Marina Știrbei (19 March 1912 – 15 July 2001) was a Romanian aviator who gained fame in the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

as a founding member of the

Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) ( ro, Forțele Aeriene Române) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five airbases and an air defense brigade. Reserve forces include one ai ...

's all-women White Squadron, rescuing the wounded from the front lines. More recently, the Romanian press have called her the "Princess of Romanian aviation".

Early life

Born on 19 March 1912 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria, Marina Știrbei was the daughter of Prince George Știrbei, who was

Barbu Știrbey Prince Barbu Alexandru Știrbey (; 4 November 1872 – 24 March 1946) was 30th Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Romania in 1927. He was the son of Prince Alexandru Știrbey and his wife Princess Maria Ghika-Comănești, and grandson of another ...

's brother, and Elisabeth, niece of the pioneering aviator

George Valentin Bibescu George III Valentin, Prince Bibescu (; 22 March 1880, Bucharest – 2 July 1941, Bucharest) was a Romanian early aviation pioneer and automobile enthusiast. Family His parents were George Bibescu (son of Gheorghe Bibescu) and Valentine de Riquet ...

. After repeatedly being refused entrance to the Romanian Pilots School on the grounds she was a woman, in 1932 she was finally allowed to train there under Ioana Cantacuzino. She was granted her Grade II pilot's license in 1935. The following year, she won the first pilots contest in Romania.

Career

Știrbei was the first to fly from

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 ...

to Stockholm, encountering mist over the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

. In June 1937, representing the Romanian Aeroclub, she took part in the first technical assistance conference in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. In 1938, as a member of the

Romanian Red Cross The Romanian Red Cross (CRR), also known as the National Society of Red Cross from Romania (''Societatea Naționalǎ de Cruce Roșie din România''), is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relie ...

, together with other female aviators including

Mariana Drăgescu Marie Ana Aurelia (Mariana) Drăgescu (7 September 1912 – 24 March 2013) was a Romanian military aviator during World War II. She was the last surviving member of the Escadrila Albă, White Squadron, a team of female aviators who flew medic ...

and

Nadia Russo Nadia (Nadejda) Russo-Bossie (17 June 1901 – 22 January 1988) was a Romanian military aviator during World War II. She was a member of the White Squadron, a team of female aviators who flew medical aircraft during World War II. Romania w ...

, she participated in military exercises in the Galați region. Inspired by the Finnish women's piloting initiative known as

Lotta Svärd Lotta Svärd () was a Finnish voluntary auxiliary paramilitary organisation for women. Formed originally in 1918, it had a large membership undertaking volunteer social work in the 1920s and 1930s. It was formed to support the White Guard. Du ...

, she was successful in persuading the aviation ministry to form a women's squadron to help repatriate the wounded from the front lines. Known as the White Squadron, the unit was based at Baneasa. By 1940, the squadron consisted of 10 planes, ferrying doctors and medicines, and bringing back the wounded. The name White Squadron was given by the Italian journalist

Curzio Malaparte Curzio Malaparte (; 9 June 1898 – 19 July 1957), born Kurt Erich Suckert, was an Italian writer, filmmaker, war correspondent and diplomat. Malaparte is best known outside Italy due to his works ''Kaputt'' (1944) and ''La pelle'' (1949). The f ...

, inspired by the white planes marked only by the sign of the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

Family

In 1942, Știrbei married Prince Constantin Basarab Brâncoveanu, celebrated with an extravagant aristocratic wedding reception. When the Communists took control in Romania, the prince was arrested and his property was confiscated. Știrbei raised her two children on her own, but in 1964 she managed to leave the country. After settling for a time in England, she moved to France.

Death

Stirbei died in Bouloc, France on 15 July 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirbei, Marina 1912 births 2001 deaths Nobility from Vienna Romanian aviators Romanian women aviators Romanian World War II pilots Marina