- Navy:
- Yugoslavian People's Liberation Navy, 1942-45
- Name:
- Mornarica Narodnooslobodilačke Vojske Jugoslavije
- Career:
The Yugoslav Partisan Navy was founded on 18 December, 1942 as a Naval Section of Yugoslavian People's Liberation Army under Lieutenant Velimir Skorpik. Its first ships were two fishing boats (Partizan and Pionir) armed with captured Italian guns. The ships kept in contact with partisan groups in several islands and attacked coastal shipping until they put out of action by Italian aircraft. The partisans seized other motor boats and launches and the assaults against Italian ships continued. After Italy’s capitulation in September 1943, partisan naval forces were reorganized. On 18 October, the Yugoslavian People's Liberation Navy was created to fight against German and Croatian naval forces and support the partisan troops under Lieutenant-Colonel Josip Cerni.
During the war the partisans armed 16 boats as fighting ships (NB-1, NB-2 Koca, NB-3 Jadran, NB-4 Topcider, NB-5 Ivan, NB-6 Napredak, NB-7 Enare II, NB-8 Kornat, NB-9 Biokovac, NB-10 Sloga, NB-11 Crvena Zvijezda, NB-12 Borac, NB-13 Partizan, NB-14 Pionir, NB-15, NB Partizanka), 67 as patrol boats and more than 200 ships as transports, landing craft and auxiliaries. Also under its control was the naval infantry, coastal artillery and riverine forces set up in 1944. In the course of the war, 65 enemy ships were captured and 70 damaged. On 1 March, 1945, the Partisan Navy was renamed the Yugoslav Navy. After the war the ships were returned to their previous owners, while the Navy took over the ships belonging to the former Royal Yugoslav Navy.
