Yugoslav Royal Navy
Encyclopedia
The Royal Yugoslav Navy was the navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...

 of the Kingdom of 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...

.

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. It was disbanded after the Axis overran Yugoslavia in April 1941.

Origins

Yugoslavia rose from the ashes of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, destroyed by the First World War. The new state, officially the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, was proclaimed on 1 December 1918, prior to which date there had been a degree of chaos in the region, following the Armistice, when numerous "sailor's councils" and splinter factions had taken over many of the former Austro-Hungarian warships. Yugoslavia made demands for a large proportion of the former Empire's fleet.

However, the Italians were extremely uneasy about the rise of a new naval power in the Adriatic area and pressed the Allies to distribute the Austro-Hungarian fleet among the victors. This was done, and only scraps of the former navy were allocated to Yugoslavia. The ships received were 12 modern torpedo-boats, four obsolete minesweepers
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...

, four armoured river monitors and a number of auxiliaries. The fleet was further strengthened during the 1920s, when six minesweepers of the German "M" class and the old cruiser SMS Niobe
SMS Niobe
SMS Niobe was a Gazelle-class light cruiser that served with the Kaiserliche Marine during First World War, and the Kriegsmarine during Second World War in a long career that also involved sailing with the Yugoslavian and Italian navies...

 were bought.

Before the April 1941 invasion

On the eve of the Axis 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...

, the Royal Yugoslav Navy was equipped with one elderly ex-German light cruiser (suitable only for training purposes), one large modern destroyer flotilla leader of British design, three modern destroyers of French design (two built in Yugoslavia plus another still under construction), one seaplane tender
Seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...

, four modern submarines (two older French-built and two British-built) and 10 modern motor torpedo boat
Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...

s (MTBs). Of the older vessels, there were six ex-Austrian Navy medium torpedo boats, six ex-German Navy minesweepers, five small minelayers, four large armoured river monitors and various auxiliary craft.

Naval Operations during the Invasion of Yugoslavia

When Germany and Italy attacked Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941, The Royal Yugoslavian Navy had available three destroyers,two submarines and 10 MTBs as the most effective units of the fleet. One other destroyer, the Ljubljana was in dry-dock at the time of the invasion and she and her anti-aircraft guns were used in defence of the fleet base at 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....

. The remainder of the fleet was useful only for coastal defence and local escort and patrol work.

Kotor was close to the Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

n border and the Italo-Greek front there, but Zara (Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...

), an Italian enclave, was to the north-west of the coast and to prevent a bridgehead being established, the destroyer Beograd, four of the old torpedo boats and six MTBs were despatched to Šibenik
Šibenik
Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea...

, 80 km to the south of Zara, in preparation for an attack. The attack was to be coordinated with the 12th "Jadranska" Infantry Division and two "Odred" (combined regiments) of the Royal Yugoslav Army
Royal Yugoslav Army
The Royal Yugoslav Army was the armed force of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from the state's formation until the force's surrender to the Axis powers on April 17, 1941...

 attacking from the Benkovac
Benkovac
Benkovac is a town and municipality in the interior of Zadar County, Croatia.- Geography :Benkovac is located where the plain of Ravni Kotari and the karstic plateau of Bukovica meet, 20 km from the town of Biograd na Moru and 30 km from Zadar. The Zagreb-Split motorway and Zadar-Knin...

 area, supported by air attacks by the 81st Bomber Group of the Royal Yugoslav Air Force. The Yugoslav forces launched their attack on 9 April, but by 13 April the Italian forces had counter-attacked and were in Benkovac by 14 April. The naval prong to this attack faltered when the destroyer Beograd was damaged by near misses from Italian aircraft off Šibenik when her starboard engine was put out of action, after which she limped to Kotor, escorted by the remainder of the force, for repairs.

The maritime patrol float-planes of the Royal Yugoslav Air Force flew reconnaissance and attack missions during the campaign, as well as providing air cover for mine-laying operations off Zara (Zadar). Some of their successes included an Italian tanker being damaged by a near miss off the Italian coast near Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...

, attacks on the Albanian port of Durrës
Durrës
Durrës is the second largest city of Albania located on the central Albanian coast, about west of the capital Tirana. It is one of the most ancient and economically important cities of Albania. Durres is situated at one of the narrower points of the Adriatic Sea, opposite the Italian ports of Bari...

, as well as strikes against Italian re-supply convoys to Albania. On 9 April, one Dornier Do 22
Dornier Do 22
|-See also:-References:*Donald, David The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Leicester,UK:Blitz Editions. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.*Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Six Floatplanes. London:Macdonald, 1962....

K floatplane notably took on an Italian convoy of 12 steamers with an escort of eight destroyers crossing the Adriatic during the day, attacking single-handed in the face of intense AA fire.

