Bulgarian Navy

The Bulgarian Navy (, "Voennomorski sili na Republika Bǎlgariya") is the navy of the Republic of Bulgaria and forms part of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. It has been largely overlooked in the reforms that Bulgaria had to go through in order to comply with NATO standards, mostly because of the great expense involved and the fact that naval assaults are not considered to be a great concern for the country's security. That is why three of the four s (excluding "Slava") are now docked and have been out of operation for some time. The last one was decommissioned in November 2011. Only the more modern frigates, corvettes and missile crafts are on active duty.
In order to meet some of the NATO requirements, the Bulgarian government purchased a from Belgium in 2005. BNS "Wandelaar" (F-912), built in 1977, was renamed BG "Drazki". That same year the Bulgarian ship "Smeli" took part as a full NATO member for the first time in NATO OAE ("Operation Active Endeavour"). In 2006, following a decision of the Bulgarian National Assembly, "Drazki" deployed as part of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), patrolling the territorial waters of Lebanon under German command. This was the first time the Bulgarian Navy took part in an international peacekeeping operation. The Bulgarian government purchased two more "Wielingen"-class frigates and one in 2007.
The Bulgarian Navy is centred in two main bases. One is near the city of Varna. The other is Atiya Naval Base, near the city of Burgas.
Operational history.
First Balkan War.
The Bulgarian Navy's first combat action was the 1912 Battle of Kaliakra during the First Balkan War, when the attacked and crippled the Ottoman cruiser "Hamidiye".
Second Balkan War.
The Bulgarian Navy scuttled its four Danube gunboats during the Second Balkan War, probably to avoid capture by the invading Romanian Army. The four gunboats were 400-600-ton vessels, with a top speed of and armed with two-to-four guns and two-to-four guns. They were still present on the Bulgarian Navy list in August 1916.
World War I.
When Bulgaria entered World War I in 1915, its navy consisted mainly of a French-built torpedo gunboat called "Nadezhda" and six torpedo boats. It mainly engaged in mine warfare actions in the Black Sea against the Russian Black Sea Fleet and allowed the Germans to station two U-boats at Varna, one of which came under Bulgarian control in 1916 as "Podvodnik No. 18". Russian mines sank one Bulgarian torpedo boat and damaged one more during the war.
World War II.
The Bulgarian Navy during World War II supported the Axis Powers in the Black Sea and consisted mainly of four obsolete "Drazki"-class torpedo boats, five modern "Lurrsen" type motor torpedo boats and three formerly Dutch motor torpedo boats. Bulgaria saw little naval fighting during the war, its main action taking place in October 1941.
The so-called "Operation Varna" consisted in the minelaying of the Bulgarian coast by the Romanian minelayers , "Regele Carol I" and "Dacia", escorted by Romanian "Năluca", "Sborul" and "Smeul", Romanian gunboats and "Căpitan Dumitrescu" and Bulgarian torpedo boats , "Smeli" and "Hrabri". The operation, lasting between 7 and 16 October 1941, was largely successful, as despite the loss of the Romanian auxiliary minelayer "Regele Carol I" to a Soviet mine, the five minefields laid by the Romanian minelayers along the Bulgarian coast are credited with the sinking of four Soviet submarines: "S-34", "L-24", "Shch-211" and "Shch-210", although the latter could have also been sunk by German aircraft or depth-charged by the Bulgarian patrol boats "Belomorets" and "Chernomorets".
On 6 December 1941, "Belomorets" and "Chernomorets" depth-charged and sank the Soviet submarine "Shch-204".
Soviet submarines also laid mines near the Bulgarian coast, the 2304-ton Bulgarian steamer "Chipka" being sunk off Varna by mines laid by the submarine "L-4".
On 19 May 1943, the Bulgarian torpedo boat "Smeli" foundered between Varna and Burgas during a storm.
The campaign ended when Bulgaria changed sides and joined the Soviet Union in September 1944.
Cold War.
In line with Soviet naming practices the navy of the Bulgarian People's Army was called the Military Naval Fleet ("Военноморски флот" (ВМФ)). The merchant marine, which was to mobilize in wartime in support of the regular navy was called Bulgarian Sea Fleet ("Български Морски Флот" (БМФ)).
In the 1970s the Burgas Naval Base relocated to Atia with a corresponding change in name.
The Naval Fleet Staff was located in Varna.
Atia Naval Base.
Naval Equipment.
In 1989 the people's navy's inventory consisted of:
Structure.
A "Division" is the equivalent of land forces battalion or air force squadron as the Bulgarian Navy follows the Russian naval tradition, according to which an "Operational Squadron" or "Оперативная эскадра" is a temporary formation, an equivalent of a land forces division and in modern times a "Squadron" of the Russian Navy is an equivalent of a land forces corps.
According to the reform plans envisioned in the White Paper on Defence 2010, the two naval bases would be merged into one with two base facilities in Varna and Burgas. The manpower of the Navy would account to about 3,400 seamen. The ordered Eurocopter AS565 MB Panther helicopters were reduced from six to three units. Between 2011 and 2020 the naval "Longterm Investment Plan" should come into action, providing the sea arm of the Bulgarian military with modernised ships and new equipment.
Ships.
The Bulgarian Navy will modernise three of its "Wielingen"-class frigates in the future. The frigates will be equipped with landing pads, allowing helicopters to land and take off from the ships' decks. The list does not include vessels assigned to the border police. The bulgarian ministry of defense signed a contract on 12/11/2020 with Lürssen Werft Germany to build two patrol boats for the Bulgarian Navy. The boats will be built by the Bulgarian MTG Dolphin shipyard in Varna and delivered in 2025 and 2026 with the 984M Leva (approximately €503M) price also including training.
Naval aviation.
Chayka Naval Air Base
2 Eurocopter AS565 Panther (6 originally ordered, 3 delivered, 3 later canceled, 1 written off)
1 Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin delivered in late 2019
3 Mil Mi-14 (stored in non-flyworthy condition)