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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a founding member of the

Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) () is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five air bases, a logistics base, an air defense brigade, an air defense regiment and an ISR (Intel ...

'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 Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria, Marina Știrbei was the daughter of Prince George Știrbei, who was Barbu Știrbey's brother, and Elisabeth, niece of the pioneering aviator George Valentin Bibescu. 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 ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, encountering mist over the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

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

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. In 1938, as a member of the Romanian Red Cross, together with other female aviators including Mariana Drăgescu 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 wa ...

, 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. Duri ...

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

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

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

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 A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...