 One ofT4'ssister ships,T3 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Austria-Hungary | |
| Name | 79 T then79 |
| Builder | Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino |
| Laid down | 1 December 1913 |
| Launched | 30 April 1914 |
| Commissioned | 1 October 1914 |
| Out of service | 1 November 1918 |
| Fate | Assigned to theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes |
 Kingdom of Yugoslavia | |
| Name | T4 |
| Acquired | March 1921 |
| Commissioned | 1923 |
| Out of service | 1932 |
| Fate | Stranded then scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | 250t-class, T-group sea-goingtorpedo boat |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 57.84 m (189 ft 9 in) |
| Beam | 5.75 m (18 ft 10 in) |
| Draught | 1.54 m (5 ft 1 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 28knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) |
| Range | 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Complement | 41 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
T4 was a seagoingtorpedo boat operated by theRoyal Yugoslav Navy between 1921 and 1932. Originally79 T, a250t-class torpedo boat of theAustro-Hungarian Navy built in 1914, she was armed with two 66 mm (2.6 in) guns and four 450 mm (17.7 in)torpedo tubes, and could carry 10–12naval mines. She saw active service duringWorld War I, performingconvoy, patrol, escort andminesweeping tasks,anti-submarine operations andshore bombardment missions. In 1917, the suffixes of all Austro-Hungarian torpedo boats were removed, and thereafter she was referred to as79. Underway duringthe short-lived mutiny by Austro-Hungarian sailors in early February 1918, her captain realised the danger and put her crew ashore. She was part of the escort force for the Austro-HungariandreadnoughtSzent István during the action that resulted in the sinking of that ship byItalian torpedo boats in June 1918.
FollowingAustria-Hungary's defeat in 1918,79 was allocated to the Navy of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which later became the Royal Yugoslav Navy, and was renamedT4. At the time, she and the seven other 250t-class boats were the only modern sea-going vessels of the fledgling maritime force. During theinterwar period,T4 and the rest of the navy were involved in training exercises and cruises to friendly ports, but activity was limited by reduced naval budgets. In 1932, she ran aground on the island ofDrvenik Mali off the centralDalmatian coast and thehull broke in half. Thebow remained on the island, and thestern was towed to theTivat Arsenal in theBay of Kotor. As a result, it became a standing joke among Yugoslav sailors that this madeT4 the "world's longest torpedo boat". Eventually, both sections were scrapped where they were.
In 1910, theAustria-Hungary Naval Technical Committee initiated the design and development of a 275-tonne (271-long-ton) coastaltorpedo boat, specifying that it should be capable of sustaining 30knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) for 10 hours.[1][2] At the same time, the committee issued design parameters for a high seas or fleet torpedo boat of 500–550 t (490–540 long tons), top speed of 30 kn and endurance of 480 nautical miles (890 km; 550 mi). This design would have been a larger and better-armed vessel than the existing Austro-Hungarian 400-tonne (390-long-ton)Huszár-classdestroyers.[3] The specification for the high seas torpedo boat was based on an expectation that theStrait of Otranto, where theAdriatic Sea meets theIonian Sea, would beblockaded by hostile forces during a future conflict. In such circumstances, there would be a need for a torpedo boat that could sail from theAustro-Hungarian Navy (German:kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, Hungarian:Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) base at theBocche di Cattaro (the Bocche or Bay of Kotor) to the strait during the night, locate and attack blockading ships and return to port before morning.Steam turbine power was selected for propulsion, asdiesels with the necessary power were not available, and the Austro-Hungarian Navy did not have the practical experience to runturbo-electric boats.[2] Despite having developed these ideas, the Austro-Hungarian Navy then asked shipyards to submit proposals for a 250 t (250-long-ton) boat with a maximum speed of 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph).[1]Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino (STT) ofTriest was selected for the contract to build eight vessels, the T group, ahead of one other tenderer.[2] The T-group designation signified that they were built at Triest.[4]
