Yugoslav monitor Drava
Sister ship to Enns, SMS Inn
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History | |
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Austro-Hungarian Empire | |
Name | Enns |
Namesake | Enns River |
Builder | Schiffswerft Linz/Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino Linz |
Laid down | 21 November 1913 |
Launched | 29 July 1914 |
In service | 17 October 1914 |
Out of service | 6 November 1918 |
Fate | Transferred to the Hungarian People's Republic |
Notes | Sister ship Inn was ceded to Romania and renamed Besarabia |
Hungarian People's Republic | |
Name | Enns |
Namesake | Enns River |
Acquired | 6 November 1918 |
Out of service | 8 December 1918 |
Fate | Assigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (KSCS) |
Kingdom of Yugoslavia | |
Name | Drava |
Namesake | Drava River |
Acquired | 1920 |
Fate | Sunk by Luftwaffe dive bombers on 12 April 1941 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Enns-class river monitor |
Displacement | 536 tonnes (528 long tons) |
Length | 60.2 m (197 ft 6 in) |
Beam | 10.3 m (33 ft 10 in) |
Draught | 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | 2 Triple-expansion steam engines |
Speed | 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
Complement | 95 officers and enlisted |
Armament |
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Armour |
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The Yugoslav monitor Drava was a
During the
Description and construction
SMS Enns was constructed for the Austro-Hungarian Navy as the name ship of the Enns-class river monitors by Schiffswerft Linz and Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino (STT). She was laid down by Schiffswerft Linz at Linz on 21 November 1913,[1] as part of the Austro-Hungarian 1912 Naval Program.[2] She was named after the River Enns, a tributary of the Danube. When World War I broke out in July 1914, construction of Enns was well advanced, but after Schiffswerft Linz was taken over by STT, her machinery was ordered from the STT works near Trieste. On 2 August, the machinery was dispatched by train to Linz and installation began without delay.[1] She was launched in September 1914, and completed on 17 October of that year.[3] Despite the requirement that Enns and SMS Inn be constructed as sister ships, and the fact that their size and armament were identical, there were significant design differences between the two vessels, as they were constructed by completely independent shipbuilding companies. Enns had an overall length of 60.2 m (197 ft 6 in),[a] a beam of 10.3 m (33 ft 10 in), and a normal draught of 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in). Her standard displacement was 536 tonnes (528 long tons), and her crew consisted of 95 officers and enlisted men.[5] She had two triple-expansion steam engines, each driving a single propeller shaft. Steam for the engines was provided by two Yarrow water-tube boilers,[1] and her engines were rated at 1,500 indicated horsepower (1,100 kW), with a maximum of 1,700 ihp (1,300 kW). She was designed to reach a top speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph),[4] and carried 70 tonnes (69 long tons) of fuel oil.[2]
Enns was armed with one twin
The original plans called for open anti-aircraft mounts, but the experience of the existing monitors in the first battles on the Danube against Serbia demonstrated that the mounts needed protection from small arms fire, so armoured barbettes were added. These modifications prevented the crew in the conning tower from viewing directly aft of the ship, so a 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) high rectangular platform was placed on top of the conning tower that afforded a view aft. To avoid any increase in her draught from these modifications, her hull was lengthened. Due to the urgent need for the ship to be put into service, the planned telescopic mast was not installed, and an alternative mast was constructed using angle iron lattice.[1] Enns was launched on 29 July 1914 and commissioned on 17 October 1914.[1]
Career
World War I
Soon after Enns was commissioned into the
In January 1915, British artillery arrived in Belgrade, further bolstering its defences.
When she returned to the flotilla after repairs, she saw action at Rjahovo in early October 1916, where she contributed to the defeat of the Romanian Flămânda Offensive. The Romanian attempt to cross the Danube to attack the rear of Generalfeldmarschall[d] August von Mackensen's Austro-Hungarian Third Army was thwarted,[18] and a force consisting of Enns, the monitors SMS Leitha, SMS Temes (II) and SMS Szamos, the patrol boat Viza and the armed steamer Balaton destroyed a pontoon bridge near Rjahovo. After forays against Giurgiu to secure trains loaded with coal and oil, in November Enns and other ships supported the crossing of the Danube by von Mackensen's army at Sistow. The following month, Enns bombarded Căscioarele, driving Romanian troops from the village. From late December 1916 to mid-March 1917, Enns and other ships of the flotilla wintered at Turnu Severin.[10]
In March 1917, Enns relocated to
Interwar period and World War II
Immediately after the armistice, Enns was crewed by sailors of the KSCS in 1918–19. Under the terms of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye concluded in September 1919, Enns was transferred to the KSCS along with a range of other vessels, including three other river monitors.[22] She was officially handed over to the KSCS navy and renamed Drava – the tributary of the Danube along the border with Hungary – in 1920.[23] Her sister ship Inn was transferred to Romania and renamed Besarabia.[3] In 1925–26, Drava was refitted, but by the following year only two of the four river monitors of the KSCS Navy were being retained in full commission at any time.[24] In 1932, the British naval attaché reported that Yugoslav ships were engaging in little gunnery training, and few exercises or manoeuvres, due to reduced budgets.[25]
Drava was based at
Early on 12 April, with the other three monitors having been scuttled the night before, Drava was attacked by Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers of Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 flying from Arad, Romania. The anti-aircraft gunners on the ship claimed three enemy aircraft, and nine of the Stukas scored hits on her, most of which had little effect. However, the last bomb dropped straight down her funnel and exploded in her engine room, killing 54 of the crew. Only 13 survived,[29] and she sank off Čib.[30] Having ordered the burning of codes before she sank, Berić and his first officers were among the dead, but two of the successful anti-aircraft gunners, Rade Milojević and Miroslav Šurdilović, survived.[32] During their occupation of parts of Yugoslavia, Drava was raised and then scrapped by Hungary.[33] Berić was posthumously awarded the Order of Karađorđe's Star for his sacrifice. In April 2015, a bust of Berić was unveiled at the village of Belegiš, near Stara Pazova.[34] The barracks of the Serbian River Flotilla in Novi Sad is also named after him.[32]
Notes
- ^ According to Greger, her overall length was 57.9 m (190 ft).[4]
- ^ L/45 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/45 gun is 45 calibre, meaning that the gun was 45 times as long as the diameter of its bore.
