Black Sea campaigns (1941–1944)
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Black Sea Campaigns | |||||||
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Part of the Eastern Front of World War II | |||||||
File:Sevastopol1947-1948.jpg Soviet battleship Sevastopol (Parizhskaya Kommuna) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
![]() 4 destroyers 1 frigate 10 multi-purpose small ships 3 motor torpedo boats 1 submarine ![]() 11 torpedo boats 5 ASW craft 14 landing craft ![]() 16 torpedo boats 6 submarines 49 ASW craft 100+ landing craft ![]() 7+ torpedo boats 6 submarines ![]() 12 ASW craft |
![]() 1 battleship 6 cruisers 19 destroyers 15 multi-purpose small ships 84 motor torpedo boats 44 submarines |
The Black Sea Campaigns were the operations of the Axis and Soviet naval forces in the Black Sea and its coastal regions during World War II between 1941 and 1944, including in support of the land forces.
The Black Sea Fleet was as surprised by Operation Barbarossa as the rest of the Soviet Military. The Axis forces in the Black Sea consisted of the Romanian and Bulgarian Navies together with German and Italian units transported to the area via rail and Canal. Although the Soviets enjoyed an overwhelming superiority in surface ships over the Axis, this was effectively negated by German air superiority and most of the Soviet ships sunk were destroyed by bombing. For the majority of the war, the Black Sea Fleet was commanded by Vice Admiral Filipp Oktyabrskiy, its other commander being Lev Vladimirsky.
All of the major Soviet shipyards were located in the Ukraine (Nikolayev) and Crimea (Sevastopol) and were occupied in 1941. Many incomplete ships which were afloat were evacuated to harbors in Georgia which provided the main bases for the surviving fleet. These ports such as Poti, however had very limited repair facilities which significantly reduced the operational capability of the Soviet Fleet.
Soviet naval strength
On 22 June 1941, the Black Sea Fleet of the Soviet Navy consisted of:
Ship Type | Number | Note/class |
---|---|---|
Battleship | 1 | Parizhskaya Kommuna |
Cruisers | 6 | Molotov, Voroshilov, Chervona Ukraina, Krasnyi Krym, Krasny Kavkaz, and Komintern |
Destroyer leaders | 3 | Leningrad-class destroyer and Tashkent-class destroyer |
Destroyers (modern) | 11 | 6 Type 7, 5 Type 7U, |
Destroyers (old) | 5 | 4 Fidonisy-class destroyer, 1 Derzky-class destroyer |
Multi-purpose small ships | 15 | 2 Uragan-class and 13 Fugas-class |
Submarines | 44 | |
Motor torpedo boats | 84 |
Axis naval strength
Romanian Navy
Initial strength
On 22 June 1941, the Black Sea Fleet of the Romanian Navy consisted of:
Ship Type | Number | Note/class |
---|---|---|
Destroyers | 4 | 2 Regele Ferdinand-class and 2 Mărăști-class |
Frigates | 1 | Amiral Murgescu (minelaying frigate) |
Multi-purpose small ships | 10 | Aurora (minelayer), 2 Smeul-class (small escorts converted from old torpedo boats), Sborul (torpedo boat), 3 Sublocotenent Ghiculescu-class (small escorts), 3 Bistrița-class (coastguard cruisers) |
Submarines | 1 | Delfinul |
Motor torpedo boats | 3 | All Viscolul-class |
Detailed breakthrough and wartime expansion
At the start of the War in September 1939, the Romanian Black Sea Fleet mainly consisted of: 4 destroyers (the flotilla leaders Mărăști and Mărășești and the two destroyers of the Regele Ferdinand-class), 2 minelaying destroyer escorts (Amiral Murgescu and Cetatea Albă; the latter likely not completed), 3 torpedo boats (250t-class, 2 converted to ASW gunboats), 3 motor torpedo boats (Vospers), 4 escort and patrol gunboats (ex-French Friponne-class; one sunk before June 1941), 1 minelayer (Aurora), 1 submarine tender (Constanța) and 1 submarine (Delfinul).[2] There were also two minelaying armored boats of the OMm35 class.
