Orjen-class torpedo boat

Orjen-class torpedo boat
Velebit photographed in 1939
Class overview
Builders:	Lürssen, Vegesack, Nazi Germany
Operators:	Yugoslav Royal Navy Regia Marina Kriegsmarine Yugoslav Navy
Built:	1936–1939
In commission:	1936–1963
Completed:	8
Lost:	6
Retired:	2
General characteristics (as completed)
Type:	Motor torpedo boat
Displacement:	61.7 tonnes (60.7 long tons) (full)
Length:	28 m (91 ft 10 in) (o/a)
Beam:	4.3 m (14 ft 1 in)
Draught:	1.51 m (4 ft 11 in)
Installed power:	3,300 hp (2,500 kW)
Propulsion:	Three shafts; 3 × petrol engines;
Speed:	31 kn (57 km/h; 36 mph)
Complement:	16–22
Armament:	2 × 550 mm (21.7 in) torpedo tubes 1 × 40 mm (1.6 in) gun

The Orjen-class was a class of eight motor torpedo boats built for the Royal Yugoslav Navy (Jugoslavenska kraljevska ratna mornarica; JKRM). The boats were built by the Lürssen Shipyard based on the German S-2 motor torpedo boats. At the start of the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, two boats managed to escape to Alexandria in Egypt where they continued serving with Allied forces. The remaining ones were captured by Italian forces and commissioned in the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy).

After the Italian Armistice in September 1943, the boats were taken over by German forces and commissioned in the Kriegsmarine, until they were finally scuttled in October 1944. The two boats that had escaped to the Allies in 1941 returned to Yugoslavia after the war. They were commissioned in the new Yugoslav Navy and remained in service until the early 1960s.

Background and description

During the early 1930s, Yugoslavia faced an economic recession brought on by the Great Depression, which was further complicated by internal political instability. In the mid-1930s, the Yugoslav government sought to improve relations with Italy and Germany to create new economic opportunities for the country. Such cooperation resulted in the acquisition of new German-constructed ships for the Royal Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian language: Jugoslavenska kraljevska ratna mornarica, JKRM), which had previously obtained ships from France and Great Britain. The first such deal came in 1936, when the navy ordered eight motor torpedo boats that were to be built by the Lürssen Shipyard, based on the existing German design of the S–2-class motor torpedo boat.

The boats measured 28 m (91 ft 10 in) in length overall, with a 4.3 m (14 ft 1 in) beam and a draught of 1.51 m (4 ft 11 in). Fully loaded, they displaced 61.7 tonnes (60.7 long tons). Main propulsion consisted of three Daimler-Benz 12-cylinder four-stroke petrol engines rated at 3,300 hp (2,500 kW), giving the boats a maximum speed of 31 kn (57 km/h; 36 mph). A Maybach cruising engine rated at 100 hp (75 kW) was also installed. Crew size varied between 16 and 22, depending on the source. Armament consisted of two 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes and a single 40 mm (1.6 in) anti-aircraft gun on the stern.

Boats

Name	Namesake	Builder	Launched	First Italian designation (1941)	Second Italian designation (1942)	German designation (September 1943)	First Yugoslav designation	Second Yugoslav designation
Orjen	Orjen	Lürssen, Vegesack, Nazi Germany	1936	MAS 3 D	MS 41	—	—	—
Durmitor	Durmitor		—	—	—	—	TČ 5	TČ 391
Suvobor	Suvobor		1937	MAS 7 D	MS 45	—	—	—
Kajmakčalan	Kajmakčalan		—	—	—	—	TČ 6	TČ 392
Velebit	Velebit		—	MAS 4 D	MS 42	S 601	—	—
Dinara	Dinara		1939	MAS 5 D	MS 43	S 602	—	—
Rudnik	Rudnik		1939	MAS 8 D	MS 46	S 604	—	—
Triglav	Triglav		1939	MAS 6 D	MS 44	S 603	—	—

Sources: Fraccaroli (1974, pp. 176–177), Chesneau (1997, p. 359), Paterson (2015, p. 216)

