Democrația-class minesweeper
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{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = | Ship caption = }} {{Infobox ship class overview | Name = Democrația class minesweeper | Builders = Galați shipyard, Romania | Operators = {{navy|Romania}} | Class before = | Class after = | Subclasses = | Cost = | Built range = | In service range = | In commission range = | Total ships building = | Total ships planned = 4 | Total ships completed = 4 | Total ships cancelled = | Total ships active = | Total ships laid up = | Total ships lost = | Total ships retired = 4 | Total ships preserved = }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship original cost = | Ship yard number = | Ship way number = | Ship laid down = 1943 | Ship launched = 1943 | Ship ordered = | Ship christened = | Ship completed = | Ship commissioned = 1953-1955 | Ship recommissioned = | Ship decommissioned = 1993 | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = | Ship refit = | Ship struck = | Ship reinstated = | Ship fate = Scrapped, 2001 }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship type = Minesweeper | Ship displacement = *543 tons standard
| Ship length = 62.3 meters | Ship beam = 8.5 meters | Ship draught = 2.3 meters | Ship propulsion = 2 boilers, 2 diesel engines (after 1975), 2 shafts; | Ship speed = 17.2 knots | Ship range = 4,000 nautical miles at 10 knots | Ship endurance = | Ship complement = 75 | Ship sensors = | Ship EW = | Ship armament = Upon launching (1943) {{ubl| list_style = margin-left: 1em;|2 x 88 mm SK C/35 naval guns, later 2 x 90-K }} Upon modernization (1976) {{ubl| list_style = margin-left: 1em;|2 x 37 mm V-11|1 x 37 mm 70-K|2 x MR2N 14.5 mm machine guns|50 mines}} | Ship armour = | Ship notes = }} |
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101II-M2KBK-249-32, Frankreich, M-Boot auf See.jpg
The Democrația-class minesweepers were a class of four minesweepers of the Romanian Navy, based on the design of the German M40 minesweeper but with different armament. They were built at the Galați shipyard and launched in 1943, being armed with two German 88 mm naval guns. Work on them was disrupted by the Soviet invasion of Romania in late 1944 and was only resumed in 1949. Two of the ships, renamed Democrația and Descătușarea, were completed in 1954, with Desrobirea completed in 1955 and Dreptatea in 1956. By 1960, the two German naval guns were replaced by Soviet 85 mm naval guns. The four ships were modernized in 1976, being mounted six AA guns of 37 mm and four machine guns of 14.5 mm, as well as mine launching rails, the ships being able to carry up to 50 mines each. In 1993, the ships were re-designated as corvettes and renamed Vice-Amiral Mihai Gavrilescu, Vice-Amiral Ioan Bălănescu, Vice-Amiral Emil Grescescu and Vice-Amiral Ioan Georgescu. Ultimately, the ships were scrapped in 2001.Robert Gardiner, Conway's All the World Fighting Ships 1947-1995, p. 326Frederick Thomas Jane, Jane's Fighting Ships, Volume 77, p. 275Weyer's Warships of the World, p. 176 Dragoare de bază în Marina Română [https://www.despremarinaromana.com/2023/05/dragoare-de-baza-in-marina-romana-clasa.html]
References
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{{WWII Romanian Ships}}
Category:Ships built in Romania
Category:Mine warfare vessel classes
Category:Minesweepers of the Romanian Naval Forces
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