| Romanian Air Corps | |
|---|---|
| Corpul de Aviație | |
  | |
| Active | 1 April 1913 – 23 August 1915 as Serviciul de Aeronautică Militară 23 August 1915 – 1 January 1924 |
| Country |  Kingdom of Romania |
| Branch | Romanian Army |
| Type | Air corps |
| Role | Aerial warfare |
| Engagements | Second Balkan War First World War Hungarian–Romanian War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Constantin Găvănescu[a] – first commander (1915–1916); see also Air commanders of World War I § Romania |
| Aircraft flown | |
| List of aircraft of the Romanian Air Force § Beginnings & World War I | |
The Romanian Air Corps or Aviation Corps (RAC) (Romanian: Corpul de Aviație) 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 (Serviciul de Aeronautică Militară)[2] 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).[3][4]
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.
- ^ "Galeria comandantilor". RoAF (in Romanian).
- ^ "Începuturi". RoAF (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 5 June 2009.
- ^ Mihail Orzeață; Valeriu Avram (2018). "Romanian Aviation in the First World War" (PDF). Romanian Military Thinking (3/2018): 206–231. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2023.
- ^ "Istoric". RoAF (in Romanian).
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