VD 149 Locotenent Paul Apostolescu: Multipurpose Minesweeper

JamesPond1200-psn · April 14, 2025, 6:19pm

Would you like VD 149 to be added to the game?

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How should it be added?

Tech Tree
Premium
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Squadron
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What BR should it have?

2.3
2.7
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3.3
Other (comment)
I said no

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VD 149 Locotenent Paul Apostolescu: Multipurpose Minesweeper

History:

There’s not a lot to say about these ships in terms of their history. First laid down in 1970, the VD 141-class of minesweepers is a domestic development which helped to supplement and supplant older Soviet boats in the Romanian Danube Fleet. Capable of both sweeping and laying mines, this class has been in continuous service with the Romanian Navy since 1970 with very little in terms of modification. 25 in total were built between 1970 and 1984, each named for a historically significant naval officer. In 2003, a batch of 10 were scrapped, while the rest received an armament upgrade. A year later, three more were scrapped. The remaining 12 ships are still active to this day, serving as part of the 88th River Patrol Boat Divizion “Amiral Gheorghe Sandu”. VD 149 is one which remains in service, which is why I picked it as the representative of this class in this configuration.

Description:

The VD 141-class of minesweepers is moderately sized, measuring 33m (108 ft 3.2 in) long, 4.8m (15 ft 8.9 in) wide, and 0.9m (2 ft 11.4 in) deep. Weighing in at 97 tons (full load), it features a crew of 20. The class is propelled by a pair of 435 hp diesel engines, each driving its own shaft. This allows for a top speed of 13 kts (23.7 km/h, 14.7 mph). The class is primarily constructed of aluminum.

Initially, the VD 141-class was armed with two twin 14.5mm MR2N mounts, one fore and one aft. These are a Romanian design and use a pair of KPV heavy machine guns. Beginning in 2003, however, they received an upgrade, with the fore turret being replaced by a twin-barrel 30mm M1980/88 anti-aircraft gun and the aft turret being swapped for an MR4N quadruple 14.5mm KPV mount. This provided a serious increase in firepower, enabling the class to now deal with much tougher opponents. The class also has the ability to carry 6 magnetic naval mines on two rear-mounted mine rails, three per rail. The ships do not have any armor protection beyond the gun shields on the turrets, so they are fairly vulnerable.