Yugoslav destroyer Beograd

Beograd

Beograd (right) and Dubrovnik (left) in the Bay of Kotor after being captured by Italy in April 1941
History
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Name	Beograd
Namesake	Belgrade
Builder	Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Nantes, France
Launched	23 December 1937
Commissioned	28 April 1939
Out of service	17 April 1941
Fate	Captured by Italy
Italy
Name	Sebenico
Namesake	Šibenik
Acquired	17 April 1941
In service	August 1941
Out of service	9 September 1943
Fate	Captured by Germany at Venice
Nazi Germany
Name	TA43
Acquired	9 September 1943
Fate	Sunk or scuttled at Trieste on 30 April or 1 May 1945
Notes	Raised in June 1946, scuttled in July 1946
General characteristics
Class and type	Beograd-class destroyer
Displacement	1,210 t (1,190 long tons) (standard) 1,655 t (1,629 long tons) (full load)
Length	98 m (321 ft 6 in)
Beam	9.45 m (31 ft)
Draught	3.18 m (10 ft 5 in)
Installed power	3 × Yarrow water-tube boilers 40,000 shp (30,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 × shafts Curtis steam turbines
Speed	35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Complement	145
Armament	4 × single 120 mm (4.7 in) guns 2 × twin 40 mm (1.6 in) AA guns 2 × triple 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes 2 × single machine guns 30 naval mines

Beograd was the lead ship of her class of destroyers, built for the Royal Yugoslav Navy in France during the late 1930s, and designed to be deployed as part of a division led by the flotilla leader Dubrovnik. She entered service in April 1939, was armed with a main battery of four 120 mm (4.7 in) guns in single mounts, and had a top speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph).

When Yugoslavia entered World War II due to a German-led Axis invasion in April 1941, she was damaged by a near miss during an air attack, and was then captured by the Italians. After refitting, she saw extensive service with the Royal Italian Navy from August 1941 to September 1943, completing over 100 convoy escort missions in the Mediterranean under the name Sebenico, mainly on routes between Italy and the Aegean and North Africa. Following the Italian armistice in September 1943, she was captured by the German Navy and redesignated TA43. They enhanced her anti-aircraft armament and she served with the 9th Torpedo Boat Flotilla on escort and minelaying duties in the northern Adriatic. TA43 was sunk or scuttled at Trieste on 30 April or 1 May 1945. Raised in June 1946, probably to remove her as a navigation hazard, she was scuttled again in either July 1946 or in 1947.