Yugoslav frigate Split

Last updated
VPBR 31 Split.jpg
Split moored in the Bay of Kotor in 2008.
History
Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union (1950-1991).svg Soviet Union
NameSokol
Builder Zelenodolsk Shipyard, Zelenodolsk, Soviet Union
Laid downJanuary 1978
Launched21 April 1979
Commissioned30 November 1979
FateTransferred to the Yugoslav Navy in 1980
Naval Ensign of Yugoslavia (1949-1993).svg SFR Yugoslavia
NameSplit
NamesakeCity of Split
Acquired1980
FateCommissioned in the Navy of FR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro in 1992
Naval Ensign of Serbia and Montenegro.svg FR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro
NameRF-31
Acquired1992
Decommissioned17 August 2001
FateScrapped in 2013
General characteristics
Class and type Koni-class (Project 1159) frigate
Displacement1,590 t (1,565 long tons) (full load)
Length96.5 m (316 ft 7 in)
Beam12.5 m (41 ft 0 in)
Draught4.1 m (13 ft 5 in)
Propulsion
  • CODAG powering three shafts:
  • 1 × gas turbine
  • 2 × diesel engines
Speed27–28 knots (50–52 km/h; 31–32 mph)
Range1,800 nmi (3,300 km; 2,100 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement123
Armament

Split (pennant number VPBR-31) was a Koni-class frigate in service with the Yugoslav Navy (JRM). Laid down and completed during the late 1970s as Sokol of the Soviet Navy, it was the fourth ship of a class that was being built by the Zelenodolsk Shipyard primarily for export to various friendly navies. The ship was acquired by the JRM in 1980 and commissioned as Split, becoming the second ship in JRM service to be named after the city of Split. It was soon followed by a second Koni-class hull, Koper (VPBR-32), commissioned in the JRM in 1982. Designated as a Large Patrol Boat (Serbo-Croatian : Veliki patrolni brod – VPBR) by the JRM, Split's original armament consisting of naval guns, anti-submarine rocket launchers and anti-aircraft missiles was further improved by the addition of four P-20 anti-ship missiles, making it the most versatile ship in the JRM inventory at the time.

Contents

Following the outbreak of the Croatian War of Independence in 1991, Split was involved in enforcing a naval blockade of the Croatian coast. In mid-November it served as the command ship of a tactical group which was controlling the waters around its namesake, the city of Split. On 14 November, Croatian naval commandos attacked and damaged the patrol boat Mukos (PČ-176), leading to a naval engagement that would become known as the Battle of the Dalmatian Channels. The following morning, Split and the rest of its tactical group opened fire against the islands of Šolta and Brač and the city of Split itself. Faced with Croatian Navy coastal artillery returning fire, Split began retreating east, sailing through the Korčula Channel to the JRM-controlled island of Vis.

With the Yugoslav People's Army ending its campaign in Croatia in early 1992, Split and the rest of the JRM fleet was relocated to Montenegro where it would be reformed as the Navy of FR Yugoslavia (RMVJ). In the RMVJ, Split was redesignated as RF-31 and possibly renamed Beograd, although sources are contradictory regarding this issue. The ship was decommissioned on 17 August 2001 and spent the next several years moored in the Bay of Kotor. After two unsuccessful attempts of selling it as a complete warship, it was sold for scrap and broken up in 2013.

Background

During the 1960s and 1970s, the Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian : Jugoslavenska ratna mornarica – JRM) retired a number of major surface vessels of World War II vintage. These included the destroyer Split (relegated to a stationary training ship during the 1970s and decommissioned in 1980 [1] ), two British-built W-class destroyers (both stricken in 1971) and four former Regia Marina large torpedo boats (destroyer escorts) of the Ariete and Ciclone class. [2] During this period, the bulk of JRM firepower consisted of fast attack craft in the form of ten Osa-class missile boats and fourteen Shershen-class torpedo boats. These vessels, however, lacked adequately capable radars, communications and air-defense systems while also completely lacking any form of anti-submarine capabilities. Because of this, the JRM sought to introduce large, multi-role vessels which would fill this gap. The decision was made to acquire two Soviet-built Koni-class frigates, which would soon materialize in the form of Split (VPBR-31) and its sister ship Koper (VPBR-32). [3]

Description and construction

Split was laid down in January 1978 at the A.M. Gorky Shipyard in Zelenodolsk as the fourth ship in its class (Projekt 1159). Launched on 21 April 1979, it was temporarily commissioned with the Soviet Navy on 30 November 1979 under the name Sokol. On 10 March 1980, it was acquired by the JRM for a price of 18.27 million dollars, given a new name, Split, and classified as a VPBR (hr. Veliki Patrolni BRod; en. Large patrol boat). [3] [4]

