Albanian Navy (1914-1939)
Between 1914 and 1939, there were three separate Albanian navies. The first navy was short-lived, belonging to the
Warships of the Principality of Albania
The first Albanian warship, albeit a ceremonial one, was the paddle yacht Taurus of the Austro-Hungarian government. This vessel briefly served as royal yacht, bringing the Albanian Prince William to the then-capital of Albania, the port city of Durrës, on 7 March 1914.[1] Taurus was built in Britain in 1903 as Nirvana before being purchased by Austria-Hungary in 1909 for 25,000 Sterling pounds. She displaced 1,375 tons, measuring 67.1 meters in length. She had a top speed of 15.6 knots and was armed with four light guns (two 47 mm Hotchkiss plus two 37 mm).[2]
The other warship of this period was the armed steamer Herzegovina. Chartered from an Austrian shipping company initially as a transport ship, this small steamer was hastily armed with a mountain gun and crewed to fight the raging uprising against Prince William. She was used to bombard the town of
The Zog era
Republican warships
In 1925, after the would-be
Royal warships
After President Zog crowned himself King in 1928, he re-created the Albanian Navy that same year. Drawing lessons from the failed use of second-hand warships, he ordered a class of four smaller, but newly built patrol boats from Venice, Italy. Each of these vessels displaced between 40 and 46 tons, measuring 24.4 meters in length. Armament consisted of one three-inch (76 mm) naval gun and two machine guns, with a top speed amounting to 17 knots. The four boats were named after Albanian cities: Tiranë, Vlorë, Durrës and Sarandë.[6][7][8]
Following the four patrol boats, a new royal yacht was also acquired from France. She was named Ilirja.[9]
Personnel
At the time of the Italian invasion, the declared strength of the navy was 17 officers and about 140 petty officers and sailors. The most notable officer was the war hero Mujo Ulqinaku, commander of the patrol boat Tiranë.[10][11]
References
- ^ Owen Pearson, Albania in the Twentieth Century, A History: Volume I: Albania and King Zog, 1908–39, I.B.Tauris, 2004, p. 59
- ^ Peter Jung, Der k.u.k. Wüstenkrieg: Österreich-Ungarn im Vorderen Orient 1915–1918, Styria, 1992, p. 172 (in German)
- ISBN 1-85043-761-0.
- ^ Warship International, Volume 8, International Naval Research Organization, 1971, p. 296
- ^ Jason Tomes, King Zog: self made monarch of Albania, Sutton, 2003, p. 80
- ^ Warship International, Volume 8, International Naval Research Organization, 1971, p. 296
- ^ Brassey's Annual, Praeger Publishers, 1940, p. 187
- ^ John Jordan, Stephen Dent, Warship 2008, Conway Maritime Press, 2008, p. 97
- ^ Warship International, Volume 8, International Naval Research Organization, 1971, p. 296
- ^ Charles D. Pettibone, THE ORGANIZATION AND ORDER OF BATTLE OF MILITARIES IN WORLD WAR II, Trafford Publishing, 2014, p. 15
- ^ Moikom Zeqo, Mujo Ulqinaku, Nëntori Publishing House, 1980, p. 78