The ''Sava'' class was a class of diesel-electric

attack submarine An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants and merchant vessels. In the Soviet and Russian navies they were and are called ...

s built for the

Yugoslav Navy The Yugoslav Navy ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска ратна морнарица, Jugoslavenska ratna mornarica, Yugoslav War Navy), was the navy of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1992. It was essentially a coastal defense force with the miss ...

during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Developed by the Brodarski Institute (BI) from

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, the two strong class was built by the Brodogradilište specijalnih objekata (Special objects shipyard) in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...

. They were intended as a replacement for the aging s. Compared to the earlier , the ''Sava'' class was longer with more powerful armament that consisted of six

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s that could also be used for

minelaying A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing contro ...

. With the start of the Croatian War of Independence, both submarines were relocated to

Boka Kotorska The Bay of Kotor ( Montenegrin and Serbian: , Italian: ), also known as the Boka, is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated around the bay. It is also the southernmost part of the hi ...

where they would be commissioned with the new FR Yugoslav Navy of, what would eventually become, Serbia and Montenegro. Both were decommissioned during the early 2000s.

Development and building

The ''Sava'' class was developed by the Brodarski Institute (BI) from

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Sociali ...

as a replacement for the two boats in service. The project, designated B-72, was led by Colonel Dušan Radanović who was succeeded by Branko Ryšlavy. Compared to the previous ''Heroj''-class attack submarines, the new class was to have a greater degree of automatation with improved armament and autonomy including greater diving depths. Both submarines, ''Sava'' (P-831) and ''Drava'' (P-832), were built by the Brodogradilište specijalnih objekata (Special objects shipyard) in Split, SR Croatia and named after rivers in SFR Yugoslavia. ''Sava'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

in 1975, launched in 1977 and was commissioned in 1978. It was the second submarine in the Yugoslav Navy to carry that name, the first one being ''Sava'' (P-802). ''Drava'' was laid down in 1978, launched in 1981 and commissioned in 1982.

Description

The submarines measured in length displacing surfaced and when submerged. The diesel-electric drive consisted of two MTU diesel engines and a Končar electric motor mounted on a single shaft, enabling the boats a speed of when surfaced and a maximum speed of underwater. The boat's maximum diving depth was and were manned by a crew of 35. Armament consisted of six forward facing torpedo tubes used for launching a complement of up to ten TEST-71ME

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

es with a maximum range of or up to twenty

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...

s if used for minelaying operations. Sensors include a "Stop Light" radar warning system and a "Snoop Group" surface search

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

. Sources are somewhat conflicting regarding installed

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...

equipment.

Service and aftermath

Both ''Sava'' and ''Drava'' were part of the 88th Submarine Flotilla of the Yugoslav Navy, with the

Lora Naval Base Lora is a harbor in the northwestern part of Split, Croatia, in the Bay of Kaštela. It is currently used as a naval base of the Croatian Navy. Located right next to the Brodosplit shipyard, it has been an important naval base of Yugoslav Navy (1 ...

in Split being their homeport. In October 1983 while underwater ''Drava'' suffered a hull breach which almost resulted in the submarine and its entire crew being lost. It was revealed that the cause of the breach was a design flaw in the submarine itself. With the start of the Croatian War of Independence both submarines were relocated to Montenegro where they were eventually commissioned with the FR Yugoslav Navy. The major overhaul of ''Drava'' was stopped in 1996 and the boat was decommissioned sometime around 1999. ''Sava'' was decommissioned in 2002 and was officially declared redundant in 2004, being not operational for some time by that point. The submarines were passed on to

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

after the country declared independence in 2006, and after unsuccessful attempts at selling the submarines as complete warships, in 2008 it was decided that they were to be sold for scrap or as museum exhibits. ''Drava'' was sold and scrapped in June 2008 in

Tivat Tivat (, ) is a coastal town in southwest Montenegro, located in the Bay of Kotor. , its population was 9,367. Tivat is the centre of Tivat Municipality, which is the smallest municipality by area in Montenegro. Name In Serbian and Montenegrin l ...

. On 8 May 2008 ''Sava'' was sold as scrap for 174,500 Euros to the

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro form ...

firm "Mont Metal" and was towed to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

for scrapping. An article published in 2010 suggested that the submarine was sold along with the "Orca-2000" system still on board, although it was supposed to be removed along with the other sensitive combat equipment. "Orca-2000" was a torpedo fire control system that could also be used for navigation and was developed in Serbia and Montenegro . A few days later Rajko Bulatović, commander of the Montenegrin Navy at the time, made a statement explaining the "Orca-2000" system was never installed on ''Sava'', and was in fact, developed for a foreign customer.

Development and building

Description

Service and aftermath

Notes

References

Books

News reports

Other sources