Yugoslav torpedo boat T1
 The first of the 250t-class, T-group, 74 T | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Austria-Hungary
| |
| Name: | 76 T |
| Builder: | Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino |
| Laid down: | 24 June 1913 |
| Launched: | 15 December 1913 |
| Commissioned: | 20 July 1914 |
| Out of service: | 1918 |
| Fate: | Assigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes |
 Kingdom of Yugoslavia
| |
| Name: | T1 |
| Acquired: | March 1921 |
| Out of service: | April 1941 |
| Fate: | Captured by Italy |
_crowned.svg.png){kind=small} Italy
| |
| Name: | T1 |
| Acquired: | April 1941 |
| Out of service: | 16 September 1943 |
| Fate: | Captured by Germany and transferred to the Independent State of Croatia |
 Independent State of Croatia
| |
| Name: | Golešnica |
| Acquired: | 7 December 1943 |
| Fate: | Transferred to Yugoslav Navy post-war |
 Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia
| |
| Name: | Golešnica |
| Acquired: | post-World War II |
| Out of service: | 1959 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | 250t-class, T-group sea-going torpedo boat |
| Displacement: |
|
| Length: | 58.2 m (190 ft 11 in) |
| Beam: | 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in) |
| Draught: | 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) |
| Installed power: |
|
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) |
| Range: | 980 nmi (1,810 km; 1,130 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Complement: | 39 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: |
|
The Yugoslav torpedo boat T1 was a 250t-class, T-group sea-going torpedo boat built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy as 76 T in 1914. She was armed with two Škoda 66 mm (2.6 in) L/30 guns and four 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, and could carry 10–12 naval mines. She saw active service during World War I, performing convoy, escort and minesweeping tasks, and anti-submarine operations. She was part of the escort force during the action that resulted in the sinking of the Austro-Hungarian dreadnought SMS Szent István by Italian torpedo boats. Following Austria-Hungary's defeat in 1918, 76 T was allocated to the Navy of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which became the Royal Yugoslav Navy, and was renamed T1.
During the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, she was captured by the Italians and served with the Royal Italian Navy under her Yugoslav designation. Following the Italian capitulation in September 1943, she was captured by Germany and handed over to the Navy of the Independent State of Croatia who renamed her Golešnica. She was transferred to the Yugoslav Navy after World War II, and after a refit which included replacement of her armament, continued to serve as Golešnica until 1959.
Background
In 1910, the Austria-Hungary Naval Technical Committee initiated the design and development of a 275-long-ton (279 t) coastal torpedo boat, specifying that it should be capable of sustaining 30 knots (56 km/h) for 10 hours. This specification was based an expectation that the Strait of Otranto, where the Adriatic Sea meets the Ionian Sea, would be blockaded by hostile forces during a future conflict. In such circumstances, there would be a need for a torpedo boat that could sail from the Austro-Hungarian Navy (German: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine) base at Cattaro to the Strait during darkness, locate and attack blockading ships and return to port before morning. Steam turbine power was selected for propulsion, as diesels with the necessary power were not available, and the Austro-Hungarian Navy did not have the practical experience to run turbo-electric boats. Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino (STT) of Trieste was selected for the contract to build eight vessels, ahead of one other tenderer.[1] The T-group designation signified the builder, STT.[2]
Description and construction
The 250t-class T-group boats had a waterline length of 58.2 m (190 ft 11 in), a beam of 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in), and a normal draught of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in). While their designed displacement was 262 tonnes (258 long tons), they displaced about 320 tonnes (310 long tons) fully loaded. The crew consisted of 39 officers and enlisted men. The boats were powered by a Parsons steam turbine driving two propellers, using steam generated by two Yarrow water-tube boilers, one of which burned fuel oil and the other coal. The turbine was rated at 5,000 shp (3,700 kW) with a maximum output of 6,000 shp (4,500 kW) and designed to reach a top speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph). They carried 18 tonnes (17.7 long tons) of coal and 24 tonnes (23.6 long tons) of fuel oil,[3] which gave them a range of 980 nmi (1,810 km; 1,130 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).[2] The T-group had one funnel rather than the two funnels of the later groups of the class. Despite the specifications of the contract being very close to the requirements for the coastal torpedo boat, the STT boats were classified as sea-going.[1]
The boats were originally to be armed with three Škoda 66 mm (2.6 in)L/30[lower-alpha 1] guns, and three 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes,[1] but this was changed to two guns and four torpedo tubes before the first boat was completed,[2] in order to standardise the armament with the following F-group. They could also carry 10–12 naval mines. 76 T was the third of its class to be completed, and was laid down on 24 June 1913, launched on 15 December 1913, and completed on 20 July 1914. Eight T-group boats were completed between February and December 1914, designated 74 T – 81 T.[2] In 1914, one 8 mm (0.31 in) machine gun was added.[1]
Career
World War I
The 250t-class, T-group were the first small Austro-Hungarian Navy boats to use turbines, and this contributed to ongoing problems with the boats.[1] At the outbreak of World War I, 76 T was part of the 1st Torpedo Group of the 3rd Torpedo Craft Division of the Austro-Hungarian 1st Torpedo Craft Flotilla.[4] During World War I, 76 T was used for convoy, escort and minesweeping tasks, and anti-submarine operations.[1] She also conducted patrols and supported seaplane raids against the Italian coast. Due to inadequate funding, 76 T and the rest of the 250t-class were essentially coastal vessels, despite the original intention that they would be used for "high seas" operations.[5] In 1917, one of the 66 mm (2.6 in) guns on each boat was placed on an anti-aircraft mount.[2]
