The action off Măcin was a naval engagement between a

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

of the

Romanian Navy The Romanian Navy ( ro, Forțele Navale Române) 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. History The Romanian Navy was founded in 1860 as a river flot ...

with a mixed Romanian-Russian crew, together with another 3 Russian torpedo boats, and a

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West Vir ...

of the Ottoman Navy which took place during the 1877-1878

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...

. It was the first time in history that a torpedo craft sank its target without being sunk itself.

Background

The

Principality of Romania The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia ( ro, Principatele Unite ale Moldovei și Țării Românești), commonly called United Principalities, was the personal union of the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia, f ...

acquired its first torpedo boat in 1875, two years before the start of the

. She was built in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Named '' Rândunica'', she was a 10-ton launch armed with a single spar torpedo. She was powered by a steam engine giving her a top speed of 8 knots and had a crew of five. Romania joined the Russo-Turkish War in April 1877, signing a treaty of alliance with the Russian Empire which allowed the Russian Army to cross through Romanian territory. On 10 May, Romania declared its independence.

Engagement

According to the Russian-Romanian treaty signed in April that year, ''Rândunica'' served under joint Romanian-Russian command. She was also known as ''Tsarevich'' by the Russians. Her crew consisted of a Russian Lieutenant, Dubasov, three Romanians: Major Murgescu (the official liaison officer with the Russian headquarters), engine mechanic Vasile Belea, navigator Gheorghe Constantinescu and another 10 sailors. The attack carried out by the torpedo boat ''Rândunica'', together with the torpedo boats ''Xenia'' (commanded by Lieutenant Shestakov), ''Dzigit'' (commanded by Ensign Persine) and ''Tzarevna'' (commanded by Ensign Ball) against the monitors ''Seyfi'', ''Feth-ül Islam'' and the paddle steamer ''Kîlîc Ali'' took place during the night of 25–26 May 1877, near

Măcin Măcin () is a town in Tulcea County, in the Northern Dobruja region of Romania. Location Măcin is located in the north-western part of the Northern Dobruja region, in Tulcea County. The city is located at the intersection of the DN22 ( E87) an ...

. Under the cover of the darkness and at low speed, the group of torpedo boats got to about 60 meters from the Turkish ships when ''Seyfi'' opened fire. Lieutenant Dubasov turned ''Rândunica'' to attack. As she was approaching the Ottoman monitor, the latter fired three rounds at her without any effect. Before she could fire the fourth round, ''Rândunica'' 's spar struck her between the midships and the stern. A powerful explosion followed, with debris from the Ottoman warship rising up to 40 meters in the air. The half-sunk monitor then re-opened fire, but was struck once again, by ''Xenia'', with the same devastating effects. The crew of ''Seyfi'' subsequently fired their rifles at the torpedo boats. After 10 minutes, at 3 o'clock in the morning, the monitor sunk. Lieutenant Dubasov did not want to risk another attack and ordered a retreat. As the boats were retreating the two remaining Ottoman ships opened fire without any success. Following this action, Ottoman warships throughout the remainder of the war would always retreat upon sighting spar torpedo boats. The Russian Lieutenants Dubasov and Shestakov were decorated with the

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...

, while Major was decorated with the

Order of Saint Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...

as well as the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...

. ''Rândunica'' was returned to full Romanian control in 1878, after the Russian ground forces had finished crossing the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

Aftermath

This engagement was the first instance in history when a torpedo craft sank its target without being sunk itself. The Ottomans lost a 400-ton ironclad warship, with a maximum armor thickness of 76 mm and armed with two 120 mm guns. She had a crew of 51. Over half a century later, on 14 June 1939, Romania launched its first native-built warship, the

minelaying A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

'' Amiral Murgescu'', named in the honor of Major Murgescu (he became the first Romanian Admiral after the war), who distinguished himself during this action and throughout the rest of the Russo-Turkish War. This victory ingrained the spar torpedo within the Romanian naval doctrine for the decades to come. As late as 1906, Romania ordered a class of eight vessels armed with spar torpedoes, however they were also fitted with torpedo dropping gear (carriages) amidships.Robert Gardiner, ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906-1921'', Naval Institute Press, 1985, p. 422

References

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