Democrația-class minesweeper

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.[1][2][3]

Class overview
Name	Democrația class minesweeper
Builders	Galați shipyard, Romania
Operators	Romanian Naval Forces
Planned	4
Completed	4
Retired	4
History
Laid down	1943
Launched	1943
Commissioned	1953-1955
Decommissioned	1993
Fate	Scrapped, 2001
General characteristics
Type	Minesweeper
Displacement	543 tons standard 775 tons full
Length	62.3 meters
Beam	8.5 meters
Draught	2.3 meters
Propulsion	2 boilers, 2 shafts
Speed	17.2 knots
Range	4,000 nautical miles at 10 knots
Complement	75
Armament	Upon launching (1943) 2 x 88 mm SK C/35 naval guns Upon modernization (1976) 2 x 85 mm 90-K naval guns 6 x 37 mm AA guns (3x2) 4 x 14.5 mm machine guns (2x2) 50 mines

Similar German M1940 minesweeper