Tegetthoff class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Tegetthoff-class (sometimes erroneously named the Viribus Unitis-class) was the sole class of dreadnought battleship built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy
Austro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine , abbreviated as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine....
. Four ships were built, SMS Viribus Unitis
SMS Viribus Unitis
SMS Viribus Unitis was the first Austro-Hungarian dreadnought battleship of the . Its name, meaning "With United Forces", was the personal motto of Emperor Franz Joseph I.Viribus Unitis was ordered by the Austro-Hungarian navy in 1908...
, SMS Tegetthoff
SMS Tegetthoff
SMS Tegetthoff was an Austro-Hungarian dreadnought battleship of the Tegetthoff class named after Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, a 19th-century Austrian admiral most notable for defeating the Italian Navy in the Battle of Lissa....
, SMS Prinz Eugen
SMS Prinz Eugen
SMS Prinz Eugen was an Austro-Hungarian dreadnought battleship of the . Prinz Eugen was built at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino yard, Trieste...
and SMS Szent Istvan
SMS Szent István
SMS Szent István was a dreadnought , the only one built in the Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary. The Ganz & Company's Danubius yard in Hungarian-owned Fiume was awarded the contract to build the battleship in return for the Hungarian government agreeing to the 1910 and 1911 naval budgets...
. Three of the four were laid down in Trieste, with Szent Istvan being built at Fiume, to incorporate both parts of the dual monarchy into the construction of the ships. The smaller size of the Fiume shipyards meant that Szent Istvan was built three years after her sisters, with slightly different characteristics.
The first three ships, Virbus Unitus, Tegetthoff and Prinz Eugen were joined by their sister in 1915, when they bombarded the Italian installations at Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
. The Tegetthoff's attempted to sortie through the Otranto Barrage with the support of lighter ships in 1918, but failed after Szent Istvan was sunk. After the transfer to State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, Virbus Unitus was sabotaged by Italian frogmen, and Tegetthoff and Prinz Eugen were sold to Italy and France, respectively.
Characteristics
The ships had an overall length of 152 metre, a beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 27.9 metre, and a draught of 8.7 metre at deep load. She displaced 20000 tonnes (19,684 LT) at load and 21689 tonnes (21,346.4 LT) at deep load.
The propulsion consisted of four Parsons steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s, each of which was housed in a separate engine-room. The turbines were powered by twelve Babcock & Wilcox
Babcock and Wilcox
The Babcock & Wilcox Company is a U.S.-based company that provides design, engineering, manufacturing, construction and facilities management services to nuclear, renewable, fossil power, industrial and government customers worldwide. B&W's boilers supply more than 300,000 megawatts of installed...
boilers. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 27000 shp, which was theoretically enough to attain her designed speed of 20 kn (24.4 mph; 39.2 km/h), but no figures from her speed trials are known to exist. She carried 1844.5 tonnes (1,815.4 LT) of coal, and an additional 267.2 tonnes (263 LT) of fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
that was to be sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. At full capacity, she could steam for 4200 nautical miles (7,778.4 km) at a speed of 10 kn (12.2 mph; 19.6 km/h).
Each ship had an armament consisting of twelve 305 millimetres (12 in)/45-caliber
Caliber (artillery)
In artillery, caliber or calibredifference in British English and American English spelling is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or by extension a relative measure of the length....
K 10 guns in four triple turrets
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
mounted on the center-line, forward and aft of the superstructure. Their secondary armament consisted of twelve 150 millimetres (5.9 in)/50 K 10 guns mounted in casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s amidships. Eighteen 70 millimetres (3 in)/50 K 10 guns were mounted on open pivots on the upper deck above the casemates. Three more 66-mm K 10 guns were mounted on the upper turrets for anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
duties. Four 530 millimetres (20.9 in) submerged torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s were fitted, one each in the bow, stern and on each broadside
Broadside
A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...
; twelve torpedoes were carried.
