The early development of the navy was hampered by severe budget limitations
and a lack of interest from the general staff which consisted of former Royal
Serbian Army generals with little appreciation for naval matters. Jadranska
straža (lit. 'Adriatic Guard') association was established to promote public interest
in the navy.[14] In 1925, Prica conducted exercises off the Dalmatian coast,
involving the majority of vessels. [15] In 1926, the navy was able to make its first
significant acquisition, the former Imperial German Navy light cruiser SMS Niobe,
which was renamed Dalmacija. She was refitted at the Tivat Arsenal prior to
commissioning. The following year, two British-built Thornycroft Uskok-
class motor torpedo boats (MTBs) were acquired, named Uskok and Četnik, and a
base was built for them at Šibenik. In 1927, the first two submarines were
purchased, the British-built Hrabri class—Hrabri and Nebojša. Over the next two
years, two further submarines were brought into service, the French-
built Osvetnik class, which consisted of Osvetnik and Smeli. The submarine
flotilla was based at Tivat, supported by the depot ship Hvar (ex-Solun), acquired
in 1927. Between 1928 and 1930, a number of former Austro-Hungarian vessels
were discarded, including the four Kaiman-class torpedo boats. In 1929, the
salvage ship Moćni was scrapped, and the German-built 740-long-ton (830-short-
ton) Spasilac was acquired to replace her.[14]
In late 1928, the naval aviation school was transferred from Đenovići to Divulje
near Split, where a new seaplane station was established. In the same year, the
1,870-long-ton (2,090-short-ton) seaplane depot ship Zmaj was acquired from
Germany.[16] In May and June 1929, a squadron, under the command of Prica and
consisting of Dalmacija, Hvar and the two Hrabri-class submarines,
visited Malta, Corfu and Bizerte. Also in 1929, the former Austro-Hungarian water
carrier Najade, now named Sitnica, was re-employed as an auxiliary for the
submarine flotilla, despite its lack of a workshop for repair work. [17] In late 1929,
Navy Command and Navy Section were combined as part of the Ministry of Army
and Navy, with the navy commander holding the rank of admiral, and his deputy
with the rank of vice-admiral. By that time, the Yugoslav fleet consisted of the
light cruiser Dalmacija, the eight 250t-class seagoing torpedo boats, the
two Uskok-class MTBs, four submarines, six Galeb-class minetenders, one
minesweeper, the submarine depot ship Hvar, the training ship Sitnica, two
yachts Vila and Lada, and five tugs. The riverine flotilla consisted of the four
monitors and the river auxiliary Srbija. In total, the navy comprised 256 officers
and 2,000 men, with a naval reserve consisting of 164 officers and 570 men.
Less than half of the officers were former members of the Austro-Hungarian
Navy, and 49 officers had graduated from the Naval Academy. [16] In October,
Prica retired as navy commander and was replaced by Vice-Admiral V.
Wickerhauser.[
