Horia Macellariu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | Horia Ion Pompiliu Macellariu |
| Born | (1894-05-10)May 10, 1894 |
| Died | July 11, 1989(1989-07-11) (aged 95) |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Romania |
| Branch |  Royal Romanian Navy |
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | |
Horia Macellariu (10 May 1894 – 11 July 1989) was aRomanianrear admiral, commander of theRoyal Romanian Navy's Black Sea Fleet during theSecond World War.
Horia Ion Pompiliu Macellariu was born inCraiova on 10 May [O.S. 28 April] 1894. After undergoing military studies, he became a marine officer in 1915. DuringWorld War I, he served as the captain of the Romanian command shipPrincipele Nicolae. Throughout the war, he distinguished himself, being decorated with theOrder of the Romanian Crown, Knight rank.[1] In 1927–1928, he studied at the Naval War School in Paris, where the French President also decorated him with theLegion of Honour, Knight rank.[1] After returning to Romania, he commanded several Romanian warships throughout the 1930s: the torpedo boatVârtejul, theriver monitorLascăr Catargiu, themonitorMihail Kogălniceanu and the destroyerRegina Maria.[2]
When Romaniaentered the war with Nazi Germany against theSoviet Union on 22 June 1941, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Romanian Navy at the Romanian General Staff. He climbed through the ranks as the war progressed, in January 1942 becoming the commander of the Romanian Destroyer Squadron, the most powerful naval formation of the Romanian Navy and of theAxis powers in theBlack Sea, consisting of two destroyers (Regele-Ferdinand-class) and twoscout cruisersAquila-class). In early 1943, he became the commander of the Romanian Black Sea Fleet, gaining the rank ofRear-Admiral in March that year.[3][4]
As a commander, he presided over a significant enlargement of the Romanian Black Sea Fleet, most notably the commissioning of the Romanian-built submarinesMarsuinul and her smaller sister shipRechinul in May 1943, the former being the most powerful and modern Axis submarine in theBlack Sea.[5][6] Between 1939 and early 1943, Romania built six new motor torpedo boats. They were of the BritishPower type, but licence-built in Romania at theGalați shipyard, being commissioned asVântul,Vârtejul,Vulcanul,Vedenia,Viforul, andVijelia.[7][8][9] He arranged a further enlargement of the Romanian Black Sea Fleet in September 1943, when, uponItaly's surrender, he orchestrated the transfer of the fiveItalian midget submarines operating in the Black Sea to the Romanian Navy. The five submarines were commissioned on 30 November that year.[10][11]
The evacuation of theCrimea in April–May 1944 was the most complex and extensive operation of the Romanian Navy during the Second World War. From 15 April to 14 May, numerous German and Romanian warships escorted many convoys betweenConstanța andSevastopol. The scale and importance of the operation can be attested by the usage in combat of all four Romanian destroyers, the largest Axis warships in the Black Sea. The last phase of the evacuation (10–14 May) saw the fiercest combat, as Axis ships transported, under constant attacks from Soviet aircraft and shore artillery, over 30,000 troops. Of these, 18,000 were transported by Romanian ships. In total, Romanian and German convoys evacuated over 113,000 Axis troops from the Crimea, most of them (over 63,000) during the first phase of the evacuation (15–25 April). No Romanian Navy warships were lost during the evacuation, however the destroyerRegele Ferdinand came close to being sunk. She was struck by a large aerial bomb, which fell in her fuel tanks, but failed to detonate. The bomb was extracted several days after the end of the operation. Two naval actions involving the Romanian Navy took place during the second phase of the evacuation (25 April – 10 May), nearSevastopol. On 18 April, the SovietLeninets-class submarineL-6 was twice attacked with depth charges and damaged by the Romanian gunboatGhiculescu, numerous bubbles emerged from the depths after each attack, before being finished off by the German submarine hunterUJ-104. During the night of 27 April, a convoy escorted by the Romanian gunboatGhiculescu, the German submarine hunterUJ-115, oneR-boat, two KFKnaval trawlers and 19MFPs (including the RomanianPTA-404 andPTA-406) engaged the SovietG-5-class motor torpedo boatsTKA-332,TKA-343 andTKA-344, after the three attacked and damaged the German submarine hunterUJ-104.Ghiculescu opened fire with tracer rounds, enabling the entire escort group to locate the two Soviet MTBs and open fire.TKA-332 was hit and sunk. Over 12 Soviet aircraft were also shot down during the evacuation, including two by theminelayingdestroyer escortAmiral Murgescu. The last Axis pockets in the Crimea were destroyed on 12 May. The last Axis warship to leave the peninsula wasAmiral Murgescu, carrying on board 1,000 Axis troops, including the German GeneralWalter Hartmann. Macellariu's successful conduct of the evacuation and the achievements obtained by the Romanian warships under his command, in combat and number of Axis troops evacuated, earned him theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Crucea de Cavaler a Crucii de Fier, in Romanian).[12][13][14] Other decorations bestowed upon him include theOrder of the Star of Romania, theOrder of the German Eagle and theOrder of Michael the Brave.[15]
After the23 August 1944 coup which put Romania on the side of theAllies, the situation became uncertain. German Vice AdmiralHelmuth Brinkmann had orders to hold Constanța at all costs. However, after a face-to-face meeting with Macellariu, he was persuaded to make an orderly retreat and avoid an unnecessary and costly battle. The Germans subsequently retreated on the night of 25–26 August.[16][17]
Macellariu was arrested by the communist authorities on 19 April 1948 and incarcerated atJilava Prison. After a trial, he was sentenced to hard labor for life for high treason, a sentence subsequently reduced to 25 years. He served time atAiud Prison, where he was detained in complete isolation, and on 4 April 1958 he was moved toRâmnicu Sărat Prison. After this prison was closed on 13 April 1963, he was transferred toGherla Prison, where he shared a cell withNicolae Steinhardt. He was freed from detention on 29 July 1964, when political prisoners in Romania were amnestied byGheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej. He died in Bucharest on 11 July 1989, aged 95.
Order of the Crown (Romania), Knight rank (1918)
Legion of Honour, Knight rank (1928)
Order of Michael the Brave (1943)
Order of the Star of Romania (1944)
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (1944)
Order of the German Eagle (1944)One of the twoRear-Admiral Eustațiu Sebastian-class corvettes of the Romanian Navy is named after him.[18] A street inSector 1 ofBucharest also bears his name.
