Romanian Naval Forces
Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox military unit
The Romanian Naval Forces (Template:Langx) is the principal naval branch of the Romanian Armed Forces and operates in the Black Sea and on the Danube. It traces its history back to 1860.
HistoryEdit
The Romanian Navy was founded in 1860 as a river flotilla on the Danube. After the unification of Wallachia and Moldavia, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the ruling Domnitor of the Romanian Principalities, decided on 22 October 1860 by order no. 173 to unify the navies into a single flotilla, the Danube Flotilla Corps.<ref name="NavyRo"/> The navy was French-trained and organized.<ref name="Axworthy327">Axworthy, p. 327</ref> Officers were initially sent to Brest Naval Training Centre in France, as the Military School in Bucharest did not have a naval section.<ref name="NavyRo" /> The first Commander-in-chief of the navy was Colonel Nicolae Steriade. The base was first established in 1861 at Izmail, but it was later relocated in 1864 to Brăila and in 1867 to Galați. The equipment was modest at best, with 3 ships from Wallachia and 3 from Moldavia, manned by 275 sailors.<ref name="NavyRo" /> The main goal of the navy was to organize, train and expand this small force.
The first seamen's training school was established in 1872 at Galați for officers, petty officers and sailors. The first acquisition of the Romanian Navy was the paddle steamboat "Prințul Nicolae Conache Vogoride". The ship was purchased in 1861 and was later transformed into a warship at Meyer naval shipyard in Linz, being christened "Template:Ill" when it was launched at Galați harbor.<ref name="NavyRo" /> In 1867, the royal yacht "Ștefan cel Mare" (Stephen the Great) entered service. In October 1873, the Fulgerul gunboat, ordered by the Romanian state as the first purpose-built warship in the history of the Romanian Navy, was finished at the Toulon shipyard in France. However, the ship was unarmed, so she would be allowed passage through the Turkish straits. After arriving in Romania in April 1874, she was fitted with a Krupp cannon in a mild steel turret at the Galați shipyard.<ref>Locot.-Comandor C. Ciuchi – "Istoria Marinei Române în curs de 18 secole" (Tipografia "Ovidiu" H. Vurlis, Constanța, 1906), pag. 160–162</ref> The next ship to enter service with the Romanian Navy was the spar torpedo boat Template:NMS in 1875. These ships represented the Romanian Flotilla during the War of Independence.
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During the War of Independence, the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish war, the Romanian Navy sailed under the Russian flag.<ref name="Axworthy327" /> The main task of the Romanian Flotilla Corps was to transport Russian troops, equipment and supplies across the Danube and to protect the bridges across the river by using mine barrages in key points. The main success of the war was the sinking of the Turkish river monitor "Seyfî" near Măcin by a group of spar torpedo boats including "Rândunica" and the Russian Carevitch and Ksenya crafts.<ref name="NavyRo" /> Another notable success was the sinking of the Turkish river monitor "Podgoriçe" (Podgorica) by the Romanian coastal artillery on 7 November 1877.<ref name="NavyRo" />
After the war, the navy transported the Romanian troops back across the Danube. The small but successful navy had demonstrated the need for a strong Danube flotilla in order to secure the southern border of Romania. Three rearmament plans were implemented: during 1883–1885, 1886–1888 and 1906–1908.<ref name="NavyRo" /> These plans mainly concentrated on the Danube flotilla. In 1896, the "Flotilla Corps", as it was known until then, was organized in two sections: the Danube Division and the Sea Division.<ref name="Gardiner84421">Gardiner (1984), p. 421</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The riverine base was at Galați, while the maritime base was at Constanța, which was by then part of Romania.
Creation of the Romanian Black Sea FleetEdit
The Romanian Black Sea Fleet was founded in the summer of 1890, 10 years after Romania acquired its first sea-going warship: the gunboat Template:NMS. The newly created division consisted of the small protected cruiser Template:NMS, the training ship Template:NMS, the three Smeul-class torpedo boats, and the forementioned Grivița.<ref>Warship International, Volume 21, International Naval Research Organization, 1984, p. 160</ref>
Involvement in the Potemkin mutinyEdit
On 2 July 1905, during the mutiny of the Template:Ship, the Romanian protected cruiser Template:NMS engaged the Template:Ship as the latter was trying to sneak into the Romanian port of Constanța. Elisabeta fired two warning shots, first a blank charge then an explosive charge, forcing the torpedo boat to retreat. Later that day, Potemkin and Ismail left Romanian waters.<ref name="Neal Bascomb p. 252">Neal Bascomb, Red Mutiny: Eleven Fateful Days on the Battleship Potemkin, p. 252</ref> During the night of 7 July, however, Potemkin returned to the Romanian port, this time agreeing to surrender to the Romanian authorities in exchange for the latter giving asylum to the crew. On the noon of 8 July, Captain Negru, the commander of the port, came aboard the Potemkin and hoisted the Romanian flag before allowing the warship to enter the inner harbor.<ref>Neal Bascomb, Red Mutiny: Eleven Fateful Days on the Battleship Potemkin, pp. 286–99</ref> On 10 July, after negotiations with the Romanian Government, Potemkin was handed over to Imperial Russian authorities and taken to Sevastopol.<ref name="Neal Bascomb p. 252"/><ref>Antony Preston, Warship 2001–2002, p. 121</ref>
