Between the 1870s and 1910s, the Austro-Hungarian Navy built a series of cruisers of various types, including small torpedo cruisers, protected cruisers, fast scout cruisers and large armored cruisers. The first modern cruisers were the three Zara class begun in the late 1870s; a fourth vessel, Lussin, followed in the early 1880s. These ships proved to be unsatisfactory in service, and so to gain experience building effective vessels, the Navy ordered the two Panther-class cruisers from Britain. These were used as the basis for the domestically-built Tiger. Toward the end of the 1880s, the Navy shifted from building small torpedo cruisers to larger protected and armored cruisers, the first of which were the two Kaiser Franz Joseph I-class cruisers. These provided the basis for the armored cruisers Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia, Kaiser Karl VI, and Sankt Georg, built between 1891 and 1905.
In the mid-1890s, the three Zenta-class cruisers were built; these proved to be the last protected cruisers of the Austro-Hungarian fleet. In the mid-1900s, the Navy started building scout cruisers, starting with Admiral Spaun, which proved to be a disappointment owing to her unreliable engines. The subsequent design, the Novara class, rectified the problem and they shouldered much of the burden of the Adriatic Campaign during World War I. They were the last class of cruisers completed before the war, as the Ersatz Zenta class was cancelled after the outbreak of hostilities, just two months after they had been authorized.
Armament | The number and type of the primary armament |
---|---|
Armor | The thickness of the belt or deck armor |
Displacement | Ship displacement at full combat load |
Propulsion | Number of shafts, type of propulsion system, and top speed/horsepower generated |
Service | The dates work began and finished on the ship and its ultimate fate |
Laid down | The date the keel began to be assembled |
Commissioned | The date the ship was commissioned |
Unable to secure funding for new ironclad warships, Vice Admiral Friedrich von Pöck, the Marinekommandant (Navy Commander) of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, resorted to developing less expensive torpedo cruisers armed with the new Whitehead torpedoes that had been developed in Austria-Hungary in the 1860s as a way to strengthen the fleet. The design staff considered a number of designs, ranging from large, heavily-armored vessels with torpedoes and large-caliber guns, to small ships armed only with torpedoes. They ultimately settled on smaller vessels that were modeled on the German aviso Zieten, which had proven to be a success for the Imperial German Navy. The new ships were to serve as fleet scouts and flotilla leaders for smaller torpedo boats. Josef von Romako, the Austro-Hungarian chief naval architect, prepared the design, which ultimately failed to meet expectations, primarily the result of an insufficiently high speed. [1] [2]
The three Zaras saw little active use during their careers, since their low speed precluded them from being used in their intended roles. Instead, they spent most of their existence in reserve, being reactivated periodically for exercises. The only major operation in which any members of the class participated came in 1897 during the Greco-Turkish War, where Sebenico was sent to enforce a blockade of the island as part of an international squadron. They were used as training ships during this period, until the start of World War I in July 1914, when they became harbor guard ships. The ships saw no action during the war, though Zara was badly damaged by a mine in 1917. All three vessels were surrendered to Italy after the conflict as war prizes and were then broken up. [3] [4] [5]
Ship | Armament [6] | Armor [6] | Displacement [6] | Propulsion [6] | Service [6] [7] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | |||||
SMS Zara | 4 × 9 cm (3.5 in) guns 3 × 35 cm (13.8 in) torpedo tubes | — | 838 long tons (851 t) | 1 August 1878 | 13 June 1881 | Ceded to Italy as a war prize, scrapped in 1920 | |
SMS Spalato | September 1878 | September 1881 | |||||
SMS Sebenico | 4 × 9 cm guns 1 × 35 cm torpedo tube | 882.6 long tons (896.8 t) | 29 November 1880 | December 1882 |
Pöck ordered a fourth torpedo cruiser, which Romako designed while Zara was undergoing sea trials. He used the Zaras as the basic starting point, but lengthened the hull to incorporate finer lines and thus improved hydrodynamics and included a more powerful engine. Projected to reach a speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph), Lussin failed to reach her intended speed owing to problems with her propulsion system; her boilers did not produce sufficient power and her engine room was poorly ventilated. By the time Lussin entered service, Pöck had died and his successor, Maximilian Daublebsky von Sterneck, decided to order future torpedo cruisers from more experienced foreign shipyards. [1] [8]
