NMS ''Aurora'' was a small minelayer of the Romanian Navy. After initially serving in the

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the A ...

during World War I and later in the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

, she was transferred to Romania and fought during

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 ...

, being sunk in July 1941.

Construction and career

Initially named ''Basilisk'', the vessel was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard in 1901. She was launched on 28 November 1902, and was completed on 21 February 1903. She served during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as one of the four minelayers of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. ''Basilisk'' displaced 314 tons, measuring 46 meters in length, with a beam of 7.9 meters and a draught of 1.5 meters. One cylindrical boiler and one set triple-expansion engine generated an output of 550 hp, giving her a top speed of 11 knots. Her armament consisted of two 47 mm Škoda L/44 naval guns, two 8 mm machine guns and 145 mines. She had a crew of 40. Following Austria-Hungary's defeat in 1918, the vessel was ceded to France as a

war prize A prize of war is a piece of enemy property or land seized by a belligerent party during or after a war or battle, typically at sea. This term was used nearly exclusively in terms of captured ships during the 18th and 19th centuries. Basis in inte ...

in 1920 under the terms of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and renamed ''Aurore''. She was transferred to Romania in 1922 and renamed ''Aurora''. However, she was decommissioned five years later and sold for merchant service to the Romanian Danube Navigation Company (SRD - Societate Anonima Româna de Navigatie pe Dunare),

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

. In 1937, she was requisitioned by the Romanian Navy and underwent an extensive refit at the

Galați shipyard __NOTOC__ The Galați shipyard ( ro, Șantierul naval Galați), formally Damen Shipyards Galați, is a shipyard located on the Danube in Galați, a city located in the Moldavia region of Romania. History Origins through communism Shipbuilding is a ...

, until 1939, when she was recommissioned as a minelayer.

World War II

''Aurora'' laid her first mine barrage in the morning of 30 June, off

Sulina Sulina () is a town and free port in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania, at the mouth of the Sulina branch of the Danube. It is the easternmost point of Romania. History During the mid-Byzantine period, Sulina was a small cove, and in t ...

, during the Soviet invasion of Bessarabia . Lieutenant-Commander Stan Baicu commanded her. A second barrage was laid during the night of 10–11 January 1941. She laid a third barrage in the area on 27–28 June 1941. Between 16 and 19 June 1941, she and two other Romanian minelayers, '' Amiral Murgescu'' and ''Regele Carol I'' (converted merchant ship), laid a barrage of 1,000 mines between Cape Midia and

Tuzla Tuzla (, ) is the third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inhabitants. Tuzla is the economic, cultural, ed ...

, to protect the main Romanian port of

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 ...

. The mines laid off Constanța would later sink a Soviet

destroyer leader Destroyer leader (DL) was the United States Navy designation for large destroyers from 9 February 1951 through the early years of the Cold War. United States ships with hull classification symbol DL were officially frigates from 1 January 1955Blac ...

during the 26 June Soviet

raid Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to: Attack * Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground * Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business * Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...

on the port. ''Aurora'' herself was sunk on 15 July at Sulina during ''

Operation München Operation München ( ro, Operațiunea München) was the Romanian codename of a joint German-Romanian offensive during the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II, with the primary objective of recapturing Bessarabia, Northern Bukov ...

'' by Soviet aircraft.Antony Preston, ''Warship 2001–2002'', Conway Maritime Press, 2001, p. 72

References

External links

''Aurora''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aurora Ships built in Italy World War I naval ships of Austria-Hungary Minelayers of the French Navy World War II minelayers of Romania 1909 ships Maritime incidents in July 1941 Ships sunk by Soviet aircraft World War II shipwrecks in the Black Sea