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After the War of Independence, two naval rearmament programs were proposed for the Black Sea flotilla. The 1899 program called for six coastal battleships, four destroyers and twelve torpedo boats.<ref name="Gardiner84421" /> None of these ships were ever built,<ref name="Halpern276">Halpern, p. 276</ref> while the battleship Potemkin was returned 1 day after being acquired. The 1912 naval program envisioned six 3,500-ton light cruisers, twelve 1,500-ton destroyers and a submarine.<ref name="Gardiner84421" /><ref name="Halpern276" /> Four destroyers (and allegedly a submarine<ref name="Axworthy327" /><ref name="Gardiner84421" />) were actually ordered from Italy but were not delivered, as the Italian Navy requisitioned them in 1914.<ref name="Axworthy327" /><ref name="Gardiner84421" /><ref name="Halpern276" /> Three 340-ton coastal submarines were ordered from France in early 1917, but these were also requisitioned at the end of the year and completed for the French Navy as the O'Byrne class. The largest Romanian Black Sea ship was the old cruiser Template:NMS, laid down in 1888.<ref>Gardiner (1997), p. 419</ref> The protected cruiser had guarded the mouths of the river Danube during the Second Balkan War, but she was disarmed when World War I began. Her armament was emplaced on the bank of the Danube River to protect against possible attacks by Austro-Hungarian river monitors, and she remained in Sulina for the duration of the war.<ref name="Gardiner84421" /> The Romanian Black Sea squadron also had four old gunboats from the 1880s, which were of limited value, and three old Năluca-class torpedo boats, built in France.<ref name="Halpern276" /> The Romanian Navy had to rely on the armed merchant ships of the state merchant marine, known as SMR (Serviciul Maritim Român).<ref name="Axworthy327" /><ref name="Gardiner84421" /> The steam liners Regele Carol I, România, Împăratul Traian and Dacia were converted into auxiliary cruisers.<ref name="Halpern276" /><ref>Gardiner (1984), p. 423</ref>
The Danube Flotilla was more modern,<ref name="Gardiner84421" /><ref name="Halpern277">Halpern, p. 277</ref> and consisted of four river monitors (Lascăr Catargiu, Template:NMS, Ion C. Brătianu and Alexandru Lahovari) and eight British-built torpedo boats.<ref name="Axworthy327" /> The four river monitors were built in 1907 at Galați. They were armed with three 12-cm cannons each. In 1918, Mihail Kogălniceanu was converted to a sea-going monitor. The British torpedo boats of the Căpitan Nicolae Lascăr Bogdan class were built during 1906–1907 and weighed 50 tons each. There were also approximately six older gunboats used for border patrol and as minelayers, and other auxiliary ships used for transport or supply.<ref name="Halpern277" /> The Romanian Navy had a secondary role during World War I and only had light losses.<ref name="Axworthy327" /> The river monitors participated in the defense of Turtucaia and later secured the flank of the Romanian and Russian defenders in Dobruja.<ref>Halpern, p. 278</ref> The main success of the war was the mining of an Austro-Hungarian river monitor.<ref name="Axworthy327" />
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Following the end of World War I, the Kingdom of Romania took possession of three Austro-Hungarian river monitors<ref name="Gardiner84421" /> (renamed Ardeal, Basarabia and Bucovina after the newly incorporated territories), and in 1921 purchased four Italian patrol boats. These ships, together with the ones already in service, made Romania's Danube flotilla the most powerful riverine fleet in the world until World War II.<ref name="Axworthy327" />
The main focus of the Romanian Navy during the interwar period was the Black Sea fleet. In 1920, two of the initial four Aquila-class scout cruisers (officially designated as destroyers) ordered from Italy were received.<ref name="Gardiner84421" /> These were renamed Template:NMS and Template:NMS.<ref name="Gardiner83422">Gardiner (1984), p. 422</ref> Four gunboats were purchased from the French Navy: Stihi, Dumitrescu, Lepri and Template:NMS.<ref name="Axworthy327" /><ref name="Gardiner80359">Gardiner (1980), p. 359</ref> Another gunboat of the same class was bought for spares.<ref name="Gardiner83422" /> Seven torpedo boats were received as war reparations from Austria-Hungary.<ref name="Gardiner84421" /> The torpedo boat Fulgerul however was lost during the trip to Romania when she capsized and sank in the Bosphorus in 1922.<ref name="Gardiner83422" /> Template:NMS, Template:NMS and Template:NMS, three of these old torpedo boats, will later see service in World War II. In 1926, two additional destroyers were ordered from Italy: Regele Ferdinand and Regina Maria of the Regele Ferdinand class destroyer, together with the Romanian Navy's first submarine, Template:NMS, and the submarine tender Template:NMS.<ref name="Gardiner80359" /> These ships were commissioned between 1930 and 1936.<ref name="Axworthy327" />