Split measured 96.51 metres (316.6 feet) in length, had a beam of 12.56 m (41.2 ft) and displaced 1,590 tonnes (1,560 long tons) while fully loaded. Like other Koni-class frigates it employed a CODAG type propulsion combining a single M-8G 20.000 hp gas turbine with two 8000 hp diesel engines giving it a maximum speed of 27–28 knots (50–52 km/h; 31–32 mph) [3] Power was also provided by one 200 kW and two 300 kW diesel generators. [4] The ship had a range of 4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) and an endurance of 10 days. [4]

ASW weapons included two RBU-6000 launchers mounted side by side, controlled by the "Burya" fire control system with additional 120 rounds in storage, as well as twelve BB-1 conventional depth charges. Cannon armament consisted of two 76 mm AK-726 dual guns mounted on the ship's bow and stern with two AK-230 CIWS placed on the sides and controlled by the MR-104 "Ris" FCS. Air defence was provided by a single dual mount for the 4K33 "Osa-M" system with 20 additional missiles. [4] [3]

Four stern facing launchers for P-20 anti-ship missiles were installed soon after the ship was commissioned with the JRM. [5]

Service

Approximate positions of Yugoslav Navy ships, including Split, on 15 November during the Battle of the Dalmatian Channels. Batalla del Canal de Split.jpg
Approximate positions of Yugoslav Navy ships, including Split, on 15 November during the Battle of the Dalmatian Channels.

During the early stages of the Croatian War of Independence, Split – often mistakenly referred to as a destroyer – served as the command ship of the TG Kaštela (naval tactical group) which was tasked with enforcing the naval blockade of the Croatian coastline and islands, and playing a command role in the Kaštela Tactical naval Group of the Yugoslav Navy. As a sign of retaliation for sinking the patrol boat Mukos (PČ-176) a day earlier, in the morning hours of 15 November, Split, operating under the code name "Sava", along with other ships of the tactical group opened fire on the city of Split and the islands of Brač and Šolta. [3] [6] As Croatian coastal artillery batteries started returning fire, some reports suggested that several JRM ships, including Split, were damaged. [3] [7] This later proved to be false as all of the ships started retreating towards Vis with no visible damage. [3]

On 19 November Split was called in to rescue a convoy of overloaded JRM ships that was sailing from Pula to Vis across open sea during strong jugo winds. While rescuing the crew from one of the landing crafts, two sailors died because the ladder thrown to them from Split, accidentally hit them causing them to drown. [3]

After the retreat of all Yugoslav Navy forces from Croatia, Split was relocated to Montenegro where it was renamed Beograd in 1993 [4] with its designation being changed to RF-31 (sr. raketna fregata; eng. missile frigate).

Decommissioning and aftermath

On 17 August 2001, the FR Yugoslav Ministry of Defence decommissioned the ship declaring it redundant. [8] The ship was located within the "Sava Kovačević" overhaul shipyard in Tivat until 2008, when it was berthed near a military object on Luštica. Due to the lack of any kind of maintenance, parts of the hull became corroded which resulted in several breaches so sea water needed to be pumped out from time to time. [9] [10]

2004 marked the last time Split sailed on its own during a demonstration for the representatives of the Sri Lankan Navy who were interested in buying the ship. Although the deal was near done, the catastrophic 2004 tsunami and subsequent damage prompted the Sri Lankans to stop the acquisition of all new military equipment, including the purchase of Split. [10] In 2009, Split along with three other frigates was being sold for a price of 3.2 million euros, each. [11] In May 2011, the price for Split was reduced to 1 million euros, but again, no deals were made. [8]

In 2010, divers from Herceg Novi proposed reaching an agreement with Croatia and scuttling the Split on the sea border of the two countries where it would become a diving site. The act was also to have a symbolic meaning of peace because the ship became notorious in Croatia after attacking the city for which it was named. [12] [10] [13]

In October 2011, the Government of Montenegro adopted a document in which it was stated that attempts at selling the ship as a complete warship will stop, and it would instead be sold for scrap. [8] [14] Before the scrapping took place, weapons systems, radio communication and other electrical equipment as well as two MTU 8V396 diesel generators that were installed in 1997 and 1999, were removed from the ship. [15] On 19 August 2013, Split was towed away to a ship breaking yard in Durrës after being sold to an Albanian company for 400.000 euros. [9]

See also

Notes

  1. Cernuschi & O'Hara 2005, pp. 107–08.
  2. Gardiner 1995, p. 643–646.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Bernadić 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Russian ships.
  5. Jelavić 2003.
  6. Baras & 14 November 2011.
  7. Krnić & 15 November 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 Government of Montenegro & 10 December 2013.
  9. 1 2 Luković & 21 August 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 Luković & 30 October 2011.
  11. Krnić & 30 October 2009.
  12. Bioča & 14 September 2010.
  13. Kalajdžić & 13 December 2010.
  14. Seebiz & 30 October 2011.
  15. Luković & 10 April 2012.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frigate</span> Type of warship

