At the beginning of the war the Soviet Navy enjoyed absolute superiority in terms of submarine warfare, possessing 47 active Submarines in the Black Sea[1] against a single submarine operated by the Romanian Navy, the lonely Delfinul.
Engagements
Romanian destroyer Regele Ferdinand
On 9 July, the Romanian gunboat Stihi Eugen informed the Romanian torpedo boatNăluca and motor torpedo boatsViscolul and Vijelia that the periscope of an enemy submarine was sighted near Mangalia. In the ensuing battle, the Soviet Shchuka-class submarineShch-206 was attacked by Năluca, at first with 20mm rounds and then with depth charges, eventually being sunk with all hands aboard.[2][3][4] According to Romanian sources, a second submarine was also sunk by the two motor torpedo boats.[5]
On 15 August, the Romanian merchant Peles was torpedoed and sunk by the Soviet submarine ShCh-211 north east of Cape Emine, in Bulgarian waters, while the Italian tanker Superga was missed during the same attack.[7][self-published source?]
On 16 August, the Soviet submarine ShCh-211 attacked once more close Cape Ermine, but missed Romanian merchant Ardeal.[7][self-published source?]
Between 17 and 21 October, the exact date being unclear, the Soviet submarine M-58 was lost; most likely having hit a mine in the Danube estuary area.[10][self-published source?]
On 26 October, the Soviet small submarine M-35 attacked, on surface, a convoy of German barges with gunfire: SF-25 was sunk and SF-36 was heavily damaged and driven ashore off Sulina.[11][self-published source?]
On 5 November, the Italian tanker Torcello was torpedoed and sunk by Soviet submarine Shch-214 close Cape Igneada.[12][self-published source?] On the same day, Romanian submarine Delfinul claimed the torpedoing and sinking of the Soviet tanker "Uralles" (1975 GRT) off Yalta, the only known successful torpedo attack from a Romanian submarine during the war. However the tanker was possibly sunk by the Luftwaffe on 29 October while other sources report it was probably attacked by the minelayer Ostrovsky[13][self-published source?]
The Bulgarian submarine chasers were of the American SC-1 type.
On 17 December, near Jibrieni, the Soviet submarine M-59 attacked an Axis convoy consisting of the Hungarian cargo ships Kassa and Kolozsvár[20] and the Bulgarian cargo ship Tzar Ferdinand,[21] escorted by the Romanian Navy with the Regele Ferdinand-class destroyersRegele Ferdinand and Regina Maria, gunboats Stihi Eugen and Sublocotenent Ghiculescu, and torpedo boats Sborul and Smeul. The attack failed, with M-59 being depth-charged by Regele Ferdinand and sunk with all hands aboard.[22][17] According other sources, M-59 was lost running on mines earlier in November.[23][self-published source?]
Outcome
Soviet submarines are estimated to have sunk 10 targets (19,000 tons) of Axis shipping.[24] Gunnery was favoured but many torpedoes were launched, even against shallow-draught targets who were often not hit.[25]
The Romanian Navy is the navy branch of the Romanian Armed Forces; it operates in the Black Sea and on the Danube. It traces its history back to 1860.
The Shchuka-class submarines, also referred to as Sh or Shch-class submarines, were a medium-sized class of Soviet submarines, built in large numbers and used during World War II. "Shchuka" is Russian for pike. Of this class, only two submarines entered service after 1945, although they were launched before the war.
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.
NMS Delfinul was a Romanian submarine that served in the Black Sea during the Second World War. It was the first submarine of the Romanian Navy, built in Italy under Romanian supervision.
Щ-213 was a Soviet Navy Shchuka-class submarine, Type X. She was built at the Sudostroytelnyi zavod imeny 61 kommunara in Mykolaiv, Ukrainian SSR, and entered service in October 1938 with the Soviet Black Sea fleet.
NMS Amiral Murgescu was a minelayer and convoy escort of the Romanian Navy, the first sea-going warship built in Romania and the largest Romanian-built warship of World War II. She laid numerous minefields, from the Bulgarian port of Burgas to the Crimean port of Sevastopol, which inflicted significant losses to the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. She also carried out numerous convoy escort missions and took part in the Axis evacuation of the Crimea in May 1944. Due to her success in combat, she was decorated twice by May 1944. She was captured by the Soviet Union in September 1944 and served until 1988, when she was scrapped.
