Alexandru erbnescu

3 Back to Romania

Alexandru Alecu erbnescu (17 May 1912 in

Coloneti, Olt County 18 August 1944 in Ruav,
Buzu County) was a leading Romanian ghter pilot and
ying ace in World War II. In the spring of 1942 he was
assigned as a pilot to the 7th Fighter Group,[1] which
fought with the German forces against the Soviet Union
on the Eastern Front, including Stalingrad. He ew
mostly IAR-80 and Messerchmitt Bf-109 ghters.

On March 29, 1943, erbnescu was appointed commander of the 57th Fighter Squadron, equipped with the new
Messerschmitt Bf-109G, and promoted to the rank of
Captain. Between June and August 1943 he shot down
28 Allied aircraft, and received the highest Romanian
military decoration, Order of Michael the Brave, 3rd
Class. On October 23, the 9th Fighter Group replaced
the battle-exhausted 7th Fighter Group, but erbnescu
and the other aces remained. He kept ghting and shooting down airplanes of the Allies and, as a result, he was
named the Groups commander on February 13, 1944.
In May 1944 the Red Army entered Romania and occupied northern Bessarabia and northern Moldavia, but they
were stopped after some erce ghting (see also: Battle
of Trgul Frumos), in which the pilots also played a very
important role. On June 11, erbnescu shot down his
rst USAAF aircraft, a B-17 Flying Fortress, his 45th
victory. This was followed by two Allied P-51 Mustangs
shot down on July 31 and on August 4 respectively, which
were his last kills.[4]

Early military career

He graduated from the Military College at Trgovite

and the Infantry Ocers School at Sibiu in 1933 and
was soon appointed the commander of the 3rd Mountain
Troops battalion, located at Braov. In 1942, he joined
the Air Force Flight School in Ghimbav and became soon
a ghter pilot within the 7th Fighter Group.[2]

Eastern front

The 7th Fighter Group was detached in 1942 to the

Stalingrad front. erbnescu distinguished himself in the
erce battles during the retreat from the airelds around
Stalingrad. When Soviets broke the German and Romanian defenses in November 1942 and approached the
Romanian aireld where the 7th Fighter Group was stationed, erbnescu successfully organized the defense of
the airbase against the Allied forces, helped by his infantry experience. He had at his disposal only two antiaircraft guns (one Rheinmetall 37mm and one 75mm
Vickers-Reia gun), the 20mm guns on the Bf-109Es
and a company of ill-equipped and trained soldiers. The
Romanians camouaged positions and well-led defense
stopped the Soviet tanks attacking the aireld for two
days. The Bf 109s 20 mm guns were used as antitank
weapons on the ground (by lifting the airplanes tail on
barrels), this being a unique case of airplane-tank duel.
On November 23, 1942 the Romanians evacuated eight
Bf-109E (another 3 were lost while they tried to take o
under re). Each airplane carried two or three people in
the cockpit. After this, what remained of erbnescus
unit was stationed on the Morozovskaya aireld and was
soon withdrawn to Romania for rest and recuperation.[3]

4 Death
On August 18, 1944, Alexandru erbnescu took o on
his last mission. On that day, he and his twelve wingmen,
together with twelve other ghters from the 9th Fighter
Group, attacked a swarm of Mustangs and Lightnings.
When Lieutenant Dobran and Adjutant Drjan tried to
clear his tail, it was too late. His last words were: My
boys, I'm going down.... Apparently his radio wasn't
functioning properly and he could not hear his wingmens
warnings. Following erbnescus death, all Romanian
ghters were issued orders to refrain from engaging the
Americans until a new strategy would be adopted. Five
days later, on August 23, 1944, a coup d'tat led by King
Michael of Romania deposed Marshal Ion Antonescu and
Romania switched to the Allied side.[5]
During his entire piloting career, he was credited with
47 conrmed victories (and 8 probable) in aerial combat which, with eight unconrmed, yielded 55 points in
the Romanian scoring system, second only to Constantin
Cantacuzino with 69.[5]
1

Legacy

Today, a boulevard in Bucharest bears his name and

passes very close to Aurel Vlaicu Airport. Each year, on
18 August, veterans, air force ocers and aviation enthusiasts gather at his tomb to commemorate him. On
August 18, 2004, the 30th Honor Guard Regiment commemorated, with military honors, the sixty years that had
passed since Capt. erbnescu was killed in action.[5]
On December 1, 2006, the 95th Air Base of the
Romanian Air Force received the honoric title Cpt. Av.
Alexandru erbnescu.[6]

See also
List of World War II ying aces from Romania
Horia Agarici
Constantin Cantacuzino
Romanian Air Force

References

7.1

Notes

[1] (Romanian) Tudor, p. 14

[2] (Romanian) oimii Grupului erbnescu, erbnescus
Eagles, Timpul, May 4, 2006. Retrieved on February 20,
2008.
[3] (English) Alexandru erbnescu - from Infantry to Aviation, Victor Niu, Octavian Ghi and Dariusz Tyminski,
April 29, 2001. Retrieved on 21 February 2008.
[4] (Romanian) Alexandru erbnescu Foundation, January
10, 2008. Retrieved on 21 February 2008.
[5] (English) Cpt. av. Alexandru erbnescu, Bogdan Patrascu, Unocial site. Retrieved on February 21, 2008.
[6] (Romanian) Bacu Air Base received Alexandru erbnescu honoric name, event365.ro, December 3, 2006.
Retrieved on 21 February 2008.

7.2

Further reading

Dnes Bernd, Rumanian Aces of World War 2,

Osprey Publishing, Botley, Oxfordshire, 2003 ISBN
1-84176-535-X
Vasile Tudor, Un nume de legenda - Cpt. av. erou
Alexandru erbnescu (A legendary name, Captain Alexandru erbnescu), Editura MODELISM,
1998.

REFERENCES

Ion Bucurescu, Aviaia Romn pe Frontul de Est i

n aprarea teritoriului Vol. I; II (Romanian Aviation on Eastern Front and defending the national
territory), Editura Fast Print, 1994.

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