Croatian submarine Velebit (P-01)

P-01 Velebit was a modified Una-class midget submarine, the first and so far the only submarine to see service with the Croatian Navy. It was built for the Yugoslav Navy during the 1980s where it was named P-914 Zeta. During the outbreak of the Croatian War of Independence P-914 was being overhauled in the BSO where it was, although stripped down of all equipment, preserved by the shipyard workers from the retreating Yugoslav forces.

With modifications that were aimed at improving the ships endurance by including a diesel generator, it was launched as P-01 Velebit on January 16, 1996. A few years later it was out of service because of the need to acquire a new set of batteries, which in turn, never happened. After unsuccessful attempts of selling it to a foreign buyer, it was offered to various museums in Croatia with a final destination still pending.

Service history
Before the war and the subsequent capturing by Croatian Forces, Velebit (then P-914) served with the 88th Submarine Flotilla of the Yugoslav Navy.

In 1993 Brodarski Institut from Zagreb started a modification program to improve the operational capabilities of the submarine captured two years earlier. The hull was lengthend by 140 cm to create space needed for the installation of a single MTU 105 kW diesel generator. A new steering system which improved underwater manoeuvrability was also installed.

Because the submarine was being reconstructed during a time in which an arms embargo was imposed on Croatia, it was completed and entered service without a sonar. In the 1990s Velebit was featured on several photos with a pennant number "3" painted on its side aimed at causing confusion and disinformation among potentially hostile nations. After the existing battery set needed for underwater propulsion expired and needed replacement, crew training and ship operations were limited to surface drives or in-harbour external power sources.

Decommisioning and aftermath
In 2005 Velebit was raised from the sea, placed on a small platform within the base and has remained there since. In June 2006 the Croatian Ministry of Defence released the Croatian Armed Forces Long Term Development Plan 2006 - 2015 (hr. Dugoročni plan razvoj Oružanih snaga Republike Hrvatske 2006 - 2015 - DPR-OSRH) in which it was stated that:

The defence minister at the time, Berislav Rončević, explained that because Croatia was to join NATO in the spring 2008, it would be a part of the collective defense of the entire alliance, and the need to develop all aspects of the defence system, including a submarine force, would be unnecessary. In 2007 it was confirmed that the submarine was put up for sale through the state-owned "Alan Agency" that deals with weapons sales, with a starting price of 8 million Croatian kunas. Acting commander of the Croatian Navy at the time, Ante Urlić, among other propositions, mentioned the possibility of installing a new set of batteries, sonar and overhauling the submarine. Fully operational, Velebit would then be sold for a much higher price of around 15 million euros. Both the overhauling and the eventual sale, didn't realize.

Although in 2009 it appeared that the submarine would be given to the Technical Museum in Zagreb upon an agreement between mayor Milan Bandić and the government agencies, the project was canceled because of the problem of transporting the 4.42 m high submarine through the city center to the museum. The Croatian Maritime Museum in Split also expressed interes in obtaining Velebit as a part of its display, especially considering it was built, and had its homeport in Split, throughout its service career. The main obstacle of this option is that the Maritime Museum is located in the Gripe fortress with no adequate space to place the submarine.

Because plans for moving the Maritime Museum to the more spacious port of Split have been put on hold, a new option that includes moving Velebit to the Military Museum that is in creation in Zagreb, has also appeared. As of November 2013, the final location has yet to be decided.