The250t-class, T-group boats had short raisedforecastles and an openbridge, and were fast and agile, well designed for service in the Adriatic.[5] They had awaterline length of 57.84 m (189 ft 9 in), abeam of 5.75 m (18 ft 10 in), and a normaldraught of 1.54 m (5 ft 1 in). Their designeddisplacement was 262 tonnes (258 long tons), but they displaced about 267.3 tonnes (263 long tons) fully loaded.[6] The boats were powered by twoParsons steam turbines driving twopropellers, using steam generated by twoYarrowwater-tube boilers, one of which burnedfuel oil and the other coal.[7] There were two boiler rooms, one behind the other.[5] The turbines were rated at 5,000–5,700shaft horsepower (3,700–4,300 kW) and designed to propel the boats to a top speed of 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph), although a maximum speed of 29.2 kn (54.1 km/h; 33.6 mph) could be achieved. They carried 18.2 t (17.9 long tons) of coal and 24.3 t (23.9 long tons) of fuel oil, which gave them a range of 1,000nautical miles (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph).[7] The T group had onefunnel rather than the two funnels of the later groups of the class.[2] The Austro-Hungarian Navy classified79 T and the rest of the 250t class as high seas torpedo boats despite being smaller than the original concept for a coastal torpedo boat.[1][8] The naval historian Zvonimir Freivogel states that this type of situation was common due to the parsimony of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.[1] They were the first small Austro-Hungarian Navy boats to use turbines, and this contributed to ongoing problems with them,[2] which had to be progressively solved once they were in service.[5] The crew consisted of three officers and thirty-eight enlisted men.[9] The vessel carried one 4 m (13 ft)yawl as aship's boat.[6]
The boats were originally to be armed with threeŠkoda66 mm (2.6 in) L/30[a] guns, and three 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes,[2] but this was changed to two guns and four torpedo tubes before the first boat was completed, to standardise the armament with the F group to follow.[4] A 40 cm (16 in)searchlight was mounted above the bridge.[11] The torpedo tubes were mounted in pairs, one between the forecastle and bridge, and the other on a section of raised superstructure above the aft machinery room.[7] They could also carry 10–12naval mines.[4]
The sixth of its class to be completed,79 T waslaid down on 1 December 1913,launched on 30 April 1914, completed on 30 September 1914,[4] andcommissioned the following day, two months after World War I began.[12] Before her commissioning, one 8 mm (0.31 in)Schwarzlose M.7/12 machine gun was included in the armament of all boats of the class foranti-aircraft work. Four mounting points were installed so that the machine gun could be fitted in the most effective position depending on the expected direction of attack.[13] Until October 1915, the boat was painted black, but from that point it was painted a light blue-grey.[6]
The original concept of operation for the 250t-class boats was that they would sail in aflotilla at the rear of a cruising battle formation, and were to intervene in fighting only if thebattleships around which the formation was established were disabled, or to attack damaged enemy battleships.[14] When a torpedo attack was ordered, it was to be led by ascout cruiser, supported by two destroyers to repel any enemy torpedo boats. A group of four to six torpedo boats would deliver the attack under the direction of the flotilla commander.[15] As the 250t-class boats came into service, they joined the 1st Torpedo Flotilla, which was initially led by theNovara-class scout cruiserSaida and later by hersisterHelgoland. The 1st Torpedo Flotilla initially included two divisions of destroyers (1st and 2nd) and a division of torpedo boats (3rd), which the 250t-class boats joined. Throughout the war,79 T remained with the 3rd Torpedo Division of the 1st Torpedo Flotilla.[16]
Not long after being commissioned, on 17 October 191479 T joined the rest of the 1st Torpedo Flotilla in an attempt to engage part of the French fleet operating in the southern Adriatic. The French were sailing in the vicinity of the island ofVis, but departed south during the night of 17/18 October, and the Austro-Hungarian flotilla was unable to launch an attack.[17] Also in October,79 T undertook a patrol between the islands ofBusi andPelagosa, and on 9 November the boat patrolled near the island ofLagosta.[18] On 15 and 16 March 1915,79 T, along with the old torpedo gunboatMagnet and 250t-class boats75 T and76 T, escorted the newly commissioneddreadnought battleshipSzent István from the main Austro-Hungarian naval base atPola – in the upper Adriatic – to the island ofPago to conduct firing exercises.[19] Led byHelgoland, the whole 1st Torpedo Flotilla steamed to the Ionian Sea over the period 11–15 April 1915 in search of the French fleet base, but the operation was unsuccessful.[17]
Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary on 23 May 1915,[20] and hostilities in the Adriatic, which had thus far mostly involved intermittent forays by the French fleet,[21] immediately intensified.[20] Almost the entire Austro-Hungarian fleet left Pola soon after the declaration to deliver an immediate response against Italian cities and towns along the Adriatic coast, aiming tointerdict land and sea transport between southern Italy and the northern regions of that country which were expected to be atheatre of land operations. The fleet split into six groups with a range of targets up and down the coast.[20] On 24 May,79 T participated in this operation, known as theBombardment of Ancona, which involved shelling of Italian shore-based targets;79 T targetedPorto Corsini nearRavenna,[22] along with the scout cruiserNovara,Huszár-class destroyerScharfschutze, and78 T,80 T and81 T.[23] During that action, an Italian 120 mm (4.7 in)shore battery returned fire, hittingNovara and damaging80 T, wounding three of her crew.[24][25] Following this,79 T was involved in several more attacks on Italian coastal targets, including one targetingRimini on 18 June led by thearmoured cruiserSankt Georg and theprotected cruiserSzigetvár and supported by75 T,76 T and fourKaiman-class torpedo boats.[26]