The four Romanian monitors of the Mihail Kogălniceanu class were fitted for service at sea as anti-submarine escorts, each being armed with two depth charge throwers (one of 700 mm and one of 760 mm). The Sava-class monitor Bucovina was similarly converted to anti-submarine escort and armed with one 610 mm depth charge thrower.[3]
There were also two Russian-built floating batteries, built during World War I. Part of a class of fifty, the two vessels were acquired by Romania in February 1918, bearing the designations K-2 and K-7. Initially built as landing craft, the two vessels were converted to floating batteries armed each with two 152 mm guns. They measured 54.7 meters in length, with a beam of 7.1 meters and a draught of 1.2 meters. Bolinder diesel engines powered two shafts resulting in a top speed of 5.5 knots. Standard displacement amounted to 255 tons.[4] In 1940, the two vessels formed a section of sea-going floating artillery.[5]
Wartime additions to the fleet included: 7 submarines (Rechinul, Marsuinul and five CB-class), 6 motor torpedo boats (Vedenia-class), 3 KFK naval trawlers, 3 landing craft of the MFP type and 4 S-boats.[6][7][8] In late 1941, two German landing craft of the Siebelfähre type were transferred to the Romanian Navy.[9] In August 1943, 7 Italian MAS motor torpedo boats were also transferred to the Romanian Navy.[10] Four 543-ton escort minesweepers were also acquired in 1943. They were built locally from German materials.[11]
Germany
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/U-9_IWM_HU_1012.jpg/220px-U-9_IWM_HU_1012.jpg)
As Turkey was neutral during World War II, the Axis could not transfer warships to the Black Sea via the Bosphorus. However, several small ships were transferred from the North Sea via rail, street and canal networks to the Danube. These included six Type IIB U-boats of the 30th U-boat Flotilla which were dis-assembled and shipped to Romania along the Danube. They were then re-assembled at the Romanian Galați shipyard in late 1942 and afterwards sent to Constanța. The Germans also transported 10 S-boats (Schnellboote) and 23 R-boats (Räumboote) via the Danube and built armed barges and KTs (Kriegstransporter, literally war transports) in the captured Nikolayev Shipyards in Mykolaiv. Some ships were obtained in Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary, and then converted to serve the German cause, such as the S-boat tender Romania, the minelayer Xanten and the Anti-submarine trawler UJ-115 Rosita. Additional vessels were built in German or local shipyards, captured from Soviets, or transferred from the Mediterranean nominally as merchant ships. In total, the German naval forces in the Black Sea mainly amounted to 6 coastal submarines, 16 S-boats, 23 R-boats, 26 submarine chasers and over 100 MFP barges.[12] The German Black Sea fleet ultimately operated hundreds of medium and small warships or auxiliaries before its self-destruction immediately prior to the defection of Bulgaria. Very few vessels were able to make good their escape via the Danube.
Croatian Naval Legion
The Croatian Naval Legion was formed in July 1941. It was initially comprised some 350 officers and ratings in German uniform, but this eventually swelled to 900–1,000. Their first commander was Andro Vrkljan, later replaced by Stjepan Rumenović. The Croats' purpose in posting a naval contingent to the Black Sea was to evade the prohibition on an Adriatic navy imposed by the 18 May 1940 Treaty of Rome with Italy. This prohibition effectively limited the Croatian Navy (RMNDH) to a riverine flotilla. Upon its arrival at the Sea of Azov, managed to scrounge up 47 damaged or abandoned fishing vessels, mostly sailing ships, and to man them hired local Russian and Ukrainian sailors, many deserters from the Soviet Navy. The Legion later acquired 12 German submarine hunters and a battery of coastal artillery. Lieutenant Josip Mažuranić notably commanded the submarine hunter UJ2303.[13]
Bulgaria, Italy, and Hungary
Despite Bulgaria's neutral status in the German-Soviet war, the Bulgarian navy was involved in escort duties to protect Axis shipping against Soviet submarines in Bulgarian territorial waters. The small Bulgarian Navy mainly consisted of 4 old torpedo boats,[14] 3 modern German-built motor torpedo boats,[15] 4 Dutch-built motor torpedo boats of the Power type,[16] 2 SC-1 class submarine chasers[17] and 3 anti-submarine motor launches.[18] In late August 1944, 14 MFP landing barges were transferred to Bulgaria.[19]
The Italian Navy dispatched a small force to the Black Sea. The force dispatched included six CB class midget submarines and a flotilla of torpedo motorboats. Hungary became landlocked in the aftermath of World War I, but some Hungarian merchant ships were able to reach the Black Sea via the Danube River. Hungarian cargo ships were operated as part of Axis sea transport forces on the Black Sea, and thus participated in the Axis evacuation from Crimea.
