Albona-class minelayer
Malinska photographed in 1939 | |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Builders | Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes/Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
Operators | |
Built | 1920–1931 |
In commission | 1920–1963 |
Planned | 14 |
Completed | 8 |
Cancelled | 6 |
Lost | 5 |
Retired | 3 |
General characteristics | |
Displacement | 128–145 t (126–143 long tons) (full load) |
Length | 31.8 m (104 ft) (oa) |
Beam | 6.52 m (21.4 ft) |
Draught | 1.4–1.7 m (4 ft 7 in – 5 ft 7 in) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 × triple-expansion steam engines |
Speed | 9–11 kn (17–20 km/h; 10–13 mph) |
Complement | 29 |
Armament |
|
The Albona class were mine warfare ships used by the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) and Royal Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian Latin: Kraljevska mornarica; KM). Fourteen ships were originally laid down between 1917 and 1918 for the Austro-Hungarian Navy as the MT.130 class. However, the end of World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary left them incomplete until 1920, when three ships were finished for the Regia Marina. These ships were armed with two 76 mm (3 in) guns. An additional five ships were completed for the KM in 1931 as the Malinska or Marjan class, and were armed with a single 66 mm (2.6 in). All of the completed ships could carry 24 to 39 naval mines. The remaining ships were never completed.
The five ships in KM service were captured by Italian forces during the
After the war, the three ships were commissioned into the JRM and their designations were changed several times. In October 1946, two of them were involved in the
Background
The
Description and construction
The ships had a raised
Below deck, the bow contained the drinking water tanks, aft of which were cabins for the petty officers on either side of the anchor chain locker. Immediately aft of the petty officers' cabins were the sailors' bunks, and underneath these the boiler water and fuel tanks were located. A transverse bulkhead between the sailors' accommodation spaces provided support for the gun. The engine room containing the boiler and engines was located under the galley and was covered by a low superstructure with ventilation cowls. The engine room was separated from the hold by a bulkhead that supported the deckhouse on the KM ships. A workshop was located in the stern.[4]
The ships of the class had a
As none of the ships were completed before the end of World War I, the planned 47 mm guns were not fitted to any of the ships when built. They were also planned to be fitted with one 8 mm (0.31 in) machine gun mounted aft, and – when completed as minelayers – to carry 24–39 mines, with the number depending on the types of mines loaded.
The first three ships of the class, MT.130–132, were completed by the shipyard for the Regia Marina in 1920 as RD 58–RD 60, and were then converted to minelayers. On 2 July 1921 they were named the Albona class, and were commissioned as Albona, Laurana and Rovigno, respectively.[2][9] Albona was named for Italian towns in Istria, Albona, Laurana, and Rovigno.[12] Five other ships, MT.133–137, were completed at the shipyard in 1931 for the KM – as the Malinska[2][9] or Marjan class[1] – and were commissioned as Marjan, Mosor, Malinska, Meljine, and Mljet respectively.[13] Marjan was named for a hill near Split, Mosor for a mountain range near Split, Malinska for the town on the Dalmatian island of Krk, Meljine for the town in the Bay of Kotor, and Mljet for the Dalmatian island of that name.[1] The hulls of MT.138–MT.143 were 45 per cent finished by October 1918 but were never completed.[2][9]
Ships
Austro-Hungarian designation[1][2] |
Builder[1] | Laid down[2] | Launched[2] | Completed[2] | Completed for[1] | Name upon completion (tactical designation)[13] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MT.130 |
27 October 1917 |
20 July 1918 |
3 January 1920 |
Regia Marina |
Albona
| |
MT.131 |
30 October 1917 |
24 August 1918 |
7 February 1920 |
Laurana
| ||
MT.132 |
3 November 1917 |
28 September 1918 |
16 July 1920 |
Rovigno
| ||
MT.133 |
6 November 1917 |
Unknown |
1931 |
Royal Yugoslav Navy |
Marjan (MA)
| |
MT.134 |
7 December 1917 |
Mosor (MO)
| ||||
MT.135 |
8 December 1917 |
Malinska (MN)
| ||||
MT.136 |
29 December 1917 |
Meljine (ME)
| ||||
MT.137 |
Mljet (MT)
| |||||
MT.138 |
11 February 1918 |
Never completed |
– |
–
| ||
MT.139 |
23 February 1918
| |||||
MT.140 |
August 1918
| |||||
MT.141 |
September 1918
| |||||
MT.142
| ||||||
MT.143
|
Service history
Albona class
The interwar Regia Marina was keen to acquire minelayers, and the Albona class were the first of several classes of mine warfare vessels it obtained.
