Delfinul (1985)

Diesel-Electric Attack Submarine [ 1985 ]

The Romanian Delfinul, a Soviet-era Kilo-class diesel-electric submarine, has been out of service since 1995 owing to budget issues.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/02/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image from the Romanian Ministry of Defence.

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Like other Soviet-aligned nations of the Cold War, Romania committed to the Kilo-class diesel-electric attack submarine. Some seventy of the type were constructed in Soviet shipyards and the first boat entered commissioned service in December of 1980. The vessels were highly conventional for their time and found global operators (beyond Romania) in Algeria, China, India, Poland, Iran and Vietnam (ex-Soviet boats fell to the new Russian Navy).

Romania obtained just a single boat and commissioned it as "Delfinul". It was used exclusively to train seamen in the fine art of Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW). Two other boats were planned in the series but the Romanian naval budget excluded these going forward. The boat was procured by the Romanian government during 1984 and training was held in the Soviet Union prior to the official hand-off. Delivery followed in 1985.

Her qualities followed in line with the existing Kilo-class boats of the Soviet Navy. She displaced 2,460 when surfaced and 3,200 tons when submerged. Overall length was 239.1 feet with a beam of 42 feet and a draught down to 47.6 feet. The diesel-electric powerplant (requiring surfacing to recharge the battery pack) allowed for a maximum submerged speed of 20 knots to be reached (12 knots when surfaced). On board was a crew of fifty-four. Armament centered on 6 x 533mm (21") bow-facing torpedo tubes. The torpedoes could be replaced with up to 28 x naval mines. The crew also had access to 8 x SA-16 (9K38) "Igla" (NATO: "Gimlet") shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile launchers for close-in defense (when surfaced).

The boat managed a career spanning over sixty five practice sorties and was never used in combat. She fell out of useful service around 2005-2006 and remains as such as of 2018 - her future still in limbo primarily due to budgetary reasons.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Service Year

1985

Origin

Romania

Status

DECOMMISSIONED
Destroyed, Scrapped.

Complement

54
PERSONNEL

Class

Kilo-class

Number-in-Class

57
VESSELS

Ships-in-Class

Unnamed (B-248); Chita (B-260); Vyborg (B-227); Unnamed (B-229); Unnamed (B-404); Novosibirsk (B-401); Vologda (B-402); Tyumenskiy Komsomolets (B-405); Unnamed (B-351) / Orzel (291); Unnamed (B-801) / Delfinul (581); Sindhugosh (S55); Sindhudhvaj (S56); Unnamed (B-470); Unnamed (B-806); Rais Hadj Mubarek (012); Unnamed (B-439); Sindhuraj (S57); Rais Hadj Slimane (013); Sindhuvir (S58); Svyatoi Nikolai Chudotvorets (B-445); Sindhuratna (S59); Sindhukesari (S60); Yaroslavl (B-808); Komsomolsk Tadjikistana (B-394); Kaluga (B-800); Sindhukirti (S61); Ust'-Kamchatsk (B-464); Vledikavkaz (B-459); Sindhuvijay (S62); Alrosa (B-871); Magnitogorsk (B-471); Ust'-Bolsheretsk (B-494); Tareg (901); Unnamed (B-187); Lipetsk (B-177); Krasnokamensk (B-190); Noor (902); Mogocha (B-345); Yuan Zhend 64 Hao (364); Yuan Zhend 65 Hao (365); Yunes (903); Sindhurakshak (S63); Sindhushastra (S64)

Romania

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Submerged Attack
Traveling under the surface to search, track, and / or engage or reconnoiter areas.

✓ Maritime Patrol
Active patroling of vital waterways and maritime areas; can also serve as local deterrence against airborne and seaborne threats.

✓ Fleet Support
Serving in support (either firepower or material) of the main surface fleet in Blue Water environments.

Length

239.1 ft
72.88 m

Beam

42.0 ft
12.80 m

Draught

47.7 ft
14.54 m

Displacement

2,460
tons

Disp.Submerged

3,180
tons

Installed Power: 2 x Diesel generators developing 1,000kW output with 1 x Motor generating up to 6,800 shaft horsepower while driving 1 x shaft.

Surface Speed

12.0 kts
(13.8 mph)

Submerged Speed

20.0 kts
(23.0 mph)

Range

6,517 nm
(7,500 mi | 12,070 km)

6 x 533mm (21") torpedo tubes OR 28 x Naval mines.

8 x SA-16 "Gimlet" Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs)

Supported Types

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Graphical image of an aircraft aerial torpedo

(Not all weapon types may be represented in the showcase above)

None.

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Image from the Romanian Ministry of Defence.

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