Romanian submarine Delfinul

Delfinul ('The dolphin') is a Kilo-class submarine of the Romanian Naval Forces.[1] It was commissioned in August 1985 and is currently the only Romanian submarine in service. Due to a lack of funding the submarine has been inactive since 1995; it is kept in reserve docked in the military sector of the Port of Constanța.[1]

This article is about the Kilo-class submarine. For the World War II submarine, see NMS Delfinul.
Delfinul submarine in 2008
History
Romania
Name: Delfinul
Ordered: 1984
Builder: Krasnoye Sormovo Factory No. 112
Completed: 1985
Commissioned: August 1985
Out of service: 1995
Homeport: Constanța
Status: in reserve
General characteristics
Class and type: Kilo-class submarine
Displacement:
  • 2,460 t., surfaced
  • 3,180 t., submerged
Length: 72.9 m (239 ft 2 in)
Beam: 12.8 m (42 ft 0 in)
Draft: 14.5 m (47 ft 7 in)
Speed:
  • 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), surfaced
  • 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), submerged
Complement: 54
Armament:
  • 6 × 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes for guided electric TEST-71 torpedoes, guided 53-65K oxygen-propelled torpedoes
  • 28 naval mines
  • 8 SA-16 Gimlet surface-to-air missiles

History

In the early 1980s, the Romanian Naval Forces expressed the need for a submarine to train the anti-submarine vessels of the fleet.[2] The Chinese government made an offer for six Type 33 submarines, two built in China (one with Romanian workers) and four in Romania.[1] However, the Type 33 was an obsolete design and the Romanian government decided to purchase Soviet equipment. A Kilo-class submarine was acquired in 1984 for $61.5 million from USSR.[3] The submarine was built by Krasnoye Sormovo Factory No. 112 in Gorki. The Romanian crew of the submarine was trained in the USSR.[1] The submarine, christened Delfinul, was delivered in 1985. Another two Kilo-class submarines were planned for purchase, but due to financial reasons, the orders were cancelled.[4]

Service

The submarine successfully accomplished 67 missions, with 2,000 hours of immersion.[5] During these missions, Delfinul launched 23 torpedoes and 2 naval mines.[5] In 1996, the submarine exhausted the resources of the initial batteries and is kept in reserve since then. After 2001, the submarine was transferred to the "Mircea cel Bătrân" Naval Academy, being used as a training ship.[1][5] Numerous overhauling plans have been proposed since 1996, yet none were implemented.[6][7]

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See also

Notes
  1. "Cu submarinul la reparat (Overhauling the submarine)". Jurnalul Național (in Romanian). October 7, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  2. Almanahul Forțelor Navale 2007, p. 85
  3. "Secretele submarinului Delfinul (The secrets of Delfinul submarine)". Adevărul (in Romanian). March 20, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  4. "Submarinul condamnat să stea la suprafață (The submarine condemned to float on the surface)". România Liberă (in Romanian). April 18, 2009. Archived from the original on June 26, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  5. Almanahul Forțelor Navale 2007, p. 86
  6. "Povestea tristă a submarinului Delfinul (The sad story of Delfinul submarine)". România Liberă (in Romanian). November 29, 2010. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  7. "Submarinului Delfinul i s-au terminat bateriile. Înlocuirea costă 20 de milioane de euro. (Delfinul submarine exhausted the resources of the initial batteries)". Fin.ro (in Romanian). August 14, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2012.

References
  • ***, Almanahul Forțelor Navale 2007, Statul Major al Forțelor Navale, Editura CTEA, București, 2006, ISBN 978-973-7601-96-4



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