The Romanian Air Corps or Aviation Corps (RAC) () was the air arm of the Romanian army until the formation of the Romanian Air Force. It was established on 1 April 1913 as the Military Aeronautics Service () and subordinated to the Engineer Inspectorate, being organized in two branches – the aviation and the balloon branch. On 23 August 1915, the RAC was formed as an independent military arm and operated until 1 January 1924 when it became an equal to the Army and Navy, being redesignated as the Royal Romanian Air Force (Aeronautica Regală Română).
In 1913, the newly established Military Aeronautics Service participated in the Second Balkan War. Being organized in two sections, the Aeronautics Service carried out reconnaissance, liaison and leaflet dropping missions over Bulgaria.
In 1915, the Air Corps gained independence from the Engineer Inspectorate. When Romania entered the First World War on the Allied side in 1916, the RAC was organized into 4 squadron groups, each assigned to an army, and 4 balloon sections. Limited by the few aircraft the Corps had available, the Romanian airmen carried out mainly aerial reconnaissance and photography missions, though bombing missions with Romanian-made bombs were also executed. At the end of 1916, the RAC was reorganized with the help of the French Military Mission. After the reorganization, it had 3 Aeronautical Groups, each assigned to a Romanian or Russian army, and 5 balloon companies.
Beginnings
The first flight of Romanian military personnel happened on , when Marius Willemot, a French engineer from Bucharest, took Majors (Maj.) Iacob Lahovary, Constantin Poenaru and Dumitrescu in flight over the city with his hydrogen balloon named (Michel-le-Brave). The last flight of this balloon took place on , Willemot flying together with Colonel (Col.) Nicolae Haralambie, Ion Ghica and a third person.
Following the use of a balloon in the military exercises of 1891 and 1892, the first balloon unit of the Romanian Army was established in 1893 as part of the 1st Telegraph Company in the 1st Engineer Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant (Lt.) Eugeniu Asachi. The balloon unit, called the Aerostation Section, was equipped with a French spherical captive balloon, which was replaced with a German kite balloon in 1903. The necessary hydrogen was purchased from Austria-Hungary until 1905 when the equipment needed for its the production and storage was purchased. In the beginning, the captive balloon was used for aerial surveillance in support of the artillery that defended the fortifications of Bucharest. Then, the balloon was used in the field training exercises from 1907-1911. The positive results encouraged the officials to acquire 3 more kite balloons and the necessary mobile devices to produce and store hydrogen, which was used to inflate the balloons, and to transport the equipment into operational theaters.
On 20 November 1909, Cerchez & Co., the first aircraft company, the first aerodrome and the first flight school of Romania was founded at Chitila. The school, conducted by French flight instructors, had five hangars, bleachers for spectators and workshops where Farman airplanes were built under license.
Also in November 1909, the Romanian Minister of War commissioned Aurel Vlaicu to build the A Vlaicu I airplane at the Bucharest Army Arsenal. The aircraft first flew on 17 June 1910. In September, during the fall military exercise, Vlaicu flew his airplane from Slatina to Piatra Olt carrying a message, Romania thus becoming one of the first countries to use airplanes for military purposes. The English historian, Michael J.H. Taylor noting: "In 1910 the Romanian military aviation was established, being one of the nations that adopted aviation for military purposes. The Romanian aviation participated, with great success, in the campaigns of the First World War."
In April 1911, the Ministry of War ordered 4 Farmans, this was followed by an order for 2 more Farmans. These licensed-built airplanes started to be delivered from 30 August. In the same year, the first officers began training at the flight school, Sublocotenent (Second Lieutenant - Slt.) Ștefan Protopopescu receiving the first pilot license in Romania and becoming the first pilot of the Romanian Army. On 1 April 1912, the first military flight training school was established in Cotroceni. Prince George Valentin Bibescu took the initiative to establish the National Air League (), on 5 May 1912, which was located in Băneasa. The League was formed with the aim of supporting the national aviation with money and aircraft. This way, the civil society could participate directly in the pilot training and aircraft purchases through public donations. A contract was also signed between the Air League and the Ministry of War, which allowed the training of military pilots at the flight school of Băneasa. The instructors of the flight school were all military pilots.
As a result of the rapid development of aviation, it was necessary to regulate its status within the military. A law on the organization of military aeronautics was issued on 1 April 1913 which organized the military aeronautics in two branches – the aviation and the balloon branch. The Military Aeronautics Service was put under the commanded of the General Inspectorate of Engineering and Aeronautics, led by General (Gen.) Mihail Boteanu. The law also established the Corps of Permanent Airmen (), consisting of pilots, air observers and mechanics. It laid down the conditions for admission to flight schools, the system of pilot licensing, the establishment of flight salary premiums, the continuous training of aircrew and the introduction of the higher pilot's license for aviators. This higher pilot's license was given to experienced aviators who performed missions in difficult conditions and its holders were permanently assigned to the Corps of Permanent Airmen. Pilots were required to fly at least 120 hours per year, otherwise, they were excluded from military aviation.