Service history

Royal Yugoslav Navy service

At the start of the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, seven of the eight Orjen-class boats and the two small Uskok-class boats were assigned to the 2nd Torpedo Division in Šibenik, with Velebit as division flagship. At the time, Orjen was being refitted at the Naval Arsenal at Tivat in the Bay of Kotor. On 11 April, a naval force consisting of several Orjen-class boats, among other ships, was expected to assist ground forces in attacking the Italian enclave of Zara which the Yugoslav High Command feared would be used as a bridgehead during the invasion. The attack, however, never materialized and the Yugoslav ships were instead attacked by Italian bombers forcing them to retreat to the Bay of Kotor. By 17 April the complete collapse of Yugoslav defences was imminent, prompting the commander of the 3rd Torpedo Boat Division, Ivan Kern, to suggest that Durmitor, Kajmakčalan, Dinara, Triglav, Rudnik and Suvobor sail out of the Bay of Kotor to evade capture by the Axis and continue their fight alongside Allied forces. Kern approached the commanding officers of Durmitor, Kajmakčalan, Rudnik and Suvobor with the idea, only to be rejected by all of them.

At the same time, unknown perpetrators sabotaged Triglav causing a fire, further deteriorating crew morale already hampered by desertion while Milan Spasić and Sergej Mašera died blowing up the destroyer Zagreb to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. Following this, Kern decided to sail out with just two boats, Durmitor and Kajmakčalan which he deemed had the most trustworthy crews, leaving the Bay of Kotor on 17 April. Because both boats were in poor condition and overloaded with personnel, the maximum speed they could achieve was no more than 29 knots. Before passing through the Strait of Otranto, the boats successfully evaded two groups of Italian ships. They finally arrived at Navarino Bay on 19 April before continuing to Souda Bay where they arrived 22 April. In Souda Bay Durmitor and Kajmakčalan were tasked with escorting a convoy to Alexandria protecting it from possible Stuka attacks. Once in Alexandria they reunited with the remaining JKRM forces that managed to escape, forming the JKRM in exile. The boats were first tasked with patrolling the outside of the harbor in anticipation of an attack by Axis coastal craft. In June they operated against Vichy French forces in Syria. In 1944 they were reported as being tasked with escorting convoys between Alexandria and Port Said. However, with time the serviceability of the boats became a problem because of the lack of spare parts needed for their German-built engines.

Axis service

The remaining six boats were captured by Italian forces and commissioned in the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy), receiving designations MAS 3—8 D, with "MAS" standing for Motoscafo Armato Silurante (English: Torpedo Armed Motorboat) and the prefix D denoting they were captured in Dalmatia. The captured boats were used as a model for the Italian-built CRDA 60 t motor torpedo boats, which were designated as Motosilurante ("MS", or English: Motor Torpedo Boat) to distinguish them from the smaller MAS boats already in Italian service. MAS 3—5 D formed the 24th MAS Squadron and were deployed in the Aegean Sea. The designations of the former Yugoslav boats were changed again in July 1942 to conform with the new "MS" prefix, and new numerals from 41 to 46. During their Italian service, the boats were re-armed. The original torpedo armament was replaced with two 21.7 in (550 mm) torpedo tubes, while the original 40 mm (1.6 in) gun was removed in favor of two 20 mm (0.79 in)/65 guns on MS 41—44 or one 40 mm (1.6 in)/43 gun and one 15 mm (0.59 in)/38 machine gun on MS 45—46. The boats were also equipped to carry 12 to 20 depth charges.

Following the Italian Armistice in September 1943, the majority of the boats were taken over by the Kriegsmarine. MS 41 was scuttled by its crew on 9 September at Monfalcone. Sources are inconsistent regarding the boat's aftermath; according to Italian sources it was raised and repaired by German forces before being sunk by a mine between Porto Corsini and Porto Garibaldi in October 1944. German sources on the other hand, claim it was never commissioned by the Kriegsmarine. MS 45 was also scuttled by its crew just a few days later, on 18 September at Cattolica. The remaining four boats, MS 42—44 and MS 46 were commissioned with the Kriegsmarine as S 601—604 respectively. They formed part of the 24th S-Boat Flotilla. Soon after their acquisition by the Germans, S 601 and S 603 were travelling from Piraeus in occupied Greece to the Bay of Kotor when S 603 suffered from a main engine failure. While operating on her cruising engine, she and S601 were attacked by four Royal Air Force Supermarine Spitfire fighter-bombers. One of the attackers was shot down by S 601, but both boats were damaged, and several crew on both boats were killed or wounded. They put into Corfu for repairs. On 22 February 1944, the two boats attempted to continue their voyage, but two carburettor fires on S 603 meant a return to port. This was followed by a fire during a test run, and several crew were badly burnt. Another attempt to leave began on 14 March, but S 603s cruising engine exploded, injuring two crewmen. Due to rough seas in the central Adriatic, the two boats were then diverted to Salamis, with S 601 towing her disabled sister boat. S 602 and S 604 had also been sent to Salamis.

