Zagreb was the second of three Beograd-class destroyers built for the Royal Yugoslav Navy. She was designed to be deployed as part of a division led by the flotilla leader Dubrovnik. The first warship built in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Zagreb entered service in August 1939, was armed with a main battery of four 120 mm (4.7 in) guns in single mounts, and had a top speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). Yugoslavia entered World War II due to the German-led Axis invasion in April 1941. During the invasion, two of her officers scuttled her at the Bay of Kotor on 17 April 1941 to prevent her capture by Italian forces and were both killed by the explosion of the scuttling charges. A French film was made in 1967 about her demise and the deaths of the two officers. In 1973, on the thirtieth anniversary of the formation of the Yugoslav Navy, both men were posthumously awarded the Order of the People's Hero by President Josip Tito. (This article is part of a featured topic: Ships of the Royal Yugoslav Navy.).
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Ships_of_the_Royal_Yugoslav_Navy
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1362:
Lithuanian Crusade: After a month-long siege, forces of the Teutonic Order captured and destroyed Kaunas Castle (reconstruction pictured), which was defended by troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Kaunas
1907:
Minas Geraes, the first of three Brazilian dreadnought battleships, was laid down, sparking a vastly expensive South American naval arms race with Argentina and Chile. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_American_dreadnought_race
1951:
The Peak District was designated the first national park in the United Kingdom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_District
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
implacable: 1. Not able to be placated or appeased. 2. Impossible to prevent or stop; inexorable, unrelenting, unstoppable. 3. Adamant; immovable. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/implacable
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Hope, like faith, is nothing if it is not courageous; it is nothing if it is not ridiculous. --Thornton Wilder https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thornton_Wilder