The expansion of the Romanian Navy during the interwar period required more training facilities and ships. The first step towards this issue was taken in 1920, when a naval college was founded at Constanța. In 1938, the sail ship Mircea was built in Hamburg by the Blohm & Voss shipyard as a training vessel for the Romanian Navy. The SMR (Serviciul Maritim Român, the Romanian state merchant marine) was also endowed with a number of new ships: the steamer Oituz, the ex-German freighters Ardeal, Peleș, Alba Iulia and Suceava (all of them commissioned between 1932 and 1933), the passenger liners Basarabia and Transilvania (bought from Germany in 1938) and four new freighters from Italy just before the start of the Second World War: Balcic, Cavarna, Mangalia and Sulina.<ref name="Axworthy328" /> In 1940, the SMR had 17 merchant ships with a total of over 72,000 tons of shipping.<ref name="Axworthy328" />
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In 1937, a new rearmament program was proposed. The new plan envisioned a cruiser, four small destroyers, three submarines, two minelayers and ten motor torpedo boats.<ref>Robert Gardiner, Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946, Naval Institute Press, 1980, p. 360</ref> These warships were to be built locally at the Galați shipyard, where a new dry dock was developed.<ref name="Axworthy328">Axworthy, p. 328</ref>
The anti-aircraft escort minelayer Template:NMS was laid down at the Galați shipyard in August 1938, launched in June 1939 and commissioned during the first half of 1941. She replaced the planned cruiser as the largest warship yielded by the 1937 program. She was employed in minelaying operations as well as convoy escort missions. Her main armament consisted of 10.5 cm SK C/32 naval guns, much like the German anti-aircraft cruisers Template:SMS and Template:Ship. Her sister ship, Cetatea Albă, was laid down in 1939, but abandoned at an early stage.<ref>Naval Institute Proceedings, Volume 65, United States Naval Institute, 1939, p. 1364</ref><ref>Robert Gardiner, Warship 1991, Conway Maritime Press, 1991, p. 147</ref> Her construction was transferred to Germany and in 1940 she was completed by the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg.<ref name="Earl Thomas Allnutt Brassey 1947, p. 259">Earl Thomas Allnutt Brassey, Brassey's Annual: The Armed Forces Year-book, Volume 58, Praeger Publishers, 1947, p. 259</ref> Cetatea Albă had the same standard displacement and top speed as her sister. It is not known, however, if her armament consisted of more than two 102 mm dual-purpose main guns, two 37 mm anti-aircraft guns and 135 mines.<ref name="Earl Thomas Allnutt Brassey 1947, p. 259"/> Cetatea Albă was likely never commissioned.
The four planned destroyers were replaced by four German M-class minesweepers. These were built locally from German materials in 1943. They were 500-ton vessels armed each with two 88 mm main guns, five anti-aircraft guns (two 37 mm and three 20 mm) and two depth-charge throwers.<ref>Frederick Thomas Jane, Jane's Fighting Ships, Sampson Low, Marston and Company, 1974, p. 275</ref>
Two of the three planned submarines were laid down at the Galați shipyard in 1938, launched in May 1941 and commissioned in May 1943. The first one was Template:NMS, a 620-ton attack submarine armed with one 105 mm deck gun, one 37 mm anti-aircraft gun and six 533 mm torpedo tubes (4 bow and 2 stern). Her smaller sister ship, Rechinul, was a 585-ton minelaying submarine armed with one 20 mm anti-aircraft gun, four 533 mm torpedo tubes and 40 mines. The third planned submarine was replaced by five Italian CB midget submarines, commissioned in late 1943.<ref>Robert Gardiner, Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946, Naval Institute Press, 1980, p. 361</ref> The two minelayers were acquired in 1941.
Three of the ten planned motor torpedo boats were built by Vospers in the United Kingdom and acquired in 1940. They were named Viforul, Template:NMS and Vijelia.<ref name="Robert Gardiner 1980, p. 362">Robert Gardiner, Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946, Naval Institute Press, 1980, p. 362</ref> Six more MTBs, of the Power type, were built locally as the Template:NMS class. They were laid down in 1939 and commissioned in 1943. The planned number of MTBs was exceeded in August 1943, when seven Italian MAS were also commissioned.<ref>Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946, Conway Maritime Press, 1980, pp. 313–314</ref> These were followed by four 65-ton German S-boats in August 1944, each armed with two 500 mm torpedo tubes.<ref>Crăciunoiu, Cristian. Romanian navy torpedo boats (Modelism Publishing, 2003), pp. 154–155.</ref><ref>Jane's fighting ships: 1953–1954, Sampson Low, Marston, 1955, p. 294</ref>
Warships envisioned by the 1937 program | Warships acquired until 23 August 1944 |
