Info on pilot Florea Virgil Chifulescu

Hi and a happy new year. I need your help, guys, as I'm starting up a research about a pilot from the '40's, related to me.

Please help me with information about romanian pilots resources.

Is there a list of pilot licences from those years somewhere at a Romanian institution?

Many thanks and hope to here from you soon.

Barbosu

If you want people to help you with your query, you should give the basic information, as the person's name, date and place of birth, rank and air foce unit he served in (if known), or at least which airplane types did he fly and approx. when.

Gen. Dénes
(another 'barbos')

Thanks, general. I asked for resources and I would look out myself for the pilot, but thanks again if you are so kind to help me more.

The pilot's name is CHIFULESCU, VIRGIL. According to a source I found, in 1947 he was arested by the new communist power and imprisoned politicaly for many years.
That information I've already had from the pilot's family.

Then, the source gets a little fuzzy. The name there is CHIFULESCU, STELIAN not VIRGIL, also they say he was the official pilot of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (I think that means the Prime minister cabinet, I am not sure yet) and that he was arrested because he did not dennounced some officials leaving Romania.
There are no other information about the rank and career of CHIFULESCU, VIRGIL. And the source knows only about a two year detention, but in fact he served till '60's (probably 1964).

I don't know if he was a combat pilot at anytime, but I know that he flew in Cekoslovakia at least to find his brother who was fighting in Tatra Mountains with the germans. BTW, "Barbosu" (Bearded) was the code name of this brother who led as a lieutnant a Romanian infantery formation in Tatra Mountains.

Thank you for your help and hope to hear from you soon.

Barbosu

Could the name be Chirulescu, instead of Chifulescu?

Hi Victor. No. CHIFULESCU VIRGIL is the name of the pilot. I am sure about that as my grandfather was his brother ("Barbosu", the brother I was telling you about in a previous message). Unfortunately there are no relatives to tell me the story of my uncle, the pilot and I want to find out everything on him.
Somehow I want to do this for my family but also for the history of that period, because it seems that he had relations with some great personalities of Romania before the communism.

The source I have about the pilot is a dictionary of political prisoners by Cicerone Ionitoiu.

Again, please indicate me some Romanian resources at Aeroclubul Roman or other institutions you know they have archives about the pilots.

Thanks,

Barbosu

In my ARR accidents database I found reference to the following airmen called Chifulescu:

plutonier av. Florin Chifulescu (1928-1932),
ofiter echipaj av. Florea Chifulescu (JRS-79B1 pilot, March 1943),
ofiter echipaj av. Ion Chifulescu (Ju 88 pilot, Jan. 1944).

Sorry, no Virgil Chifulescu (which doesn't mean he was not a pilot, though).

Gen. Dénes

I asked mr. Dan Antoniu to browse through the list of Romanian pilot's licenses he has and teh search only turned out one result: Florea Chifulescu.

C-2, if you read this, please phone cdor. av. Dragos Stinghe or cdor. av .Ion Morariu and ask them about Virgil Chifulescu. They would probably know something on the post-war civilian aviation.

Thank you all for help.

I found a new source stating that after the war, Chifulescu Virgil had to work as a pilot for the new pro-Moscow government, especially for one of the top officials, communist, Bodnaras, a Moscow man to Bucharest. Then, in 1947, he was contacted by Mr Iuliu Maniu to organise the escape for the liders of the PNT. Some security agent found out about this and Chifulescu got arrested.

It is an interesting and controversial story and as I remember from my family there were some books (military as I recall) printed before 1989 during the communist regime, naming our uncle a "traitor". Those books are lost but I will look for them at the public libraries.

I'll keep looking for the truth.

Barbosu

!!!!!!!!
I received good news. I finally spoked with one of my relatives after two years and I found out that the full name of my uncle was

CHIFULESCU FLOREA VIRGIL

Also it seems (but my aunt is old and I have to verify her stories) that he was also a war pilot in a bomb squad.

Therefore, please give me what you got on him, gen Denes and Victor.

Thanks,

Barbosu

According to mr. Dan Antoniu he received the pilot's license no. 423/1 August 1925.

Thank you Victor. I must say that Chifulescu is not very common name and it is almost certain that my uncle was the only Chifulescu in aviation of those times.

I hope that soon enough I will contact a cousin who apparently has a lot of documents of the pilot, like brevets and medals received from Romanian kings and some international awards or participation diplomas, I don't know for sure.

Mr. DENES, if you will have the time, please give me some information on Chifulescu. I repeat, I am sure that Florin, Florea and Virgil, even Ion Chifulescu are the same person. And Stelian as I found in the book of political prisoners.

VICTOR, can I rename the topic in order to include the pilot's name in it? Maybe somebody will see it and have some useful information.

Thank you all for support.

Barbosu

PS. Do you have a club or something were the members of your forum are actually meeting in person, in Bucharest? I hope I will get to know you and be a part of this club if it exists. Thanks.

Feel free to edit the title as you wish. It is your topic.

VICTOR, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE TOPIC!
Can you help me?


NEW DETAILS ON CHIFULESCU
I found new details about Chifulescu, this time in cmdor Sorin Tulea's book "Amintiri din razboaie neterminate" (Memories of unfinished wars), Editura Semne, 2003 as I red a fragment of his book in the magazine "Observatorul Militar" nr 26/2003.

In the 30's Chifulescu was an instructor at Mircea Cantacuzino school of flight and he was adjutant sef aviator (1936), second in rank after lt aviator Abeles, the chief instructor of the school. Sorin Tulea sais Chifulescu Virgil was his instructor. Also the women from White sq were there in that period (i.e. Mariana Dragescu in 1934 attended the school).

Then, Tulea meets again Chifulescu in 1940 in Escadrila 73, Flotila 1 Bombardament, (73'rd Squadron, First Bomber Group), located then near IAR Brasov.

I will find the book to read the rest of the story, becauze the fragment ends after Chifulescu took Tulea to fly a Focke Wulf 58 Weihe.

I believe Chifulescu was born in 1903, in Silistea Crucii, in Dolj county.

ARE THERE ANY RECORDS OF HIM AT 1'st Bomber Flotila?

MARIANA DRAGESCU IS STILL ALIVE? Maybe someone can help me to meet her if possible.

Hope to hear soon from you all.

Barbosu

This post has been edited by Barbosu on January 08, 2005 10:38 am

Simply edit the first message of the topic and change the topic title.

Maybee you should call Sorin Tulea and ask!