Romania - The Community Forum

Quoted

Designed in Britain, built in Italy and equipped by Germans and Swedes, these ships ware similar to British Shakespeare class destroyers although their internal arrangement was different due to an en echelon layout of turbines. This class was to number four ships, but the second pair were not begun.

During the war both were employed mainly on escort duties and their armament was altered:
- one 120mm gun was landed
- 2-20mm AA guns replaced the 76mm weapon (two more 20mm were added later)
- and finally two 40mm AA guns were mounted

Probably one soviet submarine (M54) was sunk by Regele Ferdinand at the end of November 1941. After soviet troops occupied Romania both ships were incorporated into the Soviet Black Sea Fleet and renamed Likhoi (ex-regele Ferdinand) and Letuchy (ex-Regina Maria). They were returned later than other Romanian warships - in 1953 - and again renamed: Likhoi became D22 (later D10) and Letuchy became D21 (later D9).

In the late 1960s both ships were deleted from the lists and scrapped.

Quoted

Confiscat la 5 septembrie 1944. Retrocedat la 12 august 1951; rebotezat D21 apoi (din 1956) D1, numit D9 in 1959, dezmembrat in 1961 (1960 ?)