The Bulgarian Navy () is the

navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

of the Republic of Bulgaria and forms part of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria () was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War ended with a Russian victory, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed ...

established its navy soon after its creation, in 1879, to operate on the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

river and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, but the young country could spend only limited resources on warships. In the conflicts of the 20th century in which Bulgaria was involved - the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the navy played a limited role, mainly protecting Bulgarian harbors and shipping. The navy's greatest combat feat was a torpedo attack against an Ottoman cruiser during the First Balkan War that forced the ship to retreat. In the aftermath of World War II, the

People's Republic of Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; , NRB; ) was the official name of Bulgaria when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; ) together with its coalition partner, the Bulgarian Agraria ...

was a part of the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

and the navy was reorganized and supplied with

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-made equipment. It participated in various

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

naval exercises, but took no part in any military operations. The navy reached its peak, in both materiel and personnel, in the late 1980s, but even then its most powerful ships were

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

s and

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s. After the fall of the Soviet Union and Bulgaria's communist regime, all Bulgarian armed forces fell in decline due to their reduced relevance, and the economic crisis of the 1990s limited the resources that could be set aside for their modernization. The Navy was no exception. After a period of negotiations and reforms in order to comply with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

standards, Bulgaria was admitted in the alliance in 2004. Since then, the Navy has acquired and operates a small number of relatively modern vessels. Since the 1940s, the Bulgarian Navy has two main bases, each near one of the two major commercial port cities in the country - Varna and

Burgas Burgas (, ), sometimes transliterated as Bourgas, is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fourth-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, an ...

(by the village of Atia).

Operational history

First Balkan War

The Bulgarian Navy's first combat action was the 1912 Battle of Kaliakra during the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

, when four Bulgarian

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

s attacked the Ottoman

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

''Hamidiye''; managed to score a hit, forcing ''Hamidiye'' to retreat back to Istanbul for emergency repairs.

Second Balkan War

The Bulgarian Navy scuttled its four Danube

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-steam ...

s during the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict that broke out when Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia and Kingdom of Greece, Greece, on 1 ...

, probably to avoid capture by the invading

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

. The four gunboats were 400-600-ton vessels, with a top speed of and armed with two-to-four guns and two-to-four guns. They were still present on the Bulgarian Navy list in August 1916.

World War I

When Bulgaria entered

in 1915, its navy consisted mainly of a French-built torpedo gunboat called ''Nadezhda'' and six torpedo boats. It mainly engaged in mine warfare actions in the

against the Russian

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

and allowed the Germans to station two

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s at Varna, one of which came under Bulgarian control in 1916 as '' Podvodnik No. 18''. Russian mines sank one Bulgarian torpedo boat and damaged one more during the war.

World War II

The Bulgarian Navy during

supported the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

in the Black Sea and consisted mainly of four obsolete ''Drazki''-class torpedo boats, five modern ''Lurrsen'' type motor torpedo boats and three formerly Dutch motor torpedo boats. Bulgaria and the Soviet Union were not at war with each other, but there was still little naval fighting with Soviet submarines operating in Bulgarian waters, its main action taking place in October 1941. The so-called ''Operation Varna'' consisted in the minelaying of the Bulgarian coast by the Romanian minelayers , '' Regele Carol I'' and ''Dacia'', escorted by Romanian '' Năluca'', '' Sborul'' and '' Smeul'', Romanian gunboats and ''Căpitan Dumitrescu'' and Bulgarian torpedo boats , ''Smeli'' and ''Hrabri''. The operation, lasting between 7 and 16 October 1941, was largely successful, as despite the loss of the Romanian auxiliary minelayer ''Regele Carol I'' to a Soviet mine, the five minefields laid by the Romanian minelayers along the Bulgarian coast are credited with the sinking of four Soviet submarines: '' S-34'', '' L-24'', '' Shch-211'' and '' Shch-210'', although the latter could have also been sunk by German aircraft or depth-charged by the Bulgarian patrol boats ''Belomorets'' and ''Chernomorets''. On 6 December 1941, ''Belomorets'' and ''Chernomorets'' depth-charged and sank the Soviet submarine ''Shch-204''. Soviet submarines also laid mines near the Bulgarian coast. The 2304-ton Bulgarian steamer ''Shipka'' ("Шипка", also transliterated ''Chipka'') was sunk off Varna in September 1941 by mines laid by the submarine ''L-4''. On 19 May 1943, the Bulgarian torpedo boat ''Smeli'' foundered between Varna and Burgas during a storm. Any hostilities ended when Bulgaria changed sides and joined the Allied powers in September 1944.