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.
The action of 6 December 1941 was a confrontation between the Bulgarian and Soviet navies in the Black Sea during World War II, taking place near the Bulgarian coast at Cape Emine.
The action of 9 July 1941 was a naval engagement between the Soviet and Romanian navies during World War II, taking place near the Romanian port-city of Mangalia.
NMS Viscolul was the most successful and the longest-serving motor torpedo boat of the Romanian Navy during the Second World War. She supported the Siege of Odessa and took part in the action of 9 July 1941.
NMS Năluca was a torpedo boat of the Royal Romanian Navy. She was commissioned in 1920, after initially serving as Tb 82 F in the Austro-Hungarian Navy during World War I. She and six more sister ships were awarded to Romania as reparations after the war ended.
The Soviet submarine Baltic Sea campaign in 1943 was launched by the Soviet Navy to harass the strategic iron ore traffic from neutral Sweden to Nazi Germany on the Eastern Front during the WWII. Other operations were launched by Allies, especially by the Royal Navy. The offensive was a repetition of the previous campaign in 1942 but resulted in a failed outcome.
Submarine warfare in the Black Sea in World War II during 1942 involved engagements between primarily submarines of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet attacking Axis merchantmen defended by Romanian and German naval warships. These engagements were a part of the Black Sea campaigns between Axis and Soviet naval forces.
Submarine warfare in the Black Sea in World War II during 1943 involved engagements between submarines of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet attacking Axis merchantmen defended by Romanian and German naval warships, as well as and German U-boats attacking Soviet merchants on the eastern Black Sea. These engagements were a part of the Black Sea campaigns between Axis and Soviet naval forces.
Submarine warfare in the Black Sea in World War II during 1944 involved engagements between submarines of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet attacking Axis merchantmen, defended by Romanian and German naval warships, as well as German U-boats and Romanian submarines attacking Soviet merchants on the eastern Black Sea. Before the conclusion of the campaign, Romania joined the Allies after King Michael's Coup. These engagements were a part of the naval Black Sea campaigns.
The Soviet submarine Baltic Sea campaign in 1941 was launched by the Soviet Navy at the early stage of Operation Barbarossa. The offensive was hampered by the quick German ground advance and the retreat of Soviet naval vessels from the main Baltic harbors.
Between 1941 and 1944, Romania held control over much of the Ukrainian Black Sea coast East of the Crimea. This was acquired during Operation Barbarossa. The Romanian conquest of the Soviet Western Black Sea coast started in July 1941 during Operation München and ended in October that year, after the Siege of Odessa. In the aftermath of these actions, Romania acquired two new sectors of coastline: the Bessarabian coast and the Transnistrian Coast. The latter was lost in April 1944, but the former was successfully defended until August 1944.
Shch-310 was a Shchuka-class submarine of the Soviet Navy. She operated in the Baltic Sea during the WW2. During the operations in 1942 the submarine's commander was Georgiy Yegorov.
Shch-421 was a Shchuka-class submarine of the Soviet Navy. She served in the Northern Fleet during World War II. She was led by commander Nikolai Lunin, before he was replaced by his second-in-command Fyodor Vidyayev.
NMS Regele Carol I was a passenger ship of the Romanian Maritime Service and later a warship of the Romanian Navy, serving as both minelayer and seaplane tender. She was completed and commissioned in 1898 and sunk in 1941, during World War II.
References
↑ John F. O'Connell, Submarine Operational Effectiveness in the 20th Century: Part Two (1939 - 1945), 2011, p. 200
↑ Cristian Crăciunoiu, Romanian navy torpedo boats, p. 135
↑ Donald A Bertke, Gordon Smith, Don Kindell, World War II Sea War, Volume 4: Germany Sends Russia to the Allies, p. 134
↑ Constantin Cumpănă, Corina Apostoleanu, Amintiri despre o flotă pierdută, Volumul II – Voiaje neterminate (Memories of a lost fleet, Volume II - Unfinished journeys) (in Romanian)
↑ Donald A Bertke, Gordon Smith, Don Kindell, World War II Sea War, Volume 4: Germany Sends Russia to the Allies, p. 195
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