Soviet ship, sunk by Romanians, found after 70 years

After nearly 30 years of quests by several teams of divers, on 3 May 2011, the Respiro Society identified the area where the wreckage of Russian destroyer Moskva might be.

On 5 May 2011, a team formed of Romanian, Ukrainian and Russian divers, together with divers of Respiro Society and Global Underwater Explorers, identified the ship as being the Russian destroyer.

The ship’s s grave is 45 meters deep and about 20 kilometers away from the Romanian shore.

t was a two year expedition, dedicated to the investigation of the shipwreckage of the Second World War of the Russian Moskva destroyer.

During the naval battle of 25-26 June 1941, leader Moskva and destroyer Kharkov, a part of the operational group ‘Voroshilov’ approached the Romanian shore and opened fire on the Constanţa harbour.

The Romanian destroyer, the NMS Regina Maria and the NMS Mărăşti engaged in the battle and together with the German coast battery managed to repel the attack.

During the withdrawal, leader Moskva suffered an explosion, broke in two and sank very quickly.

Destroyer Moskva. Photo: Respiro Society (Click on photo to enlarge).

The causes of the explosion were unknown.

The Romanian Navy rescued 69 survivors, including the commander of the AB Tuhov ship.

Video: Moska is the largest ship that ever sunk in the Black Sea during the Second World War (Source: Society Respiro).

Translated by: Iulia Florescu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University