NMS ''Mircea'' was the second ship of the Romanian Navy'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. She was sunk during an air raid in April 1944.

Construction and specifications

''Mircea'' was built in 1882 by Thames Iron Works at Blackwall, England. 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'', 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, although she was also rated as a composite gunboat. 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 Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, ...

with the same name, which is still in service to this day. The old

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

was sunk at

Galați Galați (, , ; also known by other alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the Danube River. It has been the only port for the most par ...

by Soviet 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