Romanian Navy during World War I

Defence of Sulina
Part of the Romanian Campaign of World War I
Date September - November 1916 Location Sulina, Romania Result Romanian victory
Belligerents
Romania	German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Eustațiu Sebastian	Fritz Wernicke Bruno Heller  † Unknown  †
Strength
1 protected cruiser 1 torpedo boat 1 minelayer	2 submarines 4 aircraft
Casualties and losses
None	1 submarine sunk 1 submarine damaged 1 aircraft destroyed 16+ killed

The Royal Romanian Navy during World War I (1914–1918) was divided into two fleets and fought against the forces of the Central Powers. When Romania entered the war in August 1916, the Romanian Navy was officially divided as follows (although usage of the warships was fluid and their assignments changed as the war progressed):

River Monitors

Gunboats

Torpedo boats

Minelayers

Cruisers

Torpedo boats

During the night of 27 August 1916, just after Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary, three Romanian small torpedo boats (the old 10-ton Rândunica and the two converted hydraulic service vessels Bujorescu and Catinca, each armed with two torpedoes in wooden tubes) attacked the Austro-Hungarian Danube Flotilla stationed in the Bulgarian port of Ruse, aiming to sink one of the monitors. The attack however failed in its immediate purpose, as only one barge loaded with fuel was sunk. Due to this attack, however, the Austro-Hungarian Danube Flotilla retreated 130 km West along the Danube, stopping at Belene and subsequently taking extensive defensive measures.

The Romanian monitors and river torpedo boats were active all throughout the Battle of Turtucaia, providing artillery support to the ground troops along with the Romanian shore batteries. The Romanian monitors and shore batteries fired at ranges of 5-8 km, disrupting enemy artillery build-up, movement of troops and firing positions, and ultimately causing significant human and material damage. The Navy was the last to withdraw from the battle and the sector it defended was the last one to be captured by the enemy. The only Romanian warship to have suffered significant damage inflicted by the enemy was the river torpedo boat Grigore Ion, when she was sent to silence a group of 10 enemy machine guns which were blocking the evacuation of Romanian troops. She managed to destroy a few of them before withdrawing, having been struck by thousands of bullets, and having half of her crew killed.

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Wikipedia