Soviet Armed gunboats on the Danube
With the Soviet seizure of Bessarabia in1940 and the dissolution of Europe into chaos, the Russians had a shoreline on the Danube. The bigger boat, known as BKA (bronirovannyie katera, or armored cutter) 1124, had two turrets initially taken from T-26 tanks and mounting 45mm guns. The boat displaced 42 tons, was 25 meters long and had 12mm of armor on its “citadel” protecting the engines and other vitals. While drawing more water than a half-meter, it still could operate in very shallow waters as it only drew 0.80 meters.
The smaller version, known as BKA 1125, only drew 0.5 meters and displaced 29 tons. These were only slightly shorter (22.6 meters) but had less armor protection.
Series production began in 1935 at small shipyards along the Soviet Union’s inland rivers, and were delivered in 1941. By the time of the 1941 Russian invasion by Germany, 85 boats had been delivered with 68 more under construction. They went into action very early, with boats of the Danube flotilla infiltrating Romanian defenses to land troops on 24 June and routing Romanian marines defending the Danube delta.
