May 2005

At 10 A.M. on October 5, 1917, the crew of Torpedo Boat 11 seized control of the ship, locked the officers in their cabin, and deserted to Porto Recanti, Italy. SMTb 11 was the only Austro-Hungarian torpedo boat to desert to Italy during World War I. The boat was taken into the Italian navy and re-christened as Francesci Rismondo.

Picture post card sent from the Boat’s home port Sebenico (Sibenik) on February 18, 1916 to a Czech corporal at field post 213. The writer, Machinist Mate Bohumil Petria, was still a member of the crew during the mutiny and eventually entered the Czechoslovak Legion in Italy.