Bomber Observer

Born: 1918 (?)

Units:

• 22 June 1941 - 24 October 1942: 18th Light Bomber Squadron
• 25 October 1942 - 16 September 1944: 5th Bomber Group

Combat missions: over 240

Victories: 1

Decorations:

• Mihai Viteazul Order 3rd class
• Virtutea Aeronautica Order Knight class with two bars
• Eiserne Kreuz 1st class

War episode:

On 16 October 1944, a formation of six Ju-88A-4s took off to attack the Cluj railway station. The formation was under the leadership of cpt. av. Eusebie Popovici in the Ju-88 no. 108. Flying with him as observer was cpt. av. Eugen "Matra" Marinescu and lt. cdor. Rudolf Malinovschi (the group's CO) as machine-gunner. The pilot noticed that after a while the oil pressure of the right engine had decreased, while the temperature had risen. However, he was hoping to at least reach the objective and drop the bombs. Soon lt. cdor. Malinovschi told cpt. Popovici that smoke was coming out of the engine. After consulting the crew he decided to make an emergency landing. They dropped the bombs and started looking for a place to land. "Matra" Marinescu spotted a suitable location and the pilot managed to put the bomber on its belly. This crash, the second in cpt. Marinescu's long front record, made the superiors retreat him from active duty, having served his country with distinction in many missions.

Died: before 1989