Yugoslav monitor Sava
SMS Bodrog on the Danube river in 1914
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History | |
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Austria-Hungary | |
Name | Bodrog |
Namesake | Bodrog River |
In service | 2 August 1904 |
Out of service | 1918 |
Fate | Assigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (KSCS) |
Kingdom of Yugoslavia | |
Name | Sava |
Namesake | Sava River |
Acquired | 15 April 1920 |
Fate | Scuttled by the crew on 11/12 April 1941 |
Independent State of Croatia | |
Name | Sava |
Acquired | Raised and repaired |
Fate | Scuttled by the crew 8/9 September 1944 |
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | |
Name | Sava |
Acquired | Raised and repaired |
Reinstated | 1952 |
Fate | Transferred to state-run company |
Status | Acquired by the Ministry of Defence and Military Museum and restored. Now a floating museum. |
Notes | Naval service ended in 1962 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Temes-class river monitor |
Displacement | 440 tonnes (430 long tons) |
Length | 57.7 m (189 ft 4 in) |
Beam | 9.5 m (31 ft 2 in) |
Draught | 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | 2 triple-expansion steam engines |
Speed | 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
Complement | 86 officers and enlisted |
Armament |
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Armour |
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The Yugoslav monitor Sava is a
During the German-led
Following World War II, Sava was raised once again, and was refurbished to serve in the Yugoslav Navy from 1952 to 1962. She was then transferred to a state-owned company that was eventually privatised. In 2005, the government of Serbia granted her limited heritage protection after citizens demanded that she be preserved as a floating museum, but little else was done to restore her at the time. In 2015, the Serbian Ministry of Defence and Belgrade's Military Museum acquired the ship. She was restored by early 2019 and opened as a floating museum in November 2021.
Description and construction
A
Bodrog was armed with two 120 mm (4.7 in)L/35
Career
World War I
Serbian campaign
Bodrog was part of the
The Germans and Austro-Hungarians wanted to transport munitions down the Danube to the Ottoman Empire, so on 24 December 1914, Bodrog and the minesweeper Almos escorted the steamer Trinitas loaded with munitions, the patrol boat b and two tugs from Zemun past Belgrade towards the Iron Gates gorge on the Serbian–Romanian border.[1][12] The convoy ran the gauntlet of the Belgrade defences unharmed, but when it reached Smederevo it received information that the Russians had established a minefield and log barrier just south of the Iron Gates. It turned back under heavy fire, and withdrew as far as Pančevo without serious damage to any vessel. Bodrog returned to base, and the monitor SMS Inn was sent to guard the munitions and escort the convoy back to Petrovaradin.[12] In January 1915, British artillery arrived in Belgrade, further bolstering its defences,[13] and Bodrog spent the first months of the year at Zemun. On 23 February, LSL Kosimus Böhm took command. On 1 March, Bodrog and several other vessels including the monitor SMS Körös were relocated to Petrovaradin.[1] After the commencement of the Gallipoli campaign, munitions supply to the Ottomans became critical, so another attempt was planned. On 30 March, the steamer Belgrad left Zemun, escorted by Bodrog and Enns. The convoy was undetected as it sailed past Belgrade at night during a storm, but after the monitors returned to base, Belgrad struck a mine near Vinča, and after coming under heavy artillery fire, exploded near Ritopek.[12] On 22 April 1915, a British picket boat that had been brought overland by rail from Salonika was used to attack the Danube Flotilla anchorage at Zemun, firing two torpedoes without success.[14]
In September 1915, the Central Powers were joined by Bulgaria, and the Serbian Army soon faced an overwhelming Austro-Hungarian, German and Bulgarian ground invasion. In early October, the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army attacked Belgrade, and Bodrog, along with the majority of the flotilla, was heavily engaged in support of crossings near the Belgrade Fortress and the island of Ada Ciganlija.[15]
Romanian campaign
Following the capture of Belgrade on 11 October and the initial clearance of mines and other obstacles, the flotilla sailed downstream to Orșova near the Hungarian–Romanian border and waited for the lower Danube to be swept for mines. Commencing on 30 October 1915, they escorted a series of munitions convoys down the Danube to Lom where the munitions were transferred to the Bulgarian railway system for shipment to the Ottoman Empire.[16]
In November 1915, Bodrog and the other monitors were assembled at Rustschuk, Bulgaria.[16] The Central Powers were aware that the Romanians were negotiating to enter the war on the side of the Entente, so the flotilla established a sheltered base in the Belene Canal to protect the 480-kilometre (300 mi) Danube border between Romania and Bulgaria.[17] During 1915, the 37 mm (1.5 in) guns on the Bodrog were replaced with a single 66 mm (2.6 in)L/18 gun, and three machine guns were also fitted.[1]
