1930s Beograd-class destroyer
Ljubljana (; Cyrillic: ) was the third and last "Beograd"-class destroyer built for the Royal Yugoslav Navy (; КМ) in the late 1930s, and designed to operate as part of a division led by the flotilla leader . She entered KM service in November 1939, was armed with a main battery of four Škoda guns in superfiring single mounts – two forward and two aft of the superstructure – and she had a practical top speed of .
In 1940, "Ljubljana" ran aground on a reef off the Yugoslav port of Šibenik and sank due to the serious damage caused to her hull. After considerable effort she was refloated and then towed to the naval arsenal at Tivat in the Bay of Kotor for repairs. This incident resulted in her gaining a reputation as an "unlucky ship" with Yugoslav sailors. Yugoslavia entered World War II when the German-led Axis powers invaded in April 1941, and "Ljubljana" – still under repair – was captured by the Italians. After repairs and refitting, including replacement of her anti-aircraft armament, she saw service from November 1942 with the Royal Italian Navy under the name Lubiana, mainly as a convoy escort on routes between Italy and Greece and Italy and Tunisia. She was lost on 1 April 1943, when a navigational error was made in poor visibility off the Tunisian coast. She ran aground and was stranded and then abandoned due to heavy seas, and was declared a total loss.
Background.
In the early 1930s, the Royal Yugoslav Navy pursued the flotilla leader concept, which involved building large destroyers similar to the World War I Royal Navy V and W-class destroyers. In the interwar French Navy, flotilla leaders were intended to operate as half-flotillas of three ships, or with one flotilla leader operating alongside several smaller destroyers. The KM decided to build three such flotilla leaders—ships that could reach high speeds and would have long endurance. The endurance requirement reflected Yugoslav plans to deploy the flotilla leaders to the central Mediterranean, where they would be able to operate alongside French and British warships. This resulted in the construction of the destroyer in 1930–1931. Soon after she was ordered, the onset of the Great Depression and attendant economic pressures meant that only one ship of the planned half-flotilla was ever built.
British diplomatic staff reported that although three large destroyers were not going to be built, the intent that "Dubrovnik" might operate with several smaller destroyers persisted. In 1934, the KM decided to acquire three smaller destroyers to operate in a division led by "Dubrovnik", leading to the building of the "Beograd" class.
Description and construction.
The "Beograd"–class ships were built to a design based on a modified version of the French , and the third and last ship of the class, "Ljubljana", was built by Jadranska brodogradilišta at Split, Yugoslavia, under French supervision. This shipyard was jointly owned by Yarrow and Chantiers de la Loire. The "Beograd" class had an improved hull shape from the "Bourrasque" class, especially aft where the depth charge racks under the main deck were dispensed with. Their silhouette was also lower and more modern than the Bourrasque class, with two funnels of the same height rather than three of differing heights. The lower sections of the funnels were inside the superstructure in the midsection of the ship aft of the forecastle, which also housed the boiler room access and some offices. The officers' accommodation was aft under the quarterdeck and in the deckhouse, and the accommodation for the petty officers and sailors was forward. Overall, the class were fast but lightly built and top heavy, and had limited range.
"Ljubljana" was named for the Yugoslav city of Ljubljana. She had an overall length of , a beam of , and a normal draught of . The ship's standard displacement was , and she displaced at full load. "Ljubljana"'s crew consisted of 145 personnel, including both officers and enlisted men.
The ship was powered by a pair of Parsons steam turbines driving two propellers, using steam generated by three oil-fired Yarrow water-tube boilers which were arranged with a single boiler in the forward boiler room and two boilers in the aft boiler room. Her turbines were installed in two engine rooms one behind the other aft of the boiler rooms, with the forward turbine driving the starboard shaft and the aft turbine driving the port shaft. Total power was rated at and "Ljubljana" was designed to reach a top speed of , although her sister achieved during her trials. "Ljubljana" was only able to reach a practical top speed of in service. She carried of fuel oil, in nine bunkers located on either side of the boiler rooms and in the double bottom directly below the bridge. The bunker oil in the double bottom adversely affected her trim. Her range in 1941 while in Italian service was and .
The initial intention to arm the class with four Czechoslovak-built Škoda L/56 guns – as carried by "Dubrovnik" – was quickly dropped, as they were too heavy for the smaller destroyers. Instead, "Ljubljana"'s main armament consisted of four Škoda L/46 guns in single superfiring mounts, two forward of the superstructure and two aft, protected by gun shields. A total of 2,400 shells were carried for the main guns. Her fire-control system was provided by the Dutch firm Hazemeyer, with the forward firing director with a rangefinder on the bridge, and the aft director mounted on the aft deckhouse. Her secondary armament was originally intended to be four Škoda anti-aircraft guns in two twin mounts, but due to delays in the development of these new guns, Bofors L/60 guns were installed instead. A total of 10,000 rounds were carried for these guns. Their mounts were located on either side of the aft shelter deck. Two Zbrojovka Brno Model 60 machine guns were installed in single mounts on the bridge wings. Two French triple-mount torpedo tubes were chosen, but sources vary regarding whether these were older tubes or newer tubes. The torpedo tubes were mounted on the centreline forward and aft of the deckhouse, which was located between the aft funnel and the quarterdeck. A searchlight was mounted on top of the deckhouse. "Ljubljana" could also carry 30 naval mines, delivered from mine rails aft. "Ljubljana" was also fitted with two depth charge racks aft.
