am supporting an attack by Potez 63s of Grupul 2 bombardment on the Soviet airfields at Bolgrad and Bulgãrica. Although some flak was encountered on the way to and over Bolgrad, the attack was successful and a number of Soviet planes were bombed on the ground. By the time they reached Bulgãrica fighters were in the air waiting for them, and as a result the twelve 112s were met by about thirty I-16s. The results of this combat were mixed; Sublocotenent Teodor Moscu shot down one of a pair of I-16s still taking off. When he was pulling out he hit another in a head-on pass and it crashed into the Danube. He was set upon by several I-16s and received several hits, his fuel tanks were punctured but did not seal. Losing fuel rapidly, he formed up with his wingman and managed to put down at the Romanian airfield at Bâlad. His plane was later repaired and returned to duty. Of the bombers, three of the thirteen dispatched were shot down. Over the next few days the 112s would be used primarily as ground attack aircraft, where their heavy armament was considered to be more important than their ability to fight air-to-air. Typical missions would start before dawn and would have the Heinkels strafe Soviet airbases. Later in the day they would be sent on search and destroy missions, looking primarily for artillery and trains. Losses were heavy, most not due to combat, but simply because the planes were flying an average of three missions a day and were not receiving the maintenance they needed. This problem effected all of the FARR, who did not have the field maintenance logistics worked out at the time. On 29 July a report on the readiness of the air forces listed only fourteen 112s in flyable condition, and another eight repairable. As a result, the planes of the 52nd were folded into the 51st to form a single full strength squadron on 13 August. The men of the 52nd were merged with the 42nd who flew IAR.80s, and were soon sent home to receive IAR.80s of their own. A report from August on the 112 rated it very poorly, once again noting its lack of power and poor speed. For a time the 51st continued in a front line role, although they saw little combat. When Odessa fell on 16 October the