adj. sef av. Nicolae Stan

Bomber/Dive Bomber Pilot

Born: 22 September 1919, Pogoanele

Units:

• September 1942 - October 1944: 3rd Bomber Group (from 1943 3rd Dive Bomber Group)
• October - 17 November 1944: 8th Assault-Dive Bomber Group
• 1 March - 12 May 1945: 8th Assault-Dive Bomber Group

Combat missions: approx. 300

Victories: N/A

Decorations:

• Virtutea Aeronautica Order Knight class with two bars
• Eiserne Kreuz 1st class

War episode:

On 17 November 1944, adj. av. Stan was flying in a dive bombing mission south of Budapest. All went well and they hit their target, but as they were coming out of the dive, they were surprised by German fighters. He was hit in his feet, but didn't realize how bad it was. Some of the instruments had been also damaged and were malfunctioning. He had to perform some heavy maneuvering to avoid the Germans and lost a lot of blood. Luckily some Romanian fighters appeared and chased the Germans away. He couldn't see very well and he fealt his powers diminishing. He got the approval from the commanding officer to land on a Soviet airfield which was closer. After two failed attempts he finally managed to put his Ju-87D down. After turning the engine off and opening the cockpit, he fainted. He later woke up in a Soviet field hospital.

Died: May 2004, Bucharest

@ 2002-2004