- During WW2 Romania was an important target for the Allies. British and American planes bombed Romanian military targets and the oil targets from Ploesti [“Ploiesti” - in Romanian language].
Many of the Allied planes were lost over the Romanian soil because of the FLAK or the German and Romanian planes. Many allied pilots and crew members became POWs in Romania.
From my father I know this: If the Allied pilots [or crew members] were captured first by the Romanians, they remained in Romania as POWs but if the Germans captured them first, they were sent in POW camps in Germany which was a real trouble. Most of the Allied POWs were kept in a camp located north of the town of Predeal. Other Allied POWs were in Slobozia or Bucharest [capital of Romania]. After August 23rd 1944 there was no reason for the Allied POWs to remain in Romania because Romania joined the Allies in their fight against Germany. Nobody wanted those former American POWs from Romania to get captured by the advancing Red Army. All the Allied former POWs were taken away from Romania and sent to Italy. It was a common effort between the Romanians and some Americans and this was the “Operation Gunn”.
You can read all about this fascinating true story here at http://www.afa.org/magazine/valor/0195valor.asp
A great help in this daring operation came from the Romanian ace pilot Bazu Cantacuzino [1905-1958] who after WW2 had to leave Romania for good in order to avoid persecution from the bloody communist regime. He later died in Spain. Orita 12/15/05
Edited by Dani. Orita, te rog sa faci paragrafe. Altfel, este foarte greu de urmarit postul tau. Totodata te rog sa folosesti tag-urile ({url] spre exemplu). Multumesc!