| Romanian Naval Forces | |
|---|---|
| Forțele Navale Române | |
 Romanian Naval Forces coat of arms | |
| Founded | 22 October 1860 as the Flotilla Corps[1] |
| Country | Romania |
| Role | Naval warfare,Amphibious warfare,Mine warfare |
| Size | 6,800 personnel[2] |
| Part of | Romanian Armed Forces |
| Command HQ | Statul Major al Forțelor Navale –Bucharest |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Commander of the Navy | Vice Admiral Mihai Panait |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |  |
| Military colors |  |
| Naval jack | .svg) |
| Identification flag (obverse) | .svg) |
| Pennant |  |
TheRomanian Naval Forces (Romanian:Forțele Navale Române) is the principalnaval branch of theRomanian Armed Forces and operates in theBlack Sea and on theDanube. It traces its history back to 1860.
The Romanian Navy was founded in 1860 as a river flotilla on the Danube. After the unification ofWallachia andMoldavia,Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the rulingDomnitor of theRomanian Principalities, decided on 22 October 1860 by order no. 173 to unify the navies into a single flotilla, theDanube Flotilla Corps.[1] The navy was French-trained and organized.[4] Officers were initially sent toBrest Naval Training Centre in France, as the Military School inBucharest did not have a naval section.[1] The first Commander-in-chief of the navy was ColonelNicolae Steriade. The base was first established in 1861 atIzmail, but it was later relocated in 1864 toBrăila and in 1867 toGalați. The equipment was modest at best, with 3 ships from Wallachia and 3 from Moldavia, manned by 275 sailors.[1] 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 thepaddle steamboat "Prințul Nicolae Conache Vogoride". The ship was purchased in 1861 and was later transformed into a warship at Meyer naval shipyard inLinz, being christened "România [ro]" when it was launched atGalați harbor.[1] In 1867, the royal yacht "Ștefan cel Mare" (Stephen the Great) entered service. In October 1873, theFulgerul 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 theGalați shipyard.[5] The next ship to enter service with the Romanian Navy was thespar torpedo boatNMS Rândunica in 1875. These ships represented the Romanian Flotilla during theWar of Independence.
During theWar of Independence, the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the1877–1878 Russo-Turkish war, the Romanian Navy sailed under the Russian flag.[4] 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 RussianCarevitch andKsenya crafts.[1] Another notable success was the sinking of the Turkish river monitor "Podgoriçe" (Podgorica) by the Romanian coastal artillery on 7 November 1877.[1]
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.[1] These plans mainly concentrated on the Danube flotilla. In 1896, the "Flotilla Corps", as it was known until then, was organized in two sections: theDanube Division and the Sea Division.[6][7] The riverine base was at Galați, while the maritime base was atConstanța, which was by then part of Romania.
The Romanian Black Sea Fleet was founded in the summer of 1890, 10 years after Romania acquired its first sea-going warship: the gunboatNMS Grivița. The newly created division consisted of the small protected cruiserNMS Elisabeta, the training shipNMS Mircea, the threeSmeul-class torpedo boats, and the forementionedGrivița.[8]
On 2 July 1905, during the mutiny of the Russian battleship Potemkin, the Romanian protected cruiserNMS Elisabeta engaged the Russian torpedo boat Ismail as the latter was trying to sneak into the Romanianport 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 andIsmail left Romanian waters.[9] 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 thePotemkin and hoisted the Romanian flag before allowing the warship to enter the inner harbor.[10] On 10 July, after negotiations with the Romanian Government,Potemkin was handed over to Imperial Russian authorities and taken toSevastopol.[9][11]