Cold War

In line with Soviet naming practices the navy of the Bulgarian People's Army was called the Military-Maritime Fleet (). The merchant marine, which was to mobilize in wartime in support of the regular navy was called Bulgarian Sea Fleet (). In the 1970s the Burgas Naval Base relocated to Atia with a corresponding change in name. The Naval Fleet Staff was located in Varna.

Post Warsaw Pact

The

Bulgarian Communist Party The Bulgarian Communist Party ( Bulgarian: Българска комунистическа партия (БΚП), Romanised: ''Bŭlgarska komunisticheska partiya''; BKP) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria f ...

was forced to give up its political monopoly on 10 November 1989 under the influence of the

Revolutions of 1989 The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Communist state, Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts ...

. With the restoration of freedom from the

entanglement, it became a member of

in 2004, and after several years of reforms, it joined the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and the

single market A single market, sometimes called common market or internal market, is a type of trade bloc in which most trade barriers have been removed (for goods) with some common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of pr ...

in 2007, despite EU concerns over government corruption. In order to meet some of the NATO requirements, the Bulgarian government purchased a from Belgium in 2005. ''Wandelaar'' (F-912), built in 1977, was renamed to ''Drazki''. That same year the Bulgarian frigate ''Smeli'' took part as a full NATO member for the first time in

Operation Active Endeavour Operation Active Endeavour was a Navy, maritime operation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It operated in the Mediterranean Sea and was designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction. It had collateral ben ...

. In 2006, following a decision of the Bulgarian National Assembly, ''Drazki'' deployed as part of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (

UNIFIL The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (; ), or UNIFIL (; ) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426, and several further resolutions in 2006 to con ...

), patrolling the territorial waters of Lebanon under German command. This was the first time the Bulgarian Navy took part in an international peacekeeping operation. The Bulgarian government purchased two more ''Wielingen''-class frigates and one in 2007. On 21 July 2020 took place the official inauguration of the Maritime Coordination Center in Varna. This was an important step towards greater NATO and regional cooperation in the Black Sea region.

Command structure in 1989

Directly subordinate to Naval Staff

* Electronic Warfare Section (Отделение РЕБ) ** Independent Electronic Warfare Battalion type "NS" (Отделен батальон тип "НС") (one company type N for jamming of enemy communications and one company type S for jamming of enemy targeting systems) * 8th Submarine Division, Varna Naval Base, with 4x Romeo-class submarines (Afterwards two were decommissioned without replacement in 1990, one in 1992, and the last one in 2011.) ** 81 ''Pobeda'' (Победа, "Victory", delivered in 1972, former Soviet S-57), 82 ''Victoria'' (Виктория, delivered in 1972, former Soviet S-212), 83 ''Nadezhda'' (Надежда, "Hope", delivered in 1983, former Soviet S-36), 84 ''Slava'' (Слава, "Glory", delivered in 1985, former Soviet S-38) (traditional female names) * 2nd Coastal Missile Brigade, south of Varna, with 4K51 Rubezh anti-ship missiles * 10th Missile & Torpedo Boat Brigade, in

Sozopol Sozopol ( ; ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is an ancient seaside town located 35 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. One of the major seaside resorts in the country, it is known for the ''Apollonia'' art and film ...