---|---|
1 cruiser | 1 minelayer/escort ship |
4 destroyers | 4 escort minesweepers (commissioned postwar) |
3 submarines | 2 submarines (plus 5 midget submarines) |
2 minelayers | 2 minelayers |
10 MTBs | 20 MTBs |
World War II and postwarEdit
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In 1941, the Royal Romanian Navy had four destroyers (Mărășești, Mărăști, Regele Ferdinand and Regina Maria), one submarine (Delfinul), two minelayers (Amiral Murgescu and Cetatea Albă, also employed as a destroyer escorts), three auxiliary minelayers, three motor torpedo boats (Viforul, Vijelia, and Template:NMS), three gunboats, fifteen small auxiliary vessels and twenty seaplanes.<ref>Axworthy, p. 328-329</ref><ref name="Robert Gardiner 1980, p. 362"/> Mărăști had a cracked shaft and could not exceed the speed of 24 knots. As a result, Mărăști never ventured far from the coast. Delfinul, the only Axis submarine present in the Black Sea in 1941, was obsolete and mechanically unreliable.<ref>Axworthy, p. 336</ref> By comparison, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet had a battleship, three medium cruisers, three light cruisers, three flotilla leaders, eight modern destroyers, five old destroyers, two large torpedo boats, 47 submarines and many other auxiliary and small vessels.<ref name="Axworthy328" /> The overwhelming superiority of the Soviet Navy forced the Royal Romanian Navy to conduct mainly defensive operations throughout the entire war and its warships rarely hazarded further east than Cape Sarych.<ref name=":2">Axworthy, p. 332</ref>
The two Regele Ferdinand-class destroyers were the most powerful surface units available to the Axis powers during the naval war in the Black Sea but were mostly used for convoy escort. The Romanian-built minelayer/destroyer escort Amiral Murgescu and the three auxiliary minelayers of the Romanian Navy played an important role in the defence of Constanța in 1941 and later in securing the merchant convoy routes to the Bosphorus and the supply routes to Odessa and Sevastopol. Mines were the main cause of Soviet submarine losses in the Black Sea naval war. Wartime additions to the fleet included 3 KFK naval trawlers and 3 landing craft of the MFP type.<ref>Cornel I. Scafeș, Armata Română 1941–1945, RAI Publishing, 1996, p. 174.</ref>
The Royal Romanian Navy was involved in the evacuation of Axis forces from Crimea in 1944. The Romanian naval commander, Rear Admiral Horia Macellariu, was awarded the German Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross after Operation 60,000, the contingency plan for the evacuation of Crimea.<ref name="Axworthy344">Axworthy, p. 344</ref> Until King Michael's Coup, the Romanian Navy retreated behind the protection of the coastal mine barrages and anti-aircraft defences of Constanța as the Soviet Air Force began to launch heavy air attacks. On the capitulation of Romania in August 1944, the German warships were ordered to leave Romanian harbours. However, when the Soviet minesweeper T-410 Vzryv, accompanied by Amiral Murgescu, was sunk by a German submarine, the Soviet Navy accused the Royal Romanian Navy of betrayal and seized all vessels using this excuse on 5 September 1944.<ref>Axworthy, p. 345</ref> By this late stage of the war, only one destroyer (Regina Maria), one leader (Mărășești), two gunboats (Dumitrescu and Ghiculescu), one minelayer (Amiral Murgescu) and three motor torpedo boats were still operational. The rest of the warships were in repairs after the evacuation of Crimea and the Soviet air attacks of the preceding couple of months or had been relegated to training duties. The Soviet Navy moved all Romanian warships to Caucasian ports. They were not returned until after the war. The older vessels were received in September 1945, while the more modern ones (such as the Regele Ferdinand class) were kept by the Soviet Black Sea Fleet until the early 1950s.<ref>Gardiner (1980), p. 361</ref> A number of warships were never returned.
The largest Romanian warship loss of the entire war was the accidental sinking of the gunboat Lepri. The gunboat ran into a Romanian mine laid by the minelayer Aurora near Sulina in January 1941, when hostilities between the Soviet Union and the Axis had not begun. While the Royal Romanian Navy had light losses throughout the war, the state merchant navy was practically non-existent by late 1944: every ship of the SMR was sunk or damaged by the Soviet Navy and Air Force because of the light Romanian and German forces in the Black Sea that were unable to provide adequate protection.<ref>Axworthy, p. 348</ref>
The following is a list of battles and operations of the World War II Black Sea Campaign involving the Romanian Navy:
- Raid on Constanța
- Operation München
- Siege of Odessa (1941)
- Crimean Campaign
- Operation Achse
- Crimean Offensive
The Romanian Naval Forces were reorganized during the Soviet occupation of Romania as the Romanian People's Navy.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref> Under the Romanian People's Navy, the "Nava Majestăţii Sale" (NMS) designation (or “His/Her Majesty's Ship”) that is given to each ship under Romanian Royal Navy was abolished.
