Yugoslav submarine Nebojša

a black and white photograph of a submarine underway on the surface
Nebojša's sister submarine Hrabri underway in 1934
Career (KSCS/Kingdom of Yugoslavia)
Name: Nebojša
Namesake: Fearless
Builder: Vickers-Armstrong Naval Yard, River Tyne, United Kingdom
Launched: 1927
In service: 1927–1945
Out of service: 1945
Career (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
Name: Tara
Acquired: 1945
Out of service: 1954
Fate: Scrapped in 1958
General characteristics
Class and type:Hrabri-class diesel-electric submarine
Displacement:975 long tons (991 t) (surfaced)
1,164 long tons (1,183 t) (submerged)
Length:72.05 m (236 ft 5 in)
Beam:7.32 m (24 ft)
Draught:3.96 m (13 ft)
Propulsion:
  • 2 × shafts
  • 2 × diesel engines 2,400 bhp (1,800 kW)
  • 2 × electric motors 1,600 shp (1,200 kW)
Speed:15.7 knots (29.1 km/h) (diesel)
10 knots (19 km/h) (electric)
Range:5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km) at 9 knots (17 km/h)
Test depth:60 metres (200 ft)
Complement:45
Armament:
  • 6 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (bow)
  • 12 × torpedoes
  • 2 × 102 mm (4 in) guns
  • 1 × machine gun

The Yugoslav submarine Nebojša was the second of the Hrabri-class diesel-electric submarines built by the Vickers-Armstrong Naval Yard, River Tyne, United Kingdom, for the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia) and was launched in 1927. Her design was based on that of the British L-class submarine of World War I, and she was built using parts originally assembled for a Royal Navy L-class submarine that was never built. She was armed with six bow-mounted 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes, two 102 mm (4 in) guns and one machine gun, and could dive to 60 metres (200 ft).

Prior to World War II Nebojša participated in cruises to several Mediterranean ports. During the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, she evaded capture by Italian forces, and joined British naval forces in the Mediterranean where she performed a training role. After the war she was taken over by the new Yugoslav government and renamed Tara. She was eventually stricken in 1954, and scrapped in 1958.

History

Description

Nebojša was built for the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia) by the Vickers-Armstrong Naval Yard, River Tyne, United Kingdom.[1] Her design was based on that of the British L-class submarine of World War I, and she was built using parts originally assembled for HMS L-68, which was never built.[2] Along with her sister ship of the Hrabri-class Hrabri, she had an overall length of 72.05 m (236 ft 5 in), a beam of 7.32 m (24 ft), and a surfaced draught of 3.96 m (13 ft). Her surfaced displacement was 975 long tons (991 t) (1,164 long tons (1,183 t) submerged), and her crew consisted of 45 officers and enlisted men.[1] She had an operational depth of 60 metres (200 ft).[3]

Construction

The ship had two shafts driven by two diesel engines or two electric motors. The diesel engines were rated at 2,400 bhp (1,800 kW) and the electric motors at 1,600 shp (1,200 kW), and she was designed to reach a top speed of 15.7 knots (29.1 km/h; 18.1 mph) under diesel power and 10 knots (19 km/h) on her electric motors. Nebojša was armed with six bow-mounted 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes, and carried twelve torpedoes.[4] She was also equipped with two 102 mm (4 in) guns (one forward and one aft of the conning tower), and one machine gun.[1] Her radius of action was 5,000 miles (8,000 km) at 9 knots (17 km/h).[5]

Career and fate

Nebojša was launched in 1927 as the second submarine of the navy of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which subsequently became the Royal Yugoslav Navy.[1] Along with her sister submarine Hrabri, she left the Tyne in late January 1928.[6] In company with the Yugoslav submarine tender Hvar, the two submarines arrived in the Bay of Kotor on the southern Adriatic coast on 8 April 1928.[7] In May and June 1929, Nebojša, Hrabri, Hvar and six torpedo boats accompanied the light cruiser Dalmacija on a cruise to Malta,[8] On 16 May 1930, Nebojša was exercising her crew at periscope depth near the entrance to the Bay of Kotor when she collided with a Yugoslav steamship. The damage was not serious and there were no injuries, but her forward 102 mm gun was lost overboard. The necessary repairs were carried out at the dockyard in the Bay of Kotor.[9]

