NMS Mărăști
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NMS ''Mărăști'' was one of four s ordered by Romania shortly before the beginning of the First World War from Italy. All four
sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
s were requisitioned when Italy joined the war in 1915. Originally named ''Vijelie'' by the Romanians, she was renamed ''Sparviero'' in Italian service. Not completed until mid-1917, the ship engaged
Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
ships in the Adriatic Sea only twice before the war ended in November 1918. She was given a new name as ''Mărăști'' when she was re-purchased by the Romanians in 1920. After the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 ( Operation Barbarossa), ''Mărăști'' took part in the
Raid on Constanța The Raid on Constanța was an attack by the Soviet Black Sea Fleet on the Romanian port of Constanța on 26 June 1941, shortly after the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, and resulted in the only encount ...
a few days later and may have damaged a Soviet destroyer leader during the battle. The powerful Soviet
Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...
heavily outnumbered Axis naval forces in the Black Sea and the Romanian destroyers were limited to escort duties in the western half of the Black Sea during the war. In early 1944 the Soviets were able to cut off and surround the port of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula; during this time the ship escorted convoys evacuating Axis troops from the port before she
ran aground Ship grounding or ship stranding is the impact of a ship on seabed or waterway side. It may be intentional, as in beaching to land crew or cargo, and careening, for maintenance or repair, or unintentional, as in a marine accident. In accidenta ...
in April. ''Mărăști'' saw no further action as she was being repaired. Later that year Romania switched sides, but despite that the Soviets seized the Romanian ships and incorporated them into the Soviet Navy. Renamed ''Lovkiy'', the ship only served for a year before she was returned to the Romanians who redesignated her as ''D12'' in 1952. The ship was discarded in 1961 and subsequently
scrapped Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...
.


Design and description

The ''Vifor''-class destroyers were ordered in 1913 by Romania from the Pattison Shipyard in Italy, as part of the 1912 Naval Program. They were to be armed with three guns, four guns, five torpedo tubes and have a 10-hour endurance at full speed. Three ships had been laid down by the time Italy joined the Allied side in World War I on 23 May 1915 by declaring war on the
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. The Italians requisitioned the Romanian ships on 5 June, redesignating them as ''Aquila''-class scout cruisers (''
esploratori An esploratore (meaning "scout") was a type of Italian warship intermediate between destroyers and light cruisers. Before World War II, existing ''esploratori'' were reclassified as destroyers (Italian: ''cacciatorpediniere''). There was a furth ...
''). By this time ''Vijelie'' approximately 50 percent complete and was renamed ''Sparviero''.Fraccaroli, p. 266 The ships had an overall length of , had a
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of , and a draft of . They displaced at normal load and at deep load. Their crew numbered 9 officers and 137 sailors. The ships were powered by two Tosi
steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
s, each driving a single
propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
, using steam provided by five
Thornycroft boiler Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power ships. They are compact and of high evaporative power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be more efficient, although bulkier, an ...
s. The turbines were designed to produce for a speed of , although ''Sparviero'' reached during her sea trials from . The scouts carried enough
fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...
to give them a range of at a speed of . The Italians initially intended to arm the ships with seven 120 mm guns and two pairs of twin mounts for 45 cm torpedo tubes, but they changed the gun armament to three and four 76 mm weapons to outgun their nearest Austro-Hungarian equivalents, the '' Admiral Spaun'' and scout cruisers. Two of the 152 mm guns were mounted side-by-side on the forecastle and the third gun was mounted on the aft
superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
. The 76 mm anti-aircraft (AA) guns were positioned two on each
broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...
. The torpedo mounts were abreast the middle funnel, one on each broadside. ''Sparviero'' could carry 44 mines.


Construction and service

''Sparviero'' was laid down on 29 January 1914 by Pattison in its Naples
shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
. She was launched on 25 March 1917 and commissioned on 15 July 1917. On the night of 29/30 September, the ship led seven destroyers that put to sea to support an aerial bombardment of the Austro-Hungarian naval base at
Pola Pola or POLA may refer to: People *House of Pola, an Italian noble family *Pola Alonso (1923–2004), Argentine actress *Pola Brändle (born 1980), German artist and photographer *Pola Gauguin (1883–1961), Danish painter *Pola Gojawiczyńska (18 ...
when they encountered a force of four Austro-Hungarian destroyers and four torpedo boats on a similar mission against an Italian airbase. The Italians opened fire just before midnight at a range of , but received the worst of the initial exchange as the Austro-Hungarians concentrated their fire on the leading ship. ''Sparviero'' was hit five times, but only three men were wounded, and one Italian destroyer was hit. As the Austro-Hungarians retreated towards the shelter of their
minefield A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s, the Italians crippled the destroyer and set her on fire. Another destroyer took her in tow and both sides returned to port after an inconclusive exchange of fire inside the minefields later that night. ''Sparviero'' and her sister escorted a force of destroyers and smaller vessels as they bombarded Grisolera on 19 December. ''Sparviero'', together with ''Aquila'' and their sister '' Nibbio'', was protecting the recovery of a broken-down
flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
in the Gulf of Drin when they spotted three Austro-Hungarian torpedo boats sweeping mines on 5 September 1918. The sisters opened fire and damaged ''86 F'' before the torpedo boats reached the shelter of Medua's coastal artillery. The following month, they escorted Allied ships as they bombarded Durazzo, Albania, on 2 October. The trio then covered the ships bombarding Medua, Albania, on 21 October. ''Sparviero'' and ''Nibbio'' were re-purchased by Romania in 1920. ''Sparviero'' became ''Mărăști'' and ''Nibbio'' was renamed ''Mărășești'' when they were commissioned after arriving in Romania on 1 July 1920. The ships were formally re-classified as destroyers and assigned to the newly formed Counter-torpedo Division () which was renamed as the Destroyer
Squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...
() on 1 April 1927. The sisters were sent to Italy in 1925–1926 for a refit where they had their 152 mm guns replaced by two twin-gun 120 mm Schneider-Canet-Armstrong 1918/19
turrets Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * M ...
, one each fore and aft of the superstructure, and a fifth gun on a platform amidships. The aft 76 mm guns removed during this time.Whitley, p. 223
Fire-control system A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a ...
s were fitted the following year. The Squadron was visited by King Carol II of Romania and the Prime Minister, Nicolae Iorga, on 27 May 1931. By 1940, the midships 120 mm gun had been replaced by a pair of twin-gun French Hotchkiss anti-aircraft machinegun mounts and the remaining 76 mm guns by a pair of German SK C/30 AA guns.
Depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
racks had been fitted on the stern and an Italian depth charge thrower was added. The ships could carry 40 depth charges or 50 mines. These changes reduced the displacement of the sisters to at Displacement (ship)#Standard displacement, standard load and at deep load.Axworthy, pp. 348–349; Whitley, pp. 223–224