The waterline armour belt
Belt armor
Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated on to or within outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and on aircraft carriers converted from those types of ships....
of the Tegetthoff-class measured 280 millimetres (11 in) thick between the midpoints of the fore and aft barbettes and thinned to 150 millimetres (5.9 in) further towards the bow and stern, but did not reach either the bow or the stern. It was continued to the bow by a small patch of 110–130 mm (4.3–5.1 ) armour. The upper armour belt had a maximum thickness of 180 millimetres (7.1 in), but it thinned to 110 millimetres (4.3 in) from the forward barbette all the way to the bow. The casemate armour was also 180 millimetres (7.1 in) thick. The sides of the main gun turrets, barbettes and main conning tower were protected by 280 millimetres (11 in) of armour, except for the turret and conning tower roofs which were 60 to 150 mm (2.4 to 5.9 ) thick. The thickness of the decks ranged from 30 to 48 mm (1.2 to 1.9 ) in two layers. The underwater protection system consisted of the extension of the double bottom up to the lower edge of the waterline armour belt, with a thin 10 millimetre (0.393700787401575 in) plate acting as the outermost bulkhead. It was backed by a torpedo bulkhead
Torpedo bulkhead
A torpedo bulkhead is a type of armor common on the more heavily armored warships, especially battleships and battlecruisers of the early 20th century. It is designed to keep the ship afloat even if the hull was struck underneath the belt armor by a shell or by a torpedo...
that consisted of two layered 25-millimetre plates. The total thickness of this system was only 1.6 metre which made it incapable of containing a torpedo warhead detonation or mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
explosion without rupturing.
Szent István, built at Fiume, differed from her half-sisters
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
mainly in her machinery. She only had two shafts and two turbines, unlike the four shaft arrangement of the other ships of her class. External differences included a platform built around the fore funnel which extended from the bridge to the after funnel and on which several searchlights were installed. A further distinguishing feature was the modified ventilator trunk in front of the mainmast. She was the only ship of her class not to be fitted with torpedo nets
Torpedo nets
Torpedo nets were a passive naval warship defensive device against torpedoes. Their use was common practice from the 1890s through World War II...
.
Construction
The Austro-Hungarian government ordered the construction of a new fleet in 1908, following the announcement of the start of construction of the first dreadnought for the Regia Marina
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
(the Italian navy), the RN Dante Alighieri
Italian battleship Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri was the first dreadnought battleship built for the Regia Marina . Named after the medieval Italian poet Dante Alighieri, she was the first ship built with triple gun turrets for the main armament...
. The ships of this class were among the first ships to utilize triple gun turrets for its main armament, the first one being the Italian battleship Dante Alighieri, which the Austro-Hungarian ships were supposed to act against in a war; as for the Italian ship, this choice made it possible to deliver a heavier broadside than other dreadnoughts of a similar size. The triple turrets were built at the Škoda Works
Škoda Works
Škoda Works was the largest industrial enterprise in Austro-Hungary and later in Czechoslovakia, one of its successor states. It was also one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Europe in the 20th century...
, in Plzeň, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
(Czech republic), and was available at short notice because Škoda were already working on a design for an order for the Russian navy.
The first unit was to bear the name of Wilhelm von Tegetthoff
Wilhelm von Tegetthoff
Wilhelm von Tegetthoff was an Austrian admiral. Considered one of the prominent naval commanders of the 19th century, Tegetthoff was known for his innovative tactics as well as his inspirational leadership....
, an Austrian naval admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
of the 19th century, but Franz Joseph I wanted it to be named after his personal motto, Viribus Unitis (Latin for "With united forces"). In any event, the class name remained Tegetthoff.
The first three ships were built at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino yard, Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, but as a condition of agreeing to the construction and financing of the new fleet, the Hungarian parliament insisted that one of the battleships be built at the Hungarian facility, the Danubius yard at Fiume - Rijeka , now Croatia. However, the Danibius shipyard had until then never built anything larger than a destroyer, therefore delayed construction as the yard was extended in preparation for the dreadnought. For this reason the final ship, delivered seventeen months late, was given a Hungarian name—named Szent István after Saint Stephen, the first king and patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
World War I
The assistance of the Austro-Hungarian fleet was called upon by the German Mediterranean DivisionMediterranean Division
The Mediterranean Division was a division consisting of one battlecruiser , one light cruiser , and a yacht of the Kaiserliche Marine. It saw service in the First Balkan War, Second Balkan War, and First World War...
