 Smeli's sister submarineOsvetnik underway in 1930 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Kingdom of Yugoslavia | |
| Name | Smeli |
| Namesake | Daring |
| Builder | Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire,Nantes, France |
| Launched | 1 December 1928 |
| In service | 1928–41 |
| Out of service | 1941 |
 Italy | |
| Name | Antonio Bajamonti |
| Namesake | Antonio Bajamonti |
| Acquired | Captured on 17 April 1941 |
| In service | 1941–43 |
| Out of service | 9 September 1943 |
| Fate | Scuttled by the Italians atLa Spezia inLiguria |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Osvetnik-classdiesel-electricsubmarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 66.5 m (218 ft 2 in) |
| Beam | 5.4 m (17 ft 9 in) |
| Draught | 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in) |
| Propulsion | 2 × shaftMAN diesel engines 1,480 bhp (1,100 kW), 2 × Nancy electric motors 1,000 shp (750 kW) |
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | 80 m (260 ft) |
| Complement | 43 |
| Armament |
|
Smeli (Daring) was the second of theOsvetnik-classdiesel-electricsubmarines built byAteliers et Chantiers de la Loire,Nantes, France for the navy of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia). She was launched in 1928, and was built to a partialdouble hull Simonot design similar to the FrenchCircé-classsubmarines. She was armed with six 550 mm (22-inch)torpedo tubes, one 100 mm (3.9 in) gun, and one 40 mm (1.6 in)anti-aircraft gun, and could dive to 80 metres (260 ft).
Prior toWorld War II she participated in several cruises toMediterranean ports. During theGerman-ledAxisinvasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, she was captured byItalian forces at theBay of Kotor. Initially designatedN2, her armament was changed and herconning tower modified. Due to her age and shallow diving depth, when she was commissioned into theRegia Marina asAntonio Bajamonti; her service was limited to training and experimentation. She wasscuttled atLa Spezia inLiguria by the Italians in September 1943 the day after theItalian surrender.
Yugoslav naval policy in theinterwar period lacked direction until the mid-1920s,[1] although it was generally accepted that theAdriatic coastline was effectively a sea frontier that the naval arm was responsible for securing with the limited resources made available to it. In 1926, a modest ten-year construction program was initiated to build up a force ofsubmarines, coastaltorpedo boats,torpedo bombers and conventionalbomber aircraft to perform this role. TheOsvetnik-class submarines were intended to meet part of this challenge.[2]
Smeli was built for theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia) by theAteliers et Chantiers de la Loire company (ACL) atNantes, France. Her partialdouble hull design[3] was based on plans by ACL's chief engineer, G. Simonot,[4] and was similar to the FrenchCircé-classsubmarines.[5] HerSerbo-Croatian name translates as "Daring". Along with hersister submarine of the class,Osvetnik, she had anoverall length of 66.5 m (218 ft 2 in), abeam of 5.4 m (17 ft 9 in), and a surfaceddraught of 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in). Her surfaceddisplacement was 630long tons (640 t) or 809 long tons (822 t) submerged, and her crew consisted of 43 officers and enlisted men.[4] She had an operational depth of 80 metres (260 ft).[5]
For surface running, theOsvetnik-class boats were powered by twoMAN (Maschinenfabrik)diesel engines which were rated at 1,480brake horsepower (1,100 kW) that drove twopropeller shafts. When submerged, the propellers were driven by two Nancy electric motors generating 1,000shaft horsepower (750 kW). They could reach a top speed of 14.5knots (26.9 km/h) on the surface, and 9.2 knots (17.0 km/h) on their electric motors when submerged. They were armed with six 550 mm (22 in)torpedo tubes (four bow-mounted, two stern-mounted), one 100 mm (3.9 in) gun, and one 40 mm (1.6 in)anti-aircraft gun.[4] On the surface, the boats had a range of 3,500nautical miles (6,500 km) at 9 knots (17 km/h), and 75 nautical miles (139 km) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h) submerged.[5]
Smeli was the second of her class, and the fourth submarine of the navy of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later theRoyal Yugoslav Navy). She waslaunched on 1 December 1928.[4] She andOsvetnik arrived in theBay of Kotor on 9 December 1929.[6] In 1932, the British navalattaché reported that Yugoslav ships were engaging in few exercises, manoeuvres or gunnery training due to reduced budgets.[7] In October 1934,Smeli visitedBizerte in theFrench protectorate of Tunisia, and theKelibiaRoads off the coast of Tunisia.[8] In August and September 1937,Smeli, along with the British-made submarineHrabri and the depot shipZmaj, visited Greece, including the port ofPiraeus, and the islands ofCrete andCorfu.[9]
When theGerman-ledAxisinvasion of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, she was in the Bay of Kotor on the southern Adriatic coast along with the three other submarines of the Submarine Division.[10] On 17 April she was captured by theItalianXVII Corps at the Bay of Kotor.[11][12] Still in good condition, she was taken aswar booty, and initially designatedN2. She was refitted and modernised atPola in the upper Adriatic, which involved the replacement of some of her armament and modifications to herconning tower. Her new displacement was 665 long tons (676 t) (822 long tons (835 t) submerged).[13] She was commissioned by the Italians as theBajamonti-classAntonio Bajamonti, named after the19th-century politician and mayor of theDalmatian port ofSplit. Despite her stability when submerged and good diving rate, her age and shallow diving depth limited her uses to training and experimentation.[13] She wasscuttled by the Italians atLa Spezia inLiguria on 9 September 1943, the day after theItalian surrender.[4]
| Coastal defence ship |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Light cruiser | ||
| Destroyers | ||
| Corvette | ||
| Gunboat/Royal yacht | ||
| Torpedo boats |
| |
| Motor torpedo boats | ||
| Submarines |
| |
| Minelayers | ||
| Minesweepers | ||
| River flotilla | ||