By late March, S 601 was conducting anti-partisan operations following a British Special Boat Service raid on Stampalia. On 29 March, she intercepted and scuttled a 60 t (59 long tons; 66 short tons) sailing vessel carrying fuel near Oxeia. The following day she transported 20 German soldiers and towed the artillery lighter MAL12 to Oxeia to assist with mopping-up operations, but by the time they arrived, the enemy was gone. In late March, S 602—604 were loaded with ammunition and supplies, and sailed to Salonika, with S 603 still under tow, arriving on 18 April 1944. All four were sunk in October 1944 at Salonika.

Post-war service

After the end of the war, Durmitor and Kajmakčalan, along with other JKRM ships and personnel in exile, returned to Šibenik in May 1945. They were commissioned in the new Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian language: Jugoslavenska ratna mornarica; JRM) as TČ 5 and TČ 6, later being redesignated as TČ 391 and TČ 392. Both were stricken in 1963.

See also

• List of ships of the Royal Yugoslav Navy
• List of ships of the Yugoslav Navy

References

Books

• Brescia, Maurizio (2012). Mussolini's Navy. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59114-544-8. 
• Chesneau, Roger (1997). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–46. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-146-5. 
• Durham Divine, Arthur (1944). Navies in Exile. E. P. Dutton. http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015027337420;view=1up;seq=221. Retrieved 3 November 2014. 
• Fraccaroli, Aldo (1974). Italian Warships of World War II. London: Ian Allan Publishing. OCLC 834485650. http://www.worldcat.org/title/italian-warships-of-world-war-ii-aldo-fraccaroli/oclc/460385051. Retrieved 27 April 2015. 
• Gardiner, Robert (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-605-7. http://books.google.hr/books/about/Conway_s_All_the_World_s_Fighting_Ships.html?id=3hlwQAAACAAJ&redir_esc=y. Retrieved 3 November 2014. 
• Lampe, John R. (2000). Yugoslavia as History: Twice There Was a Country. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-77401-7. https://books.google.hr/books?id=AZ1x7gvwx_8C&printsec=frontcover&hl=hr#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2 January 2016. 
• Paterson, Lawrence (2015). Schnellboote: A Complete Operational History. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-083-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=w34ACwAAQBAJ. 
• Rahten, Andrej (2010). Tvorci slovenske pomorske identitete. Založba ZRC. ISBN 978-961-254-204-7. https://books.google.hr/books?id=YMszz8h8MlwC&dq=ivan+kern+durmitor&hl=hr&source=gbs_navlinks_s. Retrieved 28 April 2015. 
• Thomas, Nigel; McCouaig, Simon (1991). Foreign Volunteers of the Allied Forces 1939–45. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85532-136-6. http://books.google.hr/books?id=PsSZSQt8VLcC&hl=hr&source=gbs_navlinks_s. Retrieved 1 November 2014. 
• Tucker, Spencer (2012). World War II at Sea: An Encyclopedia - Volume 1. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-59884-457-3. https://books.google.hr/books?id=N0nrSWUHx6sC&dq=yugoslav+navy+zara+attack+torpedo+boat&hl=hr&source=gbs_navlinks_s. Retrieved 28 April 2015. 

Other sources

• "Izveštaj štaba odelja vrhovne komande Kraljevine Jugoslavije od 16. Avgusta 1944. ministru vojske, mornarice i vazduhoplovstva o stanju vojske, mornarice i vazduhoplovstva na dan 16. Avgusta 1944. godine". Report by the Command of the Section of the Supreme Command of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia for 16 August 1944 to the Secretary of Army, Navy and Air Force About the State of the Army, Navy and Air Force on 16 August 1944. 16 August 1944. http://www.znaci.net/zb/4_14_4_209.htm. Retrieved 10 January 2016. 
• Niehorster, Dr. Leo (2016). "Balkan Operations Order of Battle Royal Yugoslavian Navy 6th April 1941". Dr. Leo Niehorster. http://www.niehorster.org/040_yugoslavia/41-04-06/navy.html. Retrieved 25 August 2016. 
• Vujičić, Dragan (4 May 2014). "Na Hitlera iz Afrike". Against Hitler from Africa. Novosti a.d.. http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/reportaze/aktuelno.293.html:490068-Na-Hitlera-iz-Afrike. Retrieved 27 April 2015.