Albona-class Minelayer

The ''Albona'' class were mine warfare ships used by the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Italian Navy) and Royal Yugoslav Navy (KJRM). Fourteen ships were originally laid down between 1917 and 1918 for the Austro-Hungarian Navy as the ''MT.130'' class. However, the end of World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary left them incomplete until 1920, when three ships were finished for the ''Regia Marina''. An additional five ships were completed for the KJRM in 1931 as the ''Malinska'' class.

The five ships in KJRM service were captured by Italian forces during the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia and commissioned in the ''Regia Marina'' as the ''Arbe'' class. Following the Italian Armistice in 1943, the three ''Albona''-class ships were captured by German forces with all three being lost or scuttled later in the war. Of the five former KJRM ships, one was seized and operated by the ''Kriegsmarine'' until it was lost; a second one was handed over to the Navy of the Independent State of Croatia and lost in 1944. The remaining three were returned to the KJRM-in-exile and were later commissioned in the new Yugoslav Navy.

Background

Fourteen ships were laid down at the Ganz & Danubius shipyard at Porto Re (now Kraljevica) between October 1917 and September 1918 as the ''MT.130'' class for the Austro-Hungarian Navy (german: Kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, link=no; ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine''). The vessels were originally designed as minelayers, but the Navy ordered six of them completed as minesweepers. All were eventually fitted for minesweeping during construction. By September 1918, only the first three had been launched, and even they had not been fully completed. The end of World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary left the ships in various stages of completion, the shipyard itself now part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed Yugoslavia in 1929). With the creation of the new kingdom, the Ganz & Danubius shipyard became Jadranska Brodogradilišta.

Description and construction

The first three ships of the class, ''MT.130''–''132'', were completed by the shipyard for the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Italian Navy) in 1920 as the ''Albona'' class, and were commissioned as ''Albona'', ''Laurana'' and ''Rovigno'', respectively. Five other ships, ''MT.133''–''137'', were completed in 1931 for the Royal Yugoslav Navy ( sh, Kraljevska jugoslavenska ratna mornarica; KJRM) as the ''Malinska'' class, and were commissioned as ''Malinska'', ''Marjan'', ''Meljine'', ''Mljet'' and ''Mosor'', respectively. The hulls of ''MT.138''–''MT-143'' were 45% complete by October 1918 but were never completed.

They had a length overall of , a length between perpendiculars of , a beam of , and a draught of as a minesweeper and as a minelayer. As a minesweeper they had a displacement of , but as a minelayer they had a standard displacement of and displaced at deep load. The crew consisted of 27 officers and enlisted men. They had two triple-expansion steam engines, with steam provided by a single oil-fired Yarrow boiler. Their engines were rated at , with a maximum speed of . The armament planned for the class consisted of a single L/44 gun, two machine guns and 24–39 naval mines. In Italian service, the ''Albona''-class vessels had a maximum speed of about , were armed with a single L/40 gun, and could carry 34 mines. In Yugoslav service, the ''Malinska''-class ships had a maximum speed of , and were armed with a single L/30 anti-aircraft gun and one machine gun.

Ships

Service history

''Albona'' class

In 1941, ''Laurana'' was fitted with smoke apparatus to assist in the defence of Venice. Following the Italian Armistice in early September 1943, ''Albona'' and ''Rovigno'' were captured by the Germans at the island of Syros in the Aegean Sea on 10 September. They were renamed ''Netztender 57'' and ''Netztender 56'' respectively, and their armament was improved. ''Laurana'' was captured at Venice on 11 September, and was commissioned by the Germans under her Italian name on 30 September, after which she served as a minelayer in the Adriatic. She retained her Italian armament. ''Netztender 57'' and ''Netztender 56'' were scuttled by the Germans at Salonika on 31 October 1944 as they withdrew from the city, and ''Laurana'' was sunk at Trieste by Allied aircraft bombs on 20 February 1945.

''Malinska'' class

By 1936, the ''Malinska'' class were classified as minelayers. At the start of the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, the five ''Malinska''-class ships were assigned to the Coast Defence Command and spread over three sectors; ''Malinska'' in Selce (North Sector), ''Mosor'' and ''Marjan'' in Šibenik (Central Sector), and ''Mljet'' and ''Meljine'' in Kotor (South Sector). All five were soon captured by Italian forces, including ''Malinska'' which had been scuttled by its crew, but was raised by the Italians and commissioned as ''Arbe'', along with ''Ugliano'' (ex-''Marjan''), ''Solta'' (ex-''Meljine''), ''Meleda'' (ex-''Mljet'') and ''Pasman'' (ex-''Mosor''). In Italian service they were known as the ''Arbe'' class, and could carry 30 mines. Following the Italian Armistice, ''Ugliano'' was taken over by German forces and probably lost in their hands. ''Pasman'' was also captured by the Germans, who handed it over to the Navy of the Independent State of Croatia. This ship was stranded on the Island of Ist on 31 December 1944, but was not scrapped until 1954.

''Solta'' and ''Meleda'' were returned by the Italians to the KJRM-in-exile on 7 December 1943 and ''Arbe'' was returned on 16 February 1944; all reverted to their previous names. After the war, all three were commissioned in the Yugoslav Navy as ''M1'' (ex-''Solta''), ''M2'' (ex-''Arbe'') and ''M3'' (ex-''Meleda''). They were later renamed ''M31'' (ex-''M1''), ''M32'' (ex-''M2'') and ''M33'' (ex-''M3''). All three were re-armed with a single gun. ''M32'' was still in service in 1978.

See also

*List of ships of the Royal Yugoslav Navy
*List of ships of the Yugoslav Navy

Notes

Footnotes

References

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{{Yugoslav Ships, state=collapsed

Naval ships of Yugoslavia captured by Italy during World War II
Mine warfare vessels of the Royal Yugoslav Navy
Mine warfare vessels of Yugoslavia
Mine warfare vessels of the Yugoslav Navy
Naval ships of Yugoslavia captured by Germany during World War II