(mixed composition of the divisions, the torpedo boats had the dual role to attack enemy vessels with their torpedoes and to provide target acquisition for the missile boats) ** 122 (Commander's cutter, 10-ton Soviet project 371) ** 10th Missile & Torpedo Boat Division *** Project 205 missile boats: 101 ''Svetkavitsa'' (Светкавица, "Lightning", delivered in 1982, former Soviet R-496, improved project 205U); 102 ''Uragan'' (Ураган, "Hurricane", delivered in 1977, former Soviet R-169, improved project 205U); 103 ''Burya'' (Буря, "Storm", delivered in 1971, former Soviet R-176?, basic project 205) *** Project 206 torpedo boats: 104 ''Orel'' (Орел, "Eagle"), 105 Yastreb (Ястреб, "Hawk"), 106 ''Albatros'' (Албатрос) ** 11th Missile & Torpedo Boat Division *** Project 205 missile boats: 111 ''Tayfun'' (Тайфун, "Typhoon", delivered in 1982, former Soviet R-496, improved project 205U); 112 ''Gram'' (Гръм, "Thunder", delivered in 1977, former Soviet R-169, improved project 205U); 113 ''Smerch'' (Смерч, "Whirlwind", delivered in 1971, former Soviet R-176?, basic project 205) *** Project 206 torpedo boats : 114 ''Bars'' (Барс, "

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') is a species of large cat in the genus ''Panthera'' of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because ...

"), 115 ''Yaguar'' (Ягуар, "Jaguar"), 116 ''Pantera'' (Пантера, "Panther") ** Coastal Base Sozopol (Брегова база Созопол, the brigade's logistic formation) *** 274 (fireboat project 364 of Soviet build) * 25th Signals Regiment, in Varna * 63rd Anti-submarine Helicopter Squadron, at Chayka Independent Naval Helicopter Base in Varna (in the Chayka suburb), flying 8x Mi-14PL anti-submarine helicopters (nr. 801, and nr. 810 of the original ten were lost), 1 x Mi-14BT (nr. 811; nr. 812 had been retired in 1986 and the minesweeping equipment removed from 811. Afterwards nr. 811 was used for transport tasks) and 1 x Ka-25C (Hormone-B, nr. 821, used for OTH targeting of the shore-based AShM systems). * 65th Maritime Special Reconnaissance Detachment (65-ти Морски Специален Разузннавателен Отряд (65ти МСРО)), in Varna (Tihina) (Navy frogmen) * 130mm Coastal Artillery Training Battery, in Varna (in wartime the navy would mobilize the 1st (Varna) and 2nd (Burgas) Coastal Artillery Regiments with 5 batteries each) * People's Higher Naval School " Nikola Vaptsarov", in Varna * 44th Surveillance and Signals Battalion -

Danube River The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

, in Ruse (44-ти батальон за наблюдение и свръзки - река Дунав) (Radar and

SIGINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...

) * Rear (Тил) (logistic services)

Varna Naval Base

* Varna Naval Base, in Varna ** 2 commander's cutters of Project 371 ** 1st Anti-Submarine Ships Division *** Riga-class frigates: 11 ''Drazki'' (Дръзки, "daring, bold", delivered in 1957, former Soviet

SKR-67), 12 ''Smeli'' (Смели, "Brave", delivered in 1958, former Black Sea Fleet SKR-53, replaced on Sept 4 1989 by the Koni-class frigate 11 "Brave", this caused renumbering of the Riga-class ships, but they were retired only a year later), 13 ''Bodri'' (Бодри, "Cheerful", delivered in 1985, former Soviet Baltic Fleet SKR "Kobchik") *** Poti-class small ASW ships: 14 ''Khrabri'' (Храбри, "Brave", delivered in 1975, former Soviet MPK-106), 15 ''Bezstrashni'' (Безстрашни, "Fearless", delivered in 1975, former Soviet MPK-125) ** 3rd Minesweepers Division *** 31 ''Iskar'' (Искър, after the

