Raid on Constanța
Raid on Constanța | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Black Sea Campaigns of the Eastern Front of World War II | |||||||
Romanian destroyer Mărăști | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Romania Germany | Soviet Union | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Filipp Oktyabrskiy | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
2 battery batteries2 coastal artillery |
1 cruiser 2 destroyer leaders 2 destroyers unknown number of bombers | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Constanța port facilities damaged |
1 cruiser damaged 1 destroyer leader sunk 9 bombers destroyed 268+ killed 69 captured |
The Raid on Constanța was an attack by the Soviet
Two
Several groups of bombers later bombed the city that day and the following night, but caused no damage to their targets. Nine bombers were shot down by anti-aircraft fire and Axis fighters. The defeat caused the Soviets to be much more cautious in using their ships within range of Axis defenses.
Background
After Romania joined the
Forewarned by Adolf Hitler about the scheduled date for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, codenamed Operation Barbarossa, on 22 June 1941,[3] the Romanian minelayers Amiral Murgescu, Regele Carol I and Aurora laid 1,000 mines between Cape Midia and Tuzla to protect Constanța between 16 and 19 June.[4]
On 22 June the
Bombardment
Two
The Voroshilov task force approached and shelled Constanța in the early hours of 26 June 1941, setting ablaze some
The 63rd Naval Aviation Brigade's operations were more closely integrated into the navy's bombardment with attacks on Constanța in three waves. The first was intended to be before the ships opened fire, the second wave was to be during the bombardment and the last was to distract the Axis forces as the ships withdrew. The pair of Ilyushin Il-4 twin-engined bombers from the 2nd Mine-Torpedo Aviation Regiment that comprised the first wave had to return because of mechanical problems before reaching their target. Of the two SB fast bombers of the second wave, one returned because of a malfunction and the other failed to return. The third wave was intercepted by a squadron (staffel) of Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters from the 3rd Group of Fighter Wing 52 (Jagdgeschwader 52), well after Moskva had sunk, which claimed to have shot down 11 DB-3s and 7 SBs.[Note 1] Seven SBs did get through to attack Constanța.[21]
The Romanians claimed to have shot down nine Tupolev SB bombers during the battle,[7][9] two of them claimed by Amiral Murgescu and one by Mărăşti.[8] The remaining six aircraft were shot down by a Romanian AA battery of 102 mm (4 in) Ansaldo guns.[22] The failure of the raid, together with other losses suffered by the Black Sea Fleet, caused Oktyabrsky to be much more cautious in his use of surface warships.[14]
Notes
Citations
- ^ Paterson, p. 128
- ^ Kirchubel, p. 41
- ^ Rohwer, p. 78
- ^ Hervieux, p. 70
- ^ a b Bernád, Karlenko & Roba, p. 22
- ^ "Horia Agarici, "Salvatorul Constanței", comemorat în orașul pe care l-a salvat. Eroul a decolat cu aparatul defect și a doborât trei avioane inamice" (in Romanian). Adevărul. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ a b c d Trigg, pp. 81–82
- ^ a b c d Hervieux, pp. 70–71
- ^ a b c Forczyk, p. 39
- ^ a b Yakubov & Worth 2008, p. 112
- ^ Yakubov & Worth 2009, p. 92
- ^ Yakubov & Worth 2008, p. 113
- ^ "Ziua în care Marina Română le-a scos rușilor războiul din cap: "Echipaj, ocupați posturile de luptă"". Marina Noastră (in Romanian). 3 December 2021.
- ^ a b Forczyk, p. 33
- ^ Dănuț Albu (23 January 2016). "Lupta aero-navala din 26 iunie 1941 de la Constanta. Cine a scufundat liderul "Moskva"?". ligamilitarilor.ro (in Romanian).
- ^ Feri Predescu (26 June 2015). "26 iunie 1941- Primul atac al Flotei Sovietice, respins de Forţele Navale Române. Viceamiralul Petre Zamfir, participant la scufundarea distrugătorului "Moskva"" [June 26th 1941 – The First Attack of the Soviet Navy, repelled by the Romanian Navy. Rear Admiral Peter Zamfir, Participant in the Sinking of the Destroyer "Moskva"]. Evz.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- ^ Rohwer, p. 83
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 82–83, 101
- ^ Bernád, Karlenko & Roba, pp. 12, 32–33
- ^ Bernád, Karlenko & Roba, p. 33
- ^ Bernád, Karlenko & Roba, pp. 12, 33
- ^ Storea & Băjenaru, p. 110
Bibliography
- Bernád, Dénes; Karlenko, Dmitriy & Roba, Jean-Louis (2007). From Barbarossa to Odessa: The Luftwaffe and Axis Allies Strike South-East, June-October 1941. Hinckley, UK: Midland. ISBN 978-1-85780-273-3.
- Forczyk, Robert (2014). Where the Iron Crosses Grow: The Crimea 1941–44. Oxford, UK: ISBN 978-1-78200-625-1.
- Hervieux, Pierre (2001). "The Romanian Navy at War, 1941–1945". In Preston, Antony (ed.). Warship 2001–2002. London: ISBN 0-85177-901-8.
- Kirchubel, Robert (2003). Operation Barbarossa 1941 (1): Army Group South. Campaign 129. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-697-6.
- Paterson, Lawrence (2016). Steel and Ice: The U-boat Battle in the Arctic and Black Sea 1941–45. Annapolis, Maryland: ISBN 978-1-59114-258-4.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Stroea, Adrian & Băjenaru, Gheorghe (2010). Artileria Română în date și imagini (in Romanian). București: Editura Centrului Tehnic-Editorial al Armatei [CTEA]. ISBN 978-6-06524-080-3.
- Trigg, Jonathan (2013). Death on the Don: The Destruction of Germany's Allies on the Eastern Front. Stroud, UK: ISBN 978-0-7509-5189-0.
- Yakubov, Vladimir & Worth, Richard (2008). "The Soviet Project 7/7U Destroyers". In Jordan, John & Dent, Stephen (eds.). Warship 2008. London: ISBN 978-1-84486-062-3.
- Yakubov, Vladimir & Worth, Richard (2009). "The Soviet Light Cruisers of the Kirov Class". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2009. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 82–95. ISBN 978-1-84486-089-0.