Gheorghe Bănciulescu

Gheorghe Bănciulescu (born 28 December 1898, Iaşi, Romania – 12 April 1935, Egypt), was an early aviator in Romania. He is believed to be the first pilot in the world to fly with his feet amputated.

He was the son of an infantry officer, he attended military High School in Iași , then the Infantry School at Botoșani. During World War I, at 19, being a second lieutenant, he fought at Jiu, Namoloasa, Corbu and Mărăşeşti, Mărăşeşti having only 6 soldier survivors. The aerial battles he saw during the wars led him to discover his passion for flight. His father tried not to make him a pilot, to protect him from the enrollment in aviation. Nicolae Tanase's determination, an experienced war pilot was the one that helped Banciulescu to become a pilot. "I do not know what will come out of you, but the first condition is to love flying! I'm taking you under my responsibility. You are a pilot!" he said.

In 1919, Lieutenant Bănciulescu stood first to fly a Nieuport and on 12 September 1926 with the rank of captain, together with mechanic Ion Stoica aboard a Potez 25, provided by the Franco-Romanian Air Navigation Company, the two took off from Le Bourget airport towards Bucharest to achieve a speed record. Stoica, born in 1897, by 1916 was a student at the School of Arts and Crafts in Galați, as a flight engineer, afterwards he graduated from the Flying School. He then enrolled as a volunteer in the Romanian Army during World War I, being sent afterwards to France, where he worked in the Lorraine-Dietrich factories.

After completing a distance of 1000 km in a time which, obviously, is setting a new record above the city of Linz, the sky was shrouded by fog and all efforts to climb to a higher altitude, the plane crashed a ridge of the mountain and crashed. The engine was crushed and Ion Stoica died on the way to the hospital, Bănciulescu had his both legs amputated, due to bleeding which may be fatal to them. After agonizing days and nights spent in hospitals in Czechoslovakia , Romania and Germany, After great effort to get used to wearing leg prosthesis, helped by the commander George Negrescu, and his friend Michael Pantazi, his desire to fly again was accomplished.

For the first time in world practice, Gheorghe Bănciulescu flies a plane with his legs amputated. This happened in July 1927, and in October the same year, Louis Barthou, the French president, has given him the "Order of the Legion of Honor with the rank of Knight". In the spring of 1928, held the first meeting on air at Baneasa airfield, where thousands of people, including his wife, his aerial acrobatics followed. On that occasion her wife found out that her husband flies again, though, despite the fact that he promised not to fly again.

He started long-term air raids in 1933, six years after the tragic accident in Czechoslovakia. First, a raid of 8000 km through Europe, every day going through over 1,000 km. (The seventh day flew the route Paris - Strasbourg - Nuremberg - Prague - Vienna - Belgrade with a Romanian aircraft type SET-41). Last raid "to stick Commander" was part of the French civil aviation missions to identify and set air routes over the African continent. To carry out these missions, George Valentin Bibescu proposed Bănciulescu together with an experienced team, a telegraphist and the driver, which received the French modern aircraft, a Potez 9 AB with two engines. On 13 March 1935 took off along and audacious raid on the route Paris - Marseille - Naples - Tunis - Tripoli - Benghazi - Cairo - Wadi Halfa - Khartoum - Al-Fashir - Abéché - Fort-Lamy - Fort-Archambault - Bangui - Bangassou - Juba - Atbara - Cairo. They faced a suffocating heat as on so exhausting, and sand that high spout to great heights, could destroy their engines. Although they passed their traps Africa and landed in Cairo, Bănciulescu exhausted from a tropical flu with fever and delirium, he managed to beat the disease and, tormented and exhausted, he died on 12 April 1935, at the age of only 37 years.

His body was brought home and buried at Bellu Cemetery. It was swift passing away of his Gheorghe Bănciulescu, the world's first pilot who flew with prosthetic legs instead. The second pilot was Douglas Bader, the RAF wing commander in the Second World War, followed by the Russian Alexey Maresyev.