, which consisted of the battlecruiser and light cruiser . The German ships were attempting to break out of Messina, where they had been coaling prior to the outbreak of war—British ships had begun to assemble off Messina in an attempt to trap the Germans. By this time, the Austro-Hungarians had not yet fully mobilized their fleet, though the three Radetzkys and three Tegetthoffs, along with several cruisers and smaller craft, were available. The Austro-Hungarian high command, wary of instigating war with Great Britain, ordered the fleet to avoid the British ships, and to only openly support the Germans while they were in Austro-Hungarian waters. On 7 August, when the Germans broke out of Messina, the Austro-Hungarian fleet, including the Tegetthoff class battleships, sailed as far south as Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
, before returning to port.
After the breakout, the Austro-Hungarian navy saw very little action, spending much of its time in its base at Pola (now Pula
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
). The navy's general inactivity was partly caused by a lack of coal, which became a problem as the war progressed, and partly by a fear of mines in the Adriatic (which also kept the Italian navy in port for most of the war). They did, however, leave Pula to bombard Ancona
Bombardment of Ancona
The Bombardment of Ancona was a naval engagement of the First World War between the navies of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Forces of the Austro-Hungarian Navy attacked and bombarded military and civilian targets all across Ancona in central Italy and several other nearby islands and...
in May 1915. On 23 May 1915, four hours after the Italian declaration of war reached the main Austro-Hungarian naval base at Pola, the members of the Tegetthoff-class and the rest of the fleet departed to bombard the Italian coast. The Austro-Hungarian ships bombarded the important naval base at Ancona, and later the coast of Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
, without opposition; by the time Italian ships arrived on the scene, the Austro-Hungarians were safely back in Pola.
Otranto Raid
Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya was the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary during the interwar years and throughout most of World War II, serving from 1 March 1920 to 15 October 1944. Horthy was styled "His Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary" .Admiral Horthy was an officer of the...
became rear admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
of the fleet, and he determined to use the fleet to attack the Otranto Barrage
Otranto Barrage
The Otranto Barrage was an Allied naval blockade of the Otranto Straits between Brindisi in Italy and Corfu on the Albanian side of the Adriatic Sea in World War I. The blockade was intended to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Navy from escaping into the Mediterranean and threatening Allied operations...
. On 8 June 1918 he took the Viribus Unitis and Prinz Eugen south with a small supporting flotilla; on the evening of 9 June, Szent Istvan and Tegetthoff followed. In trying to make maximum speed in order to catch up, Szent Istvan's turbines started to overheat and speed had to be reduced to 12 knots (22 km/h). When an attempt was made to raise more steam in order to increase to 16 knots (30 km/h) Szent Istvan produced an excess of smoke, attracting the attention of a pair of patrolling Italian torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
s at 3.20 a.m. on 10 June. MAS-21 attacked Tegetthoff, but one of her torpedoes failed to leave the launch tube and the other failed to explode. MAS-15 however succeeded in striking Szent Istvan with two torpedoes at 3:31 a.m. The Tegetthoff returned to the scene to take the Szent Istvan in tow. An attempt to beach the ship on nearby Molat island (northwest of Zara
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
) was considered, but the ship was taking on too much water. At 6:12 a.m., with the pumps unequal to the task, Szent Istvan capsized, taking 89 of her crew with her. The last half-hour of the sinking was filmed in stages from the Tegetthoff (Video:) (one of only two battleship sinkings on the high seas to ever be filmed, the other being that of the British battleship HMS Barham
HMS Barham (1914)
HMS Barham was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship of the Royal Navy named after Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, built at the John Brown shipyards in Clydebank, Scotland, and launched in 1914...
in the Second World War). Fearing further attacks by torpedo boats or destroyers from the Italian navy, his element of surprise now compromised, Admiral Horthy called off the attack and the fleet returned to base for the remainder of the war.
Post-war
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
had lost World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the Austrian government decided to give the Viribus Unitis, along with much of the Austro-Hungarian fleet, to the newly-formed State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was a short-lived state formed from the southernmost parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy after its dissolution at the end of the World War I by the resident population of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs...
. This move would have avoided handing the fleet to the Allies, since the new state had declared neutrality. Following the transfer, she was renamed the Yugoslavia.
