DANUBE-BLACK SEA CANAL; MILITARY SITUATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R006200280002-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 20, 2000
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: December 6, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

INTELLOFAX 14 P' W .~ il= Lis, L, oi~`i l tom} ' ,.~ WILY 25X1 A
Approved For R
INFORMATION O T CD NO. 25X1A
DATE DISTR.C DEC t
SUBJECT- Danube=-Black Sea Canals NO. OF PAGES 4
I. ilitary Situation
PLACE
ACQUIRED
25X1A
NO. OF ENCLS. 5 sketches
(LISTED BELOW)
DATE OF SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO. 25X1 X
31
1. Brominent Rumanian engineers such as Anghel Saligly, Lescovar,9 and Ion
Stoenescu-Danare have studied this project for many years. Work on the canal
began in the spring of 1945, and is scheduled for completion in 1950. P.Iost
of the work has been done by prisoners who have been promised a six months to
one year reduction of their sentences. The prisoners work ten to twelve hours
a day,,
2. The length of the canal is 62 kilometers, with a 25 meter or 4 mmo per meter
water..level difference from the Danube at Cernavoda to the Black Sea? The
canal has a width of 80 meters and a depth of six meters. There are three
looks, one at Cernavoda, one at 'sedgidia, and one at Ilavodari,,
3, Construction is under the supervision of the Danube-Black Sea Company (DGC)
with the assistance ofConstructii Lucrari Specials and the Sovromconstructieo
Materials are supplied by the cenent factories of Cern.avoda, Turda, Resita,
Intreprinderi Aeronautico Rom tie (IAR)s and Titan.-I.adrag-Calan. Materials
from foreign factories include O:areastein and Koppel,, Skoda, and the Soviet
factories Kivovski and Djerjiuski. A new cement factory was built at Medgidia
to produce cement required for the canal",
4,, The maximums amount of labor and the minimum use of machines is enforced.
Excavations and emplacrasnents are made by shovels and push carts, and each
laborer must dig one and one-half to nine meters of earth a -day, However,
there are Diesel engine Czechoslovak Skoda, type D-2 excavators with shovels
of one cubic meter capacity, and Soviet excavators with shovels of one and
one-half cubic motor capacity. These machines run on electricity supplied
by two electric stations with a capacity of 500 to 10000 kilowatts per hour,
5a The following trucks are used at the canals
a? One hundred horsepower Diesel engine Skoda models with a seven ton
capacity. They also have a moving platform4
b? Ninety horsepower Praga trucks with a three ton capacity
CLASSIFICATIO
-- _T
i
STATE
t NAVY fr ' i~ISR3
AR Y -# iVI AIRY 4
This d0CU-7,it l areby rog adod to
CO IDU T :AL in >_ocosdance with the
letter of 16 Oc c cr 1073 from the
Director of Central Ikitell:gonce to the
Archivist of the United States.
.ye '$ . 1004/03/04IA-RDP82-00457R006200280002-5
Dlwtt' By, Q c
 Approved For Release 2001/03/05: CIA-RDP800457R006200280002-5
IMM NO U . S OF F NPs LILY
Ci TRIL INT A 4 A
ot, One hundred horsepower Zis trucks with IAAZ Diesel engines,, capacity
three to five tons?
d,, "Gag" Soviet type jeeps with four wheel drive.
e. A few Tatra trucks,
6? A fc Soviet bulldozer tractors are being used There are also tractors
with a special excavating machine and a blade in front for dozing.,, believod to
be of American caterpliler type,, The .American tractor has six cylinders,,) 120
ho. sepow ?,. and a five cubic meter digging capacity,, while the Soviet trc.czor
has four cylinders 80 horsepowern and a two cubic meter digging capacity.
There are also German excavating machines marked Baggers with one cubic meter
digging capacity shovels in the shape of pliers. They come from DYcen.stetn
and Kopp~ele
7:, The most advanced work on the canal is near the colony Poarta Alba, where
prisoners from the Ministry of Interior work, Fifteen kilometers of the
caia1 have reached the advancer. stage,, The canal from Cernavoda to Navodari
passes mostly through marshland? Parts of the canal pass through rocky bills,
which rocs:s will be extracted and will be used for the construction of the
port of " Wdia0
8,, Personnel connected with the Danube-Black Sea canal project is as foil owe s
a. General director of the project is Hosue a former blacksmith laborer,
b0 Director of construction for the port of Pdidia is engineer Coto:rua
assisted by engineer Rem,, Noicolae Ca1ea, and Bran.escu.
Co Chief of work for the cement blocks is B .cup assisted by Sampson,
Solomon., Danielscu,
d Chief of topography is eng: neer? Ionescu assisted by Georgessc i0 Gorr jir.,
and Alfred Busch.
o0 There are also chiefs of prison camps,
D:, There are about 15,000 to 20x;000 laborers between the ages of 15 to 60
working at the canal. The largest portion of the laborers,, 15,000 to 18,000,
consists of prisoners of the Ministry of Interior.., They are paid 25 to 30
lei a days They are located in four camps: Tasaui, Poarta Albs, Cernavoda,
and Columbia near Cernavoda,
i0. There are three classes of prisonorsg
a0 Com ion law violators..,
b. Persons attempting to cross the border.
c. Political prisoners.
