| Yugoslav destroyer Split | |
|---|---|
| Career (Kingdom of Yugoslavia) |  |
| Name: | Split |
| Namesake: | City of Split |
| Builder: | Yarrow Shipbuilders, Split |
| Laid down: | July 1939 |
| Career (SFR Yugoslavia) |  |
| Name: | Split |
| Acquired: | March, 1950 |
| Commissioned: | July, 1958 |
| Decommissioned: | 1980 |
| Struck: | 2 February 1984[1] |
| Fate: | scrapped 1986[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: |
2,400 long tons (2,400 t) standard 3,000 long tons (3,000 t) full load |
| Length: | 120 m (393 ft 8 in) |
| Beam: | 12 m (39 ft 4 in) |
| Draught: | 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in) |
| Propulsion: |
2 shaft Parsons-type geared steam turbines 2 boilers 50,000 hp |
| Speed: | 31.5 knots (36.2 mph; 58.3 km/h) |
| Range: | 6,600 nmi (12,200 km) at 13 knots (15 mph; 24 km/h) |
| Complement: | 240 |
| Armament: |
(as completed) • 4 × 1 5"/38 caliber guns • 12 × Bofors 40mm guns • 5 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (5x1) 2 Hedgehog anti-submarine mortars • 40 mines |
The Yugoslav destroyer Split was a destroyer built for the Yugoslav Navy in 1938. She was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders and was named after the city of the same name. She was acquired in 1950 and was commissioned in July 1958 and was decommissioned in 1980.
Design[]
The Yugoslav Navy decided to order a new large destroyer in the late 1930s to follow the Dubrovnik with an updated version significantly larger than her predecessor. The French company Chantiers de Loire helped with design work basing the ship on the Le Fantasque class destroyer. The machinery was supplied by Yarrow Shipbuilders and the guns by Skoda (Czechoslovakia) and Bofors (Sweden).
The designed armament was
- 5 - 140mm guns in single mountings
- 10 - 40mm guns (5x2)
- 5 - 15mm machine guns
- 6 - 533mm torpedo tubes (2x3)
The ship was laid down in 1939 with material supplied from France and Britain. By the time war with Italy broke out in 1940, 600 tons of material had been delivered. The guns from Skoda and Bofors were embargoed due to the war.
World War II[]
When the city of Split was captured by the Axis, the hull remained undamaged and Regia Marina decided to complete the ship. New machinery was ordered from Tosi, and 135mm, 37mm, and 20mm guns replaced the Czech and Swedish weapons. The incomplete ship was launched in July 1943 but Italy's Armistice with the Allies led to her being scuttled in Split harbour. The Germans salvaged the wreck but did not seriously consider completing her. When Yugoslav Partisans and Royal Marines liberated the city of Split the hull was found half sunken next to the yard's fitting out dock.
Postwar completion[]
The war damage to the Split yard led the Yugoslavs to tow the hull to Rijeka for completion by the 3 Maj yard. The Yugoslavs received assistance from Great Britain, which supplied new boilers and turbines, and the USA which supplied guns and fire control equipment. The ship was finally commissioned in late 1958.
Service[]
Split served as flagship of the Yugoslav Navy until the mid-1970s when a boiler explosion led to her being relegated to a stationary training ship. She was decommissioned in 1980, officially deleted on 2 February 1984 and scrapped in 1986.[1]
References[]
Bibliography[]
- Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995
- E.Cernushci & V.P O'Hara. "The Star Crossed Split" in Warship 2005 Conways maritime Press
The original article can be found at Yugoslav destroyer Split and the edit history here.