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Romania Naval Forces
In 1989 the Romanian Navy had more than 7,500 sailors,
organized into a Black Sea Fleet, the Danube Squadron, and
the
shore-based Coastal Defense. It had the mission of
defending the
country's coastlines against enemy naval bombardments and
amphibious assaults, or at least blunting them. All
sailors were
trained to use infantry weapons and tactics to fight in a
land war,
in the likely event that the Romanian Navy would be
neutralized in
a surface engagement with a more powerful naval force. Its
major
naval bases and shipyards were the Black Sea ports of
Mangalia and
Constanta. It also made use of Danube River anchorages at
Braila,
Giurgiu, Sulina, Galati, and Tulcea. The Romanian naval
order-of-
battle included several minor surface combatants and
larger numbers
of fast-attack craft and patrol boats. Beginning in the
early
1980s, Romania placed greater resources into its naval
construction
program and built new patrol boats, frigates, and even
destroyers
using Chinese and Soviet designs. This increased
production may
have been intended to increase Romania's export sales. In
1986
Romania took delivery of a Soviet Kilo-class diesel
submarine, and
it was speculated that additional units could be received
in
subsequent years.
In 1985 Romania commissioned its first large surface
unit, a
6,000-ton guided missile destroyer, the Muntenia,
built in
the Mangalia shipyard. The Muntenia was based on
the design
of the 1960s-era Soviet Kashin-class destroyers. Its
weapons were
almost exclusively of Soviet manufacture. Muntenia
had four
dual SS-N-2C/STYX antiship missile launchers and one dual
SA-N-4
surface-to-air missile launcher. It was equipped with
100mm guns,
two torpedo tubes, and a helicopter deck that could
shelter two
IAR-316B Alouette III antisubmarine warfare (ASW)
helicopters. In
1989 a second unit of the same type as the Muntenia
was
under construction. Between 1983 and 1985, Romania built
three
1,900-ton Tetal-class frigates using the 1970s-era Soviet
Koniclass as a model. Equipped with a dual 76mm gun,
antiaircraft guns,
four torpedo tubes, and two ASW rocket launchers, these
frigates
could be used as submarine chasers or maritime escorts. A
fourth
Tetal unit was under construction in 1989. For logistical
support,
the navy operated two 3,500-ton Croitor-class combatant
tenders.
Modeled on the Soviet Don-class, they had four dual SA-N-5
surfaceto -air missile launchers, one dual 57mm gun, antiaircraft
guns, and
a helicopter deck. These ships also went to sea in the
early 1980s.
In 1989 the Romanian Navy operated the following ships:
three
400-ton Poti-class ASW corvettes armed with two twin 57mm
gun
turrets, four torpedo tubes, and two ASW rocket launchers
(obtained
from the Soviet Union in 1970); three 300-ton
Kronshtadt-class ASW
corvettes equipped with various guns and depth charges
(received
from the Soviet Union in 1956); six Osa I-class fast
attack craft
(missile) carrying four SS-N-2A/STYX antiship missile
launchers and
antiaircraft guns (transferred from the Soviet Union in
the 1960s);
twenty-two 40-ton Huchuan-class hydrofoil fast attack
craft
(torpedo) armed with two torpedo tubes and antiaircraft
guns (the
first three units were delivered from China in 1973);
twelve 200-
ton Romanian-built Epitrop-class fast attack craft, which
mounted
four torpedo tubes and antiaircraft guns on an Osa-class
hull;
twenty-five Shanghai II-class fast attack craft (gun)
(received
from China beginning in 1977); two 1,500-ton Cosar-class
minelayers
armed with 57mm guns (built in Romania during the early
1980s); and
four modernized Democratia-class coastal minesweepers
(built in the
1950s in the German Democratic Republic--East Germany).
Coastal Defense was the shore-based component of
defense
against attack from the Black Sea. Headquartered at
Constanta,
the 2,000-man Coastal Defense regiment operated in several
sectors
along Romania's 245-kilometer coastline and was organized
into ten
artillery batteries with 130mm, 150mm, and 152mm guns,
three
antiship missile batteries with SSC-2B/SAMLET launchers,
and eight
batteries of antiaircraft artillery.
The Danube Squadron included eighteen 85-ton VB-class
riverine
patrol boats, armed with 85mm main guns, 81mm mortars, and
antiaircraft guns, eight 40-ton VG-class boats, and
twenty-five VDclass inshore minesweeping boats. It also operated several
units of
the 400-ton Brutar-class armored boat, equipped with a
BM-21
multiple rocket launcher and a 100mm gun mounted in a tank
turret.
The Danube Squadron's mission was to defeat hostile ground
forces
attempting to ford the Danube River and to ensure the
river's
availability as a line of communication.
Data as of July 1989
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