The Royal Yugoslav Navy also had at its disposal four large, heavily armed and armoured river monitor
Monitor (warship)
A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...

s in its riverine flotilla. They were used to patrol the Danube, Drava and Sava rivers in the northern parts of Yugoslavia and its border with Hungary.
These monitors, the Drava, Sava, Morava and Vardar had been inherited from the Austro-Hungarian Navy
Austro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine , abbreviated as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine....

 at the end of the First World War. All were of around 400-500t with a main armament of two 120mm guns, two or three 66mm guns, 120mm mortars, 40mm AA
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...

 guns and machine guns.
At the start of the campaign they had carried out offensive operations by shelling the airfield at Mohács
Mohács
Mohács is a town in Baranya county, Hungary on the right bank of the Danube.-History:Two famous battles took place there:# Battle of Mohács, 1526# Battle of Mohács, 1687...

 in Hungary on the 6th of April and again two days later, but had to begin withdrawing towards Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....

 by the 11th of April after coming under repeated attack by German dive-bombers.
Early in the morning of 12 April, a squadron of German Junkers Ju 87
Junkers Ju 87
The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was a two-man German ground-attack aircraft...

 dive-bombers attacked the Yugoslav monitors on the Danube. The Drava was hit by several of them but they were unable to penetrate the Dravas 300mm thick deck armour, until, by chance, one put a bomb straight down the funnel, killing 54 of the 67 man crew. During the attack anti-aircraft gunners on the monitors claimed three dive-bombers shot down.
The remaining three monitors were scuttled by their crews later on 12 April as German and Hungarian forces had occupied the bases and the river systems upon which they operated.

Losses

The Italians captured most of the Yugoslav Navy (one of its four destroyers, the Ljubljana, had spent the campaign in dry-dock). However, another destroyer, the Zagreb, was blown up at 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....

 by its officers Mašera and Spasić to prevent capture and one of the British-built submarines and two MTBs succeeded in escaping to Alexandria in Egypt to continue to serve with the Allied cause. It should also be noted that a fourth destroyer was captured while under construction in the Cattaro shipyard, the Split
Yugoslav destroyer Split
R-11 Split was a destroyer built for the Yugoslav Navy in 1938. She was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders and was named after the city of the same name...

, but the Regia Marina was not able to finish her before the armistice in 1943. Eventually, she was recovered after the war by the Yugoslavians and completed under the original name.
10 Yugoslav Navy maritime patrol float-planes escaped to Greece, with nine making it to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, where they formed a squadron under RAF command.
A number of the surviving Yugoslav warships, notably the destroyers Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik (ship)
The Dubrovnik was a destroyer built for the Yugoslav Royal Navy in the 1930s. The ship was named after the city of Dubrovnik....

, Beograd and the repaired Ljubljana, were used by the Regia Marina
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...

 until the Italian Armistice of September 1943, whereupon 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...

 and, to a lesser extent, the Navy of the Independent State of Croatia
Navy of the Independent State of Croatia
The Croatian Navy of the Independent State of Croatia was a national navy during World War II. Circa 1942, the force was divided into a Coast and Maritime Traffic Command with headquarters in Crikvenica, Makarska and Dubrovnik, and a River and River Traffic Command with headquarters in...

 Croatian Forces
Croatian Home Guard
Croatian Home Guard or also, known as the "Homeland Defenders," was the name used for the armed forces of the Independent State of Croatia which existed during World War II.- Formation :...

 appropriated the survivors for their own fleets. The destroyer Ljubljana was wrecked on a shoal near the Gulf of Tunis whilst in Italian service in April 1943, but the Dubrovnik and Beograd were not sunk by Allied forces until April and May 1945 respectively. The light cruiser Dalmacija entered German service with the old name Niobe
SMS Niobe
SMS Niobe was a Gazelle-class light cruiser that served with the Kaiserliche Marine during First World War, and the Kriegsmarine during Second World War in a long career that also involved sailing with the Yugoslavian and Italian navies...

. Beached on Silba
Silba
Silba is an island in Croatia, northern Dalmatia, south-east of Lošinj, between the islands of Premuda and Olib. It has a Mediterranean climate with 2570 hours a year of sunshine...

 it was destroyed by British MTB 276 and MTB 298 in December 1943. Several ships which survived the war continued their service with the Navy of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia.

Organization

  • Navy Fleet
    • Command Ship Dalmacija (former German Niobe
      SMS Niobe
      SMS Niobe was a Gazelle-class light cruiser that served with the Kaiserliche Marine during First World War, and the Kriegsmarine during Second World War in a long career that also involved sailing with the Yugoslavian and Italian navies...

      ) - Bay of Kotor
      Bay of Kotor
      The Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...

    • 1st Torpedo Division - Bay of Kotor
    • 2nd Torpedo Division - Šibenik
      Šibenik
      Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea...

    • 3rd Torpedo Division - Šibenik
    • Submarine fleet - Bay of Kotor
    • Hydroplane Depot Ship Zmaj - Šibenik

  • Naval Coastal Command
    • Northern sector of coastal defense - Selce
      Selce
      Selce is the name of:* Selce, Banská Bystrica District, a municipality of the Banská Bystrica District, in Slovakia* Selce, Krupina District, a municipality of the Krupina District, in Slovakia...