By 1918, the Allies had strengthened their ongoing blockade on the Strait of Otranto, as foreseen by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. As a result, it was becoming more difficult for the German and Austro-Hungarian U-boats to get through the strait and into the Mediterranean Sea. In response to these new measures at blockading the straits, the new commander of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, Konteradmiral Miklós Horthy, decided to launch an attack on the Allied defenders with battleships, scout cruisers, and destroyers.[6]
During the night of 8 June, Horthy left the naval base of Pola in the upper Adriatic with Viribus Unitis and Prinz Eugen. After some difficulties getting the harbour defence barrage opened, about 23:00 on 9 June 1918, Szent István and Tegetthoff,[7] escorted by one destroyer and six torpedo boats, including 76 T, also departed Pola. They were en route to the harbour at Slano, north of Ragusa to rendezvous with Viribus Unitis and Prinz Eugen, for a coordinated attack on the Otranto Barrage. About 03:15 on 10 June,[lower-alpha 2] two Italian Navy (Italian: Regia Marina) MAS boats, MAS 15 and MAS 21, spotted the smoke from the Austrian ships while returning from an uneventful patrol off the Dalmatian coast. Both boats successfully penetrated the escort screen and split to engage the dreadnoughts individually. MAS 21 attacked Tegetthoff, but her torpedoes missed.[9]
Under the command of Luigi Rizzo, MAS 15 fired two torpedoes at 03:25, and both hit Szent István. Both boats evaded pursuit although Rizzo had to discourage 76 T by dropping depth charges in her wake. The torpedo hits on Szent István were abreast her boiler rooms, which flooded, knocking out power to the pumps. Szent István capsized less than three hours after being torpedoed.[8]
Interwar period
76 T survived the war intact,[1] and under the terms of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye concluded in September 1919, she was allocated to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (KSCS, later Yugoslavia) in 1920. Along with three other 250t-class T-group boats, 77 T, 78 T and 79 T, and four 250t-class F-group boats, she served with the Royal Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian: Kraljevska Jugoslovenska Ratna Mornarica, KJRM; Кpaљeвcкa Југословенска Pатна Морнарица). In KJRM service, 76 T was renamed T1.[2] In May and June 1929, six of the eight 250t-class torpedo boats accompanied the light cruiser Dalmacija, the submarines Hrabri and Nebojša, the submarine tender Hvar on a cruise to Malta, the Greek island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea, and Bizerte in the French protectorate of Tunisia. It is not clear if T1 was one of the torpedo boats involved. The ships and crews made a very good impression while visiting Malta.[10] In 1932, the British naval attaché reported that Yugoslav ships engaged in few exercises, manoeuvres or gunnery training due to reduced budgets.[11]
World War II and post-war service
In April 1941, Yugoslavia entered World War II when it was invaded by the German-led Axis powers. At the time of the invasion, T1 was assigned to the Southern Sector of the KJRM's Coastal Defence Command based at the Bay of Kotor, along with her sister ship T3 and a number of minesweepers and other craft.[12] T1 was captured by the Italian Navy shortly after the commencement of hostilities and was operated by them under her Yugoslav designation. When the Italians capitulated in September 1943, the Germans seized the ship and in December 1943 transferred her to the Navy of the Independent State of Croatia (Croatian: Mornarica Nezavisne Države Hrvatske). She was renamed Golešnica and continued in Croatian service until the end of the war. She was transferred to the Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian: Jugoslavenska Ratna Mornarica, Југословенска Pатна Mорнарица) after the war. Her post-war fit-out included replacing her original guns with two 40 mm (1.6 in) guns on single mounts and four 20 mm (0.79 in) guns, and removing her torpedo tubes. She continued in Yugoslav service as Golešnica until October 1959, when she was stricken.[13]
See also
Notes
- ↑ L/30 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/30 gun is 30 calibre, meaning that the gun was 30 times as long as the diameter of its bore.
- ↑ Sources differ on what the exact time was when the attack took place. Sieche states that the time was 3:15 am when the Szent István was hit,[8] while Sokol claims that the time was 3:30 am.[7]
Footnotes
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gardiner 1985, p. 339.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Greger 1976, p. 58.
- ↑ Jane's Information Group 1989, p. 313.
- ↑ Greger 1976, pp. 11–12.
- ↑ O'Hara, Worth & Dickson 2013, pp. 26–27.
- ↑ Sokol 1968, pp. 133–134.
- 1 2 Sokol 1968, p. 134.
- 1 2 Sieche 1991, pp. 127, 131.
- ↑ Sokol 1968, p. 135.
- ↑ Jarman 1997, p. 183.
- ↑ Jarman 1997, p. 451.
- ↑ Niehorster 2013.
- ↑ Chesneau 1980, p. 357.
References
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922–1946. London, England: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-146-5.
- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921. London, England: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
- Greger, René (1976). Austro-Hungarian Warships of World War I. London, England: Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0623-2.
- Jane's Information Group (1989) [1946/47]. Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II. London, England: Studio Editions. ISBN 978-1-85170-194-0.
- Jarman, Robert L., ed. (1997). Yugoslavia political diaries 1918–1965 2. Slough, Berkshire: Archives Edition. ISBN 978-1-85207-950-5.
- Niehorster, Dr. Leo (2013). "Balkan Operations Order of Battle Royal Yugoslavian Navy Coastal Defense Command 6th April 1941". Dr. Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- O'Hara, Vincent; Worth, Richard; Dickson, W. (2013). To Crown the Waves: The Great Navies of the First World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-269-3.
- Sieche, Erwin F. (1991). "S.M.S. Szent István: Hungaria's Only and Ill-Fated Dreadnought". Warship International (Toledo, Ohio: International Warship Research Organization). XXVII (2): 112–146. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Sokol, Anthony Eugene (1968). The Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Navy. Annapolis, Maryland: U.S. Naval Institute. OCLC 1912.