Yugoslav destroyer Zagreb

Zagreb was the second of three Beograd-class destroyers built for the Royal Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian: Kraljevska Jugoslovenska Ratna Mornarica, KJRM) in the late 1930s. The first warship built in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, her main armament consisted of four Škoda 120 mm (4.7 in) guns. Yugoslavia entered World War II as a consequence of the German-led Axis invasion of that country in April 1941. During the invasion, two of her officers scuttled her at the Bay of Kotor on 17 April 1941 to prevent her capture by approaching Italian forces. Both officers were killed by the explosion of the scuttling charges. A French film was made in 1967 about her demise and the deaths of the two officers. In 1973, on the thirtieth anniversary of the formation of the Yugoslav Navy, both men were posthumously awarded the Order of the People's Hero by President Josip Broz Tito.

Zagreb's sister ship Beograd (right) and Dubrovnik (left) in the Bay of Kotor after being captured by Italy
History
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Name: Zagreb
Namesake: Zagreb
Commissioned: August 1939
Out of service: 17 April 1941
Fate: Scuttled by crew on 17 April 1941
General characteristics
Class and type: Beograd-class destroyer
Displacement:
Length: 98 m (321 ft 6 in)
Beam: 9.45 m (31 ft)
Draught: 3.18 m (10 ft 5 in)
Installed power:
Propulsion:
Speed: 38 knots (70 km/h; 44 mph)
Complement: 145
Armament:
  • 4 × single 120 mm (4.7 in) guns
  • 2 × dual 40 mm (1.6 in) AA guns
  • 2 × triple 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes
  • 2 × machine guns
  • 30 naval mines

Background

In the early 1930s, the Royal Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian: Kraljevska Jugoslavenska Ratna Mornarica, KJRM) pursued the flotilla leader concept, which involved building large destroyers similar to the Royal Navy V and W-class destroyers of World War I.[1] In the interwar French Navy, these ships were intended to operate as half-flotillas of three ships, or with one flotilla leader operating alongside several smaller destroyers. The KJRM decided to build three such flotilla leaders, ships that could reach high speeds and would have long endurance. The endurance requirement reflected Yugoslav plans to deploy the ships to the central Mediterranean, where they would be able to operate alongside French and British warships. This resulted in the construction of the destroyer Dubrovnik in 1930–1931. Soon after she was ordered, the onset of the Great Depression and resulting naval budget cuts meant that only one ship of the planned half-flotilla was ever built.[2] Despite the fact that the other two large destroyers were not going to be built, the idea persisted that Dubrovnik might lead a flotilla consisting of several smaller destroyers. In 1934, the KJRM decided to acquire three such destroyers to operate in a division led by Dubrovnik.[3]

Description and construction

The Beograd class was developed from a French destroyer design, and the second ship of the class, Zagreb, was built by Jadranska brodogradilišta at Split, Yugoslavia, under French supervision.[4] The shipyard she was constructed in was jointly owned by Yarrow and Chantiers de la Loire.[5] The ship had an overall length of 98 m (321 ft 6 in), a beam of 9.45 m (31 ft), and a normal draught of 3.18 m (10 ft 5 in). Her standard displacement was 1,210 tonnes (1,190 long tons), and she displaced 1,655 tonnes (1,629 long tons) at full load. The ship was powered by Parsons geared steam turbines driving two propellers, using steam generated by three Yarrow water-tube boilers. Her turbines were rated at 40,000 shp (30,000 kW) and she was designed to reach a top speed of 38 knots (70 km/h; 44 mph). She carried 120 tonnes (120 long tons) of fuel oil.[6] Although data is not available for Zagreb, her sister ship Beograd had a radius of action of 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km; 1,200 mi).[7] The crew consisted of 145 officers and enlisted men.[6]

Her main armament consisted of four Škoda 120 mm (4.7 in) L/46[lower-alpha 1] superfiring guns in single mounts, two forward of the superstructure and two aft, protected by gun shields.[6][8][9] Her secondary armament consisted of four Škoda 40 mm (1.6 in) anti-aircraft guns[10] in two twin mounts, located on either side of the aft shelter deck.[11] She was also equipped with two triple mounts of 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes and two machine guns.[6] Her fire-control system was provided by the Dutch firm of Hazemayer.[8] As built, she could also carry 30 naval mines.[6] She was laid down in 1936[8][12] and launched on 30 March 1938.[6] Zagreb was the first warship to be built in Yugoslavia.[13] Her launching ceremony was overseen by the wife of the Minister of Army and Navy[5] and a public holiday was declared to mark the occasion.[13] The destroyer was commissioned into the KJRM in August 1939.[11]

