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Picture courtesy of cdor. av. Traian Nicolae
lt. av. Traian Nicolae
Long Range Recon Observer
Born: 27 April 1917
Units:
Combat missions: 38 + 2 in 1940
Victories: -
Decorations:
War episode:
On 1 December 1942 the Bristol Blenheim Mk. I no. 10 took off on a recon mission over the Soviet Ilanskoe airfield. The pilot was adj. av. Florea Patrascu. The weather was difficult and the visibility was reduced. They eventually got to their target, photographed it from 2,000 m and turned back. That is when 4 Yaks attacked them. They climbed to 3,000 m, trying to hide in the clouds. But unfortunately the sky cleared soon after that. Two Yaks kept the machine-gunner busy, while other two struck from beneath and right wing caught fire. As it was expanding in the rest of the aircraft the pilot managed to put it down close to the Italian sector, but in Soviet held territory. Adj. Patrascu was stuck in and could not get out. Lt. av. Traian Nicolae struggled to get him out of the burning wreck finally succeeded. The Romanians were taken POWs quickly, taken to a command post and interrogated by an NKVD officer. The next day they were sent to a prison camp. In 1944 he came back to Romania in the Soviet-sponsored "Tudor Vladimirescu" Division and saw action in Transylvania and Hungary, but as CO of an AT-rifle section.
He is presently living in Bucharest
@ 2002-2004