After theWar of Independence, two naval rearmament programs were proposed for the Black Sea flotilla. The 1899 program called for six coastalbattleships, fourdestroyers and twelvetorpedo boats.[6] None of these ships were ever built,[12] while the battleshipPotemkin 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.[6][12] Fourdestroyers (and allegedly a submarine[4][6]) were actually ordered from Italy but were not delivered, as theItalian Navy requisitioned them in 1914.[4][6][12] 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 theFrench Navy as theO'Byrne class. The largest Romanian Black Sea ship was the old cruiserElisabeta, laid down in 1888.[13] The protected cruiser had guarded the mouths of the riverDanube during theSecond Balkan War, but she was disarmed whenWorld War I began. Her armament was emplaced on the bank of the Danube River to protect against possible attacks byAustro-Hungarian river monitors, and she remained inSulina for the duration of the war.[6] The Romanian Black Sea squadron also had four old gunboats from the 1880s, which were of limited value, and three oldNăluca-class torpedo boats, built in France.[12] The Romanian Navy had to rely on the armed merchant ships of the state merchant marine, known as SMR (Serviciul Maritim Român).[4][6] The steam linersRegele Carol I,România,Împăratul Traian andDacia were converted intoauxiliary cruisers.[12][14]
The Danube Flotilla was more modern,[6][15] and consisted of fourriver monitors (Lascăr Catargiu,Mihail Kogălniceanu,Ion C. Brătianu andAlexandru Lahovari) and eight British-built torpedo boats.[4] The four river monitors were built in 1907 atGalați. 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 theCăpitan 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.[15] The Romanian Navy had a secondary role during World War I and only had light losses.[4] The river monitors participated in the defense ofTurtucaia and later secured the flank of the Romanian and Russian defenders inDobruja.[16] The main success of the war was the mining of an Austro-Hungarian river monitor.[4]
Following the end of World War I, theKingdom of Romania took possession of three Austro-Hungarian river monitors[6] (renamedArdeal,Basarabia andBucovina 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 untilWorld War II.[4]
The main focus of the Romanian Navy during the interwar period was theBlack Sea fleet. In 1920, two of the initial fourAquila-classscout cruisers (officially designated as destroyers) ordered from Italy were received.[6] These were renamedMărășești andMărăști.[17] Four gunboats were purchased from the French Navy:Stihi,Dumitrescu,Lepri andSublocotenent Ghiculescu.[4][18] Another gunboat of the same class was bought for spares.[17] Seven torpedo boats were received as war reparations fromAustria-Hungary.[6] The torpedo boatFulgerul however was lost during the trip to Romania when she capsized and sank in the Bosphorus in 1922.[17]Năluca,Sborul andSmeul, 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 andRegina Maria of theRegele Ferdinand class destroyer, together with the Romanian Navy's first submarine,Delfinul, and the submarine tenderConstanța.[18] These ships were commissioned between 1930 and 1936.[4]
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 shipMircea was built inHamburg by theBlohm & 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 steamerOituz, the ex-German freightersArdeal,Peleș,Alba Iulia andSuceava (all of them commissioned between 1932 and 1933), the passenger linersBasarabia andTransilvania (bought from Germany in 1938) and four new freighters from Italy just before the start of the Second World War:Balcic,Cavarna,Mangalia andSulina.[19] In 1940, the SMR had 17 merchant ships with a total of over 72,000 tons of shipping.[19]
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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.[20] These warships were to be built locally at theGalați shipyard, where a new dry dock was developed.[19]
The anti-aircraft escort minelayerAmiral Murgescu was laid down at theGalați 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 of10.5 cm SK C/32 naval guns, much like the German anti-aircraft cruisersArcona andNiobe. Her sister ship,Cetatea Albă, was laid down in 1939, but abandoned at an early stage.[21][22] Her construction was transferred toGermany and in 1940 she was completed by theBlohm & Voss shipyard inHamburg.[23]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.[23]Cetatea Albă was likely never commissioned.
The four planned destroyers were replaced by four GermanM-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.[24]
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 wasMarsuinul, 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 ItalianCB midget submarines, commissioned in late 1943.[25] Thetwo minelayers were acquired in 1941.
