Yugoslav torpedo boat T8

T8

T8's sister ship, T3, the only significant external difference was that T8 had two funnels
History
Austria-Hungary
Name	97 F then 97
Builder	Ganz & Danubius
Laid down	5 March 1915
Launched	20 August 1916
Commissioned	9 December 1916
Out of service	1918
Fate	Assigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Name	T8
Acquired	March 1921
Out of service	April 1941
Fate	Captured by Italy
Italy
Name	T8
Acquired	April 1941
Out of service	11 September 1943
Fate	Sunk by German aircraft
General characteristics
Class and type	250t-class, F-group sea-going torpedo boat
Displacement	243.9 t (240 long tons) 267 t (263 long tons) (full load)
Length	58.76 m (192 ft 9 in)
Beam	5.84 m (19 ft 2 in)
Draught	1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)
Installed power	5,000–6,000 shp (3,700–4,500 kW) 2 × Yarrow water-tube boilers
Propulsion	2 × shafts 2 × AEG-Curtis steam turbines
Speed	28–29 kn (52–54 km/h; 32–33 mph)
Range	1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement	41
Armament	2 × Škoda 66 mm (2.6 in) L/30 guns 4 × 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes 1 × 8 mm (0.31 in) machine gun 10–12 naval mines

T8 was a sea-going torpedo boat that was operated by the Royal Yugoslav Navy between 1921 and 1941. Originally 97 F, a 250t-class torpedo boat of the Austro-Hungarian Navybuilt in 1915–1916, she was armed with two 66 mm (2.6 in) guns and 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, patrol, and minesweeping tasks, and anti-submarine operations. In 1917 the suffixes of all Austro-Hungarian torpedo boats were removed, and thereafter she was referred to as 97.

Following Austria-Hungary's defeat in 1918, 97 was allocated to the Navy of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which later became the Royal Yugoslav Navy, and was renamed T8. 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, T8 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 boat was captured by the Italians during the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. After her main armament was modernised, she served with the Royal Italian Navy under her Yugoslav designation, conducting coastal and second-line escort duties in the Adriatic Sea. Following the Italian capitulation in September 1943, T8 was sunk by German aircraft while attempting to escape to Allied-held southern Italy.