Mariana Aurelia Drăgescu

Aviator. She was born in Craiova, Romania in 1912. In 1935 she began flying a double control aircraft, earning her pilots license. She became one of the few women in the world to hold a pilot's license at the time. In 1937 she worked at the Royal Air Club. In 1938 she was invited to join the White Squadron (Escadrila Albă) an all-women unit of the Romanian Air Force. In 1940 she worked at the Ministry of Navel and Air Transport as a pilot. During WW2 she flew aircraft over hostile terrain, evacuating the wounded from the front lines. She passed away in Bucharest, Romania in 2013, she was the last surviving member of the White Squadron.