Three of the ten planned motor torpedo boats were built byVospers in the United Kingdom and acquired in 1940. They were namedViforul,Viscolul andVijelia.[26] Six more MTBs, of thePower type, were built locally as theVedenia class. They were laid down in 1939 and commissioned in 1943. The planned number of MTBs was exceeded in August 1943, when seven ItalianMAS were also commissioned.[27] These were followed by four 65-ton GermanS-boats in August 1944, each armed with two 500 mm torpedo tubes.[28][29]
| Warships envisioned by the 1937 program | Warships acquired until23 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 |
In 1941, the Royal Romanian Navy had four destroyers (Mărășești,Mărăști,Regele Ferdinand andRegina Maria), one submarine (Delfinul), two minelayers (Amiral Murgescu andCetatea Albă, also employed as adestroyer escorts), three auxiliary minelayers, threemotor torpedo boats (Viforul,Vijelia, andViscolul), three gunboats, fifteen small auxiliary vessels and twenty seaplanes.[30][26]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.[31] By comparison, theSoviet 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.[19] The overwhelming superiority of theSoviet Navy forced the Royal Romanian Navy to conduct mainly defensive operations throughout the entire war and its warships rarely hazarded further east thanCape Sarych.[32]
The twoRegele Ferdinand-class destroyers were the most powerful surface units available to theAxis powers during thenaval war in the Black Sea but were mostly used for convoy escort. The Romanian-built minelayer/destroyer escortAmiral Murgescu and the three auxiliary minelayers of the Romanian Navy played an important role in thedefence of Constanța in 1941 and later in securing the merchant convoy routes to theBosphorus and the supply routes toOdessa andSevastopol. 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 theMFP type.[33]
The Royal Romanian Navy was involved in theevacuation of Axis forces from Crimea in 1944. The Romanian naval commander, Rear AdmiralHoria Macellariu, was awarded the GermanKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross afterOperation 60,000, the contingency plan for the evacuation ofCrimea.[34] UntilKing Michael's Coup, the Romanian Navy retreated behind the protection of the coastal mine barrages and anti-aircraft defences of Constanța as theSoviet 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 minesweeperT-410 Vzryv, accompanied byAmiral 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.[35] By this late stage of the war, only one destroyer (Regina Maria), one leader (Mărășești), two gunboats (Dumitrescu andGhiculescu), 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 toCaucasian ports. They were not returned until after the war. The older vessels were received in September 1945, while the more modern ones (such as theRegele Ferdinand class) were kept by the Soviet Black Sea Fleet until the early 1950s.[36] A number of warships were never returned.
The largest Romanian warship loss of the entire war was the accidental sinking of the gunboatLepri. The gunboat ran into a Romanian mine laid by the minelayerAurora nearSulina 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 theSMR 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.[37]
The following is a list of battles and operations of theWorld War II Black Sea Campaign involving the Romanian Navy:
The Romanian Naval Forces were reorganized during theSoviet occupation of Romania as theRomanian People's Navy.[38][39] 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.
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.[40]
| Vessel | Origin | Type | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Destroyers | |||||
| Mărăști |  Italy | Destroyer | Built in Italy for the Romanian Navy, entered service in 1920 | ||
| Mărășești | Italy | Destroyer | Built in Italy for the Romanian Navy, entered service in 1920 | ||
| Regele Ferdinand | Italy | Destroyer | Built in Italy for the Romanian Navy, entered service in 1930 | ||
