NMS Căpitan Romano Mihail (WWII Refit): A Torpedo Boat Without Torpedoes

JamesPond1200-psn · March 7, 2025, 8:16pm

Would you like the NMS Căpitan Romano Mihail to be added to the game in her WWII refit?

Yes
No

0 voters

How should it be added?

Tech Tree
Premium
Event
Battlepass
Squadron
I said no

0 voters

What BR should it have?

Reserve/1.0
1.3
1.7
2.0
Other (comment)
I said no

0 voters

NMS Căpitan Romano Mihail (WWII Refit): A Torpedo Boat Without Torpedoes

Romanian_CNLB-class_river_boat

History:

At the start of the 20th century, the Kingdom of Romania began to order a number of new vessels to build up their naval forces. Other powers in the region were doing the same, and Romania had to remain strong in order to not fall behind. One class of boats ordered from the Thames Iron Works in London, England was the Căpitan Nicolae Lascăr Bogdan-class of armored torpedo boats. Built between 1906-07, this class of eight small armored torpedo boats entered service in 1907 and first saw combat during World War One. Initially armed with a 47mm Škoda naval gun (derived from the Hotchkiss 3-pdr), a 6.5mm Maxim machine gun, and four torpedoes (two on spars, two on drop claws). This armament proved mostly successful during the war, but five were lost during the conflict, with at least one falling victim to a naval mine in 1916.

The remaining three vessels, Căpitan Romano Mihail, Locotenent Călinescu Dimitrie and Maior Șonțu Ghoerghe, were modified during the interwar period in order to keep them relevant. The torpedoes were removed, the 6.5mm Maxim machine gun was replaced with a 20mm Oerlikon autocannon, and a 300mm depth charge launcher was installed. Re-designated as their own smaller class of armored motor launches (the Căpitan Romano Mihail-class), they entered WWII and continued to see success, but were captured by the Soviets in 1944 upon Romanian capitulation. Impressed by their incredible seaworthiness for a boat designed for riverine use, the Soviet Navy placed them into service with the Black Sea Fleet, where they served until the end of the war, after which they were returned to Romania. What happened after this is not known, but having served for nearly 40 years through two World Wars, the class had surely proven itself as a capable design.

Description:

The Căpitan Romano Mihail-class measured 30 m (98 ft 5 in) long, 4 m (13 ft 1 in) wide, and 0.8 m (2 ft 7 in) deep, with a normal displacement of 45 tons and a maximum full load of 51 tons. The armor thickness is estimated to be around 20mm, but exact figures are not known. It was propelled by two compound engines driving two propeller shafts for a combined total of 550 HP. This gave it a top speed of 18 kts (20.7 mph). It could carry up to 7.6 tons of fuel and featured a complement of 20 crew.
The armament following the WWII refit consisted of a single 47mm 3-pdr naval gun made by Škoda mounted at the bow (similar to the Fairmile B-class), a single 20mm Oerlikon gun mounted at the stern, and a single 300mm depth charge launcher, though I’m uncertain as to where it was mounted. As mentioned previously, all torpedoes and relevant equipment have been removed.