NMS ''Mircea'' was the second ship 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 flo ...

's Black Sea Fleet, one of the Fleet's six founding warships and the only one of these vessels to remain in service until 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 opposi ...

. She was sunk during an air raid in April 1944.

Construction and specifications

''Mircea'' was built in 1882 by

Thames Iron Works The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf (often referred to as Blackwall) on the west side and at Cannin ...

at Blackwall,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. A two-masted brig, she measured 36 meters (118 feet) in length and had a displacement of 360 tons. She was fitted with a 160 hp auxiliary engine which gave her a top speed of 6 knots. She had one funnel and was armed with four machine guns.

Career

''Mircea'' entered service in 1882 and became the second warship of the Romanian Black Sea fleet, after the gunboat ''

Grivița Grivița () is a district of Bucharest, Romania, centered on the Grivița Railway Yards (''Atelierele CFR Grivița''), which were and still are an important landmark within the manufacturing landscape of the city. Located near Gara de Nord, thei ...

'', commissioned in 1880. The two vessels, together with the protected cruiser '' Elisabeta'' and the three ''Smeul''-class torpedo boats, officially formed the Romanian Black Sea Fleet in 1890. She served as a training ship during the

First World War 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 ...

, although she was also rated as a composite

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

. She survived the war and was replaced in 1939 as the Romanian Navy's training ship by a modern, German-built yet unarmed three-masted bark with the same name, which is still in service to this day. The old brig was sunk at Galați by

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

bombers on 17 April 1944.Nicolae Koslinski, Raymond Stănescu, ''Marina română in al doilea război mondial: 1944-1945'', Făt-Frumos, 1996, p. 30 (in Romanian)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mircea (1882) World War I naval ships of Romania World War II naval ships of Romania 1882 ships Brigs Ships built in the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in April 1944 Ships sunk by Soviet aircraft