Action of 27 June 1941

The Action of 27 June 1941 consisted in an engagement between the navies of Soviet Union and Romania, taking place on the Chilia branch of the Danube Delta. The action resulted in a Romanian victory and the withdrawal of the Soviet vessels.

Backround and opposing forces
On 22 June 1941, Romania joined the German-led Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, aiming to recover land lost to the latter in 1940. The Chilia branch separated Southern Bessarabia from Romania proper, so control of this waterway was a priority for both the Romanian and Soviet navies, resulting in several naval engagements between the two.

The Romanian forces participating in the action of 27 June consisted of two motor launches, V-1 and V-3. These vessels belonged to a class of 8 river torpedo boats, built in the United Kingdom by Thames Iron Works on Romanian order during 1906-1907. These 50-ton vessels were initially armed with one 47 mm gun, one 6.5 mm machine gun, two spar torpedoes and two self-propelled torpedoes carried in drop collars amidships. The boats were protected by bulletproof sides and deck. One boat was sunk by a mine during World War I. Only four remained in active naval service during World War II, the other three being used as border patrol boats armed with one machine gun. The four boats in active service were converted to sea-going ASW motor launches in the 1930's, their armament during World War II consisting of one 47 mm naval gun, one 20 mm anti-aircraft gun, two 8 mm machine guns and six depth charges. Opposing the Romanian vessels were four Soviet armored motor gunboats of the BKA type, Project-1125-class. These armored boats were lighter than their Romanian counterparts, having a displacement of 30 tons. However, they were more heavily armed, carrying one 76 mm gun in a tank turret and several machine guns.

Engagement
The action took place on 27 June, near Ceatalchioi. The Romanian motor launches V-1 and V-3, part of the Tulcea Tactical Group (along with the other two boats and two Romanian monitors) were involved in a successful Romanian landing operation on 24 June, providing artillery support for the ground troops as they occupied the Soviet observation post of Ceatalchioi. On 27 June, an exchange of fire took place between the two motor launches and four attacking Soviet armored motor gunboats. Two armored boats were set ablaze and the entire group of four vessels was forced to retreat. No Romanian losses were reported.