Armed Forces of the World

WbrsowPqcf Par4

Romania
- <e a number of other European countrles, Roma-
- : srded with Germany during World War ll and
::manlan troops took part in the invasion of the
::r,et Unlon in 1941 . ln the early campaigns they
.:cultted themselves quite well, but then suffered
-.-.avy losses durrng the Battle of Stalingrad, which
..:s the turning po nt on the Eastern Front. By m d-
.
144 the Soviets were ready to take Romanla, but
.^: k ng succeeded n overthrowing the milrtary dic
..crship and Romanla then sgned an armrsttce
. lh the USSR allowing Sovret forces to remain on
::manian soil until a formal peace treaty was
- 3ned. From then on the Soviets strengthened the r
-rstion in the country, and in 1947 the krng was
','ced to abdicate to avoid a civil war. Today Roma-
: rs a member of the Warsaw Pact, although its
':'ces rarely take part in joint exercises and the
-, intry does not allow Warsaw Pact troops even to
:-lss its borders. mm (4.8-ln) D-30, 122-mm M 193 1 l3f , 122-mm The Romanian army has twoSSM brigades
-he Romanian armed forces have a total strenqth M1938, 152 mm (6-ln) D-20, 'l 52-mm M1937 and equipped withSS-J Scud'mr'ssr7es, seen here
'90,000 off icers and men, of whom 109,000 are 152 mm M1938 weapons, and some coastal artiJ mounted on a converted JSIII tank chassis. Under
.1
iery. There are about 50 multiple rocket launchers the maverick Presidenf Ceausescu Romania has
iscripts. ln the army and air force conscripts refused to allow other Warsaw Pactforces into the
.-.e 16 months, wh le rn the navv Lhey se've 30 including lhe 122 mm and 130 mm (5.1-in) types.
- :rths. Total reserves for all three arrns total about country, but the Sovjels sfi// su pply their latest
Surface-to-surface missile launchers include 20 weaponry, for example theT-72 MBT.
r:-,000, some 500,000 of them for the army. 'Scud' and 30 'FROG-7' units. About 500 towed
-ne army has two tank divisrons (both in the south antj arrcraft guns are available, includ ng 4.5-mm
'T
attack craft (the first three from China and the re
..st of the country), erght motorized rlfle dlvis ons ZPu-2,30 mm M53,37'mm M1939,57'mm S60, mainder built n Romania), six 'Osa l' fast attack
-:e mountain brigades, one airborne brigade, two B5-mm KS-1 2 and 100-mm KS-19 types. A f ew 23- craft, 14 'Epitrop' class fast attack craft, 40 rrver
: .ld' surf ace-to-su rface missile brigades, two a rtl l- mm ZSU-23-4 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns are n patrol craft, one mine warfare support shrp, four'M
'. br gades, three anti aircraft brgades, three art l service, plus some 54-6 'Galnful' and SA-7 'Grail' 40' class coastal minesweepers and eight 'TR 40'
-. regrments, one anti-alrcraft regiment and five surface-to-arr missiles. class minesweepers, plus the usual support sh ps,
.-.-tank regiments. ln addrtron to building the TAB series of BxB tugs, trarn ng and survey craft.
:quipment ln servlce includes 50 or more T-72 armoured personnel carrlers, Romania also builds
: s, 200 or rnore M77 MBTs, 1,000 T-54iT-55 Its own version of the T 54/T-55 called the M77, and Romanian Air Force
l-s and a few T 62 M BTs, plus quantit es of T-34/ lnis nas oeen erported to Fgvol. The Romanian air force has a total strength o'
:anks rn reserve or used for trainlng. Other 32.000 off icers and men, of whom 10,000 are con-
--:Lrred vehicles rnclude 4OO BRDiV-1 and BRDM Romanian Navy scripts, with about 320 combat aircraft. There are s r
- x4 amphibious scout cars, and 2,700 armoured The Romanian navy has a total strength of 7,500 {ighter/ground-attack squadrons wlth 70 Mikoyan-
---:cnnel carriers including BTR-50, BTR-60, BTR officers and men, of whom 3,500 are conscr pts. ln Gurevrch MiG-1 7s, which are to be replaced by the
:- 0T-62 and TAB 72 serles vehicles, the last additlon to sea-go ng activities, the navy js also re- locally-built IAR-93A (20 ordered) and IAR 938 (i 65
- -q a Romanian-built vers on of the Soviet BTB sponsible for coastal defences with 130 mm guns, ordered). The IAR-93 is a joint development be-
: , r3 Self-propelled artillery includes 200 SU-100s and has an air eiement wtth six Mi-14 'Haze' ASW tween Romanra and Yugoslavia, the latter calling .
.-r -:ome SU-76s, which are both now probably helicopters and the Danube squadron. Two 4,500 the Orao. There are 12 air-defence squadrons, 1 '1 c'
- -sed for traininq. Antrrank weapons include ton destroyers were launched ln 1982 and should them with some 200 MiG 21s and one with 2-
: - ess rif les, 'Snapper'and 'Sagger'ATGWs, and soon join the f eet. Other ships lnclude three 'Tetal' MiG-23s. The single reconnaissance squadron ha.
:----o and 76-mm anti-tank guns. About 1,000 class frigates, three 'Poti' class corvettes, three 1B llylsh n ll-28s. Tnere is one trar sport'egi-e--
- -r guns are available, ncluding the 76-mm (3 in) 'Kronshtadt' class large patrol craft, '1 9 'Shanghai' with three ll-14, 10 Antonov An-24, four ll-'1 B, or=
-: -'ounta n gun (from Yugoslavta), 85-mm (3.35- class fast attack craft (the first three from China and ll-62, six An-26, five ll-2 and one Boeing f 07 aicra'-.
- -3 B5-mm D44, 100-mm \3.9 rn) M1944, 122- remainder built ln Romanra), 2'1'Huchuan' fast There rs one helicopter regiment wrth 10 Nlil lV -
25 Mi-8, 50 or more IAB-316B (licence-built Ae':-
spatiale Alouette lll) and 30 or more IAR 330
cence-burlt 46rospatiale Puma) helicopters. Tra --
ers include 50 MiG-.l 5UTls, 50 Aero L-29s anc :
number of Yakovlev Yak-52s, a type built in Ron'a -.
for both the home and export markets. The arr';'-=
also controls an air def ence division wrth 1 08 a, - -
chers for SA-2 'Guidelines' at 20 sites
Romanian para-mllitary forces include 37,OOi : - '
der guards (of whom perhaps 17,000 are ::--
scripts), 20,000 M nistry of Defence secu rltv ,': - : .
i

