Builders Ansaldo Planned 1 Cancelled 1 | Operators Romanian Naval Forces Completed 0 | |
Name Mihai Viteazul battleship | ||
The Romanian Battleship Mihai Viteazul, also known in Italy as Project UP 90 and later as Project 102, was a proposed battleship design offered by Ansaldo to Romania in the 1930's. The offer came after Romania had proven itself to be a reliable customer, purchasing 1 submarine and 4 destroyers from Italy. Initially, the proposed design, known in Italy as Project UP 90, envisioned a "pocket battleship" with a displacement of 8,000 tons and a speed of 30 knots generated by a 60,000 horse power power plant, with the armament consisting of six 250 mm guns in two triple turrets, a dozen 100 mm guns, eight 40 mm guns and sixteen 20 mm guns. None of the guns were to be Italian-made, but mostly Swedish-made, just like the main guns of the submarine and four destroyers, in accordance with Romanian specifications. However, the Romanians were doubtful that all the required armament could be fitted on such a small displacement, and proposed a new design, called Project 102 by the Italians, with six 280 mm guns in two triple turrets, eight 150 mm guns in four twin turrets, twelve 100 mm guns in six double mounts and twenty 20 mm AA guns in single mounts, as well as six 533 mm torpedo tubes and three scout planes. The displacement was increased to 10,500 tons, as was the power of the power plant, to 75,000 horse power. However, this was an expensive ship, as was the previous design, and the Romanians hesitated. When World War II started in 1939, Romania's priorities were changed, being more interested in tanks, aircraft and artillery that could be supplied much faster than ships that would spend years on the slipway, and thus the whole project was cancelled.