Yugoslav torpedo boat T6

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T6
a black and white photograph of a small ship underway
T6's sister ship, T3, the only significant external difference was that T6 had two funnels
History
Austria-Hungary
Name93 F then 93
BuilderGanz & Danubius
Laid down9 January 1915
Launched25 November 1915
Commissioned4 April 1916
Out of serviceNovember 1918
FateAssigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
NameT6
AcquiredMarch 1921
Out of serviceApril 1941
FateCaptured by Italy
Italy
NameT6
AcquiredApril 1941
Out of serviceSeptember 1943
FateScuttled by crew 11 September 1943
General characteristics
Class and type250t-class, F-group sea-going torpedo boat
Displacement
  • 243.9 t (240 long tons)
  • 267 t (263 long tons) (full load)
Length58.76 m (192 ft 9 in)
Beam5.84 m (19 ft 2 in)
Draught1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed28–29 kn (52–54 km/h; 32–33 mph)
Range1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement41
Armament

T6 was a sea-going

torpedo tubes, and could carry 10–12 naval mines. She saw active service during World War I, performing convoy, escort, patrol and minesweeping tasks, and anti-submarine operations
. In 1917 the suffixes of all Austro-Hungarian torpedo boats were removed, and thereafter she was referred to as 93.

Following Austria-Hungary's defeat in 1918, 93 was allocated to the Navy of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which later became the Royal Yugoslav Navy, and was renamed T6. At the time, she and the seven other 250t-class boats were the only modern sea-going vessels of the fledgling maritime force. During the interwar period, T6 and the rest of the navy were involved in training exercises and cruises to friendly ports, but activity was limited by reduced naval budgets. The boat was captured by the Italians during the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. After her main armament was modernised, she served with the Royal Italian Navy under her Yugoslav designation, conducting coastal and second-line escort duties in the Adriatic Sea. Immediately following the Italian capitulation in September 1943, she was scuttled by her crew as she had insufficient fuel on board to reach an Allied port.

Background

In 1910, the

turbo-electric boats.[2] Despite having developed these ideas, the Austro-Hungarian Navy then asked shipyards to submit proposals for a 250 t (250-long-ton) boat with a maximum speed of 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph).[1] Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino (STT) of Triest was selected for the contract to build the first eight vessels, designated as the T-group. Another tender was requested for four more boats, but when Ganz & Danubius reduced their price by ten per cent, a total of sixteen boats were ordered from them, designated the F-group.[2] The F-group designation signified the location of Ganz & Danubius' main shipyard at Fiume.[4]

Description and construction

Further information: 250t-class torpedo boat § F-group

The

kW) with a maximum output of 6,000 shp (4,500 kW) and were designed to propel the boats to a top speed of 28–29 kn (52–54 km/h; 32–33 mph).[6] They carried 20.2 tonnes (19.9 long tons) of coal and 31 tonnes (30.5 long tons) of fuel oil, which gave them a range of 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph).[7] The F-group had two funnels rather than the single funnel of the T-group.[2] 93 T and the rest of the 250t class were classified as high seas torpedo boats by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, despite being smaller than the original concept for a coastal torpedo boat.[1][8] The naval historian Zvonimir Freivogel states that this type of situation was common due to the parsimony of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.[1] They were the first small Austro-Hungarian Navy boats to use turbines, and this contributed to ongoing problems with them,[2] which had to be progressively solved once they were in service.[5] The crew consisted of three officers and thirty-eight enlisted men.[9] The vessel carried one 4 m (13 ft) yawl as a ship's boat.[10]

The boats were armed with two Škoda 66 mm (2.6 in) L/30[a] guns, with the forward gun mounted on the forecastle, and the aft gun on the quarterdeck.[7] A 40 cm (16 in) searchlight was mounted above the bridge.[12] They were also armed with four 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes mounted in pairs, with one pair mounted between the forecastle and bridge, and the other aft of the mainmast.[7] One 8 mm (0.31 in) Schwarzlose M.7/12 machine gun carried 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] The boat could also carry 10–12 naval mines.[4]

The fifth of the F-group to be completed at Ganz-Danubius' main shipyard at Fiume,[14] 93 F was laid down on 9 January 1915, launched on 25 November,[15] and commissioned on 4 April 1916.[14]