World War II Romanian Black Sea Fleet warshipsEdit
Romanian naval forces in the Black Sea consisted of four destroyers, four torpedo boats, eight submarines, three minelayers, one submarine tender, three gunboats and one training ship.<ref>Ian Dear, Michael Richard Daniell Foot, Oxford University Press, 1995, The Oxford companion to World War II, p. 958</ref>
Vessel | Origin | Type | Notes | ||
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Destroyers | |||||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Destroyer | Built in Italy for the Romanian Navy, entered service in 1920 | ||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Destroyer | Built in Italy for the Romanian Navy, entered service in 1920 | ||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Destroyer | Built in Italy for the Romanian Navy, entered service in 1930 | ||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Destroyer | Built in Italy for the Romanian Navy, entered service in 1930 | ||
Torpedo boats | |||||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Torpedo boat | Built in Austria-Hungary during World War I | ||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Motor torpedo boat | Built in the United Kingdom, acquired in 1940 | ||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Motor torpedo boat | Built in the United Kingdom, acquired in 1940 | ||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Motor torpedo boat | Built in the United Kingdom, acquired in 1940 | ||
Minelayers | |||||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Minelayer/Seaplane tender | Built in the United Kingdom in 1898 | ||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Minelayer/Escort ship | Built at the Galați shipyard in Romania between 1938 and 1941 | ||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Minelayer/Gunboat | Built in France during the second half of World War I | ||
Submarine tenders | |||||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Submarine tender | Built in Italy for the Romanian Navy between 1927 and 1931 | ||
Gunboats | |||||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Gunboat | Built in France during the second half of World War I | ||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Gunboat | Built in France during the second half of World War I | ||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Gunboat | Built in France during the second half of World War I | ||
Training ships | |||||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Training ship | Built in Germany for the Romanian Navy in 1938 | ||
Submarines | |||||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Submarine | Built in Italy for the Romanian Navy, entered service in 1936 | ||
Rechinul | Template:Flagcountry | Submarine | Built at the Galați shipyard in Romania between 1938 and 1943 | ||
Template:NMS | Template:Flagcountry | Submarine | Built at the Galați shipyard in Romania between 1938 and 1943 | ||
CB-1 | Template:Flagcountry | Midget submarine | Acquired in late 1943 after the Italian surrender | ||
CB-2 | Template:Flagcountry | Midget submarine | Acquired in late 1943 after the Italian surrender | ||
CB-3 | Template:Flagcountry | Midget submarine | Acquired in late 1943 after the Italian surrender | ||
CB-4 | Template:Flagcountry | Midget submarine | Acquired in late 1943 after the Italian surrender | ||
CB-6 | Template:Flagcountry | Midget submarine | Acquired in late 1943 after the Italian surrender |
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Vessel | Navy | Notes | |||
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Destroyers | |||||
Moskva | Template:Navy | The Soviet Leningrad-class destroyer was sunk on 26 June 1941 during the Raid on Constanța by Romanian mines,<ref>Robert Forczyk, Where the Iron Crosses Grow: The Crimea 1941–44, p. 39</ref><ref>David T. Zabecki, World War II in Europe: An Encyclopedia, p. 1468</ref><ref>Richard L. DiNardo, Germany and the Axis Powers from Coalition to Collapse, p. 109</ref><ref>John Jordan, Stephen Dent, Warship 2008, p. 112</ref> laid by the Romanian minelayers Template:NMS, Regele Carol I and Aurora<ref name="Antony Preston p. 70">Antony Preston, Warship 2000–2001, p. 70</ref> | |||
Submarines | |||||
Shch-206 | Template:Navy | The Soviet Shchuka-class submarine was sunk with depth charges near Mangalia by the Romanian torpedo boat Năluca and motor torpedo boats Viforul and Vijelia on 9 July 1941<ref>Antony Preston, Warship 2001–2002, p. 72</ref><ref>Cristian Crăciunoiu, Romanian navy torpedo boats, p. 135</ref><ref>Donald A Bertke, Gordon Smith, Don Kindell, World War II Sea War, Volume 4: Germany Sends Russia to the Allies, p. 134</ref> | |||
M-58 | Template:Navy | The Soviet M-class submarine was sunk near Constanța on 18 October 1941 by Romanian mines,<ref name="Mikhail Monakov p. 265">Mikhail Monakov, Jurgen Rohwer, Stalin's Ocean-going Fleet: Soviet Naval Strategy and Shipbuilding Programs 1935–1953, p. 265</ref> laid by the Romanian minelayers Amiral Murgescu, Regele Carol I and Aurora<ref name="Antony Preston p. 70"/> | |||
M-34 | Template:Navy | The Soviet M-class submarine was sunk near Constanța on 30 October 1941 by Romanian mines,<ref name="Mikhail Monakov p. 265"/> laid by the Romanian minelayers Amiral Murgescu, Regele Carol I and Aurora<ref name="Antony Preston p. 70"/> | |||
S-34 | Template:Navy | The Soviet S-class submarine was sunk near Cape Emine on 12 November 1941 by Romanian mines,<ref name="Mikhail Monakov p. 265"/> laid by the Romanian minelayers Amiral Murgescu, Regele Carol I and Dacia<ref name="Donald A Bertke p. 323">Donald A Bertke, Gordon Smith, Don Kindell, World War II Sea War, Volume 4: Germany Sends Russia to the Allies, p. 323</ref> | |||
