The country however did offer naval support to the Axis, allowing Axis warships to use Bulgarian ports[1] and even use three of its torpedo boats (including Drazki) to escort Romanian warships as they laid mines along the Bulgarian coast in October 1941.

On 1 December 1941, several Soviet submarines, including the Shchuka-class Shch-204 (Captain Gricenko), were sent on a patrol along the Axis coastline.

On 6 December, Shch-204 was spotted near Cape Emine, 20 miles off Varna, by Bulgarian Arado Ar 196 aircraft.

Through this victory, the Bulgarian Navy demonstrated its availability and capability of working together with its German and Romanian counterparts in the Black Sea for the defence of Axis coastlines and convoys.

[7] According to the Russian author M. Morozov, the submarine chasers were located in Burges at the time of the attack, for work on engines.