Career

At the time of the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, Zagreb and her sister ship Beograd were allocated to the 1st Torpedo Division at the Bay of Kotor.[14] From the outbreak of war on 6 April, there were Axis air attacks on the ships and shore installations in the Bay of Kotor, but despite near misses Zagreb was not hit by any bombs. During the days following the invasion, Zagreb and other ships were moved to different locations within the bay and camouflaged. On 16 April, the ship's crew were informed of the imminent surrender of the Yugoslav armed forces, and were ordered not to resist the enemy any further. A large proportion of the crew left the ship upon receiving this news. The following day, with Italian forces closing on the Bay of Kotor, two junior officers, Milan Spasić and Sergej Mašera, forced the captain and remaining crew from the ship and set scuttling charges to prevent her capture. Both officers were killed in the explosions.[15][16] Most of the ship sank to the bottom of the bay, while portions of it that remained on the surface burned over the following days.[17] Spasić's remains washed ashore on 21 April, and were given a full military funeral by Italian forces on 5 May. Mašera's severed head also washed up and was secretly buried by locals.[15]

The destruction of Zagreb was portrayed in the 1967 French film Flammes sur l'Adriatique (Adriatic Sea of Fire), which was directed by Alexandre Astruc, and starred Gérard Barray. The film was partly filmed on location in Yugoslavia, and was released in France in 1968.[18] In 1973, on the thirtieth anniversary of the establishment of the Yugoslav Navy, the President of Yugoslavia and wartime Partisan leader Josip Broz Tito posthumously awarded both officers the Order of the People's Hero for their courage. In the mid-1980s, Mašera's head was disinterred and forensically identified, after which it was buried at a cemetery in Ljubljana (in modern-day Slovenia).[15] A portion of Zagreb's bow is kept on display at the Maritime Museum of Montenegro in Kotor.[16]

Notes
  1. L/46 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/46 gun is 46 calibre, meaning that the gun was 46 times as long as the diameter of its bore.

Footnotes
  1. Freivogel 2014, p. 83.
  2. Freivogel 2014, p. 84.
  3. Jarman 1997a, p. 543.
  4. Chesneau 1980, pp. 357–358.
  5. Great Britain and the East 1938, p. 388.
  6. Chesneau 1980, p. 357.
  7. Lenton 1975, p. 106.
  8. Jarman 1997a, p. 738.
  9. Campbell 1985, p. 394.
  10. Freivogel & Grobmeier 2006, p. 362.
  11. Whitley 1988, p. 312.
  12. Cernuschi & O'Hara 2005, p. 99.
  13. Jarman 1997b, p. 92.
  14. Niehorster 2016.
  15. Luković 2016.
  16. Maritime Museum of Montenegro 2007.
  17. Cafe del Montenegro 2017.
  18. La Cinémathèque française 2001.
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References

Books, journals and news
  • "Addition to Yugoslavia's Fleet". Great Britain and the East. London, UK: Brittain. 1938. p. 388. OCLC 183360562.
  • Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. London, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-329-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Freivogel, Zvonimir (2014). "From Glasgow to Genoa under Three Flags – The Yugoslav Flotilla Leader Dubrovnik" (PDF). Voennyi Sbornik. Sochi, Russian Federation: Academic Publishing House Researcher. 4 (2): 83–88. ISSN 2309-6322. Retrieved 25 October 2014.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Freivogel, Zvonimir & Grobmeier, A. H. (2006). "Question 36/05: Armament of Yugoslav Destroyer Leader Split". Warship International. XLIII (4): 362. ISSN 0043-0374.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Cernuschi, Enrico & O'Hara, Vincent O. (2005). "The Star-Crossed Split". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2005. London, UK: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 97–110. ISBN 978-1-84486-003-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922–1946. London, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-146-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Jarman, Robert L., ed. (1997a). Yugoslavia Political Diaries 1918–1965. 2. Slough, Berkshire: Archives Edition. ISBN 978-1-85207-950-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Jarman, Robert L., ed. (1997b). Yugoslavia Political Diaries 1918–1965. 3. Slough, Berkshire: Archives Edition. ISBN 978-1-85207-950-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Lenton, H.T. (1975). German Warships of the Second World War. London, UK: Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN 978-0-356-04661-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-326-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Websites
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