 Vardar underway in 1933
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Austro-Hungarian Empire | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake | Bosna River/Temes River |
| Builder | Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino |
| Laid down | 1914 (Linz) |
| Launched | 1915 |
| In service | 9 July 1915 |
| Out of service | 6 November 1918 |
| Fate | Transferred to the Hungarian People's Republic |
| Notes |
|
 Hungarian People's Republic | |
| Name | Bosna |
| Namesake | Bosna River |
| Acquired | 6 November 1918 |
| Out of service | 13 December 1918 |
| Fate | Assigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (KSCS) |
 Kingdom of Yugoslavia | |
| Name | Vardar |
| Namesake | Vardar River |
| Acquired | 1918 |
| In service | 1920 |
| Fate | Scuttled by her crew on 11/12 April 1941 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Sava-class river monitor |
| Displacement | 580 tonnes (570 long tons) |
| Length | 62 m (203 ft 5 in) |
| Beam | 10.3 m (33 ft 10 in) |
| Draught | 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 Triple-expansion steam engines |
| Speed | 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph) |
| Complement | 91 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
|
Vardar was a Sava-class river monitor built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy as SMS Bosna, but was renamed SMS Temes (II) before she went into service. During World War I, she was the flagship of the Danube Flotilla, and fought the Serbian Army, the Romanian Navy and Army, and the French Army. She reverted to the name Bosna in May 1917, after the original SMS Temes was raised and returned to service. After brief service with the Hungarian People's Republic at the end of the war, she was transferred to the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia), and renamed Vardar. She remained in service throughout the interwar period, although budget restrictions meant she was not always in full commission.
During the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, she was the flagship of the 1st Monitor Division, and along with her fellow monitor Sava, she laid mines in the Danube near the Romanian border during the first few days of the invasion. The two monitors fought off several attacks by the Luftwaffe, but were forced to withdraw to Belgrade. Due to high river levels and low bridges, the monitors' navigation was difficult, and they were scuttled by their crews on 11 April. Some of her crew may have been killed when a demolished bridge collapsed onto a tugboat after they abandoned ship. Some tried to escape cross-country towards the southern Adriatic coast, but most surrendered to the Germans at Sarajevo on 14 April. The remainder made their way to the Bay of Kotor, where they were captured by the Italian XVII Corps on 17 April.