Shch-211 | Template:Navy | The Soviet Shchuka-class submarine was sunk near Varna on 16 November 1941 by Romanian mines,<ref name="Mikhail Monakov p. 265"/> laid by the Romanian minelayers Amiral Murgescu, Regele Carol I and Dacia<ref name="Donald A Bertke p. 323"/> | |||
M-59 | Template:Navy | The Soviet M-class submarine was sunk with depth charges near Jibrieni by the Romanian destroyer Regele Ferdinand on 17 December 1941<ref>Jipa Rotaru, Ioan Damaschin, Glorie și dramă: Marina Regală Română, 1940–1945, p. 67 (in Romanian)</ref><ref>Donald A Bertke, Gordon Smith, Don Kindell, World War II Sea War, Volume 5: Air Raid Pearl Harbor. This Is Not a Drill, p. 63</ref><ref>Nicolae Koslinski, Raymond Stănescu, Marina română in al doilea război mondial: 1944–1945, p. 361 (in Romanian)</ref> | |||
Shch-210 | Template:Navy | The Soviet Shchuka-class submarine was sunk near Shabla on 12 or 15 March 1942 by Romanian mines,<ref name="Mikhail Monakov p. 265"/><ref>Antony Preston, Warship 2000–2001, p. 76</ref> laid by the Romanian minelayers Amiral Murgescu, Regele Carol I and Dacia<ref name="Donald A Bertke p. 323"/> | |||
M-33 | Template:Navy | The Soviet M-class submarine was sunk near Odessa on 24 August 1942 by Romanian mines,<ref name="Mikhail Monakov p. 266">Mikhail Monakov, Jurgen Rohwer, Stalin's Ocean-going Fleet: Soviet Naval Strategy and Shipbuilding Programs 1935–1953, p. 266</ref> laid by the Romanian minelayers Amiral Murgescu and Dacia<ref name="Donald A. Bertke p. 268">Donald A. Bertke, Gordon Smith, Don Kindell World War II Sea War, Volume 6: The Allies Halt the Axis Advance, p. 268</ref> | |||
Shch-208 | Template:Navy | The Soviet Shchuka-class submarine was sunk near Constanța on 26 August 1942 by Romanian mines,<ref name="Mikhail Monakov p. 266"/> laid by the Romanian minelayers Amiral Murgescu, Regele Carol I and Aurora<ref name="Antony Preston p. 70"/> | |||
M-60 | Template:Navy | The Soviet M-class submarine was sunk near Odessa on 26 September 1942 by Romanian mines,<ref name="Mikhail Monakov p. 266"/> laid by the Romanian minelayers Amiral Murgescu and Dacia<ref name="Donald A. Bertke p. 268"/> | |||
M-118 | Template:Navy | The Soviet M-class submarine was sunk with depth charges near Cape Burnas by the Romanian gunboats Ghiculescu and Stihi on 1 October 1942<ref>Antony Preston, Warship 2001–2002, pp. 79–80</ref><ref>Donald A Bertke, Gordon Smith, Don Kindell, World War II Sea War, Volume 7: The Allies Strike Back p. 179</ref><ref name="Mikhail Monakov p. 266"/> | |||
Shch-213 | Template:Navy | The Soviet Shchuka-class submarine was sunk near Constanța on 14 October 1942 by Romanian mines,<ref name = NOS>Template:Cite news</ref> laid by the Romanian minelayers Amiral Murgescu, Regele Carol I and Aurora<ref name="Antony Preston p. 70"/> | |||
Shch-212 | Template:Navy | The Soviet Shchuka-class submarine was sunk near the island of Fidonisi on 11 December 1942 by Romanian mines,<ref>Donald A Bertke, Gordon Smith, Don Kindell,World War II Sea War, Vol 8: Guadalcanal Secured, p. 77</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>Shch-212 on wrecksite.eu</ref> laid by the Romanian minelayers Amiral Murgescu and Dacia<ref>Nicolae Koslinski, Raymond Stănescu, Marina română in al doilea război mondial: 1942–1944, pp. 53–54 (in Romanian)</ref> | ||
L-24 | Template:Navy | The Soviet Leninets-class submarine was sunk near Shabla on 15 December 1942 by Romanian mines,<ref name="Mikhail Monakov p. 266"/><ref>Antony Preston, Warship 2000–2001, p. 75</ref> laid by the Romanian minelayers Amiral Murgescu, Regele Carol I and Dacia<ref name="Donald A Bertke p. 323"/> | |||
M-31 | Template:Navy | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> or sunk with depth charges by the Romanian flotilla leader Template:NMS on 7 July 1943<ref>M. J. Whitley, Destroyers of World War Two, p. 224</ref> | ||
L-6 | Template:Navy | The Soviet Leninets-class submarine was sunk with depth charges between Constanța and Sevastopol by the Romanian gunboat Ghiculescu supported by the German submarine chaser UJ-104 on 18 or 21 April 1944<ref>Nicolae Koslinski, Raymond Stănescu, Marina română in al doilea război mondial: 1942–1944 (in Romanian)</ref><ref>Jipa Rotaru, Ioan Damaschin, Glorie și dramă: Marina Regală Română, 1940–1945 (in Romanian)</ref><ref>Nicolae Koslinski, Raymond Stănescu, Marina română in al doilea război mondial: 1944–1945, p. 364 (in Romanian)</ref> |
Command, control and organisationEdit
Template:See also The Romanian Navy is organized in one Frigate Flotilla and one Riverine Flotilla. Equipment includes two Type 22 frigates, one Mărășești class frigate, four corvettes (two Tetal-I and two Tetal-II), three Tarantul-I missile corvettes, one minelayer, four minesweepers, one minehunter, three Mihail Kogălniceanu class river monitors, five Smârdan class riverine armored patrol boats and other small craft and auxiliary ships.<ref name="IISS" /> The last Osa class-based Epitrop torpedo boats were retired in November 2023.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
As of 2022, ca. 6,800 men and women serve in the Romanian Navy.<ref name="IISS" /> The main base of the Romanian Navy is located at Constanța. The current chief of the Romanian Navy is Vice Admiral Mihai Panait, appointed on 15 August 2020. The Commander of the Romanian Fleet is Rear Admiral Cornel Cojocaru, and the Commander of the River Flotilla is Real Admiral Nicu Chirea.
The Romanian Naval Forces ordered three IAR 330 Puma Naval helicopters, with the last one being commissioned in December 2008. The helicopters are of a similar configuration to those of the Romanian Air Force, including the SOCAT upgrade package; the Navy Pumas also have flotation gear fitted under the nose and main undercarriage fairings. They are currently operated from Navy frigates for search and rescue, medevac and maritime surveillance missions.
