Interwar Cluj Guard Flotilla

What's the story of Cluj Guard Flotilla? What was the compozition of this unit and for how long it kept its name?

As far as I know, the unit received the name from king Carol II after his return to Romania in 1930. He first landed at Cluj, and the officers from the aviation unit stationed there constituted a sort of a honour guard for him - hence the name.

Any additional info? Thank you!

This post has been edited by Agarici on April 26, 2013 12:16 pm

http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroportul_In...ional_Baia_Mare

Thank you for the reply, Petre. But is the info from that link accurate? It is somehow contrary to what I konw.

By the way, the Guard Flotilla was in fact an observation aviation flotilla, wasn't it?

Yes, it was an observation unit. In 1939 it still had the name, so I guess it kept it until Carol II abdicated. Afterwards it was renamed the 2nd Observation Flotilla (Flotila 2 Informatii).

Thank you, Victor! Any additional info?

Regarding the topic Carol II Cup from 1934
http://www.worldwar2.ro/forum/index.php?showtopic=6530
in the article it’s mentioned that some of the crews were from the Cluj and Bucharest flotillas and the winner crew was from the Guard Flotilla.
I suppose it's the Cluj Guard Flotilla.

Searching on the internet I found this interesting link:
http://www.ceasuripentruromania.ro/ceasuri...anguage=english

In the doc. appears the following pilots from the Guard Flotilla:
Eusebiu Popovici
Anastase Stratulat
Grigore Safciuc
Ioan Curteanu

The question is, do you know if the Guard Flotilla existed only in Cluj?

Thanks for your feedback, Alexandru C. As far as I know, the Guard Flotilla was the name of a specific aviation unit stationed near Cluj (on Someseni airfield), not of a type of unit (like those from the WW 2 Soviet airforce). In ARR a flotilla was composed of 2-3 aviation groups which included 2-3 squadrons (rather 2) each, so it could have also had a reserve airfield too, but I never heard about that.

As endowment, it should have used the Potez XXV and then the SET K 7 and/or the IAR 37/38/39. Victor, I remember having red somevhere about the Romanian Blenheims being flown from Someseni airfield; could they be part of the same flotilla, as longer range recon planes?

[edited by the author]

This post has been edited by Agarici on May 03, 2013 09:30 pm

For the soviet units and ships, "Guard" was an award

Yes, my impression was that Guard Flotilla it means a type of unit, part of an aviation group, or something like this. Thanks for the details.
Alexandru

Or may have been in those years sometthing like "Aviasan"

Actually, as a form of military organization, the flotilla super-seeds the aviation group.

Actually, as a form of military organization, the flotilla super-seeds the aviation group.

That's correct, I edited my earlier post accordingly. But was that unit as big as a flotilla?

Some pics (new, I think) here
http://airportcluj.ro/despre-aeroport/82-ani

one of them with the Guard Flotilla.

I wasn't aware that Hungarian Bf 109Gs were stationed on Cluj airfield in 1942.

Gen. Dénes