|
Yugoslavia Naval Forces
In 1990 the navy had 10,000 sailors (4,400 conscripts),
including 2,300 in twenty-five coastal artillery batteries and
900 marines in one light naval infantry brigade. This was
essentially a coastal defense force with the mission of
preventing enemy landings along the country's rugged 4,000-
kilometer shoreline or coastal islands, and contesting an enemy
blockade or control of the strategic Strait of Otranto. Its
capabilities were limited by a lack of operational time at sea
and infrequent live firing exercises.
Minor surface combatants operated by the navy included nearly
eighty frigates, corvettes, submarines, minesweepers, and
missile, torpedo, and patrol boats in the Adriatic Fleet. The
entire coast of Yugoslavia was part of the naval region
headquartered at Split. The naval region was divided into three
smaller naval districts and a riverine flotilla with major bases
located at Split, Sibenik, Pula, Ploce and Kotor on the Adriatic
and Novi Sad on the Danube. The fleet was organized into missile,
torpedo, and patrol boat brigades, a submarine division, and
minesweeper flotillas. The naval order of battle included four
frigates, three corvettes, five patrol submarines, fifty-eight
missile, torpedo, and patrol boats, and twenty-eight
minesweepers. One antisubmarine warfare helicopter squadron was
based at Divulje on the Adriatic for coastal operations. It
employed Soviet Ka-25, Ka-28, and Mi-8 helicopters, and domestic
Partisan helicopters. Some air force fighter and reconnaissance
squadrons supported naval operations.
The Partisans had operated many small boats in raids
harassing Italian convoys in the Adriatic Sea during World War
II. After the war, the navy operated numerous German and Italian
submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, and tank-landing craft
captured during the war or received as war reparations. The
United States provided eight torpedo boats in the late 1940s, but
most of those units were soon obsolete. The navy was upgraded in
the 1960s when it acquired ten Osa-I class missile boats and four
Shershen-class torpedo boats from the Soviet Union. The Soviets
granted a license to build eleven additional Shershen units in
Yugoslav shipyards developed for this purpose.
In 1980 and 1982, the navy took delivery of two Soviet Koniclass frigates. In 1988 it completed two additional units under
license. The Koni frigates were armed with four Soviet SS-N-2B
surface-to-surface missile launchers, twin SA-N-4 surface-to-air
missiles, and antisubmarine rocket launchers. The Yugoslav navy
developed its own submarine-building capability during the 1960s.
In 1990 the main combat units of the submarine service were three
Heroj-class patrol submarines armed with 533-mm torpedoes. Two
smaller Sava-class units entered service in the late 1970s. Two
Sutjeska-class submarines had been relegated mainly to training
missions by 1990. At that time the navy had apparently shifted to
construction of versatile midget submarines. Four Una-class
midgets and four Mala-class swimmer delivery vehicles were in
service in the late 1980s. They were built for use by underwater
demolition teams and special forces. The Una-class boats carried
five crewmen, eight combat swimmers, four Mala vehicles, and
limpet mines. The Mala vehicles in turn carried two swimmers and
250 kilograms of mines.
The navy operated ten Osa I-class and six Rade Koncar-class
missile boats. The Osa I boats were armed with four SS-N-2A
surface-to-surface missile launchers. In 1990 domestic Kobra
boats were scheduled to begin replacing the Osa I boats. The
Kobra was to be armed with four SS-N-2C launchers or eight
Swedish RBS-15 antiship missile launchers. Armed with two SS-N-2B
launchers, the Koncar-class boats were modeled after the Swedish
Spica class. The navy's fifteen Topcider-class torpedo boats
included four former Soviet Shershen-class and eleven Yugoslavbuilt units.
Patrol boats were operated primarily for antisubmarine
warfare. The inventory included three Mornar-class corvettes with
antisubmarine rocket launchers and depth charges. The Mornar
class was based on a French design from the mid-1950s. Seventeen
Mirna inshore patrol boats and thirteen older Kraljevica
submarine chasers also were available.
The navy's mine warfare and countermeasures capabilities were
considered adequate in 1990. It operated four Vukov Klanac-class
coastal minehunters built on a French design, four British Hamclass inshore minesweepers, and six 117-class inshore
minesweepers built in domestic shipyards. Larger numbers of older
and less capable minesweepers were mainly used in riverine
operations. Other older units were used as dedicated minelayers.
The navy used amphibious landing craft in support of army
operations in the area of the Danube, Sava, and Drava rivers.
They included both tank and assault landing craft. In 1990 there
were four 501-class, ten 211-class, and twenty-five 601-class
landing craft in service. Most of them were also capable of
laying mines in rivers and coastal areas.
The coastal artillery batteries had both surface-to-surface
missiles and guns. They operated the Soviet-designed SS-C-3 and a
truck-mounted, Yugoslav-produced Brom antiship missile. The
latter was essentially a Yugoslav variant of the Soviet SS-N-2.
Coastal guns included over 400 88mm, 122mm, 130mm, and 152mm
artillery pieces obtained from the Soviet Union, the United
States, postwar Germany, and Yugoslav manufacturers.
Data as of December 1990
|
