Yugoslav gunboat Beli Orao

Beli Orao (White Eagle) was a royal yacht and gunboat built for the Royal Yugoslav Navy in 1939–1940. She was captured by the Italians during the World War II Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, and saw service in the Royal Italian Navy as Alba then Zagabria. After the September 1943 Italian armistice with the Allies, she was handed back to the Royal Yugoslav Navy-in-exile. After the war she remained in Yugoslav hands under the names Biokovo then Jadranka. She was stricken in 1978.

Description and construction
Beli Orao had a length overall of 65 m, a length between perpendiculars of 60.08 m, a beam of 8.08 m and a draught of 2.84 m. She was powered by two Sulzer diesel engines driving two propellers. Her engines were rated at 1900 bhp and designed to reach a top speed of 18 kn. She was armed with two 40 mm anti-aircraft guns and two machine guns. She was ordered for service as a royal yacht during peacetime, and as an escort during wartime. Built by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico at Trieste in Italy, she was laid down on 23 December 1938, launched on 3 June 1939, and completed on 29 October of that year.

Career
When Beli Orao was completed as a royal yacht, World War II had not yet involved the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. This changed with the Axis invasion of the country in April 1941. Beli Orao was captured in the Bay of Kotor by the Italians during the invasion, and was put into service with the Royal Italian Navy as Alba. She was subsequently renamed Zagabria while still in Italian service. In September 1943, the Italians negotiated an armistice with the Allies, and on 7 December of that year, Beli Orao was returned by them to the Royal Yugoslav Navy-in-exile. She continued in service until the end of the war.

After the war, she was renamed Biokovo and later Jadranka until she was stricken in 1978.