    • Middle sector of coastal defense - Šibenik
      Šibenik
      Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea...

    • Southern sector of coastal defense - Đenovic, Dubrovnik
      Dubrovnik
      Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...

      , Kumbor
      Kumbor
      Kumbor is a small town in Montenegro. According to the 2003 census, the town has a population of 1067 people.-References:...

       and Đenovic
    • Rescue ship Spasilac - 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...


  • River Flotilla
    • Command Ship Cer - Novi Sad
      Novi Sad
      Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....

    • 1st Monitor Group - Dubovac
      Dubovac (Kovin)
      Dubovac is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Kovin municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,283 people .-Name:...

    • 1st Mining-Barrage Group - Bezdan
      Bezdan
      Bezdan is a village located in Bačka, Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated in the Sombor municipality, West Bačka District...

    • 2nd Mining-Barrage Group - Stara Kanjiza and Senta
      Senta
      Senta is a town and municipality on the bank of the Tisa river in the Vojvodina province, Serbia. Although geographically located in Bačka, it is part of the North Banat District...

    • 3rd Mining-Barrage Group - Sremski Karlovci
      Sremski Karlovci
      Sremski Karlovci is a town and municipality in Serbia, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, situated on the bank of the river Danube, 8 km from Novi Sad...

    • 4th Mining-Barrage Group - Smederevo
      Smederevo
      Smederevo is a city and municipality in Serbia, on the right bank of the Danube, about 40 km downstream of the capital Belgrade. According to official results of the 2011 census, the city has a population of 107,528...

    • Đerdap sector command - Tekija
      Tekija (Kladovo)
      Tekija is a village in the municipality of Kladovo in eastern Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the village has a population of 967 people....

       and Donji Milanovac
      Donji Milanovac
      Donji Milanovac is a town in eastern Serbia. It is situated in the Majdanpek municipality, in the Bor District. It is located on right bank of Lake Đerdap on Danube...


Naval Aviation

  • 1st Hydroplane Command
    • 1st Hydroplane Group
      • 1st Hydroplane Squadron (5 SIM-XIV) - Bay of Kotor
        Bay of Kotor
        The Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...

      • 11th Hydroplane Squadron (10 seaplanes) - Rose
        Rose
        A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...

    • 2nd Hydroplane Group
      • 20th Hydroplane Squadron (6 Dornier Do 22
        Dornier Do 22
        |-See also:-References:*Donald, David The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Leicester,UK:Blitz Editions. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.*Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Six Floatplanes. London:Macdonald, 1962....

        ) - Orahovac
        Orahovac
        Orahovac is a town and municipality in western Kosovo, in the District of Đakovica.-Name:Its Serbian name stems from the Serbian word orah , meaning "walnut"....

      • 21st Hydroplane Squadron (6 Dornier Wal
        Dornier Do J
        The Dornier Do J Wal was a twin-engine German flying boat of the 1920s designed by Dornier Flugzeugwerke. The Do J was designated the Do 16 by the Reich Air Ministry under its aircraft designation system of 1933....

        ) - Dobrota
        Dobrota
        Dobrota is a town in the Kotor Municipality in coastal Montenegro. Although administratively a separate town, it is de facto part of Kotor, and encompasses most of Kotor's residential area, while town of Kotor administratively encompasses town's historical core...


  • 2nd Hydroplane Command
    • 3rd Hydroplane Group
      • 25th Hydroplane Squadron (6 Do 22) - Zlarin
        Zlarin
        Zlarin is a small island of the Dalmatian coast of Croatia near the city of Šibenik. Administratively, it is part of the Šibenik-Knin County. In winter times the island has a population of 276 people, but from March to October its population grows substantially up to 1,500 people. Zlarin has a...

         and Višovac
      • 26th Hydroplane Squadron (6 Do Wal) - Krapanj
        Krapanj
        Krapanj is an island of Croatia in the central Dalmatian county of Šibenik-Knin.Krapanj is the smallest inhabited island of the Adriatic Sea covering 0.36 km2. It is also the most densely inhabited island and has the lowest elevation of 1.5 m above sea level...

         and Jadrtovac
    • 4th Hydroplane Group
      • 5th Hydroplane Squadron (5 SIM-XIV) - Tijesno and Murter
        Murter
        Murter is name of the island in the Croatian part of the Adriatic sea, located in central Dalmatia at , as well as that of a small village on the north-western part of the island....

      • 15th Hydroplane Squadron (10 seaplanes) - Vodice
        Vodice
        Vodice may refer to:* Vodice, Croatia* Vodice, Slovenia* Vodice, Serbia* Vodice, a village in Albania...


  • Hydroplane Training Squadron (20 seaplanes) - Trogir
    Trogir
    Trogir is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, with a population of 12,995 and a total municipality population of 13,322 . The historic city of Trogir is situated on a small island between the Croatian mainland and the island of Čiovo...


See also

  • Royal Yugoslav Army
    Royal Yugoslav Army
    The Royal Yugoslav Army was the armed force of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from the state's formation until the force's surrender to the Axis powers on April 17, 1941...

  • 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...

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