Yugoslav torpedo boat T2
One of T2's sister ships, T3
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History | |
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Austria-Hungary | |
Name | 77 T then 77 |
Builder | Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino |
Laid down | 24 August 1913 |
Launched | 30 January 1914 |
Commissioned | 11 August 1914 |
Out of service | 1918 |
Fate | Assigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes |
Kingdom of Yugoslavia | |
Name | T2 |
Acquired | March 1921 |
Commissioned | 1923 |
Out of service | 1939 |
Fate | Scrapped |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | 250t-class, T-group sea-going torpedo boat |
Displacement | |
Length | 57.84 m (189 ft 9 in) |
Beam | 5.75 m (18 ft 10 in) |
Draught | 1.54 m (5 ft 1 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) |
Range | 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
Complement | 41 officers and enlisted |
Armament |
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T2 was a seagoing torpedo boat operated by the Royal Yugoslav Navy between 1923 and 1939. Originally 77 T, a 250t-class torpedo boat of the Austro-Hungarian Navy built in 1914, she was armed with two 66 mm (2.6 in) guns and four 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, and could carry 10–12 naval mines. She saw active service during World War I, performing convoy, patrol, escort, minesweeping and minelaying tasks, anti-submarine operations, and shore bombardment missions. In 1917, the suffixes of all Austro-Hungarian torpedo boats were removed, and thereafter she was referred to as 77. Present in the Bocche di Cattaro during the short-lived mutiny by Austro-Hungarian sailors in early February 1918, members of her crew raised the red flag but undertook no other mutinous actions. 77 was part of the escort force for the Austro-Hungarian dreadnought Szent István during the action that resulted in the sinking of that ship by Italian torpedo boats in June 1918.
Following Austria-Hungary's defeat in 1918, 77 was allocated to the Navy of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which later became the Royal Yugoslav Navy, and was renamed T2 and had her armament upgraded. At the time, she and seven other 250t-class boats were the only modern sea-going vessels of the fledgling maritime force. During the interwar period, the navy was involved in training exercises and cruises to friendly ports, but activity was limited by reduced naval budgets. Worn out after twenty-five years of service, T2 was stricken from the naval register and scrapped in 1939.
Background
In 1910, the
Description and construction
The
The boats were originally to be armed with three Škoda 66 mm (2.6 in) L/30[a] guns, and three 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes,[2] but this was changed to two guns and four torpedo tubes before the first boat was completed, to standardise the armament with the F group to follow.[4] A 40 cm (16 in) searchlight was mounted above the bridge.[11] The torpedo tubes were mounted in pairs, with one pair mounted between the forecastle and bridge, and the other on a section of raised superstructure above the aft machinery room.[7] They could also carry 10–12 naval mines.[4]
The fourth of its class to be completed, 77 T was laid down on 24 August 1913, launched on 30 January 1914,[4] and completed and commissioned on 11 August 1914.[4][12] Prior to her commissioning, one 8 mm (0.31 in) Schwarzlose M.7/12 machine gun was included in the armament of all boats of the class for anti-aircraft work. Four mounting points were installed so that the machine gun could be mounted in the most effective position depending on the expected direction of attack.[13] Until October 1915, the boat was painted black, but from that point it was painted a light blue-grey.[6]
Career
World War I
At the outbreak of
During the war, 77 T was used for
On 10 May 1915, during the lead-up to the Italian declaration of war on Austria-Hungary, 77 T swept the approaches to the Italian port of
In late November 1915, the Austro-Hungarian fleet deployed a force from Pola to Cattaro in the southern Adriatic; this group included six of the eight T-group torpedo boats. This force was tasked with maintaining a permanent patrol of the Albanian coastline and interdict any troop transports crossing from Italy.[29] After an attack on Durazzo in Albania in which two Austro-Hungarian destroyers were sunk after straying out of a cleared lane through a minefield, on 30 December 77 T and four other 250t-class boats were sent south with the scout cruiser Novara to strengthen morale and try to prevent the transfer of the captured crew of one of the destroyers to Italy. No Italian ships were encountered, and the group returned to the Bocche the following day.[30]
On 17 January 1916, 77 T salvaged a damaged Austro-Hungarian seaplane near the Montenegrin coastal town of Petrovac and towed it to the Bocche.[24] On 22 February, 77 T and two other 250t-class boats, accompanied by a Kaiman-class torpedo boat, laid a minefield outside the Montenegrin port of Antivari. With Austro-Hungarian forces closing on Durazzo from the land, the Allies began to evacuate by sea, and Austro-Hungarian naval forces were sent to attempt to interdict. On 24 February, Helgoland, four destroyers, 77 T and five other 250t-class boats were sent to intercept four Italian destroyers covering the evacuation, but were unable to locate them.[31] Between 11 March and 2 May 77 T underwent a further refit at Pola, and on 4 May was transferred to the Bocche.[24] On the night of 31 May – 1 June, the Tátra-class destroyers Orjen and Balaton, accompanied by 77 T and two other 250t-class boats, raided the Otranto Barrage, an Allied naval blockade of the Strait of Otranto. Orjen sank the British drifter Beneficent, but once the alarm had been raised, the Austro-Hungarian force withdrew.[32][33] 77 T laid mines off Cape Rodoni – north of Durazzo – on 29 June, and returned to Pola in July. On the night of 23/24 September, 77 T and three other 250t boats laid mines off the Po River estuary near Venice. On 12 October, 77 T was attacked by enemy aircraft about 19 km (12 mi) west of the Pinida lighthouse on the eastern coast of Istria.[24]
In 1917, one of 77 T's 66 mm guns may have been placed on an anti-aircraft mount. According to the naval historian Zvonimir Freivogel, sources vary on whether these mounts were added to all boats of the class, and on whether these mounts were added to the forward or aft gun.