"Ljubljana" was laid down in 1936, launched on 28 June 1938, completed on 23 September 1939, and was commissioned into the KM in November 1939.
Career.
Yugoslav service.
Soon after commissioning, "Ljubljana" participated in an anti-submarine warfare exercise in the passages between the large islands of Mljet and Korčula off the Dalmatian coast on 23 January 1940. During the exercise, "Ljubljana"'s crew noticed that she was veering to starboard – a steering machinery malfunction was suspected – and the secondary steering system was engaged. The exercise included both her sister ships, and the following day the division sailed towards Šibenik for a port visit to familiarise the population with the new destroyers. The ships were ordered to sail to Šibenik through the narrow St. Anthony Channel, but due to the strong northerly wind blowing, their commanding officers requested that they be permitted to anchor outside the channel until the wind dropped. This request was denied, as the public were waiting for their arrival, along with the commander-in-chief of the KM, Marijan Polić. As she passed through the narrowest point in the channel near the harbour entrance about 17:05, "Ljubljana"'s stern swung to starboard and struck underwater rocks on the eastern side of the channel. The starboard hull and the starboard shaft were damaged, and the damage to the latter resulted in eccentric rotation of the starboard propeller which tore into and breached the hull near the steering machinery. Both turbines were put out of action, as the forward turbine driving the starboard shaft had to be disengaged, and the engine room of the aft turbine was flooded. Without power, "Ljubljana"'s momentum carried her forward into the eastern part of Šibenik harbour where she came to a stop. The extent of the damage was initially underestimated, and both anchors were dropped. This action prevented her being towed to safety by two tugs, and they were only able to save the crew, except for one sailor, who drowned in the aft engine room. At about 6:15 PM "Ljubljana" capsized and sank. She came to rest upside down at a relatively shallow depth on the bottom of the harbour, inclined to port on a 120 degree angle. The resulting naval court of inquiry led to the early retirement of almost the entire staff of the Yugoslav fleet headquarters.
No salvage companies in Yugoslavia had the equipment and expertise to raise "Ljubljana", so the Tripkovich firm from Trieste was engaged for the task. The director of the company, Gottfried Freiherr von Banfield – the most successful Austro-Hungarian naval pilot of World War I – was known to many former Austro-Hungarian naval personnel then serving in the KM. Banfield arrived in Šibenik with the tug "Gladiator" four days after "Ljubljana" had sunk. His team was joined by the KM tug "Jaki" and Italian tugs "Audax" and "Cyclops", with the KM salvage vessel acting as the headquarters for the operation. It was hoped that the salvage could be completed within two weeks, but the winter sea and weather conditions made it very difficult. During one attempt, hydraulic cylinders borrowed from the Royal Italian Navy came free when the tow cable parted, and floated away to be collected by "Dubrovnik". On the night of 29 February/1 March, the Italian ocean liner accidentally struck the submerged "Ljubljana", further damaging her rudder and propellers. "Ljubljana"'s hull was sealed, and on 10 May she was brought onto an even keel, resting on a bed of 80,000 sandbags. Eight days later, the first attempt to raise her failed after she rose only one metre before the cables parted. She was finally raised on 10 July in the presence of Banfield and the new KM commander-in-chief, Julijan Luterotti. "Ljubljana" was then towed to Tivat in the Bay of Kotor for repairs. This incident, so soon after her commissioning, led to her being considered an "unlucky ship" by Yugoslav sailors.
Italian service.
In April 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers, and "Ljubljana" was captured at Tivat by the Royal Italian Navy on 17 April, where she was still undergoing repairs. The ship was towed to Pola for refitting and repair. Her main guns were retained, but a single mount gun replaced each of her 40 mm guns and a third single 37 mm gun replaced the searchlight on the deckhouse. Her 15 mm machine guns were also removed, and eight single Breda Model 35 L/65 guns were added to her armament, two of which replaced the aft torpedo tubes. Both firing directors were removed, with the forward one replaced with an Italian RM-2 director on the bridge. Her funnel tops were also cut to a more raked angle, and she was painted in a dazzle camouflage scheme.
The ship was officially commissioned into the Royal Italian Navy under the name "Lubiana" using the identification letters "LA" on 1 November 1941, but was not actually operational until late October or possibly November 1942. She was attached to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla of the 1st Squadron, operating in the Ionian Sea and the southern Adriatic. She served as an escort until April 1943, operating on the Tunisian supply route from the beginning of 1943. However, her first identified escort was of the captured Greek tanker "Patrakis Nomikos" – of  gross register tons (GRT) – from Brindisi in southern Italy to Patras in western Greece in late November 1942. From 9 February to 22 March 1943, "Lubiana" participated in a series of troop transport convoys for the German and Italian armies in North Africa. These included the escort of the motor vessel "Ombrina" from Taranto in southern Italy via Palermo in Sicily to Bizerte in Tunisia between 21 and 23 February, and the escort of the motor vessels "Marco Foscarini" and "Niccolo Tommaseo" and the steamship "Foggia" between Taranto and Bizerte over the period 17 to 19 March.
The ship was then involved in escorting another convoy to Tunisia commencing on 27 March, including her final escort, of the tanker "Bivona", and the steamships "Giacomo C", "Aquila" and "Le Borgne" to Tunisia. In bad visibility and poor weather, "Lubiana"'s crew made a navigational