Operations in 1941
On June 26 the Soviet forces attacked the Romanian city of Constanța. During this operation, the destroyer leader Moskva was lost to mines while evading fire from coastal batteries. The Black Sea Fleet supplied the besieged garrison in Odessa and evacuated a significant part of the force (86,000 soldiers, 150,000 civilians) at the end of October, but lost the destroyer Frunze and a gunboat to the German dive bombers in the process. The Black Sea Fleet played a valuable part in defeating the initial assault on Sevastopol. In December, there was an amphibious operation against Kerch which resulted in the recapture of the Kerch Peninsula. A naval detachment including the cruiser Krasnyi Krym remained in Sevastopol to give gunfire support. Soviet submarines also raided Axis shipping on the Romanian and Bulgarian coasts, sinking 29,000 long tons (29,000 t) of shipping. During fall of 1941, both sides laid many mine fields in southern Black Sea: Romanian defensive minefields sunk at least 5 Soviet submarines during this period (M-58,[20] S-34,[21] ShCh-211,[22] M-34,[23] M-59[24]), however during such operations the Axis forces lost the Romanian minelayer Regele Carol I,[25] sunk by a mine laid by Soviet submarine L-4: 2 of the 5 Soviet submarines (M-58 and ShCh-211) will be later sunk on that same minelayer's fields, after the sinking of the ship, in addition to another submarine sunk in 1942. In total, up to 15 Soviet submarines were sunk by Romanian defensive minefields until the end of the War.[26] Another Romanian minelayer was lost, the Aurora, when the ship was destroyed by Soviet bombers on 15 July.[27]
Operations in 1942
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Krasnyy_Krym_01.jpg/220px-Krasnyy_Krym_01.jpg)
Operations in 1942 were dominated by the Siege of Sevastopol. During the winter, Soviet warships including the only battleship Parizhskaya Kommuna provided fire support and supply missions near Sevastopol. The Soviets continued supply missions until 27 June, losses were heavy and included the cruiser Chervonnaya Ukraina, destroyer leader Tashkent and six modern destroyers.
The cruiser Voroshilov and destroyers tried to intervene without success in the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula in May and the Soviets could not prevent a landing across the Kerch strait in the Taman Peninsula in September. The remainder of the Black Sea Fleet evacuated to ports in the Caucasus that had very limited facilities. Soviet submarines were active in the western part of the Black Sea where they attacked Axis shipping. Unfortunately this included sinking the refugee ship Struma. On 1 October the Soviet submarine M-118 was sunk with depth charges by the Romanian gunboat Sublocotenent Ghiculescu.[28]
Operations in 1943
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/MAScamo.jpg/220px-MAScamo.jpg)
In 1943, the Black Sea Fleet was reduced to the following ships, which all suffered from poor maintenance due to a lack of facilities:
- Battleship Sevastopol
- Four cruisers (two Kirov class - Molotov and Voroshilov -, Krasniy Krim and Krasniy Kavkaz)
- Destroyer leader Kharkov
- Five modern and three old destroyers
- 29 submarines
The Romanian Naval Forces lost the anti-submarine gunboat Remus Lepri in 1941, during minelaying trials after she was converted to minelayer.[29] The submarine Delfinul started an extensive refit at the end of 1942, which would keep her out of action for the remainder of the war.[30] Despite these losses, the Romanian Navy reached its peak strength in 1943. The modern Romanian-built submarines Rechinul and Marsuinul were completed in 1942.[31] In addition, five Italian-built CB-class midget submarines were acquired in the autumn of 1943, however only two could be made serviceable.[32] Four modified M-class minesweepers, armed as anti-submarine frigates, were built in Romania from German materials during the year.[33] Thus, the main operational warships of the Romanian Black Sea Fleet amounted to:
- 4 destroyers (two Regele Ferdinand-class and two Mărăști-class)
- 1 sea-going torpedo boat (Sborul)
- 10 anti-submarine frigates (Amiral Murgescu, four Mihail Kogălniceanu-class, one Sava-class and the four M-class minesweepers)
- 5 anti-submarine corvettes (three Sublocotenent Ghiculescu-class and two Smeul-class)
- 4 submarines (Marsuinul, Rechinul and two CB-class midget submarines)
Operations initially consisted of several offensive operations by the Soviets including the defence of Malaya Zemlya in Novorossiysk and some coastal bombardments and raids. On 7 July, the Romanian destroyer Mărășești sank the Soviet submarine M-31.[34] As the war was going badly for the Axis on other fronts, the Germans began to evacuate the Kuban bridgehead in September. This was successfully accomplished. Kharkov and two destroyers—Sposobny and Besposchadny—were sunk by Stukas while raiding the Crimea. As a result of this loss, Stalin insisted on personally authorizing the use of any large ships. The Kerch-Eltigen Operation followed in November.[35]
Operations in 1944
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Romanian_torpedo_boat_N%C4%83luca.jpg/220px-Romanian_torpedo_boat_N%C4%83luca.jpg)
By early 1944, the Soviet surface fleet was practically nonoperational due to a poor state of repair. Most of the offensive work was carried out by small vessels and the Soviet Naval air force. The land situation had significantly deteriorated for the Axis. The area around Odessa was liberated in March, trapping the Axis forces in the Crimea. The last Axis forces near Sevastopol surrendered on 9 May 1944 and a considerable number of men were evacuated. (See Battle of the Crimea (1944) for details). Soviet submarines continued to attack Axis shipping. Unbeknownst to them, one of the ships attacked was the MV Mefküre transporting Jewish refugees from Europe.
