Yugoslav torpedo boat T3

Yugoslav torpedo boat T3

300px The first of the 250t-class, T-group, 74 T
History
Austria-Hungary
Name:	78 T
Builder:	Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino
Laid down:	22 October 1913
Launched:	4 March 1914
Commissioned:	23 August 1914
Out of service:	1918
Fate:	Assigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Name:	T3
Acquired:	March 1921
Out of service:	April 1941
Fate:	Captured by Italy
Italy
Name:	T3
Acquired:	April 1941
Out of service:	16 September 1943
Fate:	Captured by German forces at Rijeka
Nazi Germany
Name:	TA48
Acquired:	16 September 1943
Out of service:	1945
Fate:	Sunk at Trieste by Allied bombing on 20 February 1945
Notes:	crewed by Croatian sailors
General characteristics
Class & type:	250t-class, T-group sea-going torpedo boat
Displacement:	262 t (258 long tons) 320 t (315 long tons) (full load)
Length:	58.2 m (190 ft 11 in)
Beam:	5.7 m (18 ft 8 in)
Draught:	1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)
Installed power:	5,000–6,000 shp (3,700–4,500 kW) 2 × Yarrow boilers
Propulsion:	2 × shafts 2 × Parsons steam turbines
Speed:	28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range:	980 nmi (1,810 km; 1,130 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement:	39 officers and enlisted
Armament:	2 × Škoda 66 mm (2.6 in) L/30 guns 4 × torpedo tubes 10–12 naval mines

The Yugoslav torpedo boat T3 was a 250t-class, T-group sea-going torpedo boat built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy as 78 T in 1914. She was armed with two Škoda 66 mm (2.6 in) L/30 guns, four torpedo tubes, and could carry 10–12 naval mines. She saw active service during World War I, performing convoy, escort and minesweeping tasks, and anti-submarine operations. Following Austria-Hungary's defeat in 1918, she was allocated to the Navy of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which subsequently became the Royal Yugoslav Navy, and was renamed T3.

During the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, she was captured by the Italians and after her main armament was modernised she served with the Royal Italian Navy under her Yugoslav designation. Following the Italian capitulation in September 1943, she was captured by Germany, and after she was fitted with additional anti-aircraft guns she served with the Kriegsmarine as TA48. In German service her crew of 52 consisted entirely of Croatian officers and enlisted men. She was sunk by Allied aircraft in February 1945 while in the port of Trieste.

Background

In 1910, the Austria-Hungary Naval Technical Committee initiated the design and development of a 275-long-ton (279 t) coastal torpedo boat, specifying that it should be capable of sustaining 30 knots (56 km/h) for 10 hours. This specification was based an expectation that the Strait of Otranto, where the Adriatic Sea meets the Ionian Sea, would be blockaded by hostile forces during a future conflict. In such circumstances, there would be a need for a torpedo boat that could sail from the Austro-Hungarian Navy (German: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine) base at Cattaro to the Strait during darkness, locate and attack blockading ships and return to port before morning. Steam turbine power was selected for propulsion, as diesels with the necessary power were not available, and the Austro-Hungarian Navy did not have the practical experience to run turbo-electric boats. Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino (STT) of Trieste was selected for the contract to build eight vessels, ahead of one other tenderer. The T-group designation signified the builder, STT.

Description and construction

The 250t-class, T-group boats had a waterline length of 58.2 m (190 ft 11 in), a beam of 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in), and a normal draught of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in). While their designed displacement was 262 tonnes (258 long tons), they displaced about 320 tonnes (310 long tons) fully loaded. The crew consisted of 39 officers and enlisted men. The boats were powered by a Parsons steam turbine driving two propellers, using steam generated by two Yarrow water-tube boilers, one of which burned fuel oil and the other coal. The turbine was rated at 5,000 shp (3,700 kW) with a maximum output of and designed to reach a top speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph). They carried of coal and of fuel oil, which gave them a range of 980 nmi (1,810 km; 1,130 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). The T-group had one funnel rather than the two funnels of the later groups of the class. Despite the specifications of the contract being very close to the requirements for the coastal torpedo boat, the STT boats were classified as sea-going.

The boats were originally to be armed with three Škoda 66 mm (2.6 in)L/30 guns, and three torpedo tubes, but this was changed to two guns and four torpedo tubes before the first boat was completed, in order to standardise the armament with the following F-group. They could also carry 10–12 naval mines. 78 T was the fifth of its class to be completed, and was laid down on 22 October 1913, launched on 4 March 1914, and completed on 23 August 1914. Eight T-group boats were completed between February and December 1914, designated 74 T – 81 T. In 1914, one 8 mm (0.31 in) machine gun was added.

Career

World War I and interwar period

The 250t-class, T-group were the first small Austro-Hungarian Navy boats to use turbines, and this contributed to ongoing problems with the boats. During World War I, 78 T was used for convoy, escort and minesweeping tasks, and anti-submarine operations, She also conducted patrols and supported seaplane raids against the Italian Adriatic coast. Due to inadequate funding, 78 T and the rest of the 250t-class were essentially coastal vessels, despite the original intention that they would be used for "high seas" operations. In 1917, one of the 66 mm (2.6 in) guns on each boat was placed on an anti-aircraft mount.

She survived the war intact, and under the terms of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye concluded in September 1919, she was allocated to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (KSCS, later Yugoslavia) in 1920, along with three other 250t class, T-group boats, 76 T, 77 T and 79 T, which all served with the Royal Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian: Kraljevska Jugoslovenska Ratna Mornarica, KJRM; Кpaљeвcкa Југословенска Pатна Морнарица). In KJRM service, 78 T was renamed T3.

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, T3 was assigned to the Southern Sector of the KJRM's Coastal Defence Command based at the Bay of Kotor, along with her sister ship T1 and a number of minesweepers and other craft. T3 was captured by the Royal Italian Navy (Italian: Regia Marinacode: it is deprecated ) and was operated by them under her Yugoslav designation. She was fitted with two L/30 anti-aircraft guns in place of her 66 mm (2.6 in) guns, but no other significant alterations were made to her.

When the Italians capitulated in September 1943, the German Navy (German: Kriegsmarine) seized T3 in the port of Rijeka and renamed her TA48. During her time in German service she was crewed exclusively by Croatian officers and sailors, and her complement was increased to 52. The Germans fitted her with two single 20 mm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft guns. She was active in the northern Adriatic but saw little action. She was sunk in the port of Trieste by Allied aircraft on 20 February 1945.