NMS Rechinul (''the shark'') was a submarine of the

Romanian Navy The Romanian Naval Forces () is the principal naval branch of the Romanian Armed Forces and 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 flotilla on ...

, one of the few warships built in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

during

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 ...

and used during the war. She was made at the

Galați shipyard The Galați shipyard (), formally Damen Shipyards Galați, is a shipyard located on the maritime sector of the Danube in Galați, a city located in the Moldavia region of Romania. It was founded in 1893 as the ''G. Fernic et Co Mechanical constru ...

in 1938, launched in 1941, and completed in 1942. Rechinul took part in the evacuation of the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

and later performed the longest mission in Romanian submarine history, starting on 15 June 1944 and lasting 45 days.Antony Preston, ''Warship 2001–2002'',

Conway Maritime Press Conway Publishing, formerly Conway Maritime Press, is an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. It is best known for its publications dealing with nautical subjects. History Conway Maritime Press was founded in 1972 as an independent publisher. Its or ...

, 2001, pp. 83-84

Sister ship

''Rechinul'' was very similar to

NMS Marsuinul NMS ''Marsuinul'' (''The Porpoise'') was a submarine of the Romanian Navy, one of the few warships built in Romania during the Second World War. She was the largest Romanian-built submarine and the most powerful and modern Axis submarine in the B ...

(''the porpoise''). The two submarines had a lot in common, and were built around the same period.

Career

''Rechinul'' was a

minelaying A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

submarine, designed by

Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw (Dutch: engineer-office for shipbuilding), usually contracted to IvS or Inkavos, was a Dutch dummy company set up in The Hague and funded by the after World War I in order to maintain and develop German submarine know-how and to circumvent the ...

(IvS), and built at the Galați shipyard in Romania. She was laid down in 1938 and launched on 22 May 1941. She had the same power plant as her sister ship, with a slightly faster surface top speed of 17 knots, due to her standard (surfaced) displacement of 585 tons (35 tons lighter than her sister). Her submerged top speed was however the same, 9 knots. She was armed with four 533 mm torpedo tubes, one 20 mm anti-aircraft gun, and could carry up to 40 mines.W.M. Thornton, ''Submarine Insignia and Submarine Services of the World'', Pen and Sword Publishing, 1996, p. 100 ''Rechinuls career was more eventful than her sister's, as she carried out two patrol missions. Her first mission took place during the 1944

evacuation of the Crimea The Evacuation of the Crimea (November 13–16, 1920) was an event in the Russian Civil War, in which the Government of South Russia evacuated over sea from the Crimean Peninsula, the last stronghold of the White movement on the Southern Front, ...

, between 20 April and 15 May. Initially, she was only tasked with patrolling the Turkish coast, but on 30 April, she was tasked with the surveillance of the Soviet port of Batumi. The information on Soviet naval movements she transmitted during her mission proved to be very useful to the German and Romanian ships which were carrying out the evacuation of

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

. Her second and last mission consisted in a patrol off the Soviet port of

Novorossyisk Novorossiysk (, ; ) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities designated by the Soviet Union as a Hero City. The population was History In antiquity, the shores of the ...

, between 15 June and 27 July. She was heavily pursued and hunted by Soviet forces, but just like her sister, she managed to return to

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

without any losses. This was the last Romanian submarine patrol of the war, and with a length of over 40 days, the longest in Romanian submarine history.

Fate

''Rechinul'' was, just like ''Marsuinul'', captured by Soviet forces after the

23 August 1944 coup 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

, and commissioned as ''TS-1'' on 20 October 1944. She was returned to Romania in 1951.Mikhail Monakov, Jurgen Rohwer, ''Stalin's Ocean-going Fleet: Soviet Naval Strategy and Shipbuilding Programs 1935-1953'', pp. 266 and 274 She was withdrawn from active service by 1961 and finally scrapped in 1967.

Comparison with other minelaying submarines

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rechinul Submarines of the Romanian Naval Forces 1941 ships World War II submarines of Romania Foreign submarines of the Soviet Navy

Sister ship

Career

Fate

Comparison with other minelaying submarines

See also

References