adj. av. Ioan Marinciu

Fighter Pilot

Born: 1 December 1919, Barlad

Units:

• early 1944 - September 1944: 7th Fighter Group
• September - 23 December 1944: 9th Fighter Group

Combat missions: 157

Victories: 6 confirmed + 8 probable

Decorations:

• Virtutea Aeronautica Order Knight class

War episode:

On 23 December (or 24 according to another source) adj. av. Marinciu was escorting several Ju-87Ds attacking targets behind the front in Slovakia. He was engaged by two Luftwaffe Bf019s. Soon they were joined by another two. One of the newcomers managed to get a shot from 90 degreees, which hit his stabilizer. Half of it was blown away. Marinciu was then forced to fly in a straith line and was under constant attack by the German fighters, being a rather easy prey. He made a forced landing between the lines, near Zelok. His Bf-109G6 looked like Swiss cheese and he was wounded at the face, hands and legs. Some Soviet soldiers saved him and taken to a field hospital. Later he was told that the one who shot him down might have been Erich Hartmann.

Died: 14 August 2008, Bucharest