Featured Article Summary #95

Mališan (P-901) was a small CB-class submarine that served in the Yugoslav Navy from 1953 to 1957. It was originally built in 1943 by Caproni in Milan as CB-20 for Italy’s harbour defense and anti-submarine warfare, but it was unfinished when Italy surrendered in September 1943. The Germans captured it and finished it by March 1944, and it later served the Italian Social Republic before being taken by Yugoslav forces at the port of Pola. After repairs, the Yugoslav Navy commissioned it to train submariners and patrol crews in anti-submarine warfare, and in 1959 it was donated as a museum ship in Zagreb. After nearly 50 years on display, it underwent a major restoration starting in 2008, and reopened to the public in April 2010. Some people criticised the restoration decision to return it to its original Italian paint scheme and designation. Mališan was a small Italian CB-class midget submarine designed for harbour defence and anti-submarine work. It had a pressure hull with the control room at the front and the engine room at the back, plus a lighter outer hull with a conning tower, periscope, and two hatches, and it used seven ballast tanks (only two were load-bearing). Some parts were made with steel that was prone to rust, and the boat had a single rudder with semi-balanced diving planes. It was built in Milan by Caproni, laid down in 1943 as CB-20, and measured 15 m in length with a maximum diving depth of 55 m. Its armament was mainly two 450 mm external side torpedo tubes carrying only two torpedoes, with limited reloading requiring removed launching cylinders; a machine gun could be used on the foredeck and some sources suggest it could carry mines instead. Power came from a diesel engine for surface running and charging batteries, plus an electric motor for underwater travel, giving modest speed and ranges, while the crew typically numbered four in wartime and two in peacetime. Early boats of the class were sent to the Black Sea in 1942 and achieved some successes against Soviet submarines. After Italy surrendered in September 1943, CB-20 was seized by the Germans, later served with Italy’s RSI forces for coastal reconnaissance, and was captured by the Yugoslav Army in May 1945 at Pola after German mines damaged it; its crew were surrendered but later killed. The boat was renamed Mališan (P-901) and repaired at the Uljanik Shipyard using parts from other damaged CB-class boats. Commissioned into the Yugoslav Navy in 1953, it trained submariners and patrol crews in anti-submarine warfare, including underwater messages for Tito, before being removed from service on 30 September 1957 due to maintenance problems. On 3 October 1959, the Mališan submarine was donated to Zagreb’s Technical Museum (now the Nikola Tesla Technical Museum). Its conning tower was removed for transport, and later the museum also dealt with its condition and restoring work, showing careful preservation of removed parts and rebuilding for visitor access; the fully restored submarine was put on public display on 8 April 2010. Some visitors and researchers later questioned why the exhibit kept an Italian appearance instead of highlighting Mališan’s Yugoslav service, and suggested the museum signage should be expanded to give more details about its Yugoslav history.