In 1941, Laurana was fitted with smoke apparatus to assist in the defence of Venice.[18] By mid-May of that year, Albona and Rovigno had been transferred to Greek waters.[19] Following the Italian Armistice in early September 1943, Albona and Rovigno were captured by the Germans at the island of Syros in the Aegean Sea on 10 September. They were renamed Netztender 57 and Netztender 56 respectively, and their armament was improved.[18] Between 19 July and 4 September 1943, Laurana laid a 70-mine defensive barrage in the Adriatic.[20] Laurana was captured at Venice on 11 September, and was commissioned by the Germans under her Italian name on 30 September,[18] although she was still at Venice and not operational on 10 October, and not ready for service as part of the 11th Security Flotilla of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) until after 8 November.[21] She served as a minelayer in the Adriatic with her Italian armament.[18][22]
Netztender 57 and Netztender 56 were scuttled by the Germans at Salonika on 31 October 1944 as they withdrew from the city, and Laurana was sunk at Trieste by British aircraft bombs on 20 February 1945, and was broken up in 1949.[18][23][24]
Malinska class
The Malinska-class ships had a relatively quiet career until 1941, serving as training vessels and minesweepers allocated to the Coast Defence Command.
The North Sector was commanded by now-
Malinska was raised by the Italians and commissioned as Arbe, along with Ugliano (ex-Marjan), Solta (ex-Meljine), Meleda (ex-Mljet) and Pasman (ex-Mosor)[9] using the Italian names for the islands of Rab, Ugljan, Šolta, Mljet and Pašman.[1] In Italian service the ships were known as the Arbe class.[7] The Italians removed the mainmasts from the ships,[1] removed the 47 mm guns, and installed two Ansaldo Model 15 76 mm L/30 guns as on the Albona class. They also mounted a Breda M37 8 mm heavy machine gun on both of the bridge wings.[25] They could carry 30 mines.[7]
On 28 December 1942, the Yugoslav Partisans established their first naval station at Podgora on the Dalmatian coast. From this base, the fledgling Partisan Navy attacked and captured five coastal steamships over the next few days. On 1 January 1943, Ugliano and Pasman, along with the captured Yugoslav torpedo boat T5, a patrol vessel and an armed tug, attacked Podgora from the sea, and an Italian landing party was put ashore. The Italian troops were repelled by the Partisan 4th Dalmatian Brigade. The operation was repeated three days later, with the addition of air support, but a planned second landing was cancelled.[28] In April 1943, Ugliano and Pasman were under command of Maridalmazia (the maritime command of Dalmatia), along with five captured Yugoslav 250t-class torpedo boats and various smaller vessels.[29]
Arbe was under repair at Genoa when she was captured by the Germans at the time of the Italian surrender in September 1943, but was not commissioned by them.[25] Instead, she was transferred to the navy of the German fascist puppet state, the Italian Social Republic in December 1943. She was scuttled during the German retreat from the city on 24 April 1945,[23] and was salvaged and scrapped after the war. Ugliano, Solta and Meleda escaped to the Allies at the time of the Italian surrender, eventually making their way to Malta.[25] Solta and Meleda were returned by the Italians to the KM-in-exile on 7 December 1943 and Ugliano was returned on 16 February 1944;[30] all reverted to their previous names.[9] They swept mines off Malta in 1944 and 1945 and in August of that year were transferred to the new Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian: Jugoslavenska ratna mornarica; JRM).[31]
Pasman was captured by the Germans at Šibenik after the Italian surrender but was initially not operational.
Post-war service
After the war, Marjan, Meljine and Mljet were commissioned in the JRM as M1, M2 and M3 respectively. They were later redesignated M201 then M31 (ex-M1), M202 then M32 (ex-M2) and M203 then M33 (ex-M3).[35] All three ships were re-armed with two Breda 20 mm (0.79 in) L65 anti-aircraft guns, equipped with MDL-2 mechanical minesweeping gear, and could carry up to 24 SAG-2 mines. Their crew increased to 30.[35] Post-war, the engines of ships of the class could only generate 150 ihp (110 kW), for a maximum speed of 8.5 kn (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) and a cruising speed of 7 kn (13 km/h; 8.1 mph). Their range was 360 nmi (670 km; 410 mi) at 8.5 kn and 420 nmi (780 km; 480 mi) at 7 kn. Up to 13 t (13 long tons; 14 short tons) of oil and 8 t (7.9 long tons; 8.8 short tons) of boiler water was carried.[6][36]
In 1946, M2 and M3 were involved in an early international incident of the Cold War when they laid mines in the Straits of Corfu at the request of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. On 22 October of that year, a British destroyer flotilla entered the undeclared minefield and the S and T-class destroyer HMS Saumarez and U and V-class destroyer HMS Volage were seriously damaged.[37] Forty-four officers and men were killed or missing, and forty-two were injured. Saumarez was damaged beyond repair, but Volage was eventually brought back into service as an anti-submarine frigate. The incident resulted in a case before the International Court of Justice which found against Albania, and a diplomatic freeze between the UK and Albania that was only finally resolved in 1996.[38] The Yugoslav government never admitted that M2 and M3 had laid the mines.[36]
M33 was stricken in 1962. M31 was stricken in 1963 and sold to the Maritime High School in Split, where it served as the training ship Juraj Carić until 1972. M32 was also stricken in 1963 and it was sold to the Vela Luka municipal council on the island of Korčula.[35]
See also
Notes
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Freivogel 2020, p. 212.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Greger 1976, p. 92.
