NMS ''Viscolul'' was the most successful and the longest-serving motor torpedo boat 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 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 ...

. She supported the

Siege of Odessa The siege of Odessa, known to the Soviets as the defence of Odessa, lasted from 8 August until 16 October 1941, during the early phase of Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. Odessa was a port on the ...

and took part in the

action of 9 July 1941 The action of 9 July 1941 was a naval engagement between the Soviet and Romanian navies during World War II, taking place near the Romanian port-city of Mangalia. Background When the Axis Powers launched ''Operation Barbarossa'' in June 1941, R ...

Construction and specifications

''Viscolul'' was a

Vospers Vosper & Company, often referred to simply as Vospers, was a British shipbuilding company based in Portsmouth, England. History The Company was established in 1871 by Herbert Edward Vosper, concentrating on ship repair and refitting work. By t ...

-type motor torpedo boat, one of three purchased by Romania from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The three boats were originally launched and completed in 1939 as ''MTB-20'' (''Viforul''), ''MTB-21'' (''Vijelia'') and ''MTB-23'' (''Viscolul''). They were acquired by Romania in 1940. Along with her sister ships, ''Viscolul'' had a displacement of 32 tons, measuring in length, with a beam of and a draught of . She was armed with two quadruple 7.7 mm machine guns, two torpedo tubes and could carry up to eight depth charges or four mines. Power plant consisted of three

Isotta Fraschini Isotta Fraschini () was an Italian luxury car manufacturer, also producing trucks, as well as engines for marine and aviation use. Founded in Milan, Italy, in 1900 by Cesare Isotta and the brothers Vincenzo, Antonio, and Oreste Fraschini, in 19 ...

petrol engines powering two shafts, generating 3,450 hp which gave her a top speed of . She had a crew of up to 12.

Service

During World War II, she was commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Ion Zaharia, who would later command the motor torpedo boat '' Vedenia'' and the entire Romanian MTB squadron, consisting of 7 boats. On 9 July 1941, one week after Romania launched ''

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 ...

'' as part of ''

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

'', ''Viscolul'' and ''Vijelia'', together with the 250t-class torpedo boat '' Năluca'', engaged an enemy submarine near

Mangalia Mangalia (, tr, Mankalya), ancient Callatis ( el, Κάλλατις/Καλλατίς; other historical names: Pangalia, Panglicara, Tomisovara), is a city and a port on the coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanța County, Northern D ...

. ''Năluca'' was the first to arrive at the scene and subsequently located and engaged the Soviet ''Shchuka''-class submarine ''Shch-206''. In the first part of the battle, ''Năluca'' attacked the submarine with 20 mm rounds, but the latter submerged in order to escape. The Romanian torpedo boat subsequently used depth charges, being soon joined by the two motor torpedo boats. At 2:56 pm, the Soviet submarine was confirmed sunk by ''Viscolul'', none of her crew of 38 survived. On the night of 18 September, during the

, ''Viscolul'' and ''Vijelia'' attacked a Soviet convoy south of

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, each boat launching her two torpedoes at the closest enemy destroyer. Three of the four torpedoes missed. The fourth torpedo struck and damaged the Soviet destroyer, but failed to detonate. On 9 November 1941, her sisters ''Viforul'' and ''Vijelia'' were sunk near Odessa by Soviet mines. Thus, ''Viscolul'' remained the sole MTB of the Romanian Navy for almost two years, until 7

MAS Mas, Más or MAS may refer to: Film and TV * Más y Menos, fictional superhero characters, from the Teen Titans animated television series * Más (Breaking Bad), "Más" (''Breaking Bad''), a season three episode of ''Breaking Bad'' Songs * Más ( ...

boats were acquired in August 1943. By 1944, ''Viscolul'' was fitted for escort service. In this capacity, she carried out multiple escort missions in May 1944.Antony Preston, ''Warship 2001-2002'', Conway Maritime Press, 2001, p. 84 ''Viscolul'' was captured by Soviet forces in September 1944 and commissioned as ''TK-955''. She was returned 1 year later, but never commissioned again due to her bad condition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viscolul World War II torpedo boats of Romania Motor torpedo boats of the Soviet Navy Captured ships 1939 ships Ships built in Portsmouth Torpedo boats of the United Kingdom