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

), 32 ''Tsibar'' (Цибър), 33 ''Dobrotich'' (Добротич, after the medieval ruler), 34 '' Kapitan-Leytenant Kiril Minkov'' (Капитан-лейтенант Кирил Минков), 35 ''Kapitan-Leytenant Evstati Vinarov'' (Капитан-лейтенант Евстати Винаров), 36 ''Kapitan I Rang Dimitar Paskalev'' (Капитан I-ви ранг Димитър Паскалев) (minehunters project 257D/DME, Soviet second hand, NATO reporting name Vanya) ** 5th Minesweepers Division (Coastal Base

Balchik Balchik ( ; , ) is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, town and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the Southern Dobruja area of northeastern Bulgaria. It is in Dobrich Province, 35 km southeast of Dobrich and 42 km no ...

) *** 51 - 56 (minehunters of project 1259.2 project "

Malachite Malachite () is a copper Carbonate mineral, carbonate hydroxide mineral, with the chemical formula, formula Basic copper carbonate, Cu2CO3(OH)2. This opaque, green-banded mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often for ...

", NATO reporting name Olya, built in Michurin), 2 auxiliary cutters of project 501 (former auxiliary minesweeping boats) and a commander's cutter of project 371 ** 18th Independent Division of Special Purpose Ships (former 18th Harbour Area Security Ships, includes supply, rescue and support ships and small patrol craft) *** 300 ''General Vladimir Zaimov'' (Генерал Владимир Заимов) (Command ship Bulgarian project 589, built in Ruse, also used for

of the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

) *** 221 ''Yupiter'' (Юпитер, "

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

") (

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

fire-/ tugboat project 700, used as fireboat, salvage tugboat, submarine rescue ship and target tow for the coastal artillery and ships) *** 401 ''Admiral Branimir Ormanov'' (Адмирал Бранимир Орманов) (Polish project 861-МВ hydrographic ship, built in 1977) *** 206 ''Kapitan I Rang Dimitar Dobrev'' (Капитан І ранг Димитър Добрев) (Polish project 1799 (class 130 for the Soviet Navy) degaussing ship, built in 1988, the modern

Polish Navy The Polish Navy (; often abbreviated to ) is the Navy, naval military branch , branch of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish Navy consists of 46 ships and about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel. The traditional ship prefix in the Polish ...

ship ORP Kontradmirał Xawery Czernicki is a development on the same hull type) *** 311 ''Anton Ivanov'', later ''Mitsar'' and ''Anlain'' ("Антон Иванов", "Мицар", "Анлайн", Auxiliary transport (replenishment) ship Bulgarian project 102, built in Ruse in 1979, main task was to provide en route replenishment for the Bulgarian ships, committed to the

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

Operational Mediterranean Squadron) *** 223 (diving support boat Bulgarian project 245, built in Varna in 1980) *** 121, 215 and 216 (multirole motor cutters Bulgarian project 160, built in Varna) *** 1 fireboat type L26, pennant number changed several times (built in Rostock, GDR in 1954-55) *** 218 and 219 (auxiliary cutters, former minesweeping boats type R376 "Sever") ** 55th Surveillance and Signals Battalion (55-ти батальон за наблюдение и свръзки) (Radar and

) ** Repair Workshop ** Shore based support units

Atia Naval Base

* Atia Naval Base, east of

** 2 commander's cutters of project 371 ** 4th Small Anti-Submarine Ships Division *** Poti-class small ASW ships: 41 ''Letyashti'' (Летящи, "flying"; delivered in 1982, former Soviet MPK-77), 42 ''Bditelni'' (Бдителни, "Vigilant"; delivered in 1982, former Soviet MPK-148), 43 ''Naporisti'' (Напористи, "persistent, assertive"; delivered in 1982, former Soviet MPK-109), 44 ''Strogi'' (Строги, "stern, rigorous"; delivered in 1975 to Varna, transferred in 1982 to Burgas, former Soviet MPK-59) ** 6th Minesweepers Division *** 61 ''Briz'' (Бриз, "breeze"), 62 ''Shkval'' (Шквал, "squall"), 63 ''Priboy'' (Прибой, "surf"), 64 ''Shtorm'' (Щорм, "sea storm") (minehunters project 1265 " Yakhont") *** 65, 66, 67, 68 (minesweepers project 1258E "Korund", NATO reporting name Yevgenya) ** 7th Landing Ships Division *** 701 "

Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word (Latin script: ), meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbr ...