Career

World War I

The original concept of operation for the 250t-class boats was that they would sail in a flotilla at the rear of a cruising battle formation, and were to intervene in fighting only if the battleships around which the formation was established were disabled, or in order to attack damaged enemy battleships.[16] When a torpedo attack was ordered, it was to be led by a scout cruiser, supported by two destroyers to repel any enemy torpedo boats. A group of four to six torpedo boats would deliver the attack under the direction of the flotilla commander.[17] On 3 May 1916, 93 F and five other 250-class torpedo boats were accompanying four destroyers when they were involved in a surface action off Porto Corsini against an Italian force led by the flotilla leaders Cesare Rossarol and Guglielmo Pepe. On this occasion the Austro-Hungarian force retreated behind a minefield without damage.[18][19] On 12 June, 93 F and her M-group sisters 98 M and 99 M were tasked to search for the Nembo-class destroyer Zeffiro and two small torpedo boats after they had attacked the town of Parenzo on the west Istrian coast, but the Italian ships escaped unharmed,[20] apart from Zeffiro which was damaged in an attack by seaplanes.[21] On 12 and 13 July, 93 F conducted trials with new smoke generators.[20] On 29 October she underwent repairs at the main Austro-Hungarian naval base at Pola in the northern Adriatic.[22]

In 1917, one of 93 F'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.

Bojana river that marks the border between Montenegro and Albania, when an unidentified Allied submarine fired a torpedo at her, but it passed under her hull without exploding. During 1917, 93 conducted further minesweeping missions, and escorted 36 convoys.[27]

On 1 February 1918,

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (from 1929, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia).[33]

Interwar period

The Austro-Hungarian Empire sued for peace in November 1918, and 93 survived the war intact.[2] Immediately after the Austro-Hungarian capitulation, French troops occupied the Bocche, which was treated by the Allies as Austro-Hungarian territory.[34] During the French occupation, the captured Austro-Hungarian Navy ships moored at the Bocche were neglected, and 93's original torpedo tubes were destroyed or damaged by French troops.[35] In 1920, under the terms of the previous year's Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye by which rump Austria officially ended World War I, 93 was allocated to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Along with 87, 96 and 97, and four 250t-class T-group boats, she served with the Royal Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian Latin: Kraljevska Mornarica, KM; Краљевска Морнарица). Transferred in March 1921,[36] in KM service, 93 was renamed T6.[4] When the navy was formed, she and the other seven 250t-class boats were the only modern sea-going vessels in the KM.[37] New torpedo tubes of the same size were ordered from the Strojne Tovarne factory in Ljubljana.[7] In KM service T6 was rearmed with a single Bofors 40 mm (1.6 in) L/60 gun, and was also fitted with two Zbrojovka 15 mm (0.59 in) machine guns.[7] Her crew was increased to 52,[9] and she was commissioned in 1923.[38]

In 1925, exercises were conducted off the Dalmatian coast, involving the majority of the navy.[39] In May and June 1929, six of the eight 250t-class torpedo boats – including T6 – accompanied the light cruiser Dalmacija, the submarine tender Hvar and the submarines Hrabri and Nebojša, on a cruise to Malta, the Greek island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea, and Bizerte in the French protectorate of Tunisia.[40] The ships and crews made a very good impression while visiting Malta.[41] In 1932, the British naval attaché reported that Yugoslav ships engaged in few exercises, manoeuvres or gunnery training due to reduced budgets.[42] By 1939, the maximum speed achieved by the 250t class in Yugoslav service had declined to 24 kn (44 km/h; 28 mph).[9]

World War II

In April 1941, Yugoslavia entered World War II when it was invaded by the German-led Axis powers. At the time of the invasion, T6 was assigned to the 3rd Torpedo Division located at Šibenik, which also included her sisters T3, T5 and T7. On the first day of the invasion, 6 April, they were anchored across the entrance of the St. Anthony Channel that links Šibenik Bay to the Adriatic, on a line between Jadrija on the northern side of the channel and Zablaće on the southern side, when aircraft of the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) attacked Šibenik.[38] On the same day, Kapetan bojnog broda[c] Ivan Kern arrived to take command of the division, and the four boats sailed up the channel towards Šibenik then north to Zaton where they were again attacked unsuccessfully by Italian bombers.[44] T3 incurred boiler damage and was sent south to Primošten for repairs to be undertaken.[38]

On 8 April more unsuccessful Italian air attacks on the three remaining boats occurred, and the only effective anti-aircraft gun between them – the 40 mm (1.6 in) gun on T6 – malfunctioned. The three vessels then sailed east across