Lussin took part in an international blockade of Greece in 1886 as part of an attempt by the Great Powers to stop a war between Greece and the Ottoman Empire. [9] Like the Zaras, her slow speed prevented her from being used as intended, and after spending most of the next three years out of service, in 1889 she was reduced to a training ship. She saw limited activity in the annual fleet maneuvers into the early 1900s. Between 1903 and 1909, she served as the station ship for Teodo. She was rebuilt into an admiralty yacht between 1909 and 1913. During World War I, she was used as a barracks ship for German U-boat crews in Pola. She was seized by Italy, renamed Sorrento, and modernized for use as a depot ship for MAS boats, serving in that role until 1928, when she was broken up. [10] [11]
Ship | Armament [6] | Armor [6] | Displacement [6] | Propulsion [6] | Service [12] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | |||||
SMS Lussin | 4 × 15 cm (5.9 in) guns 1 × 35 cm torpedo tube | Deck: 19 mm (0.75 in) | 995.25 long tons (1,011.22 t) | Ceded to Italy as a war prize, commissioned as Sorrento, scrapped after 1928 |
By the time Sterneck became the head of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in 1884, the fleet was technologically backward as a result of chronic under-funding. The refusal of the Imperial Council of Austria and the Diet of Hungary to grant larger naval budgets forced Sterneck to continue Pöck's policy of pursuing cheaper methods to defend the Austro-Hungarian coast, including torpedo cruisers. He requested authorization to build three new cruisers, which Kaiser Franz Josef I approved that year. As the domestically produced Zara and Lussin designs had been failures, Sterneck opted to order the two ships of the Panther class from the British shipbuilder Armstrong Whitworth. The Austro-Hungarian naval architect Siegfried Popper was sent to oversee the project to gain experience in designing ships of the type. [13] [14] They were the first cruiser-type ships of the Austro-Hungarian fleet to discard sailing rigs. The decision to build a force of torpedo-armed warships instead of capital ships represented a doctrinal shift led by Sterneck away from traditional theories to the Jeune École (Young School), which favored smaller, cheaper vessels. [15]
Both vessels were successful additions to the Austro-Hungarian Navy, operating with the main fleet for their first years in service; they also conducted several long-distance training voyages. In 1896, Panther was sent on a major training cruise to the Pacific Ocean in 1896 and Leopard joined the international squadron off Crete in 1897. Both ships made several voyages to Asia and Africa over the next decade, and one of the ships was on station in East Asian waters at all times between 1907 and 1910. They served with the Coastal Defense Special Group during World War I and Panther bombarded Montenegrin forces in 1916. Britain seized both ships as war prizes and sold to them ship breakers in Italy in 1920. [16] [17]
Ship | Armament [18] | Armor [18] | Displacement [18] | Propulsion [18] | Service [18] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | |||||
SMS Panther | 4 × 12 cm guns 4 × 35.6 cm (14 in) torpedo tubes | Deck: 12 mm (0.47 in) | 1,557 long tons (1,582 t) | Two compound steam engines, 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) | 29 October 1884 | 31 December 1885 | Ceded to Britain as a war prize, scrapped in 1920 |
SMS Leopard | January 1885 | 31 March 1886 | Ceded to Britain as a war prize, scrapped in 1920 |
Having secured experience with the Panther class, Sterneck ordered the third of his projected cruisers to be built domestically. In 1885, Popper was tasked with designing the vessel that was to be based on the Panthers with modest improvements. The hull was lengthened to incorporate finer lines, which gave the ship a slightly higher top speed than the Panthers (though both designs were nominally 18-knot ships, Tiger exceeded her design speed by more than a knot on trials). She carried the same armament as the Panther-class, albeit with domestically-produced 35 cm torpedo tubes instead of the slightly larger 35.6 cm tubes of the British-built ships. [19] [20]
Tiger served with the fleet for the first several years of her career, and in 1890 took part in a major cruise to visit Germany, Great Britain, and other countries in northern Europe. She was overhauled in 1896 and participated in the international squadron at Crete in 1897. Between 1905 and 1906, she was converted into a yacht and was then renamed Lacroma. In 1916, she was reduced to a barracks ship in Pola for German U-boat crews [21] [22] In the final days of the war, the Austro-Hungarian Navy attempted to transfer more modern vessels, including Lacroma, to the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs to avoid their seizure by the Allies. The ship was nevertheless taken by Italy as a prize, thereafter being scrapped in 1920. [23] [24]
Ship | Armament [23] | Armor [23] | Displacement [23] | Propulsion [23] | Service [23] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | |||||