| Regina Maria | Italy | Destroyer | Built in Italy for the Romanian Navy, entered service in 1930 | ||
| Torpedo boats | |||||
| Sborul |  Austria-Hungary | Torpedo boat | Built in Austria-Hungary during World War I | ||
| Viscolul |  United Kingdom | Motor torpedo boat | Built in the United Kingdom, acquired in 1940 | ||
| Viforul | United Kingdom | Motor torpedo boat | Built in the United Kingdom, acquired in 1940 | ||
| Vijelia | United Kingdom | Motor torpedo boat | Built in the United Kingdom, acquired in 1940 | ||
| Minelayers | |||||
| Regele Carol I | United Kingdom | Minelayer/Seaplane tender | Built in the United Kingdom in 1898 | ||
| Amiral Murgescu |  Romania | Minelayer/Escort ship | Built at theGalați shipyard in Romania between 1938 and 1941 | ||
| Remus Lepri |  France | Minelayer/Gunboat | Built in France during the second half of World War I | ||
| Submarine tenders | |||||
| Constanța | Italy | Submarine tender | Built in Italy for the Romanian Navy between 1927 and 1931 | ||
| Gunboats | |||||
| Sublocotenent Ghiculescu | France | Gunboat | Built in France during the second half of World War I | ||
| Eugen Stihi | France | Gunboat | Built in France during the second half of World War I | ||
| Căpitan Dumitrescu | France | Gunboat | Built in France during the second half of World War I | ||
| Training ships | |||||
| Mircea |  Germany | Training ship | Built in Germany for the Romanian Navy in 1938 | ||
| Submarines | |||||
| Delfinul | Italy | Submarine | Built in Italy for the Romanian Navy, entered service in 1936 | ||
| Rechinul | Romania | Submarine | Built at theGalați shipyard in Romania between 1938 and 1943 | ||
| Marsuinul | Romania | Submarine | Built at theGalați shipyard in Romania between 1938 and 1943 | ||
| CB-1 | Italy | Midget submarine | Acquired in late 1943 after theItalian surrender | ||
| CB-2 | Italy | Midget submarine | Acquired in late 1943 after theItalian surrender | ||
| CB-3 | Italy | Midget submarine | Acquired in late 1943 after theItalian surrender | ||
| CB-4 | Italy | Midget submarine | Acquired in late 1943 after theItalian surrender | ||
| CB-6 | Italy | Midget submarine | Acquired in late 1943 after theItalian surrender | ||
| Vessel | Navy | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Destroyers | |||||
| Moskva |  Soviet Navy | The SovietLeningrad-class destroyer was sunk on 26 June 1941 during theRaid on Constanța by Romanian mines,[41][42][43][44] laid by the Romanian minelayersAmiral Murgescu,Regele Carol I andAurora[45] | |||
| Submarines | |||||
| Shch-206 | Soviet Navy | The SovietShchuka-class submarine was sunk with depth charges nearMangalia by the Romanian torpedo boatNăluca and motor torpedo boatsViforul andVijelia on 9 July 1941[46][47][48] | |||
| M-58 | Soviet Navy | TheSoviet M-class submarine was sunk near Constanța on 18 October 1941 by Romanian mines,[49] laid by the Romanian minelayersAmiral Murgescu,Regele Carol I andAurora[45] | |||
| M-34 | Soviet Navy | The Soviet M-class submarine was sunk near Constanța on 30 October 1941 by Romanian mines,[49] laid by the Romanian minelayersAmiral Murgescu,Regele Carol I andAurora[45] | |||
| S-34 | Soviet Navy | TheSoviet S-class submarine was sunk nearCape Emine on 12 November 1941 by Romanian mines,[49] laid by the Romanian minelayersAmiral Murgescu,Regele Carol I andDacia[50] | |||
| Shch-211 | Soviet Navy | The SovietShchuka-class submarine was sunk nearVarna on 16 November 1941 by Romanian mines,[49] laid by the Romanian minelayersAmiral Murgescu,Regele Carol I andDacia[50] | |||
| M-59 | Soviet Navy | The Soviet M-class submarine was sunk with depth charges nearJibrieni by the Romanian destroyerRegele Ferdinand on 17 December 1941[51][52][53] | |||
| Shch-210 | Soviet Navy | The SovietShchuka-class submarine was sunk nearShabla on 12 or 15 March 1942 by Romanian mines,[49][54] laid by the Romanian minelayersAmiral Murgescu,Regele Carol I andDacia[50] | |||
| M-33 | Soviet Navy | The Soviet M-class submarine was sunk near Odessa on 24 August 1942 by Romanian mines,[55] laid by the Romanian minelayersAmiral Murgescu andDacia[56] | |||
