Contacting Luftwaffe pilots who flew in Romania.

[vlupiano]

For a book project I am working on, I would like to contact former Luftwaffe pilots who served in Romania during the last six months of 1943. Can anyone tell me how I might do this? Thank you.

[Dénes Bernád]

Not much has happened Luftwaffe-wise in Rumania in the second half of 1943; therefore, the only active German pilots located there were a few flying instructors.

The main German-Rumanian fighter aviation school was at Galati (Galatz), close to the borders of the Black Sea. Other aviation centres where Luftwaffe pilots were posted were at Popesti-Leordeni, close to Bucharest, Craiova and Ghimbav (Weidenbach in German), close to Brasov (Kronstadt in German).

I'd also be interested to learn of any former German airman, who was posted to Rumania at any date.

[vlupiano]

According to Robin Neillands book, The Bomber War: the Allied Air Offensive Against Nazi Germany, by mid-1943 there were four Gruppen of ME109s totalling about 120 A/C in Romania, specifically to defend Ploesti. One of those pilots Hauptmann Wilhelm Steinmann, Knights Cross winner of 1./JGf, claimed 2 B-24s at 1430 hours and 1440 hours on 1 Aug. '43, the date of the raid on Ploeisti's oil refineries. While shooting down his second B-24 that day, Steinmann himself was shot down by the same plane, then crashed landed near the wreckage of the B-24 he just shot down, but escaped injury. A photograph shoes Steinman talking to a flak crew. In the distance, about half a mile away, are two columns of smoke: the larger one is the burning B-24 he shoot down, and the second is hi fighter. So, there was a Luftwaffe figher presence in Romania and it seems to have gone beyond just trainers.

[FalkeEins]

..I don't think it was quite as many as four Gruppen..aside from I./JG4 who left Rumania in December 1943, I./JG 5 and 10./JG 301 were assigned to defend the petroleum fields, being based at fields around Ploesti....'Tidal Wave' was the only combat action during the latter half of 43..I./JG 5 were only there for two months..
There are some good personal accounts in volume 1 of Eric Mombeek's JG 4 history..

[Dénes Bernád]

I totally forgot about the Aug. 1, 1943 episode .
Indeed, at that time there were a couple of Luftwaffe Jagdstaffeln stationed in Rumania, for oilfield defense and training purpose, including 'Onkel Willi's' I./JG4 active in fighting 'Tidal Wave' bombers.