SMS Tiger | 4 × 12 cm guns 4 × 35 cm torpedo tubes | — | 1,657 to 1,680 long tons (1,684 to 1,707 t) | Two compound steam engines, 18 kn | 5 October 1886 | March 1888 | Ceded to Italy as a war prize, scrapped in 1920 |
During the design process for the Panther class, Sterneck predicted that larger vessels, of around 3,500 long tons (3,600 t) and armed with large-caliber guns, would be necessary in the future. [14] Having secured approval for the three torpedo cruisers, he next requested funding for a pair of vessels to meet the requirements for the larger vessels. His design was modeled on the Italian protected cruisers Giovanni Bausan and the Etna class; the Austrian and Hungarian parliaments were pleased at the low cost of the vessels—half that of contemporary ironclad warships—and authorized two vessels for the 1888 and 1889 fiscal year to replace the obsolete ironclads Lissa and Kaiser. Like their Italian counterparts, Kaiser Franz Joseph I and Kaiserin Elisabeth carried a pair of 24 cm (9.4 in) guns in open barbettes to give them the ability to engage hostile capital ships, while retaining the high speed necessary to operate with the torpedo cruisers. [23] [25] [26] In service, the ships proved to be incapable of performing the duties Sterneck envisioned, and moreover the Jeune École doctrine had fallen out of favor; while a third member of the class had been authorized, it was never built. [27] [28]
After entering service in 1890, Kaiser Franz Joseph I served with the fleet in home waters, including the voyage to northern Europe with Tiger in 1890, while Kaiserin Elisabeth made a circumnavigation of the globe in 1892–1893 with Archduke Franz Ferdinand aboard. Both ships visited Germany for the opening of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal in 1895. [29] Kaiser Franz Joseph I went to East Asia in 1897 before returning to take part in the international squadron off Crete and Kaiserin Elisabeth was sent to China to help suppress the Boxer Uprising in 1899. After the rebellion, Austria-Hungary received a concession in Tianjin, which prompted the Navy to keep one of the two members of the class on station through the 1910s. Kaiserin Elisabeth was there at the start of World War I and she moved to join German forces in Qingdao; during the ensuing siege, she was disarmed to strengthen the land defenses of the port and her crew went ashore to fight as infantry. The ship was ultimately scuttled to avoid capture by the Allied forces. Kaiser Franz Joseph I, meanwhile, was used as a guard ship in Cattaro Bay for the duration of the war. After the Cattaro Mutiny in early 1918, the vessel was reduced to a barracks ship. She sank in Cattaro Bay in 1919 before she had been allocated to the Allies, and was eventually scrapped in 1967. [30] [31]
Ship | Armament [23] | Armor [23] | Displacement [23] | Propulsion [23] | Service [23] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | |||||
SMS Kaiser Franz Joseph I | 2 × 24 cm (9.4 in) K L/35 guns | Belt: 57 mm (2.2 in) | 4,494 long tons (4,566 t) | Two triple-expansion engines, 19 kn (35 km/h; 22 mph) | 3 January 1888 | 2 July 1890 | Ceded to France as a war prize, foundered in 1919 |
SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth | July 1888 | 21 January 1892 | Scuttled in Qingdao, 2 November 1914 |
Ship | Armament [23] | Armor [23] | Displacement [23] | Propulsion [23] | Service [23] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | |||||
SMS Zenta | 8 × 12 cm (4.7 in) guns | Belt: 25 mm (0.98 in) | 2,503 to 2,625 long tons (2,543 to 2,667 t) | Two triple expansion engines, 20.8 kn (38.5 km/h; 23.9 mph) | 8 August 1896 | 28 May 1899 | Sunk at the Battle of Antivari, 16 August 1914 |
SMS Aspern | 4 October 1897 | 29 May 1900 | Ceded to Britain as a war prize, scrapped in 1920 | ||||
SMS Szigetvár | 25 May 1899 | 30 September 1901 |
After the Kaiser Franz Joseph I class of protected cruisers had entered service and proved to be disappointments, the Austro-Hungarian Navy decided abandon the Jeune École doctrine and return to traditional fleet plans centered on large, heavily armored vessels. [27] The first of these became the armored cruiser Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia. The new ship was intended to fill some of the roles of a battleship, because the chronically small naval budgets prevented the Navy from building as many capital ships as it wanted. The Navy solicited designs from five British shipyards, but ultimately awarded the contract to the domestic firm Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino. The ship was initially to be armed with a battery of six 15 cm (5.9 in) guns, but the armament was increased by two of those guns, along with a pair of 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns. [32]
