FROM WORLD WAR I TO WORLD WAR II – ROMANIAN NAVAL OFFICERS AND THE ARTILLERY UPGRADE FOR THE RIVER MONITORS
FROM WORLD WAR I TO WORLD WAR II – ROMANIAN NAVAL OFFICERS AND THE ARTILLERY UPGRADE FOR THE RIVER MONITORS

Summary/Abstract: Without a doubt, the pride of the Romanian Fleet even before World War I was its Danube Division. With its four relatively modern river monitors as its mainstay ships, the Division performed well in the 1916-1918 campaigns. It seemed the prospects were going to become even brighter for this section of the Romanian Navy when, after the war, Romania was given three monitors of even newer build. Two of these three former Austro-Hungarian ships, were completed in 1915, and one was similar to the Romanian BRĂTIANU class. With seven monitors in total, Romania could boast one of the strongest river fleets in the world. The maintenance and the development of its ships proved to be a challenge however for the overstretched defense budget of the country. Even before the end of the first interwar decade, Romanian naval specialist officers advised the need for capital repairs and, in 1931, it was decided that the ships would undergo not only these repairs, but a serious upgrade on their main artillery systems as well. This paper follows the struggles of these naval officers and their success in the late ‘30s, when the project was finally completed.

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