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Enns-class river monitor

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SMS Enns
Class overview
NameSava
Builders
Operators
Preceded byTemes class
Succeeded bySava class
Built1912–1915
In service1914–1958
Completed2
Lost1
Retired1
General characteristics
TypeRiver monitor
Displacement540 tonnes (530 long tons)
Length57.9 m (190 ft 0 in)
Beam10.3 m (33 ft 10 in)
Draught1.3 m (4 ft 3 in)
Installed power
Propulsion2 Triple-expansion steam engines
Speed13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Range690 nautical miles (Besarabia, World War II)
Complement95 officers and enlisted men
Armament
Armour

The Enns-class river monitors were built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy during the mid-1910s. The two ships of the class were assigned to the Danube Flotilla and participated in World War I. The ships survived the war and were transferred to Romania and the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia) as reparations.

Description and construction

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The ships had an overall length of 57.9 m (190 ft 0 in), a beam of 10.3 m (33 ft 10 in), and a normal draught of 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in). They displaced 540 tonnes (530 long tons), and their crew consisted of 95 officers and enlisted men.[1] The Enns-class ships were powered by two triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam generated by two Yarrow boilers.[1] The engines were rated at 1,500–1,700 indicated horsepower (1,100–1,300 kW) and were designed to reach a top speed of 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph). They carried 75 long tons (76 t) of fuel oil.[2]

The main armament of the Enns-class river monitors was a pair of 120 mm (4.7 in)/L45[a] guns in a single turret forward of the conning tower and three 120 mm (4.7 in)/L10 howitzers to the rear, in individual armored cupolas. They also mounted two individual 66 mm (2.6 in)/L50 BAG anti-aircraft guns, and six machine guns.[1] The maximum range of their Škoda 120 mm (4.7 in)L/45 guns was 15 kilometres (9.3 mi).[3] Their armour consisted of belt and bulkheads 40 mm (1.6 in) thick, deck armour 25 mm (0.98 in) thick, and their conning tower, gun turrets and cupolas were 50 mm (2.0 in) thick.[1]

Ships

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Ship New name Builder[1] Laid down[1] Launched[1] Commissioned[1] Fate
SMS Enns Drava Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino, Linz 1912 September 1914 17 October 1914 Scuttled, 11/12 April 1941[4]
SMS Inn Besarabia Ganz Danubius, Budapest 1913 25 February 1915 11 April 1915 Scrapped in 1960[5]

Careers

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During World War II, Besarabia was the only Romanian river monitor out of seven to be fitted with new turrets. This took place between 1942 and 1943, while she was being completely rebuilt and up-gunned at Galați. Her armament ultimately consisted of two twin 120 mm naval guns, six 37 mm AA guns and four 20 mm AA guns.[6] She also had a range of 690 nautical miles, more than enough to travel across the greatest East-West extent of the Black Sea, which was 635 nautical miles (the Black Sea was the area of operations of the World War II Romanian Navy).[7]

Notes

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  1. ^ L/45 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/45 gun is calibre, meaning that the gun was 45 times as long as the diameter of its bore.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Greger 1976, p. 142.
  2. ^ Jane's Information Group 1989, p. 315.
  3. ^ Greger 1976, p. 9.
  4. ^ Chesneau 1980, p. 357.
  5. ^ Ganciu, Cristian (25 May 2018). "Monitorul BASARABIA". rumaniamilitary.ro (in Romanian).
  6. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 352–353
  7. ^ Е. Е. Шведе, Военные флоты 1939–1940 гг., Рипол Классик, 2013, pp. 120–121 (in Russian)

References

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  • Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-146-5.
  • Frampton, Viktor; Sieche, Erwin & Stewart, Charles L. (2006). "Question 22/04: Austro-Hungarian Danube River Monitors". Warship International. XLIII (3): 239–243. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
  • Greger, René (1976). Austro-Hungarian Warships of World War I. London: Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0623-2.
  • Halpern, Paul G. (2012). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-266-6.
  • Jane's Information Group (1989) [1946/47]. Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II. London: Studio Editions. ISBN 978-1-85170-194-0.
  • Jane's Information Group (1990) [1919]. Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I. London: Studio Editions. ISBN 978-1-85170-378-4.
  • Marshall, Chris (1995). The Encyclopedia of Ships : The History and Specifications of Over 1200 Ships. New York City: Barnes & Noble. ISBN 978-1-56619-909-4.
  • Niehorster, Dr. Leo (2013). "Balkan Operations Order of Battle Royal Yugoslavian Navy River Flotilla 6th April 1941". Dr. Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  • Shores, Christopher F.; Cull, Brian; Malizia, Nicola (1987). Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece, and Crete, 1940–41. London: Grub Street. ISBN 978-0-948817-07-6.
  • Terzić, Velimir (1982). Slom Kraljevine Jugoslavije 1941 : uzroci i posledice poraza [The Collapse of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1941: Causes and Consequences of Defeat] (in Serbo-Croatian). Vol. 2. Belgrade, Yugoslavia: Narodna knjiga. OCLC 10276738.
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