Edit
- Naval Forces General Staff in Bucharest<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Naval Component Command<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Fleet Command „Viceamiral Vasile Urseanu”, in Constanța<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 56th Frigate Flotilla „Contraamiral Horia Macellariu” (Mărășești, Regele Ferdinand and Regina Maria), in Constanța<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 256th Naval Helicopter Group (IAR 330 Puma Naval helicopters), in Tuzla<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 150th Missile Fast Patrol Boat Divizion (Tarantul-I missile boats), in Mangalia<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Admiral Petre Bărbuneanu-class corvettes (Tetal-I)
- Rear-Admiral Eustațiu Sebastian-class corvettes (Tetal-II)
- 146th MCM Divizion (Musca class minesweepers and the Cosar minelayer), in Constanța<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 508th Coastal Defence Missile Divizion (4K51 Rubezh missile), in Mangalia<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Coastal Defence Missile Section with 4 launchers<ref name="Forțele Navale Române">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 585th CBRN defense company <ref name="Forțele Navale Române"/>
- River Flotilla Command „Mihail Kogălniceanu”, in Brăila<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 67th Gunboats Divizion „Comandor Virgil Alexandru Dragalina” (Mihail Kogălniceanu-class and Smârdan-class)
- River monitors Section I, in Brăila<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
- 67th Gunboats Divizion „Comandor Virgil Alexandru Dragalina” (Mihail Kogălniceanu-class and Smârdan-class)
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Armored Patrol Boat Section II, in Brăila<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- River Patrol Boat Section II, in Tulcea<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 131st Logistic Support Ship Divizion<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> (Lupeni class River tugboats)
- Logistic Support Ship Section I, in Brăila<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Logistic Support Ship Section II, in Tulcea<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 307th Marine Infantry Regiment „Heracleea” in Babadag<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Regiment Command
- Marine Infantry Battalion
- Combat Support Battalion
- Logistics Company
- Naval Logistics Base „Pontica", in Constanța<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Command River Ship „MUREȘ”<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 129th Special and Logistic Support Ship Divizion, in Mangalia<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- 338th Naval Technical Maintenance Center
- 335th Logistic Support Group, in Mangalia
- 305th Mixed Depot, in Mangalia
- 329th Logistic Section, in Brăila
- 319th Mixed Sector, in Galați
- 330th Logistic Support Group, in Constanța
- 340th Mixed Depot, in Murfatlar
- 325th Logistic Support Group, in Tulcea
- 342nd Mixed Depot „Ion Jalea”, in Codru
- 278th Mixed Sector, in Slava Cercheză
- Distinct Specialised Structures
- Diving Center, in Constanța<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- EOD divers<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- River divers<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Hyperbaric Laboratory<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Combat Diver Logistics Support Ship „Midia”<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Diving Support Vessel „Grigore Antipa”<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Diver Support and Intervention Vessel „Grozavul”<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Diving Patrol Boat „Saturn”<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Diving Patrol Boat „Venus”<ref name=":1" />
- S-521 Delfinul Submarine<ref name=":0" />
- 243rd Radio-Electronics and Surveillance Brigade „Callatis”, in Constanța<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Naval Forces IT and Cyber Defence Center
- Naval Forces Training, Simulation, Evaluation and War Games Center, in Constanța<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Maritime Hydrographic Directorate „Comandor Alexandru Cătuneanu”, in Constanța<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Mine Warfare Data Center – M.W.D.C.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Naval Medical Center, in Constanța<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 110th Communication and Information Systems Center „Viceamiral ing. Grigore Marteş”, in Mamaia-Sat<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Naval Forces Support Group „Ovidius”, in Constanța<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 301st Military Police Company<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Training
- "Mircea cel Bătrân" Naval Academy, in Constanța<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 306th Training and Military Operations Support Ship Divizion<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Training Ship Mircea<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Training Ship Constanța<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- "Vice Admiral Constantin Bălescu" Naval Interarm Training School, in Mangalia<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- "Admiral Ion Murgescu" Navy Petty Officer School, in Constanța<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- National Military College „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, in Constanța<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
BasesEdit
As of 2011, the naval bases are in:
- Constanța – home of the frigate flotilla.
- Mangalia – home of the corvette squadron.
- Tulcea – home of the Smârdan (Brutar-II) class river patrol monitors.
- Brăila – home of the Mihail Kogălniceanu class river patrol monitors and the VB 141 class small river patrol boats.
Edit
The 307th Marine Infantry Regiment ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) is the coastal defence unit of the Romanian Navy.<ref>Zaloga, p. 53</ref> The unit was formed in the mid-1970s for the defence of the Danube Delta and Romanian Black Sea shore. It was initially located at 2 Mai village near Mangalia, but since 1975 the Marine Battalion was moved to Babadag, Tulcea County. "The 307th Marine Infantry Regiment is destined to carry out military operations in an amphibious river and lagoon environment, the security of objectives in the coastal area, the Danube Delta and the support of local authorities in case of a civil emergency."Template:Citation needed Its base is near Babadag military training range and is subordinated to the Riverine Flotilla.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The battalion is organized into infantry, reconnaissance, sniper, mortars, anti-tank artillery, engineers, communications, logistic and naval support units. Standard equipment includes PA md. 86 assault rifles, PM md. 64 light machine guns, Md. 66 machine guns, 60/82/120 mm mortars, AG-7 and AG-9 launchers, 76 mm Md. 82 mountain howitzers, 11 ABC-79M and 3 TABC-79M armoured personnel carriers.<ref name="IISS" /> The 307th Marine Infantry Regiment was involved in military exercises with similar troops from United States, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ukraine that were organized locally or abroad. Also, two companies from this unit have participated in the KFOR mission "Joint Enterprise" in 2008–09.Template:Citation needed
Since June 1, 2018, the 307th Marine Battalion has been redesignated as 307th Marine Infantry Regiment.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EquipmentEdit
Sea FleetEdit
For the river fleet and auxiliary vessels see List of active Romanian Navy ships.
