P-01 Velebit

''Velebit'' (pennant number P-01) was a modified ''Una''-class midget submarine and the only submarine to see service with the Croatian Navy. It was built for the Yugoslav Navy during the 1980s where it was named ''Soča''. At the outbreak of the Croatian War of Independence ''Soča'' was being overhauled in the Brodogradilište specijalnih objekata division of Brodosplit shipyard in Split, Croatia. Although stripped of all equipment, it was preserved from the retreating Yugoslav forces by the shipyard workers.

With modifications that were aimed at improving the ships endurance by including a diesel generator, it was launched as ''Velebit'' (P-01) in 1996. Since 2001, due to battery set malfunction, ''Velebit'' was no longer able to submerge, and was constrained to surface operations. After it was decommissioned in 2006, there were unsuccessful attempts of selling it to a foreign buyer. The submarine was then offered to various museums in Croatia, with a final destination still pending.

Design and construction

''Velebit'' was completed as ''Soča'' in 1987 at the Brodogradilište specijalnih objekata division of Brodosplit shipyard in Split, Croatia, as the fourth boat in its class. It measures in length, has a draft of , a beam and displaces when surfaced or when submerged. It was constructed as a single hull design with the internal compartment divided into three sections: forward (command/steering) position, exit chamber and the propulsion section in the back. During underwater operations two battery groups with a total of 256 cells power two 20 kW Končar electric motors mounted on a single shaft that spins a five blade propeller. Surface propulsion and battery recharging is provided by a single diesel generator.

Maximum speed is underwater and surfaced. The boat's range is with a speed of . It has an underwater endurance of up to 6–7 days which is an improvement compared to 96 hours of other ''Una''-class boats. Maximum diving depth is .

Because the class was designed with reconnaissance, small scale minelaying and special operations in mind, it does not possess any offensive weapons such as torpedoes. The submarine was to use its small dimensions to easily maneuver in the relatively shallow waters of the Adriatic Sea, staying undetected and transporting up to six special forces personnel who had 6–12 limpet mines and four AIM-M70 (M70/1) bottom mines or four R-1 submersibles at their disposal. ''Velebit'' had a crew of four.

Service

Before the Croatian War of Independence ''Velebit'' served with the 88th Submarine Flotilla of the Yugoslav Navy entering service during the late 1980s. ''Velebit'', then named ''Soča'', was like other ''Una''-class submarines, named after rivers in Yugoslavia. In 1991, it was being overhauled in Brodogradilište specijalnih objekata until the beginning of the war, when Croatian forces captured it. In 1993, Brodarski Institut (BI) of Zagreb started a modification program to improve the operational capabilities of the submarine captured two years earlier. The hull was lengthened by to create space needed for the installation of a single MTU 105 kW diesel generator, a feature the original ''Una''-class design lacked. A new steering system developed by BI was also installed.

It was recommissioned as ''Velebit'' in 1996. According to the 2007 edition of '' The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World'', ''Velebit'' was fitted with a STN-Atlas Elektronik PP-10 active and PSU-1-2 passive sonar and a portable navigational radar may have been used on board along with the GPS. The claim is contradicted by other sources with news reports stating the submarine was completed without an active sonar, effectively being "blind" underwater. During the 1990s ''Velebit'' had the pennant number "3" painted on its side. Since 2001, after the existing battery set needed for underwater propulsion expired and needed replacement, crew training and boat operations were limited to surface drives.

Decommissioning and aftermath

In February 2005 ''Velebit'' was raised from the sea, placed on a small platform within the Lora Naval Base and has remained there since. In June 2006 the Croatian Ministry of Defence released the ''Croatian Armed Forces Long Term Development Plan 2006–2015'' ( hr, Dugoročni plan razvoja Oružanih snaga Republike Hrvatske 2006–2015) in which it was stated that:

The defence minister at the time, Berislav Rončević, explained that because Croatia was to join NATO in the spring 2008, it would be a part of the collective defense of the entire alliance, and the need to develop all aspects of the defence system, including a submarine force, would be unnecessary. In 2007 it was confirmed that the submarine was put up for sale through the state-owned "Alan Agency" that deals with weapons sales, with a starting price of 8 million Croatian kunas (approximately 1.07 million Euros). Acting commander of the Croatian Navy at the time, Ante Urlić, among other propositions, mentioned the possibility of installing a new set of batteries, sonar and overhauling the submarine. Fully operational, ''Velebit'' would then be sold for a much higher price of around 15 million euros. Considering the potential overhaul and sale didn't happen, a decision was made to donate the submarine to a museum.

In 2009 it appeared that the submarine would be given to the Technical Museum in Zagreb under an agreement between mayor Milan Bandić and the government agencies, but this project was canceled due to the difficulty of transporting the tall submarine through the city center to the museum. The Croatian Maritime Museum in Split also expressed interest in obtaining ''Velebit'' as a part of its display, especially considering it was built in Split and homeported in the city throughout its service career. The main obstacle to this option is that the Maritime Museum is located in the Gripe fortress; because the plans for moving the Maritime Museum to the more spacious port of Split have been put on hold, a new option that includes moving ''Velebit'' to the Military Museum that's being created in Zagreb, has also appeared. As of 2018, the final location has yet to be decided.

See also

* List of ships of the Yugoslav Navy

Notes

References

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External links

''Una''-class submarines



{{DEFAULTSORT:Velebit
Midget submarines
Croatian Navy
Ships of the Yugoslav Navy
Ships built in Yugoslavia