On 1 February 1918, a mutiny broke out among the sailors of some vessels of the Austro-Hungarian Navy at the Đenovići anchorage within the Bocche, largely over poor food, lack of replacement uniforms and supplies, and insufficient leave, although the poor state of the Austro-Hungarian economy and its impact on their families was also a factor. 77 was present in the anchorage,[36] and one of her crew raised a red flag, but the executive officer ordered the flag be lowered. The commanding officer of the group of four 250t boats including 77 to light their boilers, intending to order the boats to leave the vicinity of Sankt George and Gäa – which were both controlled by mutineers – but the mutineers ordered the boiler fires put out. The following day, while her commanding officer was absent, a red flag was again raised on 77. Other torpedo boats followed the lead of 77, but by 3 February the revolt was over, and the mutinous sailors were removed from all affected vessels. Five days later, 77 was transferred to Pola for repairs, but by 14–15 February was operational again, chasing a enemy submarine.[37]
By 1918, the Allies had strengthened their ongoing blockade on the Strait of Otranto, as foreseen by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. As a result, it was becoming more difficult for the
Soon after this event,
Post World War I
The Austro-Hungarian Empire sued for peace in November 1918, and 77 survived the war intact.[2] Immediately after the Austro-Hungarian capitulation, French troops occupied Cattaro, which was treated by the Allies as Austro-Hungarian territory.[46] During the French occupation, the captured Austro-Hungarian Navy ships moored at Cattaro were neglected, and 77's original torpedo tubes were destroyed or damaged by French troops.[47] In 1920, under the terms of the previous year's Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which officially ended the participation of rump Austria in World War I, she was allocated to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia).[48] Along with three other 250t-class T-group boats, 76, 78 and 79, and four 250t-class F-group boats, she served with the KM. Taken over in March 1921 when French forces withdrew,[47][48] in KM service, 77 was renamed T2.[4]
When the navy was formed, she and the other seven 250t-class boats were the only modern sea-going vessels in the KM.[49] New torpedo tubes of the same size were ordered from the Strojne Tovarne factory in Ljubljana.[9] In KM service it was intended to replace one or both guns on each boat of the 250t class with a longer Škoda 66 mm L/45 gun, and according to Freivogel this included the forward gun on T2. She was also fitted with one or two Zbrojovka 15 mm (0.59 in) machine guns. In KM service, the crew increased to 52,[9] and she was commissioned in 1923.[50] In 1925, exercises were conducted off the Dalmatian coast, involving the majority of the KM.[51] T2 underwent a refit in 1927.[50] In 1932, the British naval attaché reported that Yugoslav ships engaged in few exercises, manoeuvres or gunnery training due to reduced budgets.[52] By 1939, the maximum speed achieved by the 250t class in Yugoslav service had declined to 24 kn (44 km/h; 28 mph),[9] and in that year T2 was stricken from the naval register due to her age and scrapped soon after.[50][53]
See also
Notes
- ^ L/30 denotes the length of the gun's barrel. In this case, the L/30 gun is 30 calibre, meaning that the barrel was 30 times as long as the diameter of its bore.[10]
- telegraph cable on the Tremiti Islands, and does not mention the involvement of Saida.[26]
- ^ Sources differ on what the exact time was when the attack took place. Sieche states that the time was 03:15 when the Szent István was hit;[40] Sokol claims that the time was 03:30.[39]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d Freivogel 2022, p. 60.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Gardiner 1985, p. 339.
- ^ Freivogel 2022, p. 59.
- ^ a b c d e f Greger 1976, p. 58.
- ^ a b c Freivogel 2020, p. 102.
- ^ a b c Freivogel 2022, p. 65.