- ^ Friedman 2011, p. 294.
- ^ a b Freivogel 2020, pp. 212–213.
- ^ Freivogel 2020, pp. 212 & 216.
- ^ a b c d e f g Freivogel 2020, p. 213.
- ^ a b c d e Brescia 2012, p. 178.
- ^ a b Freivogel 2020, pp. 213 & 216.
- ^ a b c d e f g Twardowski 1980, p. 358.
- ^ Vego 1982, p. 356.
- ^ Freivogel 2020, pp. 213, 216 & 344.
- ^ Freivogel 2020, pp. 349–350, 352.
- ^ a b c d e Freivogel 2020, p. 215.
- ^ Brescia 2012, p. 44.
- ^ Freivogel & Rastelli 2015, p. 27.
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992, p. 22.
- ^ Freivogel & Rastelli 2015, p. 86.
- ^ a b c d e Fraccaroli 1985, pp. 280–281.
- ^ Alexiades 2015, Appendix C.
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992, pp. 223–224.
- ^ Freivogel & Rastelli 2015, pp. 183 & 186.
- ^ Lenton 1975, p. 372.
- ^ a b Dodson & Cant 2020, p. 286.
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992, p. 334.
- ^ a b c d e f g Freivogel 2020, p. 214.
- ^ Vego 1982, p. 350.
- ^ Niehorster 2019.
- ^ Freivogel & Rastelli 2015, pp. 128–129.
- ^ Freivogel & Rastelli 2015, p. 130.
- ^ Freivogel & Rastelli 2015, p. 104.
- ^ Freivogel 2020, pp. 214 & 219.
- ^ Freivogel & Rastelli 2015, pp. 169 & 186.
- ^ Freivogel & Rastelli 2015, p. 183.
- ^ Freivogel & Rastelli 2015, pp. 261–262.
- ^ a b c Freivogel 2021, p. 194.
- ^ a b Freivogel 2021, p. 195.
- ^ Freivogel 2021, pp. 194–195.
- ^ Wynn 2001, p. 224.
References
- Alexiades, Platon (2015). Target Corinth Canal: 1940–1944. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-1-4738-2756-1.
- Brescia, Maurizio (2012). Mussolini's Navy. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59114-544-8.
- Dodson, Aiden; Cant, Serena (2020). Spoils of War: The Fate of Enemy Fleets after the Two World Wars. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-4199-8.
- Fraccaroli, Aldo (1985). "Italy". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 252–290. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
- Freivogel, Zvonimir & Rastelli, Achille (2015). Adriatic Naval War 1940–1945. Zagreb, Croatia: Despot Infinitus. ISBN 978-953-7892-44-9.
- Freivogel, Zvonimir (2020). Warships of the Royal Yugoslav Navy 1918–1945. Zagreb, Croatia: Despot Infinitus. ISBN 978-953-8218-72-9.
- Freivogel, Zvonimir (2021). Warships of the Yugoslav Navy 1945–1991. Zagreb, Croatia: Despot Infinitus. ISBN 978-953-366-006-6.
- ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
- Greger, René (1976). Austro-Hungarian Warships of World War I. London, United Kingdom: Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0623-2.
- ISBN 978-0-356-04661-7.
- Niehorster, Leo (2019). "Balkan Operations Order of Battle, Coast Defense Command, Royal Yugoslav Navy, 6th April 1941". Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (1992) [1972]. Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-105-9.
- Twardowski, Marek (1980). "Yugoslavia". In Gardiner, Robert & Chesneau, Roger (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. pp. 355–359. ISBN 978-0-87021-913-9.
- Vego, Milan (1982). "The Yugoslav Navy 1918–1941". Warship International. XIX (4): 342–361. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Wynn, Philip E. (2001). "Corfu Channel Incident". In Cook, Bernard A. (ed.). Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-8153-1336-6. Retrieved 7 October 2023.