Constantin "Bibi" Costăchescu (12 April 1909–8 August 1983) was a

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

commander in 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 ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He is the only Romanian submarine commander to sink an enemy ship.

Early days

He was born in 1909 in Pleșești,

Suceava County Suceava County () is a county ('' ro, județ'') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat is the historical town ...

, the son of Olga and Vasile Costăchescu, both teachers. He went to school in his native village and in

Fălticeni Fălticeni (; ''german: Foltischeni; hu, Falticsén;'' he, פלטיצ'ן yi, פאלטישאן) is a town in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Western Moldavia. Fălticeni is the second largest urba ...

, after which he attended military school in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

, graduating in 1928. He then enrolled in the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...

, finishing in 1930 second in his class, with the rank of

aspirant Aspirant is a rank in the Royal Canadian Navy, Estonian Defence Forces, French military, Brazilian military, Portuguese military, Swiss military, Italian Air Force, Argentinian Armed Forces, Romanian Navy, Polish Policja and Państwowa Straż ...

. Costăchescu served on the destroyer

NMS Mărășești NMS ''Mărășești'' was one of four s ordered by Romania shortly before the beginning of the First World War from Italy. All four sister ships were requisitioned when Italy joined the war in 1915. Originally named ''Vârtej'' by the Romani ...

and in 1933 graduated from the Special Naval School.

The attack

On 1 October 1938, Costăchescu was appointed second in command of NMS Dolphin, and from 1 October 1939 to November 1943, he served as its commanding officer (CO). In June 1941 Romania entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

on the side of the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

; in October of that year, the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

joined in the

Crimean campaign The Crimea campaign was an eight-month-long campaign by Axis forces to conquer the Crimea Peninsula, and was the scene of some of the bloodiest battles on the Eastern Front during World War II. The German, Romanian, and defending Soviet t ...

. On its 5th patrol in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

, the ''Dolphins orders were to cut the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

supply routes for

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

. The patrol lasted from 2–7 November 1941. It was his 3rd patrol as the CO of the ''Dolphin'' (from the first 5 patrols of the Dolphin, Costăchescu was the CO for the 1st, 3rd and 5th). On the morning of 5 November at 08:05, sub-lieutenant Constantin Stegaru spotted a big transport ship steaming for

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea ...

. At 08:43, Costăchescu launched one aft tube torpedo from away. In a couple of moments, the torpedo explosion followed by another bigger one could be heard. It is possible that the ship was not escorted, because the first contact with the Soviet submarine-hunter ships took place after an hour. The anti submarine attack lasted from 10:30 until 18:30 and there were 80 to 90 depth charge explosions. The sunken Soviet ship was the 1,975-ton cargo ''Uralets'' (also known as ''Uralles''). Romanian historians identified the Russian ship as being the ''Uralles'', 1975-tonne cargo boat, but Soviet archives state that the ''Uralles'' was sunk by

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

bombers in the port of Eupatoria on 29 October 1941. To this day, the identity of the ship remains an open debate. Costăchescu was awarded the

Order of Michael the Brave The Order of Michael the Brave ( ro, Ordinul Mihai Viteazul) is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign of the First World War, and was again awarded in the Second Wor ...

3rd class. He was also the recipient of 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 ...

, Knight class; the

Order of the Crown (Romania) The Order of the Crown of Romania is a chivalric order set up on 14 March 1881 by King Carol I of Romania to commemorate the establishment of the Kingdom of Romania. It was awarded as a state order until the end of the Romanian monarchy in 1947. ...

, Knight class; and the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

, 1st class and 2nd class.

After the war

After the end of the war, Costăchescu served as an instructor for Romanian submariners and as a professor at the Naval Academy in Constanța, teaching future navy officers spatial geometry. He died in 1983, after being hit by a car, and a hard fall on ice during a cold winter in Constanța. He was buried in the city's Central Cemetery. Because he fought in the war against the Soviet Union, the Romanian Communist regime never acknowledged his merits.

Notes

References

* *

External links

A history of the submarine warfare in the Black Sea during World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Costachescu, Constantin 1909 births 1983 deaths People from Suceava County Romanian military personnel of World War II Submarine commanders Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Knights of the Order of the Star of Romania Knights of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 1st class Romanian Naval Forces officers