Yugoslav destroyer Ljubljana

In the early 1930s, the Royal Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian: Kraljevska mornarica; Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: Краљевска морнарица; КМ) pursued the flotilla leader concept, which involved building large destroyers similar to the World War I Royal Navy V and W-class destroyers.[1] 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 Dubrovnik 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.[2]

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.[3]

The Beograd class was developed from a French design, and the third and last ship of the class, Ljubljana, was built by Jadranska brodogradilišta at Split, Yugoslavia, under French supervision.[4] The shipyard she was constructed in was jointly owned by Yarrow and Chantiers de la Loire.[5] The ship had an overall length of 98 m (321 ft 6 in), a beam of 9.45 m (31 ft), and a normal draught of 3.18 m (10 ft 5 in). Her standard displacement was 1,210 tonnes (1,190 long tons), and she displaced 1,655 tonnes (1,629 long tons) at full load. Ljubljana's crew consisted of 145 personnel, including both officers and enlisted men.[6]

The ship was powered by a pair of Parsons steam turbines driving two propellers, using steam generated by three Yarrow water-tube boilers. Her turbines were rated between 40,000–44,000 shaft horsepower (30,000–33,000 kW) and Ljubljana was designed to reach a top speed of 38–39 knots (70–72 km/h; 44–45 mph), although she was only able to reach a practical top speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) in service.[6] She carried 120 tonnes (120 long tons) of fuel oil.[6] Although data is not available for Ljubljana, her sister ship Beograd had a range of 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km; 1,200 mi).[7]

Ljubljana's main armament consisted of four Škoda 120 mm (4.7 in) L/46[lower-alpha 1] guns in single superfiring mounts, two forward of the superstructure and two aft, protected by gun shields.[6][9][10] Her secondary armament consisted of four Škoda 40 mm (1.6 in) anti-aircraft guns in two twin mounts, located on either side of the aft shelter deck.[11][12] The ship was also equipped with two triple-mount 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes and two machine guns.[6] Her fire-control system was provided by the Dutch firm Hazemeyer,[9] and she was fitted with a searchlight.[13] As built, Ljubljana could also carry 30 naval mines.[6]

Ljubljana was laid down in 1936,[9][14] launched on 28 June 1938,[6] and was commissioned into the KM in December 1939.[12]

On 24 January 1940, Ljubljana ran into a reef off the Yugoslav port of Šibenik. The hull side was breached and despite efforts to get the ship into the port, she sank close to shore. Some of the crew swam to safety while others were taken aboard fishing vessels. One of the crew died, and the captain was arrested pending an investigation.[15] The ship was later refloated and towed into Šibenik for major repairs.[16][17] In April 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers, and Ljubljana was captured at Šibenik by the Royal Italian Navy (Italian: Regia Marina) on 17 April,[16] where she was still undergoing repairs. The ship was towed to the Bay of Kotor and then to Rijeka for refitting and repair.[16][17] Her searchlight was replaced with a single mount 37 mm (1.5 in) gun, and her aft director was also removed. Ljubljana's original 40 mm guns were also removed and five single 20 mm (0.79 in) L/65 Breda Model 35 guns were added to her armament. Her funnel tops were also cut to a more raked angle.[13]

The ship was commissioned into the Royal Italian Navy under the name Lubiana in October,[13][16] or November 1942.[17] She served as an escort during 1942–1943, operating on the Tunisian supply route from the beginning of 1943.[13] 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.[18] The ship was then involved in escorting another series of convoys to Tunisia commencing on 27 March.[19] Naval history sources vary regarding Lubiana's exact fate. According to Roger Chesneau, she was sunk off the Tunisian coast by British aircraft on 1 April 1943,[20] but Maurizio Brescia states the ship was stranded off the Cap Bon Peninsula on the Tunisian coast on the same day and declared a total loss.[17] David K. Brown records that she was stranded in bad weather about 04:00 on 1 April approximately 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) east of Ras El Ahmar while entering the Gulf of Tunis, and was abandoned after being damaged by heavy seas.[21]

• "Addition to Yugoslavia's Fleet". Great Britain and the East. London, UK: Brittain. 1938. OCLC 183360562.
• Brescia, Maurizio (2012). Mussolini's Navy. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59114-544-8.
• Brown, David (1995). Warship Losses of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-914-7.
• Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. London, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-329-2.
• Cernuschi, Enrico & O'Hara, Vincent O. (2005). "The Star-Crossed Split". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2005. London, UK: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 97–110. ISBN 978-1-84486-003-6.
• Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922–1946. London, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-146-5.
• Freivogel, Zvonimir (2014). "From Glasgow to Genoa under Three Flags – The Yugoslav Flotilla Leader Dubrovnik" (PDF). Voennyi Sbornik. Sochi, Russian Federation: Academic Publishing House Researcher. 4 (2): 83–88. ISSN 2309-6322. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
• Freivogel, Zvonimir & Grobmeier, A. H. (2006). "Question 36/05: Armament of Yugoslav Destroyer Leader Split". Warship International. XLIII (4): 362. ISSN 0043-0374.
• Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
• Jarman, Robert L., ed. (1997). Yugoslavia Political Diaries 1918–1965. 2. Slough, UK: Cambridge Archive Editions. ISBN 978-1-85207-950-5.
• Lenton, Henry Trevor (1975). German Warships of the Second World War. London, UK: Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN 978-0-356-04661-7.
• Rohwer, Jürgen & Hümmelchen, Gerhard (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-105-9.
• Whitley, Michael J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-326-7.
• "Yugoslav Destroyer Hits Reef: Only One of Crew Lost". The Examiner. Launceston, Tasmania. 26 January 1940. p. 1. Retrieved 29 September 2013.