Milna on the island of Brač. While overnighting at Šibenik, T6's crew saw the crew of the Uskok-class torpedo boat Četnik desert their boat during the night. T6 sailed to Milna on 12 April. Kern was unable to obtain orders from Šibenik Command by telephone, so took the other Uskok-class boat Uskok to try to obtain some. His second-in-command was unable to maintain order, and a third of the crews of the division deserted. When Kern returned, he gave orders to sail to the Bay of Kotor,[46] but the crews of the division refused to follow his orders.[49] Kern retrieved his personal gear from T7 and taking command of Uskok, sailed to the Bay of Kotor.[46] Eventually Kern fled into exile with other KM vessels.[50] On 13 April, the Orjen-class torpedo boat Triglav arrived with orders that the division should return to Šibenik to evacuate the staff of Šibenik Command. The first order was complied with, but upon arrival at Šibenik the boat crews were given the choice of returning to their homes or sailing to Split to join the NDH navy. T6's commander, a Slovene, was not interested in serving in a Croatian navy, and abandoned his vessel. The boats then sailed to nearby Divulje, to follow through on an intention to join NDH navy,[44][46] but T6, along with the other boats of the division were then captured by the Italians.[51]

T6 was then operated by the Italians under her Yugoslav designation, conducting coastal and second-line escort duties in the Adriatic. Her main guns were replaced by two 76.2 mm (3 in) L/30 anti-aircraft guns,

prisoners of war.[22]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 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.[11]
  2. ^ Linienschiffsleutnant in the Austro-Hungarian Navy was roughly equivalent to a contemporary British Royal Navy lieutenant or lieutenant commander depending on years of experience.[24]
  3. ^ Kapetan bojnog broda in the KM was equivalent to a contemporary British Royal Navy captain.[43]

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d Freivogel 2022, p. 60.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Gardiner 1985, p. 339.
  3. ^ Freivogel 2022, p. 59.
  4. ^ a b c d Greger 1976, p. 58.
  5. ^ a b c Freivogel 2020, p. 102.
  6. ^ a b Freivogel 2022, p. 70.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Freivogel 2020, p. 115.
  8. ^ O'Hara, Worth & Dickson 2013, pp. 26–27.
  9. ^ a b c d Freivogel 2020, p. 103.
  10. ^ Freivogel 2022, p. 65.
  11. ^ Friedman 2011, p. 294.
  12. ^ Freivogel 2022, pp. 64–65.
  13. ^ Freivogel 2022, p. 67.
  14. ^ a b Freivogel 2022, p. 63.
  15. ^ Greger 1976, p. 60.
  16. ^ Freivogel 2019, p. 68.
  17. ^ Freivogel 2019, p. 69.
  18. ^ Cernuschi & O'Hara 2015, p. 170.
  19. ^ Freivogel 2019, p. 233.
  20. ^ a b Freivogel 2022, p. 101.
  21. ^ Freivogel 2019, p. 236.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h Freivogel 2022, p. 102.
  23. ^ Freivogel 2022, p. 66.
  24. ^ Freivogel 2022, p. 148.
  25. ^ Freivogel 2022, p. 145.
  26. ^ Freivogel 2022, p. 79.
  27. ^ Freivogel 2022, pp. 102 & 104.
  28. ^ Freivogel 2019, pp. 358–360.
  29. ^ Freivogel & Rastelli 2015, p. 360.
  30. ^ Freivogel 2019, p. 360.
  31. ^ Freivogel 2022, p. 146.
  32. ^ Freivogel 2022, p. 93.
  33. ^ Ramet 2006, pp. 42–44.
  34. ^ Djukanović 2023, p. 11.
  35. ^ Freivogel 2020, p. 12.
  36. ^ Vego 1982, p. 345.
  37. ^ Chesneau 1980, p. 355.
  38. ^ a b c Freivogel 2020, p. 104.
  39. ^ Jarman 1997a, p. 733.
  40. ^ Adriatic Guard 1930.
  41. ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 183.
  42. ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 451.
  43. ^ Freivogel 2020, p. 348.
  44. ^ a b c Freivogel 2020, p. 116.
  45. ^ Freivogel & Rastelli 2015, p. 97.
  46. ^ a b c d Freivogel & Rastelli 2015, p. 98.
  47. ^ Terzić 1982, p. 333.
  48. ^ Freivogel 2020, p. 25.
  49. ^ Terzić 1982, p. 404.
  50. ^ Freivogel & Rastelli 2015, pp. 100–101.
  51. ^ Greger 1976, pp. 58 & 60.
  52. ^ Brescia 2012, p. 151.
  53. ^ Freivogel 2020, pp. 116 & 119.
  54. ^ Freivogel 2020, p. 119.
  55. ^ Freivogel 2020, p. 124.
  56. ^ Freivogel & Rastelli 2015, pp. 126 & 130.
  57. ^ Freivogel 2022, pp. 102 & 117.
  58. ^ Brown 1995, p. 92.

References

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