and 900,000 Patriotrc Guards.

Romania's two tank and eightmotor rifle divis;c:.:

still rely on the ageingT-55;only a few T-72s ta'.':
so far been delivered. Some of the T-55s ha'"'e Le=:.
locally modified under the designation M - 7 | :: :
are fitted with side skirts, a sixth road w hee. z.: :
apparently, improved engine cooling.
Hungaru Fl*ss
I

L
! ]
\
\
has a strenqth of about 500 officers and men and
operates 40 assorted riverine craft including 1O river
patrol boats each armed with a single heavy
machine-gun.
Equipment ln servrce includes 1,200 T-54,T-55
MBTs, a number of older T-34i85 tanks (used for
training), 100 or more T-72 MBTs, 100 PT 76 lght
tanks, 1,500 APCs and MiCVs includrng the BMP-1,
MT-LB, 0T-64 BxB and PSzH- V types, and recon-
na ssance vehicles including some 500 BRDM-2s
and FUGs. Artillery includes 200 12Lmm (43-in)
D-30 and M 1938 towed how tzers, 50 or more 122
mm 251 self propelled howitzers, 50 152 mm (6-in)
D-20 towed how tzers, 100 152-mm M 1943 towed
howitzers, a few '1 52-mm 253 self-propelled howit
zers, and 50 to 100 122-mm BM-21 and 240-mm
(9.45-in) BM-24 multiple rocket-systems. Surface-
to surface launchers nclude nrne for the 'Scud' and
24 lor lde FROG-7 Anti-tank weapons inc ude
BRDM 2s wlth the 'Sagger' ATGW, AT-4 'Spigot'
man-portable ATGWs, recoilless rifles and 140 85
mm (3.35-in) D44 and 100-mm (3.9-in) T-1 2 anti'tank
guns.
Air-defence weapons include 100 57-mm 5-60
and 100-mm KS-1 I towed ant -aircraft guns, smal -
calibre anti-aircraft guns such as the ZPUs, 100 23
mm ZSU-23-4 and 57 mm ZSU 51 2 self prope led
antl aircraft guns, SA-7 'Grail' man-portable SAMs,
and SA 4 'Ganef', 54-6 'Gainful' and SA-9 'Gaskrn'
SAMs.

