Did you know that the third female parachutist in Europe and the first in Romania was Smaranda Brăescu?
The hostility of the society did not prevent the young Smaranda Brăescu from following her dream. The ambitious daughter of Hănțești village, Tecuci, the ambitious Smaranda, managed without any support to lay the foundations of Romanian parachuting and to record numerous records. She was the first female pilot in Romania, the first female parachutist with a patent in Romania, European parachuting champion (1931) and world champion (in 1932, with a record of 7,233 m in Sacramento, USA).
Her photo of a Romanian woman on board the plane went around the world, talking about the courage of the Romanian woman who defied all the canons of a society that hardly left room for women in positions reserved for men.
125 years after the birth of Smaranda Brăescu and the 90th anniversary of the absolute record for skydiving, on May 19, 1932, the Romanian Government established the year 2022 as the Year of Smaranda Brăescu.
The first woman in Europe with a pilot’s license
The interwar period was a good time for women to assert themselves in aviation. Even if this involved efforts, especially financial ones, and all kinds of giving up, there were some daring women who overcame their status as submissive women, who did not go beyond the traditional canons imposed by the conservative society.
The example of a few people also helped them – Elena Caragiani Stoienescu, who obtained her pilot’s license in 1914, in Paris. 4. In turn, she is encouraged by the performance of the first female pilot – Baroness Raymonde de la Roche (France), who obtained her patent in 1910, and Harriet Quimby, who became a pilot in 1911, in America.
In Romania, Smaranda Brăescu, nicknamed the “Queen of Heights”, stands out with a unique aeronautical record: the first European to hold a pilot’s license, the absolute world record for altitude, parachute jump, made in 1932 in America, following a jump made with a parachute of Romanian construction, from a height of 7400 m, with a duration of 25 minutes. At the same time, the Romanian participates in numerous domestic and international aeronautical rallies, a series of European air raids, and last but not least, she voluntarily enlisted in the White Squadron, destined to transport the wounded, medicines and medical personnel in the Second World War.
Although she went through two accidents, one by plane in 1929 and the second by parachute, in 1930, which required months of hospitalization and recovery, Smaranda did not give up.
Her achievements were rewarded by King Charles II with the Golden Cross of Aeronautical Virtue, the most coveted military aviation decoration. The American record was approved by the International Aviation Federation, and the news spread around the world, inscribing its name forever in the Golden Book of World Aviation.