A frigate is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armed Forces of Serbia and Montenegro</span> Military forces of Serbia and Montenegro

The Armed Forces of Serbia and Montenegro included ground forces with internal and border troops, naval forces, air and air defense forces, and civil defense. Preceding the VSCG was the Yugoslav Army from the remnants of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), the military of SFR Yugoslavia. The state, then named Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, participated in the Yugoslav Wars with limited direct intervention of its own armed forces. Following the end of the Wars and the constitutional reforms of 2003 by which the state was renamed "Serbia and Montenegro", the military accordingly changed its name. The military was heavily involved in combating Albanian separatists during the Kosovo War and Preševo Valley conflict, and also engaged NATO airplanes during the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croatian Navy</span> Military unit

The Croatian Navy is a branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It was formed in 1991 from what Croatian forces managed to capture from the Yugoslav Navy during the breakup of Yugoslavia and Croatian War of Independence. In addition to mobile coastal missile launchers, today it operates 30 vessels, divided into the Navy Flotilla for traditional naval duties, and the Croatian Coast Guard. Five missile boats form Croatian fleet's main offensive capability.

Croatian missile boat <i>Kralj Petar Krešimir IV</i> (RTOP-11)

Kralj Petar Krešimir IV is a Kralj-class missile boat in service with the Croatian Navy. It was laid down in 1990 at the Kraljevica Shipyard as the first ship in a new class being built for the Yugoslav Navy. As the Croatian War of Independence started gaining momentum, shipyard workers stalled the completion of the ship until the remaining Yugoslav forces retreated, preserving the ship for the Croatian Navy that was being formed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yugoslav Navy</span> Naval warfare branch of former state of Yugoslavia

The Yugoslav Navy, was the navy of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1992. It was essentially a coastal defense force with the mission of preventing enemy landings along Yugoslavia's rugged 4,000-kilometer shoreline or coastal islands, and contesting an enemy blockade or control of the strategic Strait of Otranto.

Koni-class frigate Class of Soviet anti submarine frigates

The Koni class is the NATO reporting name for an anti-submarine warfare frigate built by the Soviet Union. They were known in the Soviet Union as Project 1159. 14 were built in Zelenodolsk shipyard between 1975 and 1988. They were originally intended to replace the older Riga-class frigates, but were instead chosen as a design for export to various friendly navies. The Koni I sub class were designed for European waters and the Koni II were made for warmer waters. One ship was retained by the Soviets in the Black Sea for training foreign crews. Only a few of these vessels remain in service today.

<i>Beograd</i>-class destroyer Class of three destroyers built for the Royal Yugoslav Navy in the late 1930s

The Beograd class of destroyers consisted of three ships built for the Yugoslav Royal Navy in the late 1930s, a variant of the French Bourrasque class. Beograd was constructed in France and Zagreb and Ljubljana were built in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In January 1940, Ljubljana struck a reef off the port of Šibenik, and was still under repair when the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia commenced in April 1941. During the invasion, Zagreb was scuttled to prevent its capture, and the other two ships were captured by the Italians. The Royal Italian Navy operated Beograd and Ljubljana as convoy escorts between Italy, the Aegean Sea, and North Africa, under the names Sebenico and Lubiana respectively. Lubiana was lost in the Gulf of Tunis in April 1943; Sebenico was seized by the Germans in September 1943 after the Italian surrender and was subsequently operated by the German Navy as TA43. There are conflicting reports about the fate of TA43, but it was lost in the final weeks of the war.

<i>Kotor</i>-class frigate Class of frigates built for Yugoslav navy

The Kotor class (Yugoslav designation: Veliki Patrolni Brod (VPB)) are a pair of light frigates built for the Yugoslav Navy during the 1980s at the Kraljevica Shipyard in SR Croatia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Yugoslav Navy</span> 1921–1945 maritime warfare branch of Yugoslavias military

The Royal Navy, commonly the Royal Yugoslav Navy, was the naval warfare service branch of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was brought into existence in 1921, and initially consisted of a few former Austro-Hungarian Navy vessels surrendered at the conclusion of World War I and transferred to the new nation state under the terms of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The only modern sea-going warships transferred to the new state were twelve steam-powered torpedo boats, although it did receive four capable river monitors for use on the Danube and other large rivers. Significant new acquisitions began in 1926 with a former German light cruiser, followed by the commissioning of two motor torpedo boats (MTBs) and a small submarine flotilla over the next few years. When the name of the state was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929, the name of its navy was changed to reflect this. In the late 1920s, several of the original vessels were discarded.

