page_title: Royal Yugoslav Navy
section_title: 1930–1940
hierarchical_section_title: Royal Yugoslav Navy / History / Interwar activities / 1930–1940
caption_attribution_description: English: The Orjen-class torpedo boat "Velebit" photographed in 1939
context_page_description: The Royal Navy, commonly the Royal Yugoslav Navy, was the naval warfare service branch of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was brought into existence in 1921, and initially consisted of a few former Austro-Hungarian Navy vessels surrendered at the conclusion of World War I and transferred to the new nation state under the terms of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The only modern sea-going warships transferred to the new state were twelve steam-powered torpedo boats, although it did receive four capable river monitors for use on the Danube and other large rivers. Significant new acquisitions began in 1926 with a former German light cruiser, followed by the commissioning of two motor torpedo boats and a small submarine flotilla over the next few years. When the name of the state was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929, the name of its navy was changed to reflect this. In the late 1920s, several of the original vessels were discarded.
  Throughout the interwar period, elements of the fleet conducted visits to ports throughout the Mediterranean, but few fleet exercises occurred due to budget pressures.
context_section_description: In January 1929, King Alexander changed the name of the country to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and the navy became the Royal Navy (Serbo-Croatian Latin: Kraljevska Mornarica, Краљевска Морнарица, KM). In April 1930, the salvage vessel Spasilac was added to the fleet, and the following month the submarine Nebojša was damaged when she collided with a steamer. In July, the two Hrabri-class submarines and Sitnica made a Mediterranean cruise, visiting Alexandria and Beirut. The appointment of a chief of the Maritime Air Force in 1930 signified the separation of naval aviation from army control, with a strength of around 1,000 officers and men, of whom about 80 were pilots. Around 120 naval aircraft were in service. In 1931, the fleet expanded significantly with the completion of the British-built flotilla leader Dubrovnik. The flotilla leader concept involved building large destroyers similar to the World War I Royal Navy V and W-class destroyers. In the interwar French Navy, these ships were known as contre-torpilleurs, and were intended to operate with smaller destroyers, or as half-flotillas of three ships. The KM decided to build three such flotilla leaders, ships that would have the ability to reach high speeds and with a long endurance. The long endurance requirement reflected Yugoslav plans to deploy the ships into the central Mediterranean, where they would be able to operate alongside French and British warships. The onset of the Great Depression meant that only one ship of the planned half-flotilla was ever built. Five locally-built Malinska-class minelayers were also added to the fleet in 1931. The following year, a new German-built 720-long-ton (810-short-ton) brigantine sail training ship, Jadran was acquired, and Wickerhauser retired and was replaced by Vice-Admiral N.N. Stanković. The 250t-class torpedo boat T4 ran aground and was broken up in 1932.
  In 1932, Stanković assured the British naval attaché that Yugoslav naval policy was focused on the defence of her coastline, but he also opined that this task would require significant expansion of the navy, including the acquisition of six cruisers and five more flotilla leaders similar to Dubrovnik. In the same year, Dubrovnik sailed to the Black Sea then visited several ports in the Mediterranean with King Alexander and Queen Marie aboard. During 1932, the Maritime Air Force had bases at Divulje and Đenovići, with two bomber squadrons and one reconnaissance squadron at each base, each squadron consisting of 12 aircraft. In 1934, the British naval attaché reported that the French had significant influence on Yugoslav naval policy. In the same year, the KM comprised 517 officers and 6,461 men, and Stanković retired and was replaced by Rear-Admiral M. L. Polić. In October, Hrabri and Smeli conducted visits to various Mediterranean ports. Despite the fact that a half-flotilla of large destroyers was not going to be built, the idea that Dubrovnik might operate with a number of smaller destroyers persisted. In 1934, the KM decided to acquire three such destroyers to operate in a division led by Dubrovnik. In August 1935, Dubrovnik visited Corfu and Bizerte, the seaplane carrier Zmaj along with three Galeb-class mine tenders also visited Corfu, and Hrabri and Osvetnik visited Malta.
  In 1936, eight German-built Orjen-class MTBs were added. Also in 1936, a new naval coastal command was established under the command of a rear admiral. It was headquartered in Split, and included shore-based commands at Selce, Šibenik and Đenovići. By the end of that year, the KM consisted of 27 surface combatants, four submarines, and around a dozen auxiliary vessels, crewed by a total of 487 officers and about 5,000 men. The yacht Lada had been disposed of, as had the minesweeper D2. The training ship Sitnica had been converted into a second submarine depot ship, and the Galeb-class mine tenders had been reclassified as minelayers. The river flotilla consisted of the four monitors, the royal yacht Dragor, two patrol boats—Graničar and Stražar, and three river tugs; Cer, Triglav and Avala. H
caption: The Orjen-class MTB Velebit underway
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