Emanoil Ionescu (17 March 1887 – 14 June 1949) was a

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

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and commander of the

Royal Romanian Air Force The Air Force branch of the Royal Romanian forces in World War II was officially named the (ARR), or the Romanian Royal Aeronautics, though it is more commonly referred to in English histories as the (Royal Romanian Air Force, FARR), or simply ...

's ''Corpul I Aerian''.

Biography

He was born in 1887 in Tămpeni, now Movileni,

Olt County Olt County () is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (the regions are separated by the Olt river). The capital city is Slatina. History On 24 August 2017, the Olt County ...

. After attending the Military School for Officers, he graduated with the rank of second lieutenant in 1911. During

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 ...

he served in the 43rd Infantry Regiment. He enrolled as a volunteer at the Aviation School in Botoșani and obtained his pilot's license on July 11, 1918, after which he was assigned to the 4th Aviation Group. In the spring of 1919, when the Hungarian communist army attacked Romania, lieutenant Ionescu asked to be assigned to the 5th Aviation Group in

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

, an air subunit made available to General Gheorghe Mărdărescu, commander of the Romanian forces in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

during the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War was fought between Hungary and Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. The Allies of World War I intended ...

. In April-June 1919 he carried out several combat missions aboard Sopwith 1½ Strutter aircraft, gathering information and bombing enemy targets. Ionescu was promoted to captain in April 1920, and appointed

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

commander; the following year he was promoted to major, and given the command of an

air group A group is a military unit or a military formation that is most often associated with military aviation. Air and aviation groups The terms group and wing differ significantly from one country to another, as well as between different branches ...

. From 1925 to 1937 he flew intensely and became known to the public after the "Raid of Greater Romania" (3,700 km in 11 hours, with a stopover), done with in 1927. From 1927 to 1929 he attended the Higher War School. In April 1937, he took command of the 3rd Fighter Wing, based in Galați, with the rank of captain-commander; half a year later, he was promoted to commander. Between 1938 and 1939, Ionescu held the position of professor at the Higher War School and commander of the "Aurel Vlaicu" Military Aviation School in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; 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 ...

. He was promoted to the rank of squadron general on May 10, 1941. After Romania entered

on the side of the

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

on June 22, 1941, Ionescu commanded the air unit assigned to the Romanian 4th Army, and flew 40 hours in support of the crossings of rivers

Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates ...

and

Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...

by the 4th Army. In September 1943 he became commander of the 1st Air Corps, the only large Romanian air unit on the Eastern Front. After

King Michael's Coup King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...

of August 23, 1944, when Romania switched sides to the Allies, Ionescu continued to command the

on the front lines in Transylvania, Hungary, and

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, providing air support to the Romanian 1st and 4th Armies. On March 10, 1945, he handed over the command to Air Squadron General Traian Burduloiu and returned to Bucharest, where he had been appointed Undersecretary of State for the Air Force. He entered the reserve on January 1, 1948. A year and a half later, he was killed in Bucharest like a war criminal by court decision. In 2002, the RoAF 71st Air Base at

Câmpia Turzii Câmpia Turzii (; german: Jerischmarkt; hu, Aranyosgyéres) is a municipality in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania, which was formed in 1925 by the union of two villages, Ghiriș (''Aranyosgyéres'') and Sâncrai (''Szentkirály''). It was de ...

and the Fighter Wing-based there were named in his honor. A street in Slatina is also named in Ionescu's memory.

Awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

(1939) 2nd and 1st Class * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 10 May 1944 as ''General de escadră'' and commanding general of the Royal Romanian 1st Air Corps *

Order of Michael the Brave The Order of Michael the Brave ( ro, Ordinul Mihai Viteazul) is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign of the First World War, and was again awarded in the Second Wo ...

3rd Class (4 August 1945)Decretul Regal nr. 1.935 din 1 iulie 1942 pentru conferiri de decorațiuni și războiu ofițerilor și trupei din armata germană și română, publicat în ''

Monitorul Oficial ''Monitorul Oficial al României'' is the official gazette of Romania, in which all the promulgated bills, presidential decrees, governmental A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, general ...

'', anul CX, nr. 161 din 14 iulie 1942, partea I-a, p. 5.825. *

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet award established on July 29, 19 ...

1st Class (9 August 1945)

References

19th-century births 1949 deaths People from Olt County Carol I National Defence University alumni Romanian military personnel of World War I Romanian people of the Hungarian–Romanian War Romanian military personnel of World War II Romanian Air Force generals Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class {{Romania-mil-bio-stub