Hungarian Air Force

The Hungarian alr force has a total strength of
21,000 officers and men, of whom 8,000 are con-
scr pts. There are nine air-defence squadrons with
120 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21s and 25 MiG-23s;
two transport squadrons wttf' 24 llyushin ll 14, and
Antonov An-2, An-24 and An-26 aircraft; and three
helicopter squadrons. The last have 30 Mil Mi B and
24 M|24 plus 20 Kamov Ka-26 hel copters. Training
aircraft include MiG-15s and the Aero L-29. The air
force also controls an air-defence divis on with 20
Like allmembers of theWarsaw Pact, Hungary Hungarian Army sites, each hav ng slx launchers for the SA-2 'Guide-
usesmarn/TSoviet equipment but does produce The Hungarian army has a total strength of 84,000 line' or SA 3 'Goa' surface-to-air missile.
its own family of APCs and reconnajssance officers and men, of whom 58,000 are conscripts. Para-mi itary forces include 1 5,000 border guards,
vehicles. The FUG is a 7-tonne, six-man scout car oI The army has f ive motoflzed rlf le divisions (the 4th, of whom 1 1,000 are conscripts. and a workers'
welded steel construction. It has been exported to gth, 1 2th, 1 7th and 27th), one tank division (the sth), milrtia of 60,000.
Poland and C zechoslovakia.
one artillery brlqade, one surface to-surface mlssile
An FUG radiological-chemical vehicle exits the
br gade wrth 'Scud' missrles, one antr-aircraft artil-
water carrying lane-marking gear on the back of
Berore the outbreak of World War l1 Hungary sup- lery brgade with four regiments (one with SA-4 the huL|. Similar in concept to the Soviet BRDM-1
pcrted Germany, and in 1941 provided troops forthe 'Ganef ' and three with SA 6 'Gainf ul' surface-to-air rkh, this FUG drives through contaminated areas
Ax s ivasion of Yugoslavra and, following the Ger- mlssiles). There is also a single airborne batta ion. marking lanes with poles dispensed from the rack
n'en .\'as on of the Soviet Union in the same year, The armv also controls the Danube flotilla, whrch atthe back.
crc\ ceo :'cops and aircraft for service on the East-
er^ :'.^ n '1 944 the Germans were pushed out of
-
--^g::i' :,,, Sovlet forces and the Hungar an army
r s - :.':.::. A'ter the end of the war a coalitron
!: :'^ ^-:^ - '.', as 'ormed w th less than 20 per cent
-
:' .-: :::, 3: ar vot ng for the Communists. The
:..:- -: ..:'. :'. ccrt:-oi ed the Mlnistry of the In-
::' :-:-l .-:':':': ire ool ce, and were also back-
=. :. .-: S:.-g e- :::-c:1 on forces. In 956 there
'1

.'.3,r :- -:'s - --roary wh ch was soon put

l: ,, - : . S: . :. -':::s :^: ts leaders taken to Mos-
::,'. ..-:': ^:, ..:': :::':X3Clted. SinCethenthe
: ^ ' : --.. -'ard 'e.rred thar
a'a - ,a^ :ccncmic progress
i-^g"-, s :-= -:^^: :' :-e Sc,,'et Southern
Grc;o o=:a'a3s,.'. .^ :s^e:cl-::::ts n 3Jdapest,
ancl tn s coiriro s i,.",:::-< I \. s -.^s :^:2^C anC 5tht
a-O .\O:-O:O'7:'.'-- -.:.-; ' . :t-' a'd
T O2nor
-
The lungar.an arrec ':'ce s .cie acc-: 05.000
off icers and men. o' '.,vncr 58.0C0 are :o^sc'o:s.
The atter serve 1B n'ontr^s I in€
guardano 24-o'v> r'^ea ''-c'
forces total just under 1 50,000

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