Yugoslav torpedo boat T3

T3

T3 underway in 1931
History
Austria-Hungary
Name	78 T then 78
Builder	Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino
Laid down	22 October 1913
Launched	4 March 1914
Commissioned	23 August 1914
Out of service	1918
Fate	Assigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Name	T3
Acquired	March 1921
Out of service	April 1941
Fate	Captured by Italy
Italy
Name	T3
Acquired	April 1941
Out of service	16 September 1943
Fate	Captured by German forces at Rijeka
Nazi Germany
Name	TA48
Acquired	16 September 1943
Out of service	1945
Fate	Sunk at Trieste by Allied bombing on 20 February 1945
Notes	Crewed by Croatian sailors
General characteristics
Class and type	250t-class, T-group sea-going torpedo boat
Displacement	237 t (233 long tons) 324 t (319 long tons) (full load)
Length	57.3 m (188 ft 0 in)
Beam	5.7 m (18 ft 8 in)
Draught	1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)
Installed power	5,000 shp (3,700 kW) 2 × Yarrow boilers
Propulsion	2 × shafts 2 × Parsons steam turbines
Speed	28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range	1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement	41 officers and enlisted
Armament	2 × Škoda 66 mm (2.6 in) L/30 guns 4 × 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes 10–12 naval mines

T3 was a sea-going torpedo boat that was operated by the Royal Yugoslav Navy between 1921 and 1941. Originally 78 T, a 250t-class torpedo boat of the Austro-Hungarian Navy built in 1914, she was armed with two 66 mm (2.6 in) guns, four 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, and could carry 10–12 naval mines. She saw active service during World War I, performing convoy, escort and minesweeping tasks, anti-submarine operations and shore bombardment missions. In 1917 the suffixes of all Austro-Hungarian torpedo boats were removed, and thereafter she was referred to as 78. She was part of the escort force for the Austro-Hungarian dreadnought Szent István during the action that resulted in the sinking of that ship by Italian torpedo boats in June 1918.

Following Austria-Hungary's defeat in 1918, she was allocated to the Navy of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which later became the Royal Yugoslav Navy, and was renamed T3. At the time, she and the seven other 250t-class boats were the only modern sea-going vessels of the fledgling maritime force. During the interwar period, T3 and the rest of the navy were involved in training exercises and cruises to friendly ports, but activity was limited by reduced naval budgets. The ship was captured by the Italians during the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. After her main armament was modernised and her crew increased to 62, she served with the Royal Italian Navy under her Yugoslav designation, although she was only used for coastal and second-line tasks. Following the Italian capitulation in September 1943, she was captured by Germany and, after being fitted with additional anti-aircraft guns, served with the German Navy or the Navy of the Independent State of Croatia as TA48. In German/Croatian service her crew of 52 consisted entirely of Croatian officers and enlisted men. She was sunk by Allied aircraft in February 1945 while in the port of Trieste, where she had been built.