On 27 July, a group led byNovara and the scout cruiserAdmiral Spaun, and escorted by theHuszár-class destroyersScharfschutze andUskoke along with79 T,75 T and76 T shelled the railway line between Ancona andPesaro during a seaplane raid on Ancona.[27] After the ItalianairshipCittà di Jesi was downed on 5 August,79 T towed her to Pola.[18] On 17 August, the 1st Torpedo Flotilla shelled the island chain of Pelagosa in the middle of the Adriatic, and79 T was part of a force tasked to protect the southern approaches to the islands from enemy submarines. The success of this bombardment, which destroyed the only source of drinking water, caused the Italians to abandon Pelagosa.[28] On 9 September 1915,79 T,75 T and76 T comprised the 3rd Torpedo Boat Group of the 3rd Torpedo Division.[29] On 9 November,79 T was sweeping for mines offParenzo on the western coast of theIstrian peninsula when she was attacked unsuccessfully with a torpedo by an enemy submarine.[18]
In late November 1915, the Austro-Hungarian fleet deployed a force from Pola to Cattaro in the southern Adriatic; this force included six of the eight T-group torpedo boats. This force was tasked to maintain a permanent patrol of the Albanian coastline and interdict any troop transports crossing from Italy.[30] On 9 December,79 T, three destroyers, twoKaiman-class torpedo boats and two other 250t-class boats formed a group led bySzigetvár which escorted seaplanes during a raid on Ancona.[31] On 4 January 1916,79 T laid mines in theBay of Triest. A raid on theOtranto Barrage – anAllied naval blockade of the Strait of Otranto – was conducted byNovara, escorted by79 T,81 T, and theKaiman-class boat71 T on 3 April.[18][b] On the night of 31 May/1 June 1916, theTátra-class destroyersOrjen andBalaton, accompanied by79 T,77 T and81 T, raided the Otranto Barrage.Orjen sank onedrifter with a torpedo,[32] but once the alarm had been raised, the Austro-Hungarian force withdrew.[33] After laying mines off the town ofRovigno in western Istria on 29 June,79 T was transferred to the Bocche on 10 August.[18]
During 1917,79 T was often employed in the minesweeping role and also escorted 34convoys.[18] In the same year, one of79 T's 66 mm guns may have been placed on an anti-aircraft mount. According to Freivogel, sources vary on whether these mounts were added to all boats of the class, and on whether these mounts were added to the forward or aft gun.[34] On 20 March,79 T,74 T,77 T and81 T comprised the 1st Torpedo Boat Group of the 3rd Torpedo Division.[35] On 21 May of that year, the suffix of all Austro-Hungarian torpedo boats was removed, and thereafter they were referred to only by their numeral.[2] On 28 November, several 250t-class boats were involved in two shore bombardment missions. In the first mission,79 and two other 250t-class boats supported the bombardment ofSenigallia by three destroyers, before they were joined by five more 250t-class boats and another three destroyers for the bombardment of Porto Corsini,Marotta andCesenatico.[36] The bombardment damaged the railway tracks between Senigallia and Rimini and destroyed onelocomotive and several wagons, but when the flotilla moved to attack two smallsteamers, an Italianarmoured train arrived and engaged them with its 15 cm (6 in) guns, and they broke off. On the return voyage to Pola, the ships were apparently pursued by Italian warships, butAdmiral Spaun sailed to provide support, and the Italians withdrew.[37] On 1 February 1918,a mutiny broke out among the sailors of some vessels of the Austro-Hungarian Navy at theĐenovići anchorage within the Bocche, largely over poor food, lack of replacement uniforms and supplies, and insufficient leave, although the poor state of the Austro-Hungarian economy and its impact on their families was also a factor.[38] At the time,79 was underway toAntivari, but as she passed theLuštica peninsula she received an order to return to Đenovići. Her captain realised the situation and instead he moored in theCastelnuovo anchorage and put his crew ashore.[39] Loyal ships were despatched to the Bocche from Pola, but by the time they arrived on 3 February, the mutiny had ended,[38] and79 returned to Đenovići.[39] On 9 May,79 and76 along with severalHuszár-class destroyers escorted the twoErzherzog Karl-class battleships,Erzherzog Ferdinand Max andErzherzog Friedrich, to the Bocche.[40]