Early in the ship's career, she was frequently sent abroad, including a trip to Germany for the opening of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal in 1895. [33] In 1898, she was sent to Cuba to evacuate Austro-Hungarian nationals during the Spanish–American War; while there, she was nearly attacked by American warships who mistook her for the similarly-named Spanish cruiser Infanta Maria Teresa. [34] She participated in the European suppression of the Boxer Uprising in China in 1901. [35] During World War I she was used as a guard ship in Šibenik until 1916, when she became a barracks ship. After Austria-Hungary's defeat, she was awarded to Britain as a war prize and was broken up for scrap in 1920. [6]
Ship | Armament [32] | Armor [32] | Displacement [32] | Propulsion [32] | Service [32] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | |||||
SMS Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia | 2 × 24 cm K L/35 guns | Belt: 100 mm (3.9 in) | 6,026 long tons (6,123 t) | Two triple-expansion engines, 19.35 knots (36 km/h; 22 mph) | 1 July 1891 | November 1894 | Ceded to Britain as a war prize, scrapped in 1920 |
The follow-on to Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia was based heavily on that ship, the primary improvements being significantly strengthened armor protection and a newer model of 24 cm gun, along with more powerful machinery that gave a knot and a half increase in speed. [32]
Kaiser Karl VI served with the main fleet for the majority of her active career. In 1910, she made a major trans-Atlantic cruise to represent Austria-Hungary at Argentina's centennial celebration of the country's independence. [36] During World War I, the ship participated in the defense of Cattaro Bay, which included a length artillery duel between Kaiser Karl VI and other Austro-Hungarian warships and Montenegrin and French artillery batteries in the heights around the port. [37] Kaiser Karl VI was at the center of the Cattaro Mutiny in January 1918 that culminated in the execution of four of the ringleaders, [38] along with the decommissioning of Kaiser Karl VI and the dispersal of her restive crew. Like her predecessor, she was awarded to Britain after the war and sold for scrap in Italy. [32] [39]
Ship | Armament [32] | Armor [32] | Displacement [32] | Propulsion [32] | Service [32] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | |||||
SMS Kaiser Karl VI | 2 × 24 cm K L/40 guns | Belt: 220 mm (8.7 in) | 6,864 long tons (6,974 t) | Two triple-expansion engines, 20.83 knots (38.58 km/h; 23.97 mph) | 1 June 1896 | 23 May 1900 | Ceded to Britain as a war prize, scrapped in 1920 |
The third and final armored cruiser, Sankt Georg, was another iterative improvement on the previous vessels. The ship carried a much more powerful secondary battery that included five 19 cm (7.5 in) guns in place of four of the 15 cm guns. She also had new engines that gave her over a knot increase in speed over Kaiser Karl VI. [32]
Like her predecessor, Sankt Georg served with the fleet for the bulk of her career. In 1907, she visited the United States with the protected cruiser Aspern. [36] During World War I, she was based in Cattaro with the most modern cruisers of the fleet, though she was too slow to take an active role in the raids against Entente forces. [40] She sortied in May 1917 to rescue the three Novara-class cruisers during the Battle of the Strait of Otranto; her appearance forced the British and Italian vessels pursuing the Novaras to break off the chase. [41] Sankt Georg was also involved in the Cattaro Mutiny, during which her captain was killed by the mutineers. [38] After the war, she was surrendered to Britain and scrapped in Italy. [32]
Ship | Armament [32] | Armor [32] | Displacement [32] | Propulsion [32] | Service [32] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | |||||
SMS Sankt Georg | 2 × 24 cm K L/40 guns | Belt: 210 mm (8.3 in) | 8,070 long tons (8,200 t) | Two triple-expansion engines, 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) | 11 March 1901 | 21 July 1905 | Ceded to Britain as a war prize, scrapped in 1920 |
In the early 1900s, Austria-Hungary entered a brief hiatus in cruiser construction; on 1 May 1906, a set of design requirements was issued for a new design. The ship was to displace 3,500 t (3,400 long tons; 3,900 short tons) normally, and should be faster than contemporary cruisers of foreign navies. It should also have slightly better armor protection, which necessitated a weaker armament. The design, which was finalized by 1908, also incorporated steam turbines, the first time the new type of engines were used in a major Austro-Hungarian warship. [42]
Admiral Spaun's turbines proved to be very difficult in service, which greatly reduced her activity during the war. Without a reliable propulsion system, she could not join the three Novaras on their raids in the southern Adriatic, but she still saw action in less dangerous operations. After the war, she was ceded to Britain for reparations and was broken up in Italy in 1920. [42]
Ship | Armament | Armor | Displacement | Propulsion | Service | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | |||||
SMS Admiral Spaun | 7 × 10-centimeter (3.9 in) guns [42] | Belt: 60 mm (2.4 in) [42] | 4,000 long tons (4,100 t) [42] | Six steam turbines, 27.07 kn (50.13 km/h; 31.15 mph) [42] | 30 May 1908 [42] | 15 November 1910 [42] | Ceded to Britain as a war prize, scrapped in 1920 [42] |