In June and July 1930, Hrabri, Nebojša and the fleet auxiliary Sitnica again cruised the Mediterranean, visiting Alexandria and Beirut.[10] In 1932, the British naval attaché reported that Yugoslav ships engaged in few exercises, maneuvers or gunnery training due to reduced budgets.[11] In September 1933, Nebojša and the French-designed submarine Osvetnik cruised the southern part of the central Mediterranean.[12] In August 1936, Nebojša and Osvetnik visited the Greek island of Corfu.[13]

During the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, she evaded capture by Italian forces at the Bay of Kotor, arriving at Suda Bay, Crete on 23 April,[14] after eight days at sea.[15] The Italians had claimed they had sunk all the Yugoslav vessels.[5] She subsequently sailed to Alexandria, but the Royal Navy considered her unfit for combat duties. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill suggested her crew might be retrained and used on the recently captured German Type VIIC U-boat U-570, but this idea was soon abandoned.[16] She served with the British 2nd Submarine Flotilla in 1942 and the British 3rd Submarine Flotilla in 1943,[1] and she continued serving in the Mediterranean until the end of the war,[17] but this appears to have only been in a training role.[18]

After the war she served with the Yugoslav Navy as Tara until 1954 when she was stricken.[1][4] One of her guns was removed at the end of her career,[19] and she was eventually scrapped in 1958.[20]

Legacy

In 2011, to mark the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Yugoslavia, the Military Museum in Belgrade, Serbia hosted an exhibit which included a flag from the Nebojša.[21] In April 2013, the 85th anniversary of the arrival of the first Yugoslav submarines at the Bay of Kotor was marked by an event in Tivat, Montenegro attended by dozens of former Yugoslav submariners.[7]

See also

Footnotes

References

Books

  • Akermann, Paul (2002). Encyclopedia of British Submarines 1901–1955. Penzance, Cornwall: Periscope Publishing. ISBN 978-0-907771-42-5.
  • Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-962-7.
  • Blair, Clay (1996). Hitler's U-boat War: The Hunters, 1939–1942. New York, New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-297-86621-3.
  • Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922–1946. London, England: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-146-5.
  • Fontenoy, Paul E. (2007). Submarines: An Illustrated History of Their Impact. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-563-6.
  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1983). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1947–1982 The Warsaw Pact and Non-Aligned Nations. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. OCLC 165766596.
  • Jane's Publishing (1963). Jane's Fighting Ships 1963–64. London, England: Jane's Publishing. OCLC 35864977.
  • Jarman, Robert L., ed. (1997). Yugoslavia political diaries 1918–1965 2. Slough, Berkshire: Archives Edition. ISBN 978-1-85207-950-5.
  • Shores, Christopher F.; Cull, Brian; Malizia, Nicola (1987). Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece, and Crete, 1940–41. London, England: Grub Street. ISBN 978-0-948817-07-6.
  • Thomas, Nigel (1991). Foreign volunteers of the Allied Forces, 1939-45. London, England: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-85532-136-6.
  • Willmott, H.P. (2010). The Last Century of Sea Power: From Washington to Tokyo, 1922–1945. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-35214-9.

Periodicals

  • The Ottawa Journal (1 May 1941). "Official Reports". The Ottawa Journal 56 (121) (Ottawa, Ontario: The Ottawa Evening Journal). Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  • Hood, A.G. (1928). "The Jugo-Slavian Submarines Hrabri and Nebojsa". The Shipbuilder and Marine Engine-builder 35 (London, England: Shipbuilder Press).

Websites