Featured Article Summary #246

T6 was a seagoing torpedo boat used by the Royal Yugoslav Navy from 1921 to 1941. She began life in 1915–1916 as an Austro-Hungarian 250t-class boat armed with two 66 mm guns, four 450 mm torpedo tubes, and the ability to carry naval mines. During World War I, she carried out convoy escort, patrol, minesweeping, and anti-submarine work. After Austria-Hungary collapsed in 1918, she was transferred to the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and later renamed T6; at that time, her class was among the few modern ships in the young navy, though limited budgets slowed activity in the interwar years. In April 1941 she was captured by Italy, where after modernization she served in the Italian Navy as T6, escorting ships along the Adriatic. After Italy surrendered in September 1943, her crew scuttled her because she did not have enough fuel to reach an Allied port. In 1910, the Austria-Hungary Naval Technical Committee began planning new torpedo boats, including a 275 t coastal type able to do 30 knots for 10 hours and a larger 500–550 t high-seas fleet torpedo boat capable of 30 knots with 480 nautical miles of endurance. The high-seas design was meant for potential blockade duty in the Strait of Otranto, requiring ships to travel at night, attack enemy blockaders, and return before morning, using steam turbines because suitable diesel power was not available. After these plans, the navy ordered 250 t boats—eight from STT (the T-group) and sixteen from Ganz & Danubius (the F-group, named for their Fiume yard)—after negotiations over pricing. The 250t-class F-group torpedo boats were small, fast, and agile ships designed for service in the Adriatic, with a waterline length of 58.76 m and a beam of 5.84 m. They were powered by two steam turbines fed by two Yarrow water-tube boilers (one burning fuel oil and the other coal), driving two propellers, and could reach about 28–29 knots with a range of 1,200 nautical miles at 16 knots. Their displacement rose from 243.9 t designed to 267 t fully loaded, and they carried torpedoes, light guns, and could also carry naval mines, with 3 officers and 38 enlisted crew. Although they were classified as “high seas” torpedo boats by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, they were smaller than the original coastal concept due to the Navy’s cost-saving choices. The F-group was the first small Austro-Hungarian design to use turbines, which caused early operating problems that had to be fixed over time. The fifth boat, 93 F, was built at Ganz-Danubius in Fiume, laid down in January 1915, launched in November 1915, and commissioned in April 1916. The 250t-class torpedo boats originally served as a reserve force, attacking only when nearby battleships were disabled or when enemy damaged battleships needed to be struck. In 1916, 93 F fought in an action off Porto Corsini, searched for Italian ships near Istria, tested new smoke generators, and later underwent repairs at Pola. In 1917 she faced British submarine attacks, continued minesweeping and convoy escort duties, and survived incidents including the sinking of a sister ship after a mine. In 1918, a mutiny broke out at Đenovići, but 93 was escorting battleships—sent to suppress it—before they arrived and then returned to Pola. She continued escorting major ships and minelaying operations, hunted Italian submarines (without confirmed success), and laid mines near northern Albania while also escorting many convoys. As the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed in November, 93 F was transferred on 1 November to the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, which later formed the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia). After Austria-Hungary surrendered in November 1918, the Allies treated the Bocche as Austro-Hungarian territory and French troops occupied it, leaving captured navy ships such as the torpedo boat 93 neglected and damaging or destroying its original torpedo tubes. In 1920, 93 was assigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and after being transferred to the new Royal Yugoslav Navy in 1921, she was renamed T6 and rebuilt with new torpedo tubes, a Bofors 40 mm gun, two 15 mm machine guns, and a larger crew. During the 1920s and early 1930s she took part in major cruises and exercises, but by 1932 Yugoslav training was limited by budget cuts, and by 1939 her class’s top speed had fallen to 24 knots.