When the Romanians entered the war on 27 August 1916, the monitors were again at Rustschuk, and were immediately attacked by three improvised torpedo boats operating out of the Romanian river port of Giurgiu. The torpedoes that were fired missed the monitors but struck a lighter loaded with fuel. Tasked with shelling Giurgiu the following day, the Second Monitor Division, consisting of Bodrog and three other monitors, set fire to oil storage tanks, the railway station and magazines, and sank several Romanian lighters. While the attack was underway, the First Monitor Division escorted supply ships back to the Belene anchorage. Bodrog and her companions then destroyed two Romanian patrol boats and an improvised minelayer on their way back to Belene. This was followed by forays of the Division both east and west of Belene, during which both Turnu Măgurele and Zimnicea were shelled.[18]
On 2 October 1916, Bodrog and Körös attacked a Romanian pontoon bridge being established across the Danube at Oryahovo, obtaining five direct hits, thus contributing to the defeat of the Romanian Flămânda Offensive. This was followed by action supporting the crossing of Generalfeldmarschall[f] August von Mackensen's Austro-Hungarian Third Army at Sistow. Bodrog then wintered at Turnu Severin.[1]
From 21 February 1917, Bodrog and Körös were deployed as guardships at
Bodrog was sent to Reni near the mouth of the Danube to protect withdrawing Austro-Hungarian troops, arriving there on 1 October. She then sailed upstream, reaching Rustschuk on 11 October, and Giurgiu two days later. On 14 October, she was deployed at Lom.[20] She was the last Austro-Hungarian monitor to withdraw towards Budapest and was the only one that failed to reach the city. On 31 October 1918, Bodrog collided with a sand bank while navigating through heavy fog near Vinča.[21] She was later captured by the Serbian Army.[22]
Interwar period and World War II
From the
Sava was based at
On that day, Sava and her fellow monitor Vardar fought off several attacks by individual Luftwaffe aircraft on their base.[31] Over the next three days, the two monitors laid mines in the Danube near the Romanian border.[32] On 11 April, they were forced to withdraw from Dubovac towards Belgrade.[33] During their withdrawal, they came under repeated attacks by Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers.[34] Sava and her fellow monitor were undamaged, and anchored at the confluence of the Danube and Sava near Belgrade at about 20:00, where they were joined by the Morava. The three captains conferred, and decided to scuttle their vessels due to the high water levels in the rivers and low bridges, which meant there was insufficient clearance for the monitors to navigate freely. The crews of the monitors were then transshipped to two tugboats, but when one of the tugs was passing under a railway bridge, charges on the bridge accidentally exploded and the bridge fell onto the tug. Of the 110 officers and men aboard the vessel, 95 were killed.[33][35]
After the scuttling of the monitors, around 450 officers and men from the Sava and various other riverine vessels gathered at
Sava was raised and repaired by the navy of the Axis puppet state the Independent State of Croatia,[35] and served alongside her fellow monitor Morava, which was raised, repaired, and renamed Bosna. Along with six captured motorboats and ten auxiliary vessels, they made up the riverine police force of the Croatian state.[38] Sava was part of the 1st Patrol Group of the River Flotilla Command, headquartered at Zemun.[39] Her crew scuttled her near Slavonski Brod on the night of 8 September 1944 and defected to the Yugoslav Partisans.[40]
Post-war period
Sava was again raised and refurbished after World War II. Armed with two single 105 mm (4.1 in) gun turrets, three single 40 mm (1.6 in) gun mounts and six 20 mm (0.79 in) weapons,[41] she served in the Yugoslav Navy from 1952 to 1962. Afterwards, she was placed into the hands of a state-owned company, which was privatised after the breakup of Yugoslavia. In 2005, the government of Serbia granted her limited heritage protection after citizens demanded that she be preserved as a floating museum, though little else had been done to restore her as of 2014, by which time she was serving as a gravel barge.[21] In December 2015, Sava was acquired by the Serbian Ministry of Defence and Belgrade's Military Museum, which planned on restoring her.[42] The ship is one of only two surviving Austro-Hungarian river monitors that served during World War I.[43] The other is SMS Leitha, a much older monitor, which has been a museum ship anchored alongside the Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest since 2014.[44] By early 2019, Sava had been restored.[45] She was inaugurated as a floating museum along the Sava River in Belgrade in November 2021.[46]
Notes
- ^ According to Pawlik, Christ and Winkler, her length overall was 56.2 m (184 ft 5 in).[1]
- ^ According to Pawlik, Christ and Winkler, her crew totalled only 77 officers and men.[1]
- ^ L/35 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/35 gun is calibre, meaning that the gun was 35 times as long as the diameter of its bore.
