Uskok-class torpedo boat

TČ 1 in Royal Yugoslav Navy service
Class overview
Builders: John I. Thornycroft & Company, United Kingdom
Operators:
Built: 1926–27
In commission: 1927–43
Completed: 2
Lost: 1
Retired: 1
General characteristics
Displacement: 15 tonnes (15 long tons)
Length: 16.77 m (55 ft 0 in)
Beam: 3.35 m (11 ft 0 in)
Draught: 1.30 m (4 ft 3 in)
Propulsion:
  • Two shafts;
  • 2 × petrol engines; 750 hp (560 kW)
Speed: 37 kn (69 km/h; 43 mph)
Complement: 5
Armament:

The Uskok-class,[1] referred to as the Četnik-class in some sources,[2] was a class of two motor torpedo boats (MTB) built for the Royal Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian: Jugoslavenska kraljevska ratna mornarica; JKRM) during the 1920s. The MTBs were built by the Thornycroft Company based on their existing class of 55-foot long Coastal Motor Boats with two 18-inch torpedoes as their main armament.

Following the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, the boats were captured by Italian forces and commissioned in the Regia Marina (Royal Navy). The first boat sank near Mljet in 1942 while the second one was discarded in September 1943.

Description

The boats were laid down in 1926 by the John I. Thornycroft & Company, based on their existing class of 55-foot (17 m) long Coastal Motor Boats. Both boats were completed by 1927 and commissioned with the Royal Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian: Jugoslavenska kraljevska ratna mornarica; JKRK) as TČ 1 and TČ 2, later being renamed Uskok and Četnik.[2][3]

The boats measured 16.77 m (55 ft 0 in) in length with a 3.35 m (11 ft 0 in) beam and a draught of 1.30 m (4 ft 3 in). The boat's standard displacement was 15 tonnes (15 long tons). Armament consisted of two 456 mm (18.0 in) torpedoes, two Lewis machine guns and up to four depth charges. Main propulsion consisted of two Thornycroft petrol engines, mounted on two shafts with a power 750 hp (560 kW). An auxiliary engine of unknown power was also installed for cruising. Nominal maximum speed was 37 kn (69 km/h; 43 mph), although a speed of 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph) was obtained during sea trials in 1927. The boats were manned by a crew of five.[2][3]

Boats

Name Builder Laid down Launched Completed
Uskok
(ex TČ 1)		 John I. Thornycroft & Company, United Kingdom
1926
1927
1927
Četnik
(ex TČ 2)
1926
1927
1927

Source: [2][3]

Service history

At the start of the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, Uskok, Četnik and the eight Orjen-class boats were part of the 2nd Torpedo Division in Šibenik.[4] They were soon captured by Italian forces and commissioned in the Regia Marina (Royal Navy) as MAS 1 D and MAS 2 D, with "MAS" standing for Motoscafo Armato Silurante (English: Torpedo Armed Motorboat) and the prefix D denoting they were captured in Dalmatia. MAS 1 D was lost on 19 April 1942 near the island of Mljet after it had sprung a leak and sank. MAS 2 D was redesignated MS 47 in July 1942, before being stricken from the MTB list on 1 September 1943 and declassed as ME 43. After the war it was found in Taranto in a "very bad shape".[2][3]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Vego 1982, p. 349.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Chesneau 1997, pp. 358–359.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Fraccaroli 1974, p. 179.
  4. ↑ Royal Yugoslavian Navy.

References

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