By 1918, the Allies had strengthened their ongoing blockade on the Strait of Otranto, as foreseen by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. As a result, it was becoming more difficult for theGerman and Austro-HungarianU-boats to get through the strait and into theMediterranean Sea. In response to these blockades, the new commander of the Austro-Hungarian Navy,KonteradmiralMiklós Horthy, decided to launch an attack on the Allied defenders with battleships, scout cruisers, and destroyers.[41] During the night of 8/9 June 1918, Horthy left the naval base of Pola in the upper Adriatic with thedreadnought battleshipsViribus Unitis andPrinz Eugen. At about 23:00 on 9 June, after some difficulties getting theharbour defence barrage opened, the dreadnoughtsSzent István andTegetthoff,[42] escorted by one destroyer and six torpedo boats, including79, also departed Pola and set course forSlano, north ofRagusa, to rendezvous with Horthy in preparation for a coordinated attack on the Otranto Barrage. About 03:15 on 10 June,[c] while returning from an uneventful patrol off the Dalmatian coast, two ItalianMAS boats,MAS 15 andMAS 21, spotted the smoke from the Austro-Hungarian ships.[44] With their engines off, the two Italian boats waited for the lead ships of the starboard escort to pass, before launching their attack.[45] Both boats successfully penetrated the escort screen and split to engage the dreadnoughts individually.MAS 21 attackedTegetthoff, but her torpedoes missed.[44] Under the command ofLuigi Rizzo,MAS 15 fired two torpedoes at 03:25, both of which hitSzent István. Both boats evaded pursuit. The torpedo hits onSzent István were abreast of herboiler rooms, which flooded, knocking out power to the pumps.Szent Istváncapsized less than three hours after being torpedoed,[43] and79 rescued several members of her crew.[39] This disaster essentially ended Austro-Hungarian fleet operations in the Adriatic for the remaining months of the war.[46]
Transferred to Triest on 16 June,[39]79's final action of the war was on 26 September when, along with theHuszár-class destroyersDinara,Reka andScharfschutze,87,89 and96, she escorted three Austro-Hungarian steamers from the Bocche to Durazzo. This convoy was attacked by the British submarineH1 near Cape Menders (current day Cape Mandra nearUlcinj, Montenegro). The destroyers repelled the attack, assisted by the torpedo boats and a seaplane, but were unable to damage the submarine.[47][48] During 1918,79 escorted 47 convoys and completed 4 minesweeping missions. As the end of the war approached in November and theAustro-Hungarian Empire broke apart, the boat was based at the Bocche, and on 1 November it was ceded to theState of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs,[39] which was a short-lived fragment of the empire which united with theKingdom of Serbia andKingdom of Montenegro on 1 December, becoming theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (from 1929, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia).[49]
The Austro-Hungarian Empire sued for peace in November 1918, and79 survived the war intact.[2] Immediately after the Austro-Hungarian capitulation, French troops occupied the Bocche, which was treated by the Allies as Austro-Hungarian territory.[50] During the French occupation, the captured Austro-Hungarian Navy ships moored at the Bocche were neglected, and79's original torpedo tubes were destroyed or damaged by French troops.[51] In 1920, under the terms of the previous year'sTreaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye by whichrump Austria officially ended World War I,79 was allocated to theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (KSCS, later Yugoslavia).[52] Along with76,77 and78, and four 250t-class F-group boats, she served with theRoyal Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian:Kraljevska mornarica, KM,Краљевска морнарица). Taken over in March 1921 when French forces withdrew,[52][51] in KM service,79 was renamedT4.[4] At the outset, she and the other seven 250t-class boats were the only modern sea-going vessels in the KM.[53]
New torpedo tubes of the same size were ordered from theStrojne Tovarne factory inLjubljana.[9] In KM service it was intended to replace one or both guns on each boat of the 250t class with a longer Škoda 66 mm L/45 gun, and it is believed that this included the forward gun onT4.[9] She was also fitted with one or twoZbrojovka 15 mm (0.59 in) machine guns. In KM service, the crew increased to 52,[9] and she was commissioned in 1923.[54] In 1925, exercises were conducted off the Dalmatian coast, involving the majority of the KM.[55] During a 1927 refitT4 was re-armed with a pair of Škoda 75 mm (3.0 in) L/30 guns that had been manufactured asdeck guns forsubmarines, and were procured from the Škoda works inPlzeň,Czechoslovakia.[56] In May and June 1929, six of the eight 250t-class torpedo boats – includingT4 – accompanied the light cruiserDalmacija, thesubmarine tenderHvar and the submarinesHrabri andNebojša, on a cruise toMalta, the Greek island ofCorfu in the Ionian Sea, andBizerte in theFrench protectorate of Tunisia.[57] The ships and their crews made a very good impression on the British while visiting Malta.[58] In 1932, the British navalattaché reported that Yugoslav ships engaged in few exercises, manoeuvres or gunnery training due to reduced budgets.[59] In the same year,T4 ran aground on the island ofDrvenik Mali off the central Dalmatian coast. Thehull broke in half; thebow remained on the island, and thestern was towed to theTivat Arsenal in the Bay of Kotor, 240 km (150 mi) to the south. As a result, it became a standing joke among KM sailors that this madeT4 the "world's longest torpedo boat".[60] Eventually both sections were scrapped where they were.[39]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)| Coastal defence ship |  | |
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