Croatian missile boat Šibenik (RTOP-21)

RTOP-21 Šibenik is a Končar-class missile boat in service with the Croatian Navy. It was built for the Yugoslav Navy at the Kraljevica Shipyard in the 1970s as RTOP-402 Vlado Ćetković. In 1991 during the early stages of the Croatian War of Independence it was captured by Croatian forces while being overhauled at the "Velimir Škorpik" shipyard in Šibenik.

Service history
Šibenik was laid down as RTOP-402 Vlado Ćetković in the Tito's Kraljevica Shipyard, being the second ship of its class. It was launched in 1977 with admiral Branko Mamula sponsporing it and entered service during the next year, with the Lora Naval Base in Split serving as its homeport.

Just before the dissolution of SFR Yugoslavia, Vlado Ćetković was one of two missile boats (the other one being RTOP-401) selected for a modernisation program which included removing the 57 mm Mk.1 Bofors on its stern and installing a Soviet made AK-630 CIWS. As the war started gaining momentum, shipyard workers and the Croatian forces managed to protect the ship from the retreating Yugoslav Navy ships and personnel. On September 28th, 1991 the former RTOP-402 was commissioned with the newly formed Croatian Navy as RTOP-21 Šibenik with Robert Hranj in command.

During 1993-1994 Šibenik underwent a second weapons configuration change that removed the two P-20 missiles as its main armament, installing new RBS-15s that were acquired by the Yugoslav Navy just before the start of the war, enabling it to carry two or four missile. On October 12, 1994 Šibenik along with RTOP-11 Kralj Petar Krešimir IV. took part in the live fire exercise "Posejdon '94", which to date remains the only time that Croatian ships fired anti-ship missiles, both in war and during peace time training. Šibenik, now under the command of Predrag Stipanović, fired a single missile successfully destroying a decommissioned landing craft.

Literature


RTOP-21 Šibenik