" (''"Сириус"'') and 702 "

Antares Antares is the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius. It has the Bayer designation α Scorpii, which is Latinisation of names, Latinised to Alpha Scorpii. Often referred to as "the heart of the scorpion", Antares is flanked by ...

" (''"Антарес"'') (Polish project 770Е medium tank landing ships, NATO reporting name Polnocny) *** 703 - 712 (Soviet project 106K small tank landing ship and auxiliary minelayers, practically self-propelled landing barges, built in Ruse and

, NATO reporting name Vydra) *** (another 14 project 106K small tank landing ships and auxiliary minelayers mothballed after construction and stored by Bulgarian Sea Fleet (the state-owned merchant marine) as wartime mobilization stock) ** 96th Independent Division of Special Purpose Ships (former 96th Harbour Area Security Ships, includes supply, rescue and support ships and small patrol craft) *** 301 ''Kapitan Kiril Halachev'' ("Капитан Кирил Халачев") (Command ship Bulgarian project 589, built in Ruse) *** 302 ''Atiya'' (Атия; auxiliary transport (replenishment) ship Bulgarian project 102, built in Ruse in 1987, main task was to provide en route replenishment for the Bulgarian ships, committed to the

Operational Mediterranean Squadron) *** 323 (diving support boat Bulgarian project 245, built in Varna in 1980) *** 331 (torpedo salvage boat Bulgarian project 205, built in Varna in 1980) *** 312 and 313 (multirole motor cutters Bulgarian project 160, built in Varna) *** 1 fireboat type L26, pennant number changed several times (built in Rostock, GDR in 1954-55) *** 57 and 58 (auxiliary cutters, former minesweeping boats type R376 "Sever") ** 66th Surveillance and Signals Battalion (66-ти батальон за наблюдение и свръзки) (Radar and

) ** Coastal Radiolocation Station "Periscope I" (

ELINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...

unit) ** Repair Workshop ** Shore based support units

Naval Equipment

In 1989, the people's navy's inventory consisted of: * 4x Romeo-class submarines (all decommissioned, with last in 2011) * 3x Riga-class frigates (One decommissioned 1989, two in 1990) * 1x Koni-class frigate (Commissioned December 1989) * 6x Poti-class

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

s (all decommissioned 1993-2005) * 1x Pauk-class corvette (Commissioned in 1989, a second Pauk-class corvette was transferred from the Soviet Union in 1990) * 6x Osa-class missile boats (all decommissioned, starting in 2008) * 6x Shershen-class torpedo boats (all discarded & scrapped, 1992) * 2x Polnocny-class landing ships (decommissioned) * 6x Vanya-class minesweepers (all ships retired by the mid-1990s) * 4x Yevgenya-class minesweepers (decommissioned?) * 4x Sonya-class minesweepers (one ship decommissioned?) * 6x Olya-class minesweepers (two ships decommissioned?) * 34x R376 type "Yaroslavets" axillary cutters in various configurations (most decommissioned?)