Prisoners who have not been condemned for any particular offense have an
independent leader of adininist:ration supervised by political Como xiist orgars0
All the prisoners receive political indoctrinations, Sometimes they are boaten
and tortured and forced to wor,r in subzero weather.
110 The prisoners at the Danube-Black: Sea cal receive the following food rid
clothing,,
a. Marn ngg 250 9r- v-0 of `Mack breed, 200 cent' ?~=,;;3,- of tea or 35 grams
of marrnlad&
b0 Lunch,, 250 grams of black bread, 350 grams of soup, 300 grains of been,,
or potatoesm and 150 grams of meat three times a week,
t1. S. OFFI CI AL S ONLY
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GENCYX1,
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SL"CTOFFICIALS ONLY
CI :TRAL ILLI GIN X CE AGJMCY 25X1 A
Dinner3 400 grams of maize flour broad and 200 grams of beans rnd
potatoeso
..~ Five cigarettes and 250 grams of soup per month.
o., Those Who oxceed their production quota by 15 percent receive 250 grams
of bread in addition to their daily allotment; those who exceed their
production by 50 percent receive 250 additional grams of bread '-1d five
extra cigarettes; those who exceed their production quota by 100 pero m
receive %'50 additional grams of bread and 10 extra cigarettes,
%';; In the ,summer the prisoners are issued short sleeve cotton shirts,,
underweAr., short trouaeree and boots; in the winter they are issued
long striped trousers,, long underwear, bootee an overcoat,, light Prey
with ti rite stripes, They are also given military packs to carry their
lunches and blanket,
The pi,isonors have a pillow and a mattress, and those who have exceeded
their quota receive sheets and pillow cases, Those who have exceeded
their quota by a large percentage receive double docker iron beds
Thos Corms?ndant of the camps has the authority to permit or deny correspond-
ence beta ec3n prisoners and outsiders, Packages weighing 10 kilograms rre
permitted through the mails each month after they have been censored,, It
takes abo it 14 days for a package to go 500 kilometers,
13, The Infornant also stated the following information concerning the prison
if Constrn~a, which is reputed to be one of the "best" in Rumania,, although
the food is poor,, Food allowance is as follows: 250 grams of black bread
each day, 7i00 grams of maize flour bread,, and soupy No packages from home
era pormi'',tedo
14,, Guards er, the prison and camps are soldiers belonging to the Ministry of
Irr;,toricr,, They carrl, Soviet machine guns, Cororowska J.rao type pith a
ca aci ;y of 72 rounds, and German rifles and light machine guns, They also
have irsuser P06 revolvers manufactured by Cugir (Rumania)?
Pers.nnel in the Constants prison known to informant are as follawsi
al, T tgineer Alfred E,isoh0
b., Fngineer Georgescu Gorjane and editor from Bucharest.
& gineer Virgil Constantino
.,lo Architect Otto Arnondo
a, Gerdt Frahvenschl eder,, a former lieutenant in the German Army.
f? Captain Ricoiae Apostolescu of the Royal Marines.
g6 Prince Constantin Brincoveanu,
h,, Gheorghe Solomon:, a manufacturer.
i., Captain Gabrielescu of the Royal 7.1arines0
J? Engineer Gabriel Gabri of es cue
k, Lieutenant Victor Stefaneanu9
1,, Lieutenant Roamiel., )
rte, Fillip Koller, ) Former German prisoners of tear in kiigLsnd
n, Dr,, Hartman. ) and were imprisoned in Rumania for having
o, Dr0 Finklestein0 ) attempted to cross the border secretly,
16, The military situation in the Danube-Black Sea canal area is as follows{
at, All along the Black Sea coast former German emplacements and entrench-
ments have been cleared,
b, The airfield a r C ~~3 at the village of V,amaaia have both
been cl eareacl
011 Coast artillery batteries, 150 to 180 mm,., have been placed at the
cape of Ui di a,
U. S. OFFICIALS ONLY
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 Approved For Release 2001/03/05, Q4 j DP82-00457R006200280002-5
OFFICIALS ONLY
CT 4T , NT LLLI GYNCE .AG0ICY
25X1A
ds The antiaircraft batteries around Constants have been installed with
n telemeters three meters long.g German manufactured 45 mm anti-
aircraft gums have been placed inside the Constants harbor near the
Rumanian warships, There are also some Soviet torpedo and speed boats
in the harbor,
ee Planes in the Constants area consists of the two pontoon Lvado type,
Ilesserschmidt 109-G fighters, Douglas type transport planes9 and
Soviet manufactured "B" planes . ? for the Soviet and Rumanian Armies,
175 Attached herewith are the following five sketchees
Sketch As The Port of midis. ' der Construction,
Sketch Ba Cement Block Construction at ":idia0
Sketch C x Colony No, 2 - Poarta Alba?
Sketch De The Danube.-Black Sea. Canal:
Sketch Fs Colony No, 1 - Tassaul-C, Midia,
OFFICIALS ONLY
A
Approved For Release 2001/03/05: CIA-RDP82-00457R006200280002-5