on, she becomes a heroine, being escorted by 30 other planes to an air show in Canada, where she is invited. Later that year, Brăescu obtained her private pilot's license in the United States, becoming the first European woman to receive an American pilot's license. She was in the White Squadron medical wing during battles on the Eastern Front in World War II, remaining active until 12 May 1945. She owned two biplanes. Later life After World War II, she signed a document condemning the November 1946 election, and was sent to prison for two years. It is believed she died on 2 February 1948, and is possibly buried in the Central Cemetery in Cluj, under the name of Maria Popescu. Legacy A street in Bucharest and the 53rd Commando Battalion of the 6th Special Operations Brigade are named after her. (Substantial parts of this article were taken from selected sentences from automatic translations from the Romanian Wiki, and from the Avram reference.) References External links Dr. Valeriu Avram, Smaranda Brăescu,o pasăre în văzduh (Smaranda Brăescu, A Bird in the Sky), in Magazin istoric, January 2001 Costin Anghel, Smaranda Brăescu, eroina (Smaranda Brăescu, the Heroine) , in Jurnalul Național, 10 April 2005 1897 births 1948 deaths People from Galați County Romanian aviators Romanian schoolteachers Romanian skydivers Romanian women aviators Women aviation record holders Romanian military personnel of World War II Romanian dissidents Romanian people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Romanian detention