The next three cruisers built by Austria-Hungary were iterative developments of Admiral Spaun, the primary improvements being more powerful turbines that allowed fewer engines to be used and a strengthened gun battery. The weight savings from the reduced number of turbines was also used to reinforce the hull structure. Unlike Admiral Spaun, the Novaras' engines were very reliable and provided a high speed that proved to be very useful during the war. As a result, they formed the backbone of the naval war in the Adriatic, conducting a number of raids against enemy forces in the southern Adriatic. [42] These culminated in the Battle of the Strait of Otranto in May 1917, the largest naval battle of the Adriatic Campaign. [43]
After the war, all three ships were surrendered to the Entente, with Saida and Helgoland going to Italy as Venezia and Brindisi, respectively, and Novara to France as Thionville. They served in the navies of their respective owners into the early 1930s, when they were withdrawn from service, thereafter being used for subsidiary duties. The two Italian ships were scrapped in 1937, but Thionville survived as a barracks ship until 1941, when she too was broken up. [42]
Ship | Armament [42] | Armor [42] | Displacement [42] | Propulsion [42] | Service [42] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | |||||
SMS Saida | 9 × 10 cm guns | Belt: 60 mm | 4,017 long tons (4,081 t) | Two steam turbines, 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) | 9 September 1911 | 1 August 1914 | Ceded to Italy as a war prize, commissioned as Venezia, scrapped in 1937 |
SMS Helgoland | 28 October 1911 | 5 September 1914 | Ceded to Italy as a war prize, commissioned as Brindisi, scrapped in 1937 | ||||
SMS Novara | 9 December 1912 | 10 January 1915 | Ceded to France as a war prize, commissioned as Thionville, scrapped in 1941 |
As tensions in Europe rose in the early 1910s from the Italo-Turkish War and the Balkan Wars, Vice Admiral Anton Haus, the new Marinekommandant, was able to use the growing risk of war to convince the government to fund a large construction program in 1913 that included three new scout cruisers. Since they were intended to replace the aging Zenta class, the first vessel was designated Ersatz Zenta. [44] [45] The budget was approved on 28 May 1914, with work on the first vessel slated to begin on 1 July. The new ships were based on experience gained from the preceding Novara-class cruisers, though a greater emphasis was placed on armament, with a greater number and caliber of main guns. The outbreak of World War I just two months after their authorization delayed their keel laying. The other two were to have followed on 1 July 1915, but work never began on any of the ships. [46] All building projects were suspended in August 1914, to be completed after the successful conclusion of the war. [47]
In December 1915, the Navy's high command requested that the design be reworked to incorporate the wartime experience of the Austro-Hungarian fleet and its German allies. The design was radically changed, with the original 12 cm guns replaced with a pair of 19 cm (7.5 in) guns and six or eight 15 cm (5.9 in) guns. Belt armor was also considerably strengthened, to 150 mm (5.9 in), as actions with British and French warships had demonstrated the smaller gun to be insufficiently powerful. Work never started on the new design either, as most of the shipyard workers who were to have built them had been drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army. [46] [48] [49]
Ship | Armament [46] | Armor [46] | Displacement [46] | Propulsion [46] | Service [46] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | |||||
K | 14 × 12 cm guns | Belt: 20 mm (0.79 in) | 5,611 long tons (5,701 t) | Two steam turbines, 30.1 kn (55.7 km/h; 34.6 mph) | — | — | Work never begun |
L | |||||||
M |
SMS Sankt Georg was the third and final armored cruiser of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. She was built at the Pola Arsenal; her keel was laid in March 1901, she was launched in December 1903, and completed in July 1905. Her design was based on the previous armored cruiser Kaiser Karl VI, with the primary improvement being a stronger armament. Sankt Georg, named for Saint George, was armed with a main battery of two 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns, five 19 cm (7.5 in) guns, and four 15 cm (5.9 in) guns.
SMS Zenta was the lead ship of the Zenta class of protected cruisers built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the late 1890s. The class included two other vessels, Aspern and Szigetvár. The Zentas were intended to serve as fleet scouts and to guard the battleships against attacks by torpedo boats. She carried a main battery of eight 12 cm (4.7 in) guns manufactured by Škoda; Zenta and her sisters were the first major warships of the Austro-Hungarian fleet to be armed entirely with domestically produced guns. Unlike earlier Austro-Hungarian