On 20 August 1944, the Red Air Force carried on a large air raid against the main Axis base in Black Sea. A number of targets were sunk including the German U-boat U-9,[36] and the old Romanian torpedo boat Naluca (converted to anti-submarine corvette before the start of the war).[37] U-18[38] and U-24 [39] were both damaged and were scuttled few days later. The Naval war in Black Sea was now almost over, but U-boats remained operative until they consumed their fuel: with a single strike, Soviet aviation had halved the German submarine force, but the effect could have been greater if such an attack had been carried out earlier.
See also
- Baltic Sea Campaigns (1939-1945)
- Romanian Navy during World War II
- List of battles of the Romanian Navy
- Soviet Black Sea Fleet during the Battle of Stalingrad
- Naval operations in Romanian-occupied Soviet waters
References
- ^ http://www.worldwar2.ro/arr/?article=776
- ^ Spencer C. Tucker, World War II at Sea: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia, pp. 632–633
- ^ Е. Е. Шведе, Военные флоты 1939—1940 гг., Рипол Классик, 2013, pp. 120-121 (in Russian)
- ^ Siegfried Breyer, Soviet Warship Development: 1917-1937, Conway Maritime Press, 1992, pp. 97-98
- ^ George Cristian Maior, The Danube, European security and cooperation at the beginning of the 21th century, Enciclopedica Pub. House, 2002, p. 65
- ^ Cornel I. Scafeș, Armata Română 1941-1945, RAI Publishing, 1996, p. 174.
- ^ Spencer C. Tucker, World War II at Sea: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia, p. 633
- ^ Cristian Crăciunoiu, Romanian navy torpedo boats, Modelism Publishing, 2003, pp. 154-155
- ^ Nicolae Koslinski, Raymond Stănescu, Marina română in al doilea război mondial: 1941-1942, Făt-Frumos, 1996, p. 292
- ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922-1946, Conway Maritime Press, 1980, p. 314
- ^ Frederick Thomas Jane, Jane's Fighting Ships, Sampson Low, Marston and Company, 1974, p. 275
- ^ Timothy C. Dowling, Russia at War, ABC-CLIO Publishing, 2014, p. 129
- ^ Andro Vrkljan (2011). Hrvatski Argonauti 20. stoljeća: Povijest Hrvatske pomorske legije na Crnom moru 1941. - 1944. Hrvatski Državni Arhiv. ISBN 978-953-7659-07-3.
- ^ Navypedia: DRUZKI torpedo boats (1908-1909)
- ^ Navypedia: NO1 motor torpedo boats (1939, 1939/1941-1945)
- ^ Navypedia: NO1 motor torpedo boats (1940/1941, 1943)
- ^ Navypedia: BELOMORETS submarine chasers (1917-1918/1921)
- ^ Navypedia: MINIOR motor launches (1918/1921)
- ^ Navypedia: MFP type landing self-propelled barges (1941-1944/1944)
- ^ http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4930.html
- ^ http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5106.html
- ^ http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5042.html
- ^ http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4949.html
- ^ http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4931.html
- ^ http://www.worldwar2.ro/arr/?article=253
- ^ Definitive list of Black Sea Fleet submarines
- ^ http://www.worldwar2.ro/arme/?article=255
- ^ World War II Sea War, Volume 7: The Allies Strike Back, p. 179
- ^ Antony Preston, Warship 2001-2002, Conway Maritime Press, 2001, p. 88
- ^ Robert Gardiner, Warship 1992, p. 150
- ^ W.M. Thornton, Submarine Insignia and Submarine Services of the World, Pen and Sword Publishing, 1996, p. 100
- ^ Antony Preston, Warship 2001-2002, Conway Maritime Press, 2001
- ^ Frederick Thomas Jane, Jane's Fighting Ships, Sampson Low, Marston and Company, 1974, p. 275
- ^ M. J. Whitley, Destroyers of World War Two, p. 224
- ^ Antony Preston, Warship 2001-2002, Conway Maritime Press, 2001, p. 88
- ^ http://www.uboat.net/boats/u9.htm
- ^ http://www.navypedia.org/ships/romania/ro_dd_naluca.htm
- ^ http://www.uboat.net/boats/u18.htm
- ^ http://www.uboat.net/boats/u24.htm
Bibliography
- Ruge, Fredrich - The Soviets as Naval Opponents, 1941-1975 (1979), Naval Press Annapolis ISBN 9780870216763
External links
- Naval battles of World War II involving Romania
- Conflicts in 1941
- Conflicts in 1942
- Conflicts in 1943
- Conflicts in 1944
- Naval battles of World War II involving Germany
- Naval battles of World War II involving the Soviet Union
- Strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II
- Military history of the Soviet Union during World War II
- Black Sea naval operations of World War II
- Military campaigns involving Germany
- Italy–Soviet Union relations