Newspaper Article, Regarding air raid on April 21 1944

There is a decent article which appeared in a Romanian newspaper on June 19, 2005. It is in "Evenimentul Zilei" which can be found at www.expres.ro
I think the article is under the "investigatii" heading. It can be found using the "arhiva" feature of the web page.

I was not very familiar with that day in history so it was very good to read that article. I knew my great uncle ( grandfather's brother) was a pilot in the ARR and he died during WW2 in one of the battles but I was floored to find out that it was during that battle on April 21, 1944 that he died when I saw his name mentioned in the article.

The article, which by the way, it is called " Ziua Aripilor Frinte" fills in a lot of blanks about that time in history. I don't remember reading anything about that battle, or any aerial ARR battle in the Romanian history books of before 1989. I guess for the communist authorites WW2 started after August 23, 1944.

You guess right Hello mgata and welcome to the forum !
What was the name of your grand-uncle's name ?

I am wondering which study, written by Sorin Turturica & Vasile Tudor, are the article's authors repeatedly referring to?

Gen. Dénes

This post has been edited by Dénes on June 20, 2005 09:46 pm

And can you share with us some biographical details about him, photos? Maybe we can add him to the pilot biographies on the site, if we have enough data.

I would love to find out some more info on my great uncle, but unfortunately I don't have much. All the little information I have is from my grandfather. My grandfather was 10 or 11 yrs old in 1944. My great uncle, in 1944 when he died was 22 years old. His name was SPRIDON MATEI and he was flying in Grupul 2 vinatoare. He was a "sublocotenent aviator"

I am not even sure if my grandfather knows much about my great uncle ( Spiridon was the oldest of 4 siblings). When I grew up in Romania in the 80s I was too young to understand what has happended to him. I just know from my grandfather that Spiridon was shot down when while he was jumping with the parachute but that's about all. I've been to his grave many times in Galati where my grandfather built a nice memorial for Spiridon...actually somehow he brought to is grave a fin from an IAR's propeller....not sure where he got it from.

I don't have any photos of Spiridon...my grandfather has in Romania. I think he also has some medals that were awarded to Spiridon after his death I immagine.

Anyway, I told my grandfather over the phone about the article and I think he started to cry...he never got over his borther's death. I think at that young age, Spiridon, the big brother was his hero, and he was really affected when Spiridon was killed.

Here is what I've found on the death of Spiridon Matei:

Date Type Nr. Unit Crew Place Notes
21-Apr-44 I.A.R. 81C+ Gr. 7 van., Esc. 58 van. slt. av. rez. Spiridon Matei+ Râmnicul Vâlcea sarit cu parasuta, lovit in aer de Lightning, omorit

It would be nice to see a photo of him and possibly learn the serial number of the airplane he flew that fatal day (from his log book = carnet de zbor).

Gen. Dénes

This post has been edited by Dénes on June 20, 2005 11:26 pm

Slt. av. rez. Spiridon Matei had a probable victory over a B-24 Liberator:

Pilot Name & Rank Unit Date Type Shot Down Vic. Location Type Flown Notes Sources
Slt. av. rez. Spiridon Matei, Gr. 7 vân., Esc. 58 van. Liberator 3 pr. Liberator incendiat si scos din formatie in 1944 (data necunoscuta) [arhiva 2004]

Gen. Dénes

Wow, you sure have a lot of info. Where do you get all this stuff from? It is rather interesting.
Like I said, next time I go to Romania...which I am not sure when it is going to be, I can ask my grandfather to give me some of the old photos.
I am not sure how much he knows about his brother's actions in the war since my grandfather was really young. Also, since Spiridon was shot down before 23 August 1944, not much is spoken of what happened before that date.

When I talked to my grandfather yesterday, he told me that Spiridon also fought in Crimeea and when he was shot down he was flying on empty and he was out of ammo...but again who knows the truth?

In any case, thanks Denes for looking all that info up fro me.

I'm glad I can be of help.
I've got the info from the military archives.

Next time you'll talk to your grandfather, make sure you'll ask him about his brother's log book (carnet de zbor), as it would clarify many unknown issues of Spiridon Matei's career.

Gen. Dénes

Thanks for all your help. I will ask my grandfather for more info

A link to the article as with each day that goes away it becomes harder and harder to find it:

Ziua aripilor frinte by Bogdan Nicolai and Florian Bichir

Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

Is a problem of topic in this article. ,,O lupta inegala" is before ,,Raportul dezastrului" and so it appeared in the newspaper.

'Cainele Franctiror' are you by any chance Sorin T.? If yes, which study done by you and Mr. Tudor were the article's authors referring to?

Gen. Dénes

,,Grupul 1 Vanatoare la Rosiorii de Vede". Will be ready soon.

So the article is fairly accurate in all other aspects?