text: yugoslav torpedo boat t3 the yugoslav torpedo boat t3 was a 250t - class , t - group sea - going torpedo boat built for the austro - hungarian navy as 78 t in 1914 . she was armed with two škoda 66 mm ( 2 . 6 in ) l / 30 guns , four 450 mm ( 17 . 7 in ) torpedo tubes , and could carry 10 – 12 naval mines . she saw active service during world war i , performing convoy , escort and minesweeping tasks , and anti - submarine operations . following austria - hungary 's defeat in 1918 , she was allocated to the navy of the kingdom of serbs , croats and slovenes , which subsequently became the royal yugoslav navy , and was renamed t3 . during the german - led axis invasion of yugoslavia in april 1941 , she was captured by the italians and after her main armament was modernised she served with the royal italian navy under her yugoslav designation . following the italian capitulation in september 1943 , she was captured by germany , and after she was fitted with additional anti - aircraft guns she served with the kriegsmarine as ta48 . in german service her crew of 52 consisted entirely of croatian officers and enlisted men . she was sunk by allied aircraft in february 1945 while in the port of trieste . background in 1910 , the austria - hungary naval technical committee initiated the design and development of a 275 - long - ton ( 279 t ) coastal torpedo boat , specifying that it should be capable of sustaining 30 knots ( 56 km / h ) for 10 hours . this specification was based an expectation that the strait of otranto , where the adriatic sea meets the ionian sea , would be blockaded by hostile forces during a future conflict . in such circumstances , there would be a need for a torpedo boat that could sail from the austro - hungarian navy ( german : und kriegsmarine ) base at cattaro to the strait during darkness , locate and attack blockading ships and return to port before morning . steam turbine power was selected for propulsion , as diesels with the necessary power were not available , and the austro - hungarian navy did not have the practical experience to run turbo - electric boats . stabilimento tecnico triestino ( stt ) of trieste was selected for the contract to build eight vessels , ahead of one other tenderer . the t - group designation signified the builder , stt . description and construction the 250t - class , t - group boats had a waterline length of 58 . 2 m ( 190 ft 11 in ) , a beam of 5 . 7 m ( 18 ft 8 in ) , and a normal draught of 1 . 5 m ( 4 ft 11 in ) . while their designed displacement was 262 tonnes ( 258 long tons ) , they displaced about 320 tonnes ( 310 long tons ) fully loaded . the crew consisted of 39 officers and enlisted men . the boats were powered by a parsons steam turbine driving two propellers , using steam generated by two yarrow water - tube boilers , one of which burned fuel oil and the other coal . the turbine was rated at 5 , 000 shp ( 3 , 700 kw ) with a maximum output of 6 , 000 shp ( 4 , 500 kw ) and designed to reach a top speed of 28 knots ( 52 km / h ; 32 mph ) . they carried 18 tonnes ( 17 . 7 long tons ) of coal and 24 tonnes ( 23 . 6 long tons ) of fuel oil , which gave them a range of 980 nmi ( 1 , 810 km ; 1 , 130 mi ) at 16 knots ( 30 km / h ; 18 mph ) . the t - group had one funnel rather than the two funnels of the later groups of the class . despite the specifications of the contract being very close to the requirements for the coastal torpedo boat , the stt boats were classified as sea - going . the boats were originally to be armed with three škoda 66 mm ( 2 . 6 in ) l / 30 guns , and three 450 mm ( 17 . 7 in ) torpedo tubes , but this was changed to two guns and four torpedo tubes before the first boat was completed , in order to standardise the armament with the following f - group . they could also carry 10 – 12 naval mines . 78 t was the fifth of its class to be completed , and was laid down on 22 october 1913 , launched on 4 march 1914 , and completed and commissioned on 23 august 1914 . eight t - group boats were completed between february and december 1914 , designated 74 t – 81 t. in 1914 , one 8 mm ( 0 . 31 in ) machine gun was added . career world war i and interwar period the 250t - class , t - group were the first small austro - hungarian navy boats to use turbines , and this contributed to ongoing problems with the boats . during world war i , 78 t was used for convoy , escort and minesweeping tasks , and anti - submarine operations , she also conducted patrols and supported seaplane raids against the italian adriatic coast . due to inadequate funding , 78 t and the rest of the 250t - class were essentially coastal vessels , despite the original intention that they would be used for " high seas " operations . in 1917 , one of the 66 mm ( 2 . 6 in ) guns on each boat was placed on an anti - aircraft mount . she survived the war intact , and under the terms of the treaty of saint - germain - en - laye concluded in september 1919 , she was allocated to the kingdom of serbs , croats and slovenes ( kscs , later yugoslavia ) in 1920 , along with three other 250t class , t - group boats , 76 t , 77 t and 79 t , which all served with the royal yugoslav navy ( serbo - croatian : jugoslovenska ratna mornarica , kjrm ; југословенска pатна ) . in kjrm service , 78 t was renamed t3 . world war ii in april 1941 , yugoslavia entered world war ii when it was invaded by the german - led axis powers . at the time of the invasion , t3 was assigned to the southern sector of the kjrm 's coastal defence command based at the bay of kotor , along with her sister ship t1 and a number of minesweepers and other craft . t3 was captured by the royal italian navy ( italian : regia marina ) and was operated by them under her yugoslav designation . she was fitted with two 76 mm ( 3 in ) l / 30 anti - aircraft guns in place of her 66 mm ( 2 . 6 in ) guns , but no other significant alterations were made to her . when the italians capitulated in september 1943 , the german navy ( german : kriegsmarine ) seized t3 in the port of rijeka and renamed her ta48 . during her time in german service she was crewed exclusively by croatian officers and sailors , and her complement was increased to 52 . the germans fitted her with two single 20 mm ( 0 . 79 in ) anti - aircraft guns . she was active in the northern adriatic but saw little action . she was sunk in the port of trieste by allied aircraft on 20 february 1945 .