Possibly one of the most significant aircraft of the Second World War,
but it is virtually forgotten. The reason is that during the war it fought the
Russians (as well as the Americans and then later the Germans) – when the war
ended and Romania was under the Russian sphere of influence, the pilots,
engineers, mechanics that worked on this aircraft were hunted down and many of
them ended up in the Russian Gulags. As a result, Romanians were afraid to talk
about it. As Romania was stuck behind the Iron
Curtain, the western researchers had no access to info.
This combination of factors led to the aircraft nearly being forgotten.
Performance-wise, it was in the same class as a Bf109E or Hurricane, with enough
punch and oomph, and could face-off P-38s, even Mustangs, and was extremely
lethal against the B24 Liberators that came to Ploesti. It also scored plenty of kills against the
Russians. There is a long list of aces who gained this title while flying the
IAR.80.
Variants of IAR.80/81 * Structures and systems * Camouflage and Markings
* IAR.80/81 in Scale * Conclusion, Bibliography and Sources * Colours and
markings * Colour side elevations * Scale plans.
