SMS Körös

SMS Körös
A painting of SMS Körös bombarding Belgrade in 1914
History
Austria-Hungary
NameKörös
NamesakeKörös River
Laid down30 March 1890
Launched5 February 1892
Commissioned21 April 1892
Out of service6 November 1918
FateTransferred to the Hungarian People's Republic
NotesSister ship SMS Szamos was dismantled and used as a pontoon
Hungarian People's Republic
NameKörös
NamesakeKörös River
Acquired6 November 1918
Out of service13 December 1918
FateAssigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (KSCS)
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
NameMorava (Морава)
NamesakeMorava River
Acquired1920
FateScuttled by her crew on 11/12 April 1941
Independent State of Croatia
NameBosna
NamesakeBosna River
AcquiredRaised and repaired
FateMined June 1944, raised and broken up 1945
General characteristics
Class & typeKörös-class river monitor
Displacement448 t (441 long tons)
Length54 m (177 ft 2 in)
Beam9 m (29 ft 6 in)
Draught1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)
Installed power
Propulsion2 screws; 2 Triple-expansion steam engines
Speed10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement77 officers and enlisted men
Armament
Armour

SMS Körös (pronounced [ˈkørøʃ]) was the name ship of the Körös-class river monitors built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Completed in 1892, the ship was part of the Danube Flotilla, and fought various Allied forces from Belgrade down the Danube to the Black Sea during World War I. After brief service 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 Morava. She remained in service throughout the interwar period, although budget restrictions meant she was not always in full commission.

During the World War II German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, Morava was the flagship of the 2nd Mine Barrage Division, and operated on the River Tisza. She fought off attacks by the Luftwaffe, and shot down one enemy aircraft, but was forced to withdraw to Belgrade. Due to high river levels and low bridges, navigating monitors was difficult, and she was scuttled by her crew on 11 April. Some of her crew tried to escape cross-country towards the southern Adriatic coast, but most surrendered on 14 April. The remainder made their way to the Bay of Kotor, which was captured by the Italian XVII Corps on 17 April. She was later raised by the Navy of the Independent State of Croatia, an Axis puppet state, and continued in service as Bosna until June 1944, when she struck a mine and sank.