According to what her Balkan correspondent wrote on 13 October intended Romania to have not only a river Donau flotilla but also an own seagoing navy. The voyage of the British admiral Beatty last month to this country and the visit last week by two British destroyers suggested that just like Greece also Romania wanted assistance by of British naval officers by the organizing her own navy. Romania didn’t have a long naval history despite the fact shat in 1877 a gunboat called Fulgerul hoisted Romanian colours commanded by the Russian lieutenant Dubassof and participated in the operations of the Russian army commanded by grand duke Nicolaas at Braïla. It fact this gunboat was nothing more than an armed tug and until 1914 Romania just possessed some monitors on the Donau which were with large costs towed from Trieste to their new destination. The only sea going vessel was the small wood-built cruiser Elizabetha of 1,300 tons dating from 1888 and which sailed some times towards the Bosporus participating in the international demonstration to protect the foreign colonies threatened by the Bulgarian army. In 1914 however was the yard of Pattison at Naples, Italy contracted to built 4 modern destroyers of 1,300-1,450 ton and a speed of 34 miles. It was decided to found a naval academy at Constantza, a torpedo station at Soelina an the entrance of the Donau and a school for torpedo and mine personnel at Galatz. The outbreak of the First World War prevented this however. The building of 2 of the 4 destroyers was cancelled and the other two were nearly completed seized by Italy and taken into service as the Nibbio and Sparvier. When Romania became involved in the war decided the supreme command to use the heavy guns of the river vessels to the arm the fortress Toekratan. Before the guns were properly installed captured the Bulgarian army the fortress and since then was the Romanian river flotilla impotent and finally captured by the enemy. The fast packet boats of the Service Maritime were used as Russian auxiliary cruisers, one was shut down and another struck a mine. After the war handed Italy the two seized destroyers over and which were renamed Marasti and Marasesti and were still the fastest ships on the Black Sea. In France were 4 gunboats and submarine chasers bought while in 1922 6 torpedo boats of 250 tons of the former Austrian-Hungarian navy were purchased. During the war it became clear that this were well seaworthy vessels. One of this four (?) the former 84 T was lost on 8 February 1922 due to a heavy storm while underway from Pola off the Kiliamon entrance of the Donau. Since then were also 10 submarines purchased delivered in parts by a French firm and put together in a Romanian Douna harbour. The result was that at the Black Sea Romania was a stronger naval force as the Soviet while the Russian cruisers were nearly useless and also for Turkey was the Romanian navy a important factor to be considered as long as the Turkish major ships were not repaired and suitable for all war purposes.
