page_title: Romanian military equipment of World War I
section_title: Vehicle assembly
hierarchical_section_title: Romanian military equipment of World War I / Vehicle assembly
caption_attribution_description: English: A Romanian monitor of the Bratianu class during World War I, shortly after the 1917 modifications
context_page_description: During the First World War, the Kingdom of Romania was a source of various types of military equipment. Either directly, or indirectly through Romanian-born people designing military equipment abroad.
context_section_description: Between 1907 and 1908, Romania assembled and launched four river monitors at the Galați shipyard. The monitors were built in sections by STT in Austria-Hungary, then transported to Galați and assembled there. The four vessels were named Ion C. Brătianu, Lascăr Catargiu, Mihail Kogălniceanu and Alexandru Lahovary. Each vessel displaced 680 tons, had a top speed of 13 knots and a crew of 110. Armament consisted of three 120 mm (4.7 inches) L/35 naval guns, two 120 mm (4.7 inches) L/10 naval howitzers, four 47 mm guns and two 6.5 mm machine-guns. Armor thickness amounted to 75 mm (almost 3 inches) on the sides, deck and turrets and 50 mm (almost two inches) on the conning tower. All but Alexandru Lahovary were launched in 1907, the latter being launched in 1908. The first monitor to be launched at Galați was Lascăr Catargiu. The four monitors first saw action during the Battle of Turtucaia. On 2 September 1916, after the German formation known as Abteilung Kaufmann penetrated into the western edge of the defences of Turtucaia, the artillery fire of the Romanian monitors brought the Germans to a halt. The Abteilung attempted again on the following day, 3 September. It divided into three columns and attempted to seize high ground which dominated the Romanian defences. All three columns were brought to a halt by defensive fire, however, and then forced to withdraw, leaving behind around 300 dead and wounded. The third and final attack of Abteilung Kaufmann, on 4 September, was successful, the valuable high ground being captured. Subsequently, the monitors proceeded to evacuate Turtucaia. Alexandru Lahovary evacuated General Teodorescu and his staff, while the other three monitors - organised as the 2nd Monitor Division - safely evacuated the 9th Romanian Infantry Division. During the following year, the monitors joined the army artillery in holding the line against the Germans in Moldavia throughout the summer and autumn of 1917. In early 1918, the monitors were primarily engaged in sweeping mines from channels, rivers and ports.
  During the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, Romania was the only country in the region to have developed its own aircraft. Bulgaria, Serbia and even the Ottoman Empire lacked native aircraft at the time, but Romania had two machines designed by Aurel Vlaicu - A Vlaicu I and A Vlaicu II - in service with its army. Vlaicu's design had a chain-driven propeller at either end of the wing, the rudder at the front of the aircraft, a triangular tail and a 50 hp Gnome et Rhône engine. At an Austro-Hungarian aircraft contest in the summer of 1912, Vlaicu's "strange-looking monoplane", a "refreshing oddity", took the first prizes for landing in the smallest circle and for accurate "bomb dropping". Vlaicu's aircraft was nicknamed "La Folle Mouche" ("The Crazy Fly"). Although the model was subsequently purchased by the Romanian Army, Vlaicu was killed in a crash during September 1913, which also destroyed his second aircraft. This left A Vlaicu I as the sole Romanian-made aircraft in the inventory of the Romanian Air Force during World War I. During late 1917, limited assembly of Nieuport 17 fighters took place at the Romanian port town of Sulina. The aircraft assembled there arrived in crates at Kiliya. On 7 October, two assembled fighters were already in service at Sulina, and by the end of the year, four more operational and two non-operational aircraft were added. It is not known for certain if the Sulina air unit was involved in any combat.
caption: One of the four Romanian river monitors
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