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

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

commander in the

Romanian Navy 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. History The Romanian Navy was founded in 1860 as a river flotilla on ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 (') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat and the ...

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

Fălticeni Fălticeni (; ''; ;'' ) is a town in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Western Moldavia. According to the 2021 census, Fălticeni is the third largest urban settlement in the county. It was declared ...

, after which he attended military school in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, graduating in 1928. He then enrolled in the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

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

aspirant Aspirant is usually an officer cadet rank used in armies, navies and air forces. In Western Christianity, an aspirant is the first stage in becoming a monastic. Religious use In Western Christianity, the term is also used in reference to rel ...

. 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 Kingdom of Italy, Italy. All four sister ships were requisitioned when Italy joined the war in 1915. Originally named ''Vârte ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

on the side of the

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

; in October of that year, the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

joined in the

Crimean campaign The Crimean campaign was conducted by the Axis powers, Axis as part of Operation Barbarossa during World War II. The invading force was led by Nazi Germany, Germany with support from Kingdom of Romania, Romania and Fascist Italy, Italy, wh ...

. On its 5th patrol in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea 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 bound ...

, the ''Dolphins orders were to cut the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

supply routes for

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

. 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 (: ) is a resort town, 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 Crime ...

. 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, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

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 () is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King of Romania, King Ferdinand I of Romania, Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign (World War I), Romanian Campaign of the World War I ...

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 Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...

, 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 (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

, 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