The Beograd-class destroyers were built for the Yugoslav Royal Navy

Yugoslav Royal Navy

The Royal Yugoslav Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.This navy existed since the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918, which was changed in 1929 to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia...

 in the late 1930s. The ships all took part in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Two of the three were captured by the Italian Navy

Regia Marina

The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...

 after the invasion of Yugoslavia

Invasion of Yugoslavia

The Invasion of Yugoslavia , also known as the April War , was the Axis Powers' attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II...

 in 1941, and one of those was subsequently captured by the Germans

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

.

Design

Following the large destroyer Dubrovnik the Royal Yugoslav Navy commission a smaller size for this group of ships. The ships were designed by the French company "Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire". The first Beograd class destroyer was built in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and the other two in Yugoslavia

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...

. The armament was provided by the Czech

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 company Skoda

Škoda Works

Škoda Works was the largest industrial enterprise in Austro-Hungary and later in Czechoslovakia, one of its successor states. It was also one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Europe in the 20th century...

 and the machinery by Yarrow Shipbuilders

Yarrow Shipbuilders

Yarrow Limited , often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde...

.

Operational history

The Ljubljana was in dockyard on 17 April 1941 and was captured. The Zagreb was blown up in Kotor

Kotor

Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....

 to prevent capture. The Beograd was at sea and damaged from a dive bombing attack. She returned to Kotor, but was also captured by the Italian's.

The Ljubljana was renamed Lubiana, and the Beograd renamed Sebenico by the Regia Marina

Regia Marina

The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...

. Both ships served as convoy escorts on the supply run to North Africa. The Lubiana was sunk by grounding in the Gulf of Tunis on 1 April 1943.

The Sebenico was captured by the Germans in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 after the Italian Armistice in September 1943.
The ship was renamed TA43 and entered service in the Kriegsmarine

Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...

 on 17 October 1944. She served in the Northern Adriatic Sea

Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

 and was heavily damaged by Yugoslav artillery in April 1945. The ship was scuttled in Trieste

Trieste

Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...

 on 1 May 1945.

Ships

Ship	Builder	Launched	Completed	Fate
Beograd	Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Nantes Nantes Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....	23 December 1937	28 April 1939	Captured by Italy 17 April 1941, renamed Sebenico. Captured by Germans 1943. Scuttled 1 May 1945
Ljubljana	Yarrow, Kraljevica Kraljevica Kraljevica is a town in the Kvarner region of the country of Croatia, located between Rijeka and Crikvenica, approximately thirty kilometers from Opatija and near the entrance to the bridge to the island of Krk...	28 June 1938	December 1939	Captured by Italy 17 April 1941. Sunk 1 April 1943
Zagreb	Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Split Split (city) Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...	30 March 1938	August 1939	Scuttled 17 April 1941