River monitors are military craft designed to patrol rivers. They are normally the largest of all riverine warships in river flotillas, and mount the heaviest weapons. The name originated from the US Navy's USS Monitor, which made her first appearance in the American Civil War, and being distinguished by the use of revolving gun turrets, which were particularly useful in rivers, whose narrow channels could severely limit the directions vessels could face.
The Romanian Naval Forces 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.
The Royal Romanian Navy during World War I (1914–1918) was divided into two fleets and fought against the forces of the Central Powers. When Romania entered the war in August 1916, the Romanian Navy was officially divided as follows :
The Black Sea Campaigns were the operations of the Axis and Soviet naval forces in the Black Sea and its coastal regions during World War II between 1941 and 1944, including in support of the land forces.
Operation München was the Romanian codename of a joint German-Romanian offensive during the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II, with the primary objective of recapturing Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina and the Hertsa region, ceded by Romania to the Soviet Union a year before. The operation started during the night of 2–3 July 1941 and concluded successfully after 24 days of fighting. Axis formations involved included the Romanian Third Army in the north; the German Eleventh Army and subordinated Romanian units in the center; and the Romanian Fourth Army in the south. The invasion was followed by a genocide against the Jewish population of Bessarabia.
The Mihail Kogălniceanu-class river monitor is a class of river monitors in service with the Romanian Naval Forces. Three ships of this class are currently in service with the Romanian Navy. They are assigned to Section I, 67th Artillery Carrying Ships Division "Commander Virgil Alexandru Dragalina" of the Romanian Danube Flotilla based in Brăila.
The Galați shipyard, formally Damen Shipyards Galați, is a shipyard located on the Danube in Galați, a city located in the Moldavia region of Romania. It was founded in 1893 as the G. Fernic et Co Mechanical constructions and iron and bronze foundry. In 1897, it was renamed as the G. Fernic et Co Shipyard.
The Yugoslav monitor Drava was a river monitor operated by the Royal Yugoslav Navy between 1921 and 1941. She was originally built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy as the name ship of the Enns-class river monitors. As SMS Enns, she was part of the Danube Flotilla during World War I, and fought against the Serbian and Romanian armies from Belgrade to the lower Danube. In October 1915, she was covering an amphibious assault on Belgrade when she was holed below the waterline by a direct hit, and had to be towed to Budapest for repairs. After brief service with the Hungarian People's Republic at the end of the war, she was transferred to the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and renamed Drava. She remained in service throughout the interwar period, but was not always in full commission due to budget restrictions.
The Yugoslav monitor Sava is a Temes-class river monitor that was built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy as SMS Bodrog. She fired the first shots of World War I just after 01:00 on 29 July 1914, when she and two other monitors shelled Serbian defences near Belgrade. She was part of the Danube Flotilla, and fought the Serbian and Romanian armies from Belgrade to the mouth of the Danube. In the closing stages of the war, she was the last monitor to withdraw towards Budapest, but was captured by the Serbs when she grounded on a sandbank downstream from Belgrade. After the war, she was transferred to the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and renamed Sava. She remained in service throughout the interwar period, although budget restrictions meant she was not always in full commission.
SMS Körös was the name ship of the Körös-class river monitors built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Completed in 1892, the ship was part of the Danube Flotilla, and fought various Allied forces from Belgrade down the Danube to the Black Sea during World War I. After brief service with the Hungarian People's Republic at the end of the war, she was transferred to the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, and renamed Morava. She remained in service throughout the interwar period, although budget restrictions meant she was not always in full commission.
The Danube Flotilla was a naval force of the Soviet Navy's Black Sea Fleet during World War II and afterwards, existing 1940–1941 and 1944–1960. The Flotilla operated on the Danube River and also, at times, on other rivers connected to the Black Sea.
The Brătianu-class river monitors were a class of four river monitors used by the Romanian Navy. They were named Ion C. Brătianu, Lascăr Catargiu, Mihail Kogălniceanu and Alexandru Lahovari.
The Romanian Navy during World War II was the main Axis naval force in the Black Sea campaigns and fought against the Soviet Union's Black Sea Fleet from 1941 to 1944. Operations consisted mainly of mine warfare, but there were also escort missions and localized naval engagements. The largest naval action fought by the Romanian Navy was the 26 June 1941 Raid on Constanța, and its most extensive operation was the 1944 evacuation of the Crimea.
NMS Mihail Kogălniceanu was a Brătianu-class river monitor of the Romanian Navy. She saw service in both world wars, being the most successful vessel in her class of four ships. Like her three sisters, she was initially built as a river monitor, but in early 1918, she was converted to a sea-going monitor. During the Second Balkan War, she supported the Romanian crossing of the Danube into Bulgaria. During World War I, she carried out numerous bombardments against the Central Powers forces advancing along the shore of the Danube and carried out the last action of the Romanian Navy before the 11 November 1918 armistice. She later fought successfully against Bolshevik naval forces during the early months of the Russian Civil War, helping secure the Budjak region.
The action of 26 June 1941 consisted in an engagement between the navies of the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of Romania, taking place on the Chilia branch of the Danube Delta, near the commune of Ceatalchioi. The action resulted in a Romanian victory and the withdrawal of the Soviet vessels, one of them being damaged and later captured.
The Romanian Danube Flotilla is the oldest extant naval force on the Danube, dating since 1860, when the Romanian Navy was founded. It saw service during most of the wars involving Romania, and was the most powerful river naval force in the world during the Interwar period.
NMS Ardeal was a Temes-class river monitor originally named SMS Temes while in Austro-Hungarian Navy service. Built in 1904, Temes was the lead ship of her class and served as flag ship of the Austro-Hungarian Danube Flotilla between 1908 and 1914. After a short service in the Yugoslav Navy, she was transferred to the Romanian Navy in 1920 and served with the Romanian Danube Flotilla in World War II until 1944 when she was taken over the Soviets. She was returned to Romania in 1951 and served as a training ship under the name M.20, later M.207, until 1959 when she was scrapped.
NMS Basarabia, originally named SMS Inn, was an Enns-class river monitor built by Ganz-Danubius in Budapest between 1913 and 1915. While in Austro-Hungarian Navy service, she struck a Romanian mine and sank in 1917. She was then refloated and repaired, being transferred to the Romanian Navy as war reparations. She continued service with Romania until 1944 when she was taken by the Soviet Union. In 1951, she was returned to Romania and continued service until 1958. She was scrapped in 1960.
NMS Bucovina, named SMS Sava in Austro-Hungarian Navy service, was the lead ship of the Sava-class river monitors built by Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino of Linz between 1914 and 1915. She served in the Austro-Hungarian Danube Flotilla until 1918, and after a brief service in the Yugoslav Navy, she was assigned to the Romanian Navy. Serving with the Romanian Danube Flotilla in World War II, she ran aground near Ostrovul Ciocănești on 1 September 1944. She was recovered on 16 September and confiscated by the Soviets receiving the name Izmail. Returned to Romania in 1951, she was moved to reserve in 1957, then scrapped in 1959.
Romania 
Soviet Union 
Eugeniu Roșca 
Alexander Frolov