Oituz
Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
| Name | Oituz | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 2.686 tons | ||
| Completed | 1905 - AG Neptun Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik, Rostock | ||
| Owner | Serviciul Maritim Romān, Bucharest | ||
| Homeport | Constanza | ||
| Date of attack | 1 Sep, 1944 | Nationality:  Romanian | |
| Fate | A total loss by U-23 (Rudolf Arendt) | ||
| Position | 44.10N, 28.40E - Grid CL 1457 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | ? men (? dead and ? survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | |||
| Cargo | |||
| History | Built as Hornsund, 1920 renamed Leros, 1921 renamed Oituz The Oituz participated in several Axis convoys to the Bosporus and to the Crimea. She was slightly damaged by a Soviet submarine in December 1941 near the Turkish-Bulgarian border. Between 28 March and 10 Apr, 1944, the ship took part in the evacuation of Odessa and made three voyages, evacuating a total of 2100 soldiers. In May 1944, Oituz went to Sevastopol and evacuated 700 soldiers to Constanza on 14 May. | ||
| Notes on loss | At 03.31 hours on 1 Sep, 1944, U-23 fired three torpedoes into the harbour of Constanza and reported three detonations after running times of 1 minute 46 seconds. Two hits were observed at the berth of a Romanian Regele Ferdinand type destroyer and one hit on a steamer of 6000 tons. However, only the already damaged Oituz was hit by one torpedo in the stern and sank at her moorings at berth #22, while another torpedo detonated at the wall in the empty berth #23. She was later refloated and declared a total loss. The U-boat left her attack position at 04.00 hours and laid one EMS mine in the roads near Tuzla lighthouse, but apparently without success. | ||
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