Second Balkan War (1913) On , Romania mobilized its army against Bulgaria. The Military Aeronautics Service was also mobilized and participated in the campaign which started on 10 July. The Military School and the Aviation Park mobilized 5 "Farmans", which constituted the Section I of Aviation (), commanded by Lt. Ștefan Paraschivescu. Aurel Vlaicu was also assigned to this section with his A Vlaicu II airplane. was transformed into the Section II of Aviation, contributing with 13 aircraft: 8 twin-seat Blériot monoplanes with 80 hp engines, 2 single-seat Blériots with 50 hp engines, 2 Farman MF.7 and 1 Blériot XXI with a 70 hp engine.
On 24 July, Captain (Cpt.) Constantin Fotescu and Cpt. observer Ioan H. Arion, executed the first combat mission, with a reconnaissance flight following the Vidin - Ferdinandovo road. The Blériot then turned north-west flying over the village of Rabisha where Bulgarian troops were stationed. Two cannon shots were fired on the airplane without effect. On 30 July, two Blériots from No. 1 Squadron, Section II took off. The aircraft were flown by: Lt. Nicolae Capșa with Cpt. observer Ioan H. Arion and Private (Pvt.) Poly Vacas with Cpt. observer Ioan Viieșeanu. The airmen carried out a reconnaissance mission in northern Bulgaria, then landed at Segarcea.
The intensification of reconnaissance missions carried out by Section II prompted the section's commander, Cpt. George Valentin Bibescu, to reorganize its activity. To this end, four Blériots with the 80 hp engines and two Blériots with the 50 hp engines formed the No. 2 and No. 3 Reserve Squadrons.
Cpt. Nicolae Capșa and Ioan H. Arion took off on 8 August 1913, at 6.05 a.m., with orders to drop leaflets over Sofia. The pilot noting:
The Romanian airmen continued to fly reconnaissance missions during the war. On 14 August, the Aviation was recalled to Bucharest. From the first experience of war, the ground commanders began to see the advantages of aviation, resulting in the fact that aircraft could be used very effectively in long-distance missions of over over the enemy lines, and in liaison missions with infantry and cavalry. Some shortcomings have also been noted. For example, only one of the five Section I Farmans flew, piloted by Slt. , as the others were missing spare parts.
The year 1913 marked an important point for the Romanian aviation, with new aircraft purchases from France, Great Britain and Germany. At the end of the year the aviation had 20 licensed pilots and was equipped with 34 aircraft, as follows: Military aircraft: 3 Bristol-Coanda Monoplanes with 50 hp engines; 7 Bristol T.B.8 with 80 hp engines; 4 Farman HF.20; 1 Rumpler Taube with a 100 hp Mercedes engine; 1 twin-seat "Nieuport" with an 80 hp engine; 1 Albatros B.I with a 100 hp engine; 8 twin-seat Blériot XI with 80 hp engines owned by , which could be mobilized during war. School and training aircraft: 2 Bristol-Coandă "coté a coté" with 50 hp engines; 2 Bristol-Coandă without an engine; 1 Bristol B.R.7 with a 70 hp engine; 1 Farman model 1912; 2 Blériot XI with Anzani 25 hp engines (owned by ); 1 Nieuport IV with a 50 hp engine, flown by .
World War I Neutrality years (1914–1916)
In 1914, 18 students enrolled for pilot training (eight officer cadets and eight non-commissioned officers). The Băneasa Flight School had another 10 students (five officers and five junior officers). With the international situation becoming more and more tense, through Order no. 421/1914, the Ministry of War tasked the command of the Aviation with survey missions in the country, especially around Craiova, Turnu Măgurele, Mărășești, Pașcani and Medgidia with the goal of setting up fuel depots in case of mobilization, as well as for the identification of fields where reserve aerodromes could be set up. Through continued propaganda in the support of equipping the aviation with flying machines, the residents of Turnu Severin gathered funds and bought a Bristol T.B.8, the same was done by the residents of Silistra and Iași.
Visiting Romania in the summer, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia enjoyed a special welcome. While the Imperial ship was from the Romanian coast, two flights, one of Bristol-Coandă airplanes and another of Blériots, flew out to the Black Sea over the Imperial ship. The Romanian pilots simulated an aerial battle at an altitude of , executing dives and loops and impressing the Tsar.
After the outbreak of the war, the Crown Council invoked by Carol I chose neutrality for Romania. Soon after this decision, King Carol I died and was succeeded by Ferdinand I to the throne. During the neutrality period, Romania invested in reorganizing, equipping and training its armed forces, allocating 17-22% of the country’s budget for defense. However, the money spent for defense was insufficient to acquire all the necessary equipment to modernize the entire military. Although Romania had the facilities to manufacture Farman and Bristol-Coandă airplanes under French and British license, the Ministry of War preferred to import airplanes.
Military pilots continued their training for participation in an eventual military campaign. The Romanian airmen believed that politicians did not understand the role of military aviation in setting policies. Therefore, between 1914 and 1916, some enthusiastic pilots along with some experts from the Army Arsenal decided to experiment with dropping Romanian-designed bombs and practiced attacking ground targets from the air. On 12 January 1915 the first launching of a Romanian-made bomb from a height of took place. Two kinds of bombs were tested: one of and the other of , with the latter being rated as the best one to be launched by hand. At the end of July 1915, the Aviation had 34 aircraft.