...

. He went to high school in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, graduating in 1891. From 1892 to 1894 he studied engineering and military science at

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

and from 1894–1896 at the Saint-Cyr military school in

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

. He completes his studies in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1901, earning a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree from the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

with a thesis titled ''Nouvelle méthode de balistique extérieure''. In 1915 he converted the Hotchkiss 57 mm Model 1888/1916 into an anti-aircraft cannon, designing a system which he named ''Burileanu''. The 40 converted cannons had a rate of fire of 20-25 rounds per minute, a horizontal firing arc of 360° and a vertical arc of + 85°. Colonel Burileanu designed and built a special

warhead A warhead is the forward section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb. Classification Types of warheads include: * Explosiv ...

for this cannon, increasing its range by 22%. The cannon was widely used by the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, bringing down

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

planes at

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 ...

Piatra Neamț Piatra Neamț (; german: Kreuzburg an der Bistrița (Siret), Bistritz; hu, Karácsonkő) is the capital city of Neamț County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in northeastern Romania. Because of its privileged location in the Easter ...

, and

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

. He made a similar system for the Gruson 53 mm Model 1887/1916. He also contributed to the Romanian victory at the

Battle of Mărășești The Battle of Mărășești (6 August 1917 – 3 September 1917) was the last major battle between the German Empire and the Kingdom of Romania on the Romanian front during World War I. Romania was mostly occupied by the Central Powers, but th ...

through the modifications he made to its cannons and

howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...

s. Between 1923 and 1930 Burileanu was a professor of

mechanics Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to objects r ...

at the University of Cluj. He was elected titular member of the

Romanian Academy of Sciences The Romanian Academy of Sciences was an institution established in Romania by a group of 26 scientists, dissatisfied with the imperfect organization of the Scientific Section of the Romanian Academy, which was left in the background, with only 12 ...

(Military Section) on 21 December 1935. Nowadays Burileanu is viewed as the father of the Romanian anti-aircraft artillery. In his memory, the Academy of Sciences has instituted a prize in his name. A street in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

also bears his name. The Romanian Army's Test and Evaluation Center, located in Jegălia,

Călărași County Călărași () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Călărași. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 285,050 and a population density of 56.02/km2. * Romanians – 95% ...

, is also named after General Burileanu.

References

1874 births 1951 deaths People from Mehedinți County École Polytechnique alumni École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni University of Paris alumni Romanian military personnel of World War I Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian scientists Romanian inventors Babeș-Bolyai University faculty Members of the Romanian Academy of Sciences Romanian expatriates in France {{Romania-mil-bio-stub