- ^ Equivalent to an Austro-Hungarian Army Hauptman (captain).[9]
- ^ Equivalent to a British Army field marshal.[17]
- ^ His rank was Poručnik bojnog broda, equivalent to a United States Navy lieutenant commander.[26]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f Pawlik, Christ & Winkler 1989, p. 66.
- ^ a b Jane's Information Group 1989, p. 315.
- ^ a b c Greger 1976, p. 142.
- ^ a b Greger 1976, p. 141.
- ^ Pawlik, Christ & Winkler 1989, pp. 66–67.
- ^ Pawlik, Christ & Winkler 1989, pp. 67 & 69.
- ^ Greger 1976, pp. 9–10.
- ^ a b Halpern 2012, p. 265.
- ^ Deak 1990, Introduction.
- ^ a b c d e f g Pawlik, Christ & Winkler 1989, p. 67.
- ^ Halpern 2012, pp. 265–266.
- ^ Halpern 2012, p. 266.
- ^ Halpern 2012, p. 267.
- ^ Halpern 2012, pp. 270–271.
- ^ Halpern 2012, p. 272.
- ^ Halpern 2012, p. 273.
- ^ Mombauer 2001, p. xv.
- ^ Halpern 2012, p. 281.
- ^ Halpern 2012, p. 285.
- ^ Halpern 2012, pp. 285–286.
- ^ Csonkaréti & Benczúr 1992, p. 123.
- ^ Gardiner 1985, p. 422.
- ^ Gardiner 1985, p. 426.
- ^ Jarman 1997a, p. 732.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 451.
- ^ a b Niehorster 2013b.
- ^ Terzić 1982, p. 168.
- ^ a b Terzić 1982, p. 375.
- ^ a b Shores, Cull & Malizia 1987, p. 224.
- ^ a b Fitzsimons 1977, p. 843.
- ^ Terzić 1982, p. 392.
- ^ a b Vujičić 15 August 2014.
- ^ Chesneau 1980, p. 357.
- ^ Radio Television of Serbia 6 April 2015.
References
Books
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-146-5.
- Csonkaréti, Károly; Benczúr, László (1992). Haditengerészek és folyamőrök a Dunán: a császari (és) királyi haditengerészet dunaflottillájától a magyar királyi honvéd folyamerőkig (1870–1945) [Naval Guards on the Danube River and the Danube Flotilla of the Royal Hungarian Navy (1870–1945)] (in Hungarian). Budapest: Zrínyi Kiadó. ISBN 978-963-327-153-7.
- Deak, Istvan (1990). Beyond Nationalism: A Social and Political History of the Habsburg Officer Corps, 1848–1918. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-992328-1.
- Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. (1977). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare. Vol. 8. New York: Columbia House. OCLC 732716343.
- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
- Greger, René (1976). Austro-Hungarian Warships of World War I. London: Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0623-2.
- Halpern, Paul G. (2012). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-266-6.
- Jane's Information Group (1989) [1946/47]. Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II. London: Studio Editions. ISBN 978-1-85170-194-0.
- Jarman, Robert L., ed. (1997a). Yugoslavia Political Diaries 1918–1965. Vol. 1. Slough, Berkshire: Archives Edition. ISBN 978-1-85207-950-5.
- Jarman, Robert L., ed. (1997b). Yugoslavia Political Diaries 1918–1965. Vol. 2. Slough, Berkshire: Archives Edition. ISBN 978-1-85207-950-5.
- Mombauer, Annika (2001). Helmuth von Moltke and the Origins of the First World War. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-79101-4.
- Pawlik, Georg; Christ, Heinz; Winkler, Herbert (1989). Die K.u.K. Donauflottille 1870–1918 [The K.u.K. Danube Flotilla 1870–1918] (in German). Graz, Austria: H. Weishaupt Verlag. ISBN 978-3-900310-45-5.
- Shores, Christopher F.; Cull, Brian; Malizia, Nicola (1987). Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece, and Crete, 1940–41. London: Grub Street. ISBN 978-0-948817-07-6.
- Terzić, Velimir (1982). Slom Kraljevine Jugoslavije 1941: Uzroci i posledice poraza [The Collapse of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1941: Causes and Consequences of Defeat] (in Serbo-Croatian). Vol. 2. Belgrade: Narodna knjiga. OCLC 10276738.
News
- Vujičić, Dragan (15 August 2014). "Poslednje zbogom poručnika Berića" [Last Farewell to Lieutenant Berić]. Novosti.
- "Otkriven spomenik Aleksandru Beriću" [Monument to Aleksandar Berić Unveiled]. Radio Television of Serbia. 6 April 2015.
Websites
- Niehorster, Leo (2013a). "Royal Yugoslav Armed Forces Ranks". Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- Niehorster, Leo (2013b). "Balkan Operations Order of Battle Royal Yugoslavian Navy River Flotilla 6th April 1941". Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 14 May 2015.