| Shch-208 | Soviet Navy | The SovietShchuka-class submarine was sunk near Constanța on 26 August 1942 by Romanian mines,[55] laid by the Romanian minelayersAmiral Murgescu,Regele Carol I andAurora[45] | |||
| M-60 | Soviet Navy | The Soviet M-class submarine was sunk near Odessa on 26 September 1942 by Romanian mines,[55] laid by the Romanian minelayersAmiral Murgescu andDacia[56] | |||
| M-118 | Soviet Navy | The Soviet M-class submarine was sunk with depth charges nearCape Burnas by the Romanian gunboatsGhiculescu andStihi on 1 October 1942[57][58][55] | |||
| Shch-213 | Soviet Navy | The SovietShchuka-class submarine was sunk near Constanța on 14 October 1942 by Romanian mines,[59] laid by the Romanian minelayersAmiral Murgescu,Regele Carol I andAurora[45] | |||
| Shch-212 | Soviet Navy | The SovietShchuka-class submarine was sunk near the island ofFidonisi on 11 December 1942 by Romanian mines,[60][61][62] laid by the Romanian minelayersAmiral Murgescu andDacia[63] | |||
| L-24 | Soviet Navy | The SovietLeninets-class submarine was sunk near Shabla on 15 December 1942 by Romanian mines,[55][64] laid by the Romanian minelayersAmiral Murgescu,Regele Carol I andDacia[50] | |||
| M-31 | Soviet Navy | The Soviet M-class submarine was either sunk by Romanian mines near Fidonisi on 17 December 1942[65] or sunk with depth charges by the Romanian flotilla leaderMărășești on 7 July 1943[66] | |||
| L-6 | Soviet Navy | The SovietLeninets-class submarine was sunk with depth charges betweenConstanța andSevastopol by the Romanian gunboatGhiculescu supported by the German submarine chaserUJ-104 on 18 or 21 April 1944[67][68][69] | |||
The Romanian Navy is organized in one Frigate Flotilla and one Riverine Flotilla. Equipment includes twoType 22 frigates, oneMărășești class frigate, four corvettes (twoTetal-I and twoTetal-II), threeTarantul-I missile corvettes, one minelayer, four minesweepers, one minehunter, threeMihail Kogălniceanu class river monitors, fiveSmârdan class riverine armored patrol boats and other small craft and auxiliary ships.[2] The lastOsa class-basedEpitrop torpedo boats were retired in November 2023.[70]
As of 2022, ca. 6,800 men and women serve in the Romanian Navy.[2] The main base of the Romanian Navy is located atConstanța. 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 threeIAR 330 Puma Naval helicopters, with the last one being commissioned in December 2008. The helicopters are of a similar configuration to those of theRomanian 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 forsearch and rescue,medevac and maritime surveillance missions.
As of 2011, the naval bases are in:
The 307th Marine Infantry Regiment (Regimentul 307 Infanterie Marină) is the coastal defence unit of theRomanian Navy.[124] The unit was formed in the mid-1970s for the defence of theDanube Delta and RomanianBlack Sea shore. It was initially located at2 Mai village nearMangalia, but since 1975 the Marine Battalion was moved toBabadag,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."[citation needed] Itsbase is near Babadag military training range and is subordinated to the Riverine Flotilla.[125]
The battalion is organized into infantry, reconnaissance, sniper, mortars, anti-tank artillery, engineers, communications, logistic and naval support units. Standard equipment includesPA md. 86assault rifles,PM md. 64light machine guns,Md. 66machine guns, 60/82/120 mmmortars,AG-7 andAG-9 launchers, 76 mm Md. 82mountain howitzers, 11ABC-79M and 3 TABC-79Marmoured personnel carriers.[2] The 307th Marine Infantry Regiment was involved in military exercises with similar troops from United States, theNetherlands, Spain,Portugal, Italy andUkraine that were organized locally or abroad. Also, two companies from this unit have participated in theKFOR mission "Joint Enterprise" in 2008–09.[citation needed]
Since June 1, 2018, the 307th Marine Battalion has been redesignated as 307th Marine Infantry Regiment.[126]
For the river fleet and auxiliary vessels seeList of active Romanian Navy ships.
