HISTORIC

The destroyer Queen Mary

The ace of spades of the Romanian Royal Navy

The official act of initiating the construction order of the counter-pilots King Ferdinand and Queen Maria was the resolution of the President of the Council of Ministers on the Report of the General Inspectorate of the Navy no. 345 / 05.10.1926, approving the construction of two counter-pilots (destroyers), a submarine and a base ship. The first negotiations took place with the Pattison House, with which a contract was signed, on November 13, 1926, based on the Journal of the Council of Ministers no. 3393 of 10.11.1926. The destroyers King Ferdinand and Regina Maria, which became destroyers, were built by the Italian shipyards CTT & Pattison, which later became Officine Meccaniche e Cantieri Navali di Napoli, according to a Thornicroft project, from 1927 until 1930 when they arrived in the country. The ships were launched on March 2, 1929, in Naples, the rehearsals lasting until June 15, 1930. On July 28, 1930, officers, foremen and troops sent to complete the crews (mostly from the crews of the M-type destroyers - Mărăşti and Mărăşeşti) arrived in Naples and boarded the destroyers King Ferdinand and Regina Maria. On September 4, 1930, the destroyers King Ferdinand and Queen Maria left their home port on their way to the country. On September 7, 1930, at 13.00, they docked in the port of Constanţa. According to the Agenda no. 35 of the Navy Command, the ships entered service on September 7, 1930, enrolling in the batting order of the Sea Division, and on May 27, 1931 in the port of Constanta, the festivities of the baptism of destroyers and the decoration of the razor Mircea with "Honorary sign for 40 years of service". The ceremony was attended by King Carol II, Nicolae Iorga - President of the Council of Ministers, D. Ghica - Minister of Foreign Affairs and other officials. Starting with July 1, 1931, together with the destroyers King Ferdinand, Mărăşti and Mărăşeşti, he formed the Destroyer Squadron, commanded by cdor Schmidt S. Victor. On June 22, 1932 M.S. Queen Mary wanted to visit the ship that bore her name. Thus, together with 10 guests, he made a trip to Balchik, from where he returned the same day. On April 23, 1937, he set out on a voyage to Portsmouth, on the occasion of the nautical festivities held on the occasion of the coronation of King George VI of Great Britain. Under the command of Captain-Commander Alexandru Stoianovici, she was destined to represent Romania at the celebrations of the wedding of the Crown Prince of Greece, but between January 4 and 6, 1938, with Crown Prince Mihai on board, a storm caused severe damage and forced the ship to return to Constanta. On October 19, 1938, he attended the funeral of Turkish President Kemal Attaturk, the ship's captain, Captain Horia Macellariu, and Commander August Roman laying a wreath at his grave. On October 29, 1938, according to Queen Maria's will, her body was buried at Curtea de Argeş, and her heart was transported to her residence in Balchik (in present-day Bulgaria). From Constanţa to Balchik, the queen's heart was transported with the destroyer Regina Maria, under the command of Captain Horia MACELLARIU (she was brought back to the country in 1940 when Romania lost the Quadrilateral, being deposited in the chapel of the Bran residence). Camouflaged according to the Kriegsmarine model, the destroyers wore as a sign of recognition a white rectangle with the cross of Saint Andrew, red in color and on the edges were inscribed the ace of cups with the destroyer King Ferdinand, the ace of spades with Queen Maria, the ace of clubs with the ace of Mărăşeşti and diamonds in Mărăşti.

HMS London
HMS London, a type 22 frigate (second generation) was built between 1982-1984, when it was launched. The commissioning operation took place in 1987, and the ship was named Bloodhound and boarding number F95. At the request of the mayor of the British capital, in memory of the destroyer class "County" of the same name with the city of London, a very popular tradition in the British Royal Navy, the ship took the name of HMS London. In 1988 the ship was deployed in the Baltic Sea with the mission of testing underwater detection equipment on Russian ships. In 1991 it was deployed as a commanding ship in the Royal Navy force in the Persian Gulf. In 1993 he took an active part in the Gulf War, and in 1995 he took part in the Bosnian war. In November 1998 he carried out exercises in the Black Sea with ships belonging to Romania and Ukraine, and between November 21-24 he visited the port of Constanta. He left the Royal Navy in 1999. During her service, she traveled more than 300,000 Mm, was deployed in Arctic to tropical climates and sailed for more than 35,000 hours, which means a utilization rate of more than 25% a year. In 2004, a frigate regeneration program began, which would ensure the initial parameters of the on-board equipment and the implementation of new equipment and weapons.

Frigate "Queen Mary"
In accordance with the order of the Minister of Defense no. MS-47 of 10.03.2004, with the disposition of the General Staff no. B5 / S / 1090 of 17.05.2004, and with the order of the Chief of Staff of the Naval Forces no. B / S / 416 of 28.06.2004, starting with 01.08.2004, the state of organization of the frigate Regina Maria, the ship with boarding number F 222, entered into force.
On 18.08.2004 the military personnel from the crew of the frigate Regina Maria presented themselves at the Naval Fleet Applications School, in order to set up the crew and centralize the training and on March 30, 2005 the entire crew was deployed in the NELSON naval base. from Portsmouth to begin joint training. On April 4, 2005, the first 76 soldiers began the familiarization course with the ship, and on April 12, 2005, they moved aboard the ship in order to double the day services. On 16.04.2005 the agreement for the reception of the frigate Regina Maria was signed by the Acceptance Commission. On April 21, 2005, the handover of the ship's flag and its entry into the service of the Romanian Naval Forces took place, and on July 14, 2005, the frigate left the NELSON / Portsmoth naval base, starting the march to the country. On July 25, 2005, in the presence of the President of Romania, Mr. Traian Băsescu, the ceremony of receiving the frigate Regina Maria took place in the port of Constanţa, the ship being subordinated to the Naval Operational Command. On 01.07.2006, based on the Order of the Minister of National Defense no. M.S.28 of 20.02.2006, the frigate Regina Maria passed from the subordination of the Naval Operational Command to the subordination of the 56th Frigate Flotilla. On August 3, 2009 the first landings took place at night with the IAR 330 Puma NAVAL helicopter on the frigate type T22R (Regina Maria), and in October 2009 it became the first Romanian ship to take command of a NATO naval group. The Queen Maria frigate is capable of fighting in all three environments: surface, air and underwater. The main missions it can perform are: command ship of a naval group, participation in joint or collective operations, surveillance of the naval situation and control of maritime traffic in the territorial sea, contiguous area and exclusive economic zone, protection of transport and maritime communications , supporting specialized forces in combating maritime water pollution, smuggling and illicit arms and drug transport, participating in national and international search and rescue operations at sea or humanitarian aid, naval training at sea. Through the Documentary Note of the Historical Service of the Army with no. A 3471 of 15 July 2010, the frigate Regina Maria is recognized as a continuation of the traditions of the destroyer Regina Maria, which entered service on 07.09.1930 (ship's day).