5th Aviation Group in 1919 The 2nd Aviation Flotilla has its origins with the 5th Aviation Group (). On 10 December 1918, the command of the
Romanian army in
Transylvania was established in
Sibiu. This Army Command was assigned a
reconnaissance squadron and a maintenance unit under the command of Major Athanase Enescu, forming . On 1 February 1919, the Group received a
Nieuport Squadron which was stationed in
Someșeni, and on 15 February a
Sopwith Squadron which was based in
Gherla. In March 1919, , nicknamed , consisted of three squadrons: , which eventually became after receiving
Bréguet 14 aircraft, , and .
Transylvanian Saxon airmen who enrolled in the
Romanian Air Corps were also assigned to the 5th Aviation Group. The Group participated in the
Hungarian-Romanian War. After the capture of
Budapest on 4 August 1919, the Group was transferred to a base in the city, where it remained until September. The squadrons were then moved to
Kecskemét,
Lugoj, and
Arad to monitor the
Serbian Army activity on the Romanian border until 20 August 1920. In October of the same year, the Group was assigned a
Brandenburg Squadron while was transferred to its original group,
Grupul 1 Aeronautic. After the disbanding of the (M.C.G.), the Aviation was subordinated to the
Ministry of War, and the Aviation Groups were subordinated to the new Higher Directorate of Aeronautics. The name of the 5th Group was kept until 1923 when it was changed to the 2nd Reconnaissance Group. In 1928, the reconnaissance groups were renamed to aviation groups, with the 2nd Reconnaissance Group becoming the 2nd Aeronautical Group.
2nd Aviation Flotilla Chief of Staff to the 2nd Guard Aviation Flotilla in 1934 The 2nd Aeronautical Group with its base at
Someșeni-
Cluj kept its organization until 1929, when the
groups were converted to
flotillas with the increase in
aircraft and personnel. In June 1930, Prince
Carol II rented an airplane from
München in order to return to Romania. On the way, the aircraft ran out of fuel and had to perform an
emergency landing at
Izvoru Crișului near Cluj. The aircraft was recovered by a military patrol from the 2nd Flotilla and Carol was flown with a military airplane by airmen from the Flotilla to
Bucharest on 6 June. As a sign of gratitude to the aviators, Carol became the patron of the 2nd Flotilla after he gained the throne. He also founded the
Order of Aeronautical Virtue for the same reason. With Carol's
patronage, the Flotilla changed its name to the 2nd Aviation Flotilla "King Carol II", and it received distinctive
insignia for the
uniforms. In 1931, it received the status of a guard unit and was renamed to the 2nd Guard Aviation Flotilla "King Carol II" (). As a
Guard unit, the Flotilla received the following tasks: during peacetime, apart from the training of specialized personnel and
aircrews, the Flotilla was to ensure the reception of
the King on arrival in the
garrison, escorting him to all parades and solemnities, and send some officers to certain ceremonies; during wartime, the Flotilla was to be used on the front according to the M.C.G. requirements. Also in 1931, the official anniversary of the Flotilla was set to 6 June. The organization of the 2nd Guard Aviation Flotilla in 1932 was as follows: • Reconnaissance Group (), with three reconnaissance squadrons () • Fighter Group (), with two fighter squadrons (), a specialist squadron, a maintenance squadron, and a deposit squadron. In 1932, the
battle flag of the unit was decorated with the Golden Cross rank of the Order of Aeronautical Virtue. In November 1936, the aviators of the 2nd Reconnaissance Squadron executed a "raid" to
Poland on the Cluj-
Lwów-
Demblin-
Warsaw-
Radom-
Jarosław-Cluj route with an
IAR-built
Potez 25. On the mobilization order in September 1939, the Flotilla consisted of four Air Corps Commands () with the 1st Long Range Reconnaissance Squadron equipped with the
Bristol Blenheim; the 11th, 12th and 13th Observation Squadrons; and the 111th and 112th
Liaison Squadrons. ==After the Second Vienna Award==