| Name | Type | Class | Origin | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Submarine | ||||
| S-521Delfinul | Conventional Submarine | Kilo |  Soviet Union | Not operational; used for dockside training[127] |
| Frigates | ||||
| F-111Mărășești | Multipurpose Frigate | Mărășești | Romania | |
| F-221 Regele Ferdinand | Multipurpose Frigate | Type 22 | United Kingdom | Ex-HMS Coventry |
| F-222 Regina Maria | Multipurpose Frigate | Type 22 | United Kingdom | Ex-HMS London |
| Corvettes | ||||
| Cvt 263Vice-Amiral Eugeniu Roșca | Multipurpose corvette | Tetal-I | Romania | |
| Cvt 260Amiral Petre Bărbuneanu | Multipurpose corvette | Tetal-I | Romania | |
| Cvt 264Contraamiral Eustațiu Sebastian | Multipurpose corvette | Tetal-II | Romania | |
| Cvt 265Contraamiral Horia Macellariu | Multipurpose corvette | Tetal-II | Romania | |
| Missile corvette | ||||
| NPR 188Zborul | Missile corvette | Tarantul class | Soviet Union | |
| NPR 189Pescărușul | Missile corvette | Tarantul class | Soviet Union | |
| NPR 190Lăstunul | Missile corvette | Tarantul class | Soviet Union | |
| Mine Warfare | ||||
| DM-24Lt. Remus Lepri | Minesweeper | Musca | Romania | Transferred to the Naval Forces Training School in Mangalia on 1 June 2023.[128] |
| DM-25Lt. Lupu Dinescu | Minesweeper | Musca | Romania | |
| DM-29Lt. Dimitrie Nicolescu | Minesweeper | Musca | Romania | 8 September 2022 contacted floating rogue mine some 20 N.M. north east ofConstanța, in theBlack Sea, and suffered mine explosion hit in the aft area, resulting in a small-sized hull breach. Navy shipGrozavul was sent to tow minesweeper to Constanța.[129] |
| DM-30Slt. Alexandru Axente | Minesweeper | Musca | Romania | |
| M270Sublocotenent Ion Ghiculescu | Minehunter | Sandown class | United Kingdom | Ex-HMS Blyth |
| M271Căpitan Constantin Dumitrescu | Minehunter | Sandown class | United Kingdom | Ex-HMS Pembroke |
| PM-274Viceamiral Constantin Bălescu | Minelayer | Cosar | Romania | |
| Model | Origin | Type | Variant | Numbers | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IAR 330 | Romania | Maritime helicopter | Puma Naval | 3[130] | 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 andASW.[131][132] |
| H215M | France | Maritime helicopter | Cougar Naval | 2 (on order)[133] | The naval version of the H215M is powered by two Turbomeca Makila 1A1 turboshaft engines. This version is mainly used forAnti-surface unit warfare (ASUW), fitted withMarte-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 |  United States | Unmanned aerial vehicle | 4 (to be delivered) | The first four V-BAT drones will be received as donation by the United States. The system is expected to be delivered by the end of 2025. A second phase will follow, in which the Romanian Naval Forces will purchase two additional V-BAT systems (eight drones).[134] |
The Romanian government plans to acquire new vessels to modernize the Romanian Naval Forces.[135] This plan includes:
The rank insignia ofcommissioned officers.
| NATO code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Romanian Naval Forces[141] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||
| Mareșal | Amiral | Viceamiral | Contraamiral | Contraamiral de flotilă | Comandor | Căpitan-comandor | Locotenent-comandor | Căpitan | Locotenent | Aspirant | ||||||||||||||
The rank insignia ofnon-commissioned officers andenlisted personnel.
| NATO code | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-6 | OR-5 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-2 | OR-1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romanian Naval Forces[141] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | No insignia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Plutonier adjutant principal | Plutonier adjutant | Plutonier-major | Plutonier | Sergent-major | Sergent | Caporal clasa I | Caporal clasa a II-a | Caporal clasa a III-a | Fruntaș | Soldat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
| Armed Forces |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Internal Affairs | |||||||
| Intelligence agencies | |||||||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