World War II

A few days after the invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) on 22 June 1941, a pair of Flotilla leader, destroyer leaders, and , began bombarding Constanța in the early hours of 26 June. The Romanians were expecting a Soviet raid and their defences, consisting of ''Mărăști'', the destroyer and the heavy guns of the German coastal artillery battery (artillery), battery German coastal battery Tirpitz, ''Tirpitz'', were prepared to engage the Soviet ships. In ten minutes, starting from 03:58, ''Moskva'' and ''Kharkov'' fired no less than 350 shells from their guns. The two Romanian warships returned fire with their guns at distances between , but only knocked ''Moskva''s mainmast down. The two Soviet ships were silhouetted against the dawn while the Romanian ships were hidden by the coast behind them. The heavy and accurate Axis fire caused ''Moskva'' and ''Kharkov'' to begin to withdraw while laying down a smoke screen. As they retreated they entered a Romanian minefield and ''Moskva'' sank after striking a mine. Massively outnumbered by the Black Sea Fleet, the Romanian ships were kept behind the minefields defending Constanța for several months after the start of the war. They spent that time training for convoy escort operations. Beginning on 5 October, the Romanians began laying minefields to defend the route between the Bosphorus and Constanța; the minelayers were protected by the destroyers. After the Siege of Odessa (1941), evacuation of Odessa on 16 October, the Romanians began to clear the Soviet mines defending the port and to lay their own minefields protecting the route between Constanța and Odessa. During the winter of 1941–1942, the Romanian destroyers were primarily occupied with escorting convoys between the Bosporus and Constanța. On 1 December ''Mărăști'', ''Regina Maria'' and her sister were escorting a convoy to Odessa when a submarine unsuccessfully attacked them. It was quickly spotted and depth charged by ''Regina Maria'' and ''Regele Ferdinand'' with the latter claiming a kill. Soviet records, however, do not acknowledge any losses on that date. On 20 April 1942, after the ice had melted, ''Mărăști'', ''Mărășești'' and ''Regina Maria'' escorted the first convoy to Ochakov, although the Romanian destroyers were generally used to escort ships between the Bosporus and Constanța. After Sevastopol surrendered on 4 July, a direct route between the port and Constanța was opened in October and operated year-round. ''Mărăști'' and ''Mărășești'' and two gunboats were escorting a convoy of three cargo ships on 7 July 1943 when they were attacked by a small wolfpack (naval tactic), wolfpack of three submarines. fired six torpedoes at one of the gunboats and a freighter and missed with all of them. ''Mărășești'' depth charged one of the submarines and claimed to have sunk it, but no submarines were lost by the Soviets that day. On the night of 9/10 November, the sisters escorted minelayers as they laid a minefield off Sevastopol. At some point during the war, the ship's anti-aircraft armament was augmented with two additional 3.7 cm SK C/30 and four AA guns. Successful Soviet attacks in early 1944 cut the overland connection of the Crimea with the rest of Ukraine and necessitated its supply by sea. In early April another offensive occupied most of the peninsula and encircled Sevastopol. The Romanians began evacuating the city on 14 April, with their destroyers covering the troop convoys. ''Mărăști''
ran aground Ship grounding or ship stranding is the impact of a ship on seabed or waterway side. It may be intentional, as in beaching to land crew or cargo, and careening, for maintenance or repair, or unintentional, as in a marine accident. In accidenta ...
later that month and was under repair for the rest of the war. After King Michael's Coup on 23 August, Romania declared war on the Axis Powers. ''Mărăști'' remained in harbour until she was seized by the Soviets on 5 September together with the rest of the Romanian Navy. Renamed ''Lovkiy'' on 20 October, the ship was commissioned into the Soviet Navy as part of the Black Sea Fleet, along with her sister, on 14 September. They were returned to Romania on 12 October 1945Rohwer & Monakov, p. 268 where they resumed their former names. The sisters were then assigned to the Destroyer Squadron before beginning an wikt:overhaul, overhaul. When the Destroyer Division was redesignated as the 418th Destroyer Division in 1952, ''Mărăști'' was renamed ''D12''. The ship continued to serve until April 1961, when she was discarded and subsequently scrapped.


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External links


Sparviero
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Mărăști Cruisers of the Regia Marina Ships built in Naples 1917 ships Destroyers of the Soviet Navy World War II destroyers of Romania World War II destroyers of the Soviet Union Captured ships Mărăști-class destroyers