''Grupul 2 Aeronautic'' ("2nd Aeronautical Group" in English), also known as ''Grupul 2 Aviație'' ("2nd Aviation Group") was one of the three

groups A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

of the

Romanian Air Corps The Romanian Air Corps or Aviation Corps (RAC) ( ro, Corpul de Aviație) was the air arm of the Romanian army until the formation of the Romanian Air Force. It was established on 1 April 1913 as the Military Aeronautics Service () and subordinat ...

created following the aviation reorganization in the winter of 1916/1917.

History

At the end of 1916,

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

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 the ...

, the new Chief of the , advised by the Chief of the

French Military Mission French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

, decided to reorganize the Romanian aviation. As a result of this reorganization, the aviation was composed of 3 Aeronautical Groups with 6

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

squadrons, 4 fighter squadrons, 1 long-range reconnaissance squadron, 1

bombardment A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or towns and buildings. Prior to World War I, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended objects, ...

squadron and 5 aerostation companies. Each Aeronautical Group was assigned to a Romanian or Russian army. ''Grupul 2 Aeronautic'', headquartered at

Tecuci Tecuci () is a city in Galați County, Romania, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. It is situated among wooded hills, on the right bank of the Bârlad River, and at the junction of railways from Galați, Bârlad, and Mărășești. ...

was initially assigned to the 4th Russian Army. The group, commanded by

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

(Maj.) Andrei Popovici, was composed of 1 fighter and 2 reconnaissance squadrons: *''Escadrila F.4'' - commanded by

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

(Cpt.) Haralambie Giossanu *''Escadrila F.7'' - commanded by Cpt. André Goulin *''Escadrila N.3'' - commanded by 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 ...

From the beginning of the summer of 1917, in preparation for the military operations, 2 new squadrons were created: ''Escadrila F.9'', commanded by Cpt. Bertrand de Fraguier and ''Escadrila N.11'', Cpt. by Captain

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 ...

and the group was re-assigned to the

1st Romanian Army The First Army was a field army of the Romanian Land Forces, active from 1916 to 2000. World War I The First Army took part in the Romanian Campaign of World War I. Its commanders during that time were : * Divisional General Ioan Culcer ...

. ''Escadrila C.12'' was also assigned to the group.

Campaign of 1917

During the course of the month of June 1917, airmen from all of the aeronautical groups carried out reconnaissance, bombing and artillery fire directing missions over the enemy lines. The squadrons of ''Grupul 2 Aeronautic'', together with '' Grupul 1 Aeronautic'' directly contributed to the success of the

Battle of Mărăști The Battle of Mărăști ( ro, Bătălia de la Mărăști) was one of the main battles to take place on Romanian soil in World War I. It was fought between 22 July and 1 August 1917, and was an offensive operation of the Romanian and Russian armie ...

. During 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 ...

, reconnaissance missions protected by the

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

were carried out consistently over the front of the 1st Romanian Army. In the front sectors where the Romanian artillery did not cause enough damage, the airmen of the F.4 squadron carried out bombing raids. The N.11 and N.3 squadrons protected the front from enemy airplanes, engaging in aerial fights almost every day. On 6 August 1917, the airmen of F.7 and F.4 squadrons managed to spot the retreating Russian troops, alerting the Romanian Headquarters just in time, allowing the 5th Romanian Division to intervene and stop the German advance. On 10 August 1917, ''Grupul 2 Aeronautic'' executed 38 combat missions, taking photographs of enemy

artillery batteries In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to faci ...

aerodromes An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publi ...

and other installations, providing information on troop movements as well as directing friendly artillery fire. During the night, bombing raids were carried out on key targets. On 19 August, the F.7 and F.9 squadrons attacked the enemy troops, executing a number of 14 bombing missions, at the same time they directed the Russian and Romanian heavy artillery fire on the enemy positions. During the month of August 1917, the pilots of ''Escadrila N.11'' achieved a high number of flight hours with Ion Muntenescu achieving 50 flight hours, Egon Nasta-47 hours, Vasile Craiu-41 hours and Paul Magâlea-35 hours. Starting from 22 September 1917, ''Grupul 2 Aeronautic'' was reorganized, now being composed of: *''Escadrila F.5'' - with the aerodrome at Domneşti *''Escadrila F.9'' - at *''Escadrila N.3'' and ''Escadrila N.11'' - both at

On 7 November 1917, Romanian pilots of the N.11 and F.9 squadrons shot down 5 enemy aircraft.

1918

From January 1918, ''Grupul 2 Aeronautic'', commanded by Maj. Sever Pleniceanu, was organized as such:{{cite magazine, url=https://amnr.defense.ro/webroot/fileslib/upload/files/Revista_Document/Revista_040_2008.pdf, title=Campania din Basarabia (ianuarie – iulie 1918), magazine=Buletinul Arhivelor Militare Române, author=Valeriu Avram, language=ro, issue=40/2008, date=2008, pages=47–50 *''Escadrila F.5'' - with the aerodrome at

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 ...

*''Escadrila S.8'' *''Escadrila N.11'' - at

Adjud Adjud (; hu, Egyedhalma) is a municipiu, city in Vrancea County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It has a population of 14,670 inhabitants (2011). It lies at a railway junction which has a classification yard and a passenger station. Adjud, situated ...

*''Escadrila N.3'' - at Tecuci The first combat missions of 1918 on the Romanian front were carried out by the pilots of the N.11 squadron who attempted to intercept 3 Russian SPADs which were flying over

Galați Galați (, , ; also known by other alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the Danube River. It has been the only port for the most par ...

, however, they were unsuccessful due to the greater speed of the SPADs. Following Order no. 275/1918, ''Grupul 2 Aeronautic'' moved ''Escadrila S.8'' to Bârlad, together with ''Escadrila S.5'' (ex-F.5). The other squadrons remained on the same aerodromes.

References

Aviation history of Romania Romania in World War I Romanian Air Corps units

History

Campaign of 1917

1918

See also

References