<i>Heroj</i>-class submarine

The Heroj class was a class of diesel-electric attack submarines built for the Yugoslav Navy during the 1960s. The three strong class was the second generation of domestically built submarines, representing a significant improvement compared to the earlier Sutjeska class. Built at the Brodogradilište specijalnih objekata in Split, the new class featured a streamlined hull design and four bow facing torpedo tubes that could also be used for minelaying.

<i>Končar</i>-class missile boat Class of missile boats built for Yugoslav navy

The Končar class is a class of six missile boats built for the Yugoslav Navy during the late 1970s at Tito's Shipyard Kraljevica, SR Croatia. The boats featured a mixture of Western and Eastern European equipment, including Soviet anti-ship missiles and Swedish guns.

Kralj-class missile boat

The Kralj class is a class of two missile boats, one of which was on order for the SFR Yugoslav Navy and one of which, following the break-up of Yugoslavia, was built for the Croatian Navy. As of 2009 both vessels remain in service. It is an upgraded version of the Rade Končar missile boat class and is 8.5 metres (28 ft) longer. Kralj Petar Krešimir IV and its sister ship Kralj Dmitar Zvonimir are the only ships in their class. A potential third ship was under consideration in 1999, but the ship was never commissioned due to budget restraints.

The Battle of the Dalmatian Channels was a three-day confrontation between three tactical groups of Yugoslav Navy ships and coastal artillery, and a detachment of naval commandos of the Croatian Navy fought on 14–16 November 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence. On 14 November, the commandos torpedoed the Mirna-class patrol boat PČ-176 Mukos close to the island of Brač in the Split Channel of the Adriatic Sea, prompting a Yugoslav naval bombardment of Brač and Šolta Island the same day. The drifting Mukos was salvaged by Croatian civilian boats and beached at Nečujam bay.

Yugoslav destroyer <i>Zagreb</i> First warship built in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Zagreb was the second of three Beograd-class destroyers built for the Royal Yugoslav Navy (KM) in the late 1930s. She was designed to be deployed as part of a division led by the flotilla leader Dubrovnik and was the first warship built in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Zagreb entered service in August 1939, was armed with a main battery of four 120 mm (4.7 in) guns in single mounts, and had a top speed of 35 knots.

<i>Una</i>-class submarine Yugoslav Navys Una-class submarine

The Una-class submarine was a class of six midget submarines built for the Yugoslav Navy at the Brodogradilište specijalnih objekata during the 1980s. They were designed with the purpose of laying small minefields and transporting naval special forces, with or without their submersibles, in shallow waters that were inaccessible for larger submarines. Due to their mission profile that called for a small design as well as the need to stay undetected, they lacked torpedo armament and a generator for battery recharging.

Croatian missile boat <i>Šibenik</i>

Šibenik is a Končar-class missile boat in service with the Croatian Navy. It was built for the Yugoslav Navy at the Kraljevica Shipyard in the 1970s as Vlado Ćetković (RTOP-402). In 1991 during the early stages of the Croatian War of Independence it was captured by Croatian forces while being overhauled at the "Velimir Škorpik" shipyard in Šibenik.

Croatian patrol boat <i>Šolta</i> (OB-02)

Šolta is a Mirna-class patrol boat in service with the Croatian Navy. Completed during the 1980s as Mukos (PČ-176), it was the sixth ship of a class that was being built for the Yugoslav Navy in the Kraljevica Shipyard.

Silba-class landing ship-minelayer Class of landing ships

The Silba class is a class of three landing ships, also used as minelayers, built for the Yugoslav (JRM) and Croatian Navy (HRM) during the 1980s and 1990s. The ships were built at the Brodogradilište specijalnih objekata shipyard in Split with slight differences in armament configuration between the last two ships. By the time the Croatian War of Independence started, one ship was in service with the JRM while another was being completed.

<i>R-2 Mala</i>-class swimmer delivery vehicle 2-man wet sub swimmer delivery vehicle class of the Yugoslavian, and later, Croatian, Navies

The R-2 Mala is a class of swimmer delivery vehicles (SDVs) built for the Yugoslav, and later on, Croatian Navy. The two man wet SDVs are used for transporting naval commandos into hostile waters where they would perform sabotage on enemy warships and coastal installations. Weapons at their disposal included limpet mines.

References

Books

Bernadić, Stjepan (11 October 2013). "Oproštaj bez zvuka sirene" [Farewell without the sounds of sirens](PDF). Hrvatski vojnik . No. 432. Ministry of Defence. pp. 38–41. ISSN   1333-9036 . Retrieved 15 January 2021.

News reports
Other sources