Vardar was the eventual name of a Sava-class river monitor, originally built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy as SMS Bosna, that went into service on 9 July 1915. During World War I she fought the Serbian Army, the Romanian Navy and Army, and the French Army. After briefly serving 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. During the first few days of the German- led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, she laid mines in the Danube near the Romanian border as the flagship of the 1st Monitor Division. She fought off several attacks by the Luftwaffe, but was forced to withdraw to Belgrade. Due to high river levels and low bridges, navigation became difficult, and she was scuttled on 11 April by her crew, who were later killed or captured.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_monitor_Vardar

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1701:

The Battle of Carpi, the first battle of the War of the Spanish Succession, took place near Legnago, Italy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Carpi

1790:

Russo-Swedish War: During the Second Battle of Svensksund in the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Navy captured one third of the Russian fleet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Svensksund

1962:

The United States conducted the Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test, the largest nuclear explosion in outer space. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish_Prime

1981:

Nintendo released the arcade game Donkey Kong, which featured the debut of Mario, one of the most famous characters in video game history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

hyperparasite: 1. (biology) Any parasite whose host is a parasite. 2. (entomology, specifically) An insect that parasitizes another parasitic insect. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hyperparasite

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I wanted to live my life so that people would know unmistakably that I am alive, so that when I finally die people will know the difference for sure between my living and my death.   --June Jordan https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/June_Jordan