- ^ a b c Freivogel 2020, pp. 102–103.
- ^ O'Hara, Worth & Dickson 2013, pp. 26–27.
- ^ a b c d Freivogel 2020, p. 103.
- ^ Friedman 2011, p. 294.
- ^ Freivogel 2022, pp. 64–65.
- ^ Freivogel 2022, p. 63.
- ^ Freivogel 2022, p. 67.
- ^ Greger 1976, pp. 11–12.
- ^ Freivogel 2019, p. 70.
- ^ Freivogel 2019, p. 68.
- ^ Freivogel 2019, p. 69.
- ^ Cernuschi & O'Hara 2015, p. 171.
- ^ a b c Freivogel 2022, p. 76.
- ^ Freivogel 2019, p. 100.
- ^ Freivogel 2019, pp. 119–120.
- ^ Freivogel 2019, p. 168.
- ^ Cernuschi & O'Hara 2015, p. 168.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Freivogel 2022, p. 77.
- ^ Freivogel 2019, p. 182.
- ^ a b Freivogel 2019, p. 185.
- ^ Cernuschi & O'Hara 2015, p. 169.
- ^ Freivogel 2019, pp. 188–189.
- ^ Halpern 2012, p. 229.
- ^ Freivogel 2019, p. 211.
- ^ Freivogel 2019, pp. 221–222.
- ^ Halpern 1987, p. 151.
- ^ Halpern 2015, p. 279.
- ^ Freivogel 2022, p. 66.
- ^ Cernuschi & O'Hara 2016, p. 67.
- ^ Freivogel 2019, pp. 358–360.
- ^ a b c Freivogel 2022, p. 78.
- ^ Sokol 1968, pp. 133–134.
- ^ a b Sokol 1968, p. 134.
- ^ a b Sieche 1991, pp. 127, 131.
- ^ a b Sokol 1968, p. 135.
- ^ Freivogel 2019, p. 380.
- ^ Cernuschi & O'Hara 2016, p. 75.
- ^ Freivogel 2020, p. 10.
- ^ Ramet 2006, pp. 42–44.
- ^ Djukanović 2023, p. 11.
- ^ a b Freivogel 2020, p. 12.
- ^ a b Vego 1982, p. 345.
- ^ Chesneau 1980, p. 355.
- ^ a b c Freivogel 2020, p. 104.
- ^ Jarman 1997a, p. 733.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 451.
- ^ Greger 1976, p. 60.
References
- Cernuschi, Enrico & ISBN 978-1-84486-295-5.
- Cernuschi, Enrico & O'Hara, Vincent P. (2016). "The Naval War in the Adriatic Part II: 1917–1918". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2016. London: Bloomsbury. pp. 62–75. ISBN 978-1-84486-438-6.
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-146-5.
- Djukanović, Bojka (2023). Historical Dictionary of Montenegro. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-5381-3915-8.
- Freivogel, Zvonimir (2019). The Great War in the Adriatic Sea 1914–1918. Zagreb, Croatia: Despot Infinitus. ISBN 978-953-8218-40-8.
- Freivogel, Zvonimir (2020). Warships of the Royal Yugoslav Navy 1918–1945. Vol. 1. Zagreb, Croatia: Despot Infinitus. ISBN 978-953-8218-72-9.
- Freivogel, Zvonimir (2022). Austro-Hungarian Torpedo-Boats in World War One. Zagreb, Croatia: Despot Infinitus. ISBN 978-953-366-036-9.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link - ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
- 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.
- ISBN 978-0-566-05488-4.
- Halpern, Paul G. (2012). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-266-6.
- Halpern, Paul G. (2015). The Naval War in the Mediterranean: 1914-1918. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-39186-9.
- Jarman, Robert L., ed. (1997a). Yugoslavia Political Diaries 1918–1965. Vol. 1. Slough, UK: Cambridge Archive Editions. ISBN 978-1-85207-950-5.
- Jarman, Robert L., ed. (1997b). Yugoslavia Political Diaries 1918–1965. Vol. 2. Slough, UK: Cambridge Archive Editions. ISBN 978-1-85207-950-5.
- O'Hara, Vincent; Worth, Richard & Dickson, W. (2013). To Crown the Waves: The Great Navies of the First World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-269-3.
- ISBN 978-0-253-34656-8.
- Sieche, Erwin F. (1991). "S.M.S. Szent István: Hungaria's Only and Ill-Fated Dreadnought". Warship International. XXVII (2): 112–146. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Sokol, Anthony Eugene (1968). The Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Navy. Annapolis, Maryland: U.S. Naval Institute. OCLC 1912.
- Vego, Milan (1982). "The Yugoslav Navy 1918–1941". Warship International. XIX (4): 342–361. ISSN 0043-0374.