The

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

''Skanderbeg'' was used for transport of the goods and passengers mostly on the

Skadar Lake Lake Skadar or Lake Scutari (, ; cnr-Cyrl-Latn, Скадарско језеро, Skadarsko jezero, )also called Lake Shkodra (and ''Lake Shkodër'')lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern Europe. It is n ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

in the first half of the 20th century. It was built in Trieste in 1914 or 1916. ''Skanderbegs first owner was Lloyd's office in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

(then in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

). The ownership over ''Skanderbeg'' was transferred to Lloyd's office in Shkoder (its agent Tef Curani). When Italy took control over Trieste the ownership was transferred to Lloyd Triestino in Trieste. In 1924 Yugoslav a shipping company from

Cetinje Cetinje ( cnr-Cyrl, Цетиње, ) is a List of cities and towns in Montenegro, town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital ( cnr-Latn-Cyrl, prijestonica, приjестоница, separator=" / ") of Montenegro and is the location of sev ...

bought ''Skanderbeg'' to use it for transport of the goods and passengers over the

. Its route was between

Rijeka Crnojevića Rijeka Crnojevića ( cnr-Cyrl, Ријека Црнојевића, lit=River of Crnojević noble family, Crnojević) is a town in Montenegro on the eponymous Rijeka Crnojevića (river), Rijeka Crnojevića River, near the shore of Lake Skadar lake, ...

and Shkoder. In April 1941, after the Axis occupied Yugoslavia during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, ''Skanderbeg'' was confiscated by Italian authorities, together with all boats on Skadar Lake. On 12 February 1942 ''Skanderbeg'' was captured and sunk by

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

who

scuttled Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vesse ...

it. Its wreck is in good condition, below the surface of the water and can be seen during low water levels.

Characteristics

''Skanderbeg'' was long. Its beam was and its height was . ''Skanderbeg'' had a crew of 6 people. Its displacement was 31 t (light) or 41 t (loaded).

History

According to Dinko Franetović, ''Skanderbeg'' was completed in 1916 in Trieste, Italy (then

). It was first owned by Lloyd in Trieste (then

), Lloyd's agent in Shkoder (Tef Curani) and by Lloyd Triestino in Italian-held Trieste. In 1924 ''Skanderbeg'' was bought by Jadransko-Skadarska Plovidba, founded in Cetinje by the Serbian-Albanian bank in 1920. Its seat was in Lipovik (port near

). ''Skanderbeg'' was used for transport of goods and passengers between

and Shkoder. In April 1941 all boats of Jadransko-Skadarska Plovidba were confiscated by the Italians who occupied this part of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

Partisan action and aftermath

On 12 February 1942

("Carev Laz" battalion of Lovćen detachment and part of battalion "13 July") attacked ''Skanderbeg'' while it was sailing on the

, at the mouth of

. Partisans killed three Italian soldiers and took the remaining nine as prisoners. They also released from captivity fifteen prisoners who were transported by ''Skanderbeg''. One prisoner was killed in the attack. The Partisans scuttled the ship. The following month, the

Italian Navy The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active per ...

deployed the minesweeper ''Vigilante'', armed with a 76mm naval gun, and two minor naval units mounting machine guns to Skadar Lake. On 9 March, ''Vigilante '' engaged and sank three Partisan motorboats while patrolling the lake. Two militants were captured and shot by the Italians. Other Italian authors reported that this action involved a large Partisan vessel sunk when its crew refused to submit to the Italian minesweeper. In April the master of ''Skanderbeg'' was also captured by Italian forces and executed under the charge of collaboration with the rebels. The wreck of ''Skanderbeg'' is still where it sank, below the surface of the water. The wreck can be seen from the surface during the low water level.

References

External links

Skanderbeg on "Nacionalni parkovi" website
{{February 1942 shipwrecks Steamboats in Europe Ships built in Trieste 1910s ships Maritime incidents in February 1942 Shipwrecks in lakes World War II shipwrecks