Bomber Pilot

Born: 4 April 1913

Units:

• 22 July 1941 - 26 July 1944: 5th Bomber Group

Combat missions: 130

Victories: N/A

Decorations:

• Virtutea Aeronautica Order Knight class with one bar
• Eiserne Kreuz 1st class

War episode:

26 July 1944 was a fine sunny day. Cpt. av. Stoici, the commander of the 77th Squadron, and three other crewmembers took off in the Ju-88A4 no. 133, which had just returned from repairs and had to be tested. The machine-guns didn't have ammunition since this was only going to be a short flight close to the airfield. Cpt. av. Stroici's father came that day to see him, since the unit was rather close to his home. All was fine, until four P-38s appeared out of the sun. Within seconds all the crewmembers were dead and the plane crashed under the eyes of the horrified comrades and family on the airfield. Ironically, cpt. av. Stroici died during a test flight, after he had survived through 130 bombing missions. That day Maj. Warner Gardner from the 95th Fighter Squadron claimed a He-111 shot down near Manesti, probably a misidentification of the Ju-88.

Died: 26 July 1944, Umbraresti (KIA)