Structure

* Naval Forces Command, Varna ** Naval Forces Staff ** Naval Operations Center ** Coastal Fundamental System for CIS Support ** Coastal Information Detachment ** Independent Electronic Surveillance Detachment ** Command, Control and Communications Units ** Naval Base Command *** Naval Base Staff *** Naval Base Location Varna *** Naval Base Location Atia *** Repair and Maintenance Center *** Armament and Equipment Storage *** Ship Divisions **** 1st Patrol Ships Division **** 3rd Mine Counter-Measure Division **** 4th Patrol Ships Division **** 6th Mine Counter-Measure Division **** 18th Support Ships Division **** 96th Support Ships Division *** 2nd Coastal Anti-Ship Missile and Artillery Battalion ** Independent Naval Helicopter Air Base ''"Chayka"'' ** 63rd Naval Special Forces Reconnaissance Detachment ''"Black Sea Sharks"'' ** Hydrographical Service of the Naval Forces ** Equipment Storage Base of the Naval Forces ** Military Police Company of the Naval Forces Command A "Division" is the equivalent of land forces battalion or air force squadron as the Bulgarian Navy follows the Russian naval tradition, according to which an "Operational Squadron" or "Оперативная эскадра" is a temporary formation, an equivalent of a land forces division and in modern times a "Squadron" of the Russian Navy is an equivalent of a land forces corps. According to the reform plans envisioned in the White Paper on Defence 2010, the two naval bases would be merged into one with two base facilities in Varna and Burgas. The manpower of the Navy would account to about 3,400 seamen. The ordered Eurocopter AS565 MB Panther helicopters were reduced from six to three units. Between 2011 and 2020 the naval "Longterm Investment Plan" should come into action, providing the sea arm of the Bulgarian military with modernised ships and new equipment.

Ships

The list does not include vessels assigned to the border police. The Bulgarian Navy has inherited the Soviet tradition of "

board Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ...

numbers" (), which means that unlike pennant numbers and

hull classification symbols The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by in ...

, they do not identify uniquely a vessel during its lifetime – for example, a ship can change numbers when it's transferred to another unit, and new ships reuse the numbers of old ones in the same unit. In November 2020, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense signed a contract with

Lürssen Lürssen (or Lürssen Werft) is a German shipyard with headquarters in Bremen-Vegesack and shipbuilding facilities in Lemwerder, Berne and Bremen-Fähr-Lobbendorf. Lürssen designs and constructs yachts, naval ships and special vessels. Tradin ...

Werft Germany to build two patrol boats for the Bulgarian Navy. The boats were built by the Bulgarian MTG Dolphin shipyard in Varna and delivered in 2023 and 2024 with the 984M lev (approximately €503M) price also including training.

Naval aviation

Accidents

On 9 June 2017 during a training mission of artillery fire against surface targets as a part of the ''"Black Sea-2017"'' exercise of the Bulgarian Navy, a Panther helicopter crashed in the water, killing the commander and injuring the other two officers on board. The helicopter's main rotor made contact with the fore flagpole of the frigate BGS-41 ''Drazki'', after which it crashed into the sea. The crew commander suffered heavy injuries upon the crash, causing his death. The other two crew members suffered minor injuries, mainly by inhaling gases caused after the crash.) The helicopter has been written off and the remaining two units have been grounded for a month on 10 June. After the helicopter struck the flagpole it became increasingly unstable and the commander, Capt. Georgi Anastasov, decided to turn back to the frigate and attempt an emergency landing in the water nearby, maximizing the chances for a rapid emergency recovery by the surface ships nearby. According to the Ministry of Defence and Navy officials his actions have directly contributed to the saving of the other two officers on board with only minor injuries, for his efforts he has been posthumously promoted to Major.

Storage

Mil Mi-14 The Mil Mi-14 (, NATO reporting name: Haze) is a Soviet Union, Soviet shore-based nuclear-capable amphibious anti-submarine warfare, anti-submarine helicopter derived from the earlier Mil Mi-8, Mi-8. Design and development Formal development of ...

(stored in non-airworthy condition)

Equipment

Ranks

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

Other ranks

The rank insignia of

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

s and

enlisted personnel An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States ...

References

Bibliography

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External links

Official site of the Bulgarian Naval Forces (Bulgarian)Official site of the Bulgarian Naval Forces (English)
{{Navies in Europe Military units and formations established in 1879