Name | Type | Class | Origin | Details | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Submarine | |||||
S-521 Delfinul | Conventional Submarine | Kilo | Template:USSR | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Frigates | |||||
F-111 Mărășești | Multipurpose Frigate | Mărășești | Template:ROM | ||
F-221 Regele Ferdinand | Multipurpose Frigate | Type 22 |
|
Ex-HMS Coventry | |
F-222 Regina Maria | Multipurpose Frigate | Type 22 |
|
Ex-HMS London | |
Corvettes | |||||
Cvt 263 Vice-Amiral Eugeniu Roșca | Multipurpose corvette | Tetal-I | Template:ROM | ||
Cvt 260 Amiral Petre Bărbuneanu | Multipurpose corvette | Tetal-I | Template:ROM | ||
Cvt 264 Contraamiral Eustațiu Sebastian | Multipurpose corvette | Tetal-II | Template:ROM | ||
Cvt 265 Contraamiral Horia Macellariu | Multipurpose corvette | Tetal-II | Template:ROM | ||
Missile corvette | |||||
NPR 188 Zborul | Missile corvette | Tarantul class | Template:USSR | ||
NPR 189 Pescărușul | Missile corvette | Tarantul class | Template:USSR | ||
NPR 190 Lăstunul | Missile corvette | Tarantul class | Template:USSR | ||
Mine Warfare | |||||
DM-24 Lt. Remus Lepri | Minesweeper | Musca | Template:ROM | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
DM-25 Lt. Lupu Dinescu | Minesweeper | Musca | Template:ROM | ||
DM-29 Lt. Dimitrie Nicolescu | Minesweeper | Musca | Template:ROM | 8 September 2022 contacted floating rogue mine some 20 N.M. north east of Constanța, in the Black Sea, and suffered mine explosion hit in the aft area, resulting in a small-sized hull breach. Navy ship Grozavul was sent to tow minesweeper to Constanța.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
DM-30 Slt. Alexandru Axente | Minesweeper | Musca | Template:ROM | ||
M270 Sublocotenent Ion Ghiculescu | Minehunter | Sandown class |
|
Ex-HMS Blyth | |
PM-274 Viceamiral Constantin Bălescu | Minelayer | Cosar | Template:ROM |
Edit
Model | Origin | Type | Variant | Numbers | Details | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
IAR 330 | Template:ROM | Maritime helicopter | Puma Naval | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Include the SOCAT upgrade package; the Navy Pumas also have flotation gear fitted under the nose and main undercarriage fairings. Currently operated from Navy frigates for search and rescue, medevac, maritime surveillance missions and ASW.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
H215M | {{#invoke:flag | France}} | Maritime helicopter | Cougar Naval | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
The naval version of the H215M is powered by two Turbomeca Makila 1A1 turboshaft engines. This version is mainly used for Anti-surface unit warfare (ASUW), fitted with Marte-ER missiles; Anti-submarine warfare (ASW), fitted with a variable-depth sonar and torpedoes; Search and rescue; and Sea patrols. For deck landing, securing at high sea states, maneuver and traverse this variant can be fitted with ASIST. | |
MQ-35A V-BAT | Template:USA | Unmanned aerial vehicle | 4 (to be delivered) | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Future equipmentEdit
The Romanian government plans to acquire new vessels to modernize the Romanian Naval Forces.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> This plan includes:
- Buying 4 new ships for the navy. Previously these were to be based on the Sigma 10514 design of Damen Group. The frigates were to be built locally (Damen owns two major shipyards in Romania) and the total deal was estimated to be worth 1.6 billion euros (equivalent to U.S. $1.96 billion). However, the decision to go with Damen Group was repealed in 2017.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
- Template:As of, acquiring 3 new submarines, which would also be built locally at a Romanian shipyard.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> In 2022, Romania signed a letter of intent with France to purchase Template:Sclasss.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- In July 2019, Naval Group won a €1.2 billion contract, which includes the construction of four new Gowind multi-mission corvettes for the Romanian Navy, as well as a new maintenance center and a training center. Naval Group was due to build the first corvette within three years, while the remaining three corvettes would have been constructed by Constanța Shipyard and delivered before 2026.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, this deal had not been concluded and was cancelled Template:As of.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Ranks and insigniaEdit
Commissioned officer ranksEdit
The rank insignia of commissioned officers.
Template:Ranks and Insignia of NATO Armed Forces/OF/BlankTemplate:Ranks and Insignia of NATO Navies/OF/RomaniaOther ranksEdit
The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.
Template:Ranks and Insignia of NATO Armies/OR/BlankTemplate:Ranks and Insignia of NATO Navies/OR/RomaniaReferencesEdit
- Notes
- References
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
External linksEdit
Template:Black Sea Naval Co-operation Task Group Template:Romanian military Template:Romanian Naval Forces Template:Navies in Europe Template:Allied Maritime Command Template:Authority control