Kralj-class missile boat
| {{Infobox ship begin|sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=RTOP-12 Kralj Dmitar Zvonimir 001-1.JPG |Ship caption=Kralj Dmitar Zvonimir (RTOP-12) photographed in Makarska in 2008 during the Croatian Navy Day }} {{Infobox ship class overview |Builders=Kraljevica Shipyard, Kraljevica, Croatia |Operators={{navy|Croatia}} |Class before={{sclass|Končar|fast attack craft|4}} |Class after= |Subclasses= |Built range= |In commission range= 1992–present |Total ships building= |Total ships planned= |Total ships completed=2 |Total ships cancelled= |Total ships active=2 |Total ships laid up= |Total ships lost= |Total ships retired= |Total ships preserved= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship type= |Ship displacement=390 tons (full load) |Ship length={{convert|177|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam= |Ship draught= |Ship draft={{convert|11|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion=*Three shafts;
|Ship speed=*Maximum: {{convert|36|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|1700|nmi|km}} at {{convert|18|kn|km/h|0}} |Ship complement=5 officers, 27 enlisted |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=*4–8 × RBS-15 anti-ship missile |Ship armour= |Ship armor= |Ship aircraft= |Ship notes= }} |
The Kralj class (English: King) is a class of two missile boats, one of which was on order for the SFR Yugoslav Navy and one of which, following the break-up of Yugoslavia, was built for the Croatian Navy. As of 2009 both vessels remain in service. It is an upgraded version of the Rade Končar missile boat class and is {{convert|8.5|m}} longer. {{ship|Croatian missile boat|Kralj Petar Krešimir IV|RTOP-11|2}} and its sister ship {{ship|Croatian missile boat|Kralj Dmitar Zvonimir|RTOP-12|2}} are the only ships in their class. A potential third ship was under consideration in 1999, but the ship was never commissioned due to budget restraints.
Kralj means "king" in Croatian - both vessels are named after historic kings of Croatia.
Development and building
The Kralj class was developed by the Brodarski institut (BI) from Zagreb for the Yugoslav Navy as a successor to the {{sclass|Končar|missile boat|1}}s. The project was started during the 1980s but was reported as suspended in 1989 only to be restarted again in 1991. The first ship in the new class was to have a pennant number RTOP-501 and named Sergej Mašera after Sergej Mašera, an officer of the Royal Yugoslav Navy who died preventing the destroyer Zagreb from falling in Italian hands during the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia. The new class was also referred to as the Kobra class or Type 400 in some sources.{{sfn|Gardiner|1995|p=647}}{{sfn|Jelavić|2003}}
Compared to the earlier Končar class, the new class was to have a longer hull and an all-diesel propulsion unlike the Končars which were equipped with a CODAG type of propulsion. The new class was also to be the first in Yugoslav service to be equipped with Swedish RBS-15 anti-ship missiles which were acquired in 1988 and 1989. At the start of the Croatian War of Independence, the first ship in the class was nearing completion at the Kraljevica Shipyard. The unfinished ship was captured by Croatian forces and was subsequently commissioned with the Croatian Navy as Kralj Petar Krešimir IV. (RTOP-11). A second, slightly modified ship was laid down by Croatia during the 1990s and commissioned in the early 2000s as Kralj Dmitar Zvonimir (RTOP-12).{{sfn|Flotila HRM}}{{sfn|Gardiner|1995|p=649}}{{sfn|Krnić|29 November 2011}}
Description
There are slight differences between the two ships of the class; Kralj Dmitar Zvonimir, which was completed during the early 2000s, has a longer hull and features a slightly redesigned bridge. Kralj Petar Krešimir IV measures {{convert|53.63|m|ftin|abbr=on}} with a {{convert|8.54|m|ftin|abbr=on}} beam and a {{convert|2.94|m|ftin|abbr=on}} draft.
Ships
| class=wikitable width=90% |
| valign=top
! | Name ! | Pennant number ! | Namesake ! | Builder{{sfn|Shipyard Kraljevica – List of delivered vessels 1946. – 2007.}} ! | Launched{{sfn|Flotila HRM}} ! | Commissioned{{sfn|Flotila HRM}} ! | Fate{{sfn|Flotila HRM}} |
| valign=middle
|style="background:PaleGreen;" |Kralj Petar Krešimir IV | | RTOP-11 | align=center rowspan=2|Kraljevica Shipyard, Kraljevica, Croatia | |21 March 1992 | |7 June 1992 | |in active service with the Croatian Navy |
| valign=middle
|style="background:PaleGreen;" | Kralj Dmitar Zvonimir | | RTOP-12 | |30 March 2001 | |June 2002 | |in active service with the Croatian Navy |
Notes
{{Reflist}}
Books
{{refbegin|2}}
- {{cite book|last=Gardiner |first=Robert |year=1995|title= Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3hlwQAAACAAJ|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-0-85177-605-7}}
{{refend}}
News reports
{{refbegin|2}}
- {{cite news|ref={{harvid|Krnić|29 November 2011}}|journal=Slobodna Dalmacija|url=http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/Hrvatska/tabid/66/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/156630/Default.aspx|first=Denis|last=Krnić|date=29 November 2011|language=Croatian|title=Slobodna doznaje: Rakete HRM-a vrijedne 50 milijuna dolara spremne za - otpad!|trans-title=Slobodna finds out: Croatian Navy missiles worth 50 million dollars are ready - for scrapping|access-date=22 July 2014}}
{{refend}}
Other sources
{{refbegin|2}}
- {{cite web|ref={{harvid|Flotila HRM}}|publisher=Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia|url=http://www.osrh.hr/|title=Flotila HRM|trans-title=Navy Flotilla|access-date= 30 March 2014}}
- {{cite web|ref={{harvid|Shipyard Kraljevica – List of delivered vessels 1946. – 2007.}}|publisher=Kraljevica Shipyard|url=http://www.brodkr.hr/Referentna%20lista%20Brodogradili%C5%A1ta%20Kraljevica%2006-08.pdf|title=Shipyard Kraljevica – List of delivered vessels 1946. – 2007.|access-date=13 March 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509164134/http://www.brodkr.hr/Referentna%20lista%20Brodogradili%C5%A1ta%20Kraljevica%2006-08.pdf|archive-date=9 May 2009}}
- {{cite journal|last=Jelavić |first=Tino |date= December 2003|title=Razmatranja o JNA|trans-title=Contemplations regarding the JNA |url= http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=4635|journal=Polemos |publisher= Croatian Sociological Association|volume=VI |issue= 11–12|pages=163–175|access-date=17 March 2014}}
{{refend}}
{{Kralj-class missile boat}}
{{Yugoslav Ships |state=collapsed}}