Smârdan-class river monitor (original) (raw)

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Smârdan (VBF 178) during the Riverine 2020 exercise
Class overview
Operators Romanian Naval Forces
Preceded by Brutar I/Grivița - class river monitor
Succeeded by _Mihail Kogălniceanu_-class river monitor
In commission 1988-present
Completed 5
Active 5
General characteristics
Displacement 322 t (317 long tons)
Length 44.5 m (146 ft 0 in)
Beam 8.0 m (26 ft 3 in)
Draught 1.30 m (4 ft 3 in)
Installed power 2 × Volvo Penta diesel generators
Propulsion 3 shaft, 3 × Doosan 4V222TIL diesel engines, 3,600 hp (2,700 kW)
Speed 22 knots (41 km/h)
Range 500 km (310 mi)
Complement 44
Sensors &processing systems Koden navigation radar Sonar Laser rangefinders, thermal imaging systems
Armament 1 × A 430 100 mm (3.9 in) gun 1 × Twin 30 mm gun 2 × Quad MR-4N 14.5 mm machine guns 2 × Twin (14.5mm+7.62mm) machine guns 2 × 40 × 122 mm MRL Strela 2M MANPAD

The _Smârdan_-class river monitor (NATO codification: Brutar II-class) is a class of riverine armored patrol boats (Vedete Blindate Fluviale) in service with the Romanian Naval Forces. Five ships of this class are currently in service with the Romanian Navy.[1] They are assigned to Section II, 67th Artillery Carrying Ships Division "Commander Virgil Alexandru Dragalina" of the Romanian Danube Flotilla based in Brăila.[2]

The ships were built at the Mangalia shipyard following testing done on the _Grivița_-class (Brutar-I).[3] The ships have a displacement of 322 t (317 long tons) with a hull length of 44.5 m (146 ft 0 in), beam of 8.0 m (26 ft 3 in) and draught of 1.30 m (4 ft 3 in). The ships are crewed by 44 seamen and have a range of 500 km (310 mi) with a 5-day autonomy. Armament consists of one 100mm A430 gun (naval version of the 100 mm anti-tank gun M1977), two 122mm APRN multiple rocket launchers with 40 rockets each, one twin 30mm gun, two MR-4N 14.5mm machine guns and two TAB-77 turrets (14.5mm+7.62mm machine guns). For anti-aircraft defense, the ships carry locally produced Strela 2M MANPADS.[2][4]

After the modernization carried out at the Brăila shipyard between 2018 and 2019, the old engines were replaced with three 1,200 hp (890 kW) Doosan 4V222TIL diesel engines and two Volvo Penta diesel generators were also mounted, increasing the maximum speed of the Smârdan from 17 knots (31 km/h) to 22 knots (41 km/h). Other upgrades included modern laser rangefinders, thermal imaging systems, sonars and Koden navigation radars.[4][5]

In 2018, Rovine (VBF 180) participated in the Riverine-2018 joint Ukrainian-Romanian exercises on the Danube.[6] While returning to base after exercise Danube Protector in 2019, Smârdan (VBF 178) aided the barge pusher SIDEX 2 in extinguishing an onboard fire which had broken out while towing six barges near Gropeni.[7]

  1. ^ Saunders, p. 584
  2. ^ a b "Secția II a Divizionului 67 N.P.A. - Vedete blindate". navy.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  3. ^ Marin Tănase (16 April 2017). "Șantierul naval Mangalia în anii marilor realizări, episodul 7 – Vedetele fluviale". mangalianews.ro (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 15 November 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Vedetele blindate fluviale. Modernizate în sfârșit!". rnhs.info (in Romanian). 2019-08-12.
  5. ^ Remotorizarea vedetelor blindate (video) (in Romanian). Fortele Navale Române. 4 November 2019. Event occurs at 3:57, 4:52 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Riverine 2018, exercițiu româno-ucrainean pe Dunăre". navy.ro (in Romanian). 6 September 2018.
  7. ^ Cristian Gregoretti (2 April 2020). "178 – Smardan". marinarii.ro (in Romanian).