Despite the transfer, on 1 November 1918, two men of the Regia Marina
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
, Raffaele Paolucci and Raffaele Rossetti
Raffaele Rossetti
Raffaele Rossetti was an Italian engineer and military naval officer who sank the main battleship of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I. He was also a politician of the Italian Republican Party.-Biography:...
, rode a primitive manned torpedo (nicknamed the Mignatta or "leech") into the Austro-Hungarian naval base at Pola. Using limpet mine
Limpet mine
A limpet mine is a type of naval mine attached to a target by magnets; they are so named because of their superficial similarity to the limpet, a type of mollusk....
s, they then sank the Viribus Unitis, as well as the freighter Wien.
Traveling down the rows of Austrian battleships, the two men encountered the Viribus Unitis at around 4:40 am. Rossetti placed one canister of TNT on the hull of the battleship, timed to explode at 6:30 am. He then flooded the second canister, sinking it on the harbor floor close to the ship. This second canister exploded close to the Austrian freighter Wien, resulting in her sinking. The men had no breathing sets
Scuba set
A scuba set is an independent breathing set that provides a scuba diver with the breathing gas necessary to breathe underwater during scuba diving. It is much used for sport diving and some sorts of work diving....
, and therefore had to keep their heads above water. They were discovered and taken prisoner just after placing the explosives under the battleship's hull. The Italians did not know that the Austrian government had handed over the Viribus Unitis, along with most of the Austro-Hungarian fleet, to the newly-created State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was a short-lived state formed from the southernmost parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy after its dissolution at the end of the World War I by the resident population of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs...
. The two-man team were captured and taken aboard Viribus Unitis, where they informed the new captain of the battleship what they had done but did not reveal the exact position of the explosives. Vuković then arranged for the two prisoners to be taken safely to the sister ship Tegetthoff
SMS Tegetthoff
SMS Tegetthoff was an Austro-Hungarian dreadnought battleship of the Tegetthoff class named after Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, a 19th-century Austrian admiral most notable for defeating the Italian Navy in the Battle of Lissa....
, and ordered the evacuation of the ship. The explosion did not happen at 6:30 as predicted and Vuković returned to the ship with many sailors (believing mistakenly that the Italians had lied). He therefore remained on his ship and went down with her and 300–400 of her crew when the mines exploded shortly afterwards at 6:44. Following the explosion, the battleship sank in 15 minutes. The two Italian crew were interned for a few days until the end of the war and were honored by the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
with the Gold Medal of Military Valor
Gold Medal of Military Valor
The Gold Medal of Military Valor is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia "....per bassi ufficiali e soldati che avevano fatto azioni di segnalato valore in guerra" .The face of the medal displayed the profile of the king, and on its reverse was a flag...
.
On 4 November Italian troops entered Pola and seized Tegetthoff and Prinz Eugen. The Italians kept Tegetthoff for their own use, although they broke her up in 1924 following the Washington Naval Treaty
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
of 1922, but she had first featured in the movie Eroi di nostri mari (Heroes of our seas) about the sinking of Szent Istvan. Prinz Eugen became French property—they removed the main armament for inspection and used the ship to test aerial bombardment attacks, before she was finally used as a target ship by the battleships Paris
French battleship Paris
Paris was the third ship of the s, the first dreadnoughts built for the French Navy. She was completed before World War I as part of the 1911 naval building programme. She spent the war in the Mediterranean, spending most of 1914 providing gunfire support for the Montenegrin Army until her sister...
, Jean Bart
French battleship Jean Bart (1911)
Jean Bart was the second ship of the s, the first dreadnoughts built for the French Navy. She was completed before World War I as part of the 1910 naval building programme. She spent the war in the Mediterranean and helped to sink the Austro-Hungarian protected cruiser on 16 August 1914...
, and France
French battleship France
France was the last ship of the s, the first dreadnoughts built for the French Navy. She was completed just before World War I as part of the 1911 naval building programme. She spent the war in the Mediterranean, covering the Otranto Barrage in the Adriatic...
, and sunk in the Atlantic.
See also
- List of ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy
- List of battleship classes
- Lists of ship launches in: 1911, 1912, and 1914
- Lists of ship commissionings in: 1912, 1913, 1914, and 1915
- Lists of shipwrecks in: 1918 and 1922