This is a repaint for the excellent FlyingIron Simulations Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6. The repaint depicts Bf 109G-6 'White 13' of the Romanian Royal Air Force (Forțele Aeriene Regale Române—FARR) as flown by Lt. Av. Tudor ‘Dido’ Greceanu of the 7th Fighter Group (Grupul 7 Vânătoare) during the summer of 1944. The Bf 109G-6 'White 13’ appears in the flight logbook of Lt. Av. Greceanu for the months of May and June 1944 (maybe he flew with it more than that but I was not able to find log entries for earlier months). On June 22nd, 1944, Lt. Av. Greceanu was flying an air defense patrol against US bombers (likely over the Ploiești oilfields) when he was attacked from above by P-51 Mustangs. His Bf 109G was hit in the oxygen tanks which blew up thus losing the oxygen supply at more than 5000 m and through a miracle he somehow belly landed the ‘White 13’ near Găești where he was found unconscious in the seat with the oxygen mask still on. His lungs were damaged and needed several months of recovery but after about a month was back in action. I couldn’t find any records about the fate of the crashed airplane and it most likely was signed-off.
Regarding Lt. Av. Tudor ‘Dido’ Greceanu (born May 13, 1917), he was one of the top five Romanian aces of WW2 who received the highest military & aviation medals, had over 6000 flight hours during the war, completed about 960 combat sorties, and is credited with either 18, 20, or 24 aerial victories (couldn’t find a reliable source for the final number or victories). He participated in the liberation campaign for Bessarabia in the summer of 1941 (flying Bf 109Es), escaped from the Russian encirclement of the Karpovka airfield near Stalingrad (November 1942), was assigned (along with 25 other elite fighter pilots) to III./JG3 ‘Udet’ in the spring/summer of 1943 ( airfield) to make the transition to the Bf 109G, took part in the defense campaign against allied bombing raids in the spring and summer of 1944, and also took part in the campaign against Germany following the armistice of 23rd August 1944, flying combat sorties until the end of the war in 1945. As a ‘reward’ for his military service, he is arrested in 1949 and sentenced to 10 years in prison under made-up accusations by the newly installed communist regime. He attempts to escape from the Aiud prison (December 1952) but injures his legs during the escape and he is twice sentenced to death but somehow he is pardoned at the last minute. He is released from prison along with all the other political prisoners following an amnesty decree in 1964 and survives to see the fall of communism in Romania in 1989. He passed away in December 1994 at the age of 77. Today, the flying school at Tuzla, Romania, bears his name as well as a small park alley in Bucharest, his hometown.
Details of Repaint:
- Colors matching to the original wartime Romanian colors (based on Luftwaffe colors): RLM 04 (St. Michael cross and markings), RLM 21 (numbering), RLM 70 (propeller), RLM 74 (camouflage), RLM 75 (camouflage), RLM 76 (over all base color and underbelly).
- Based on the excellent paint kit kindly provided by FlyingIron Simulations.
References:
- Tudor Greceanu “Drumul celor puțini” Ed. Vremea, 2016.
- Teodor Liviu Moroșanu, Dan Alexandru Melinte “Romanian Fighter Colours 1941 – 1945”, MMP Books, 2010.
- Orizont Aviatic, Nr. 34, 2005.
10 months ago
zaelu