- ^ According to Pawlik, Christ and Winkler, her gun turrets also had armour 75 mm (3.0 in) thick.[1]
- ^ Equivalent to an Austro-Hungarian Army Hauptman (captain).[6]
- ^ Equivalent to a British Army field marshal.[19]
- ^ This is equivalent to a United States Navy lieutenant commander.[30]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Pawlik, Christ & Winkler 1989, p. 60.
- ^ a b c Greger 1976, p. 141.
- ^ Jane's Information Group 1989, p. 315.
- ^ Greger 1976, p. 10.
- ^ a b Halpern 2012, pp. 261–262.
- ^ Deak 1990, Introduction.
- ^ Keys 27 July 2014.
- ^ Halpern 2012, pp. 263–265.
- ^ Halpern 2012, p. 263.
- ^ Halpern 2012, p. 265.
- ^ a b Halpern 2012, pp. 265–266.
- ^ a b c Halpern 2012, p. 267.
- ^ Halpern 2012, p. 266.
- ^ Halpern 2012, pp. 270–271.
- ^ Halpern 2012, p. 272.
- ^ a b Halpern 2012, p. 274.
- ^ Halpern 2012, p. 275.
- ^ Halpern 2012, p. 277.
- ^ Mombauer 2001, p. xv.
- ^ Pawlik, Christ & Winkler 1989, pp. 60–61.
- ^ a b San Diego Union-Tribune 14 April 2014.
- ^ Fitzsimons 1977, p. 843.
- ^ Gardiner 1985, p. 422.
- ^ Gardiner 1985, p. 426.
- ^ Pawlik, Christ & Winkler 1989, p. 61.
- ^ Jarman 1997a, p. 732.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 451.
- ^ a b Niehorster 2013a.
- ^ Terzić 1982, p. 168.
- ^ Niehorster 2013b.
- ^ Terzić 1982, p. 297.
- ^ Terzić 1982, pp. 333–334.
- ^ a b Terzić 1982, pp. 391–392.
- ^ Shores, Cull & Malizia 1987, p. 222.
- ^ a b Chesneau 1980, p. 357.
- ^ Terzić 1982, pp. 405, 432.
- ^ Terzić 1982, p. 457.
- ^ Chesneau 1980, p. 359.
- ^ Niehorster 2013c.
- ^ Gardiner 1983, p. 392.
- ^ Ministry of Defence Republic of Serbia 11 December 2015.
- ^ Zarić 27 April 2014.
- ^ Daily News Hungary 15 August 2014.
- ^ Jakšić 3 April 2019.
- ^ Vasovic 12 November 2021.
References
Books and journals
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-146-5.
- 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.
- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1983). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1982. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-919-1.
- 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, Yugoslavia: Narodna knjiga. OCLC 10276738.
- Naval Records Club (1965). "The Independent Croatian Navy". Warship International. 2. ISSN 0043-0374.)
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Online sources
- "Europe's Oldest River Battleship Inaugurated as a Museum at Parliament Pier". Daily News Hungary. 15 August 2014.
- Jakšić, Pavle (3 April 2019). "Ratni brod "Bodrog" – Svetska kulturna baština u Srbiji istrgnuta od zaborava" [War Ship "Bodrog" – International Cultural Heritage in Serbia is Plucked Out of Obscurity]. N1 (in Serbian).
- Keys, David (27 July 2014). "Church to mark centenary of the start of WWI". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- "New life for "Sava" ship". Ministry of Defence Republic of Serbia. 11 December 2015.
- Niehorster, Dr. Leo (2013a). "Balkan Operations Order of Battle Royal Yugoslavian Navy River Flotilla 6th April 1941". Dr. Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- Niehorster, Dr. Leo (2013b). "Royal Yugoslav Armed Forces Ranks". Dr. Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- Niehorster, Dr. Leo (2013c). "Armed Forces of the Independent State of Croatia – Order of Battle Croatian Navy 1st July 1941". Dr. Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- Vasovic, Aleksandar (12 November 2021). "Serbia restores warship that fired first shots of World War One". Reuters. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- "Warship that fired first shots of WWI now a gravel barge in Serbia". The San Diego Union-Tribune. 14 April 2014.
- Zarić, Slađana (27 April 2014). "Aždaje koje su rušile Beograd" [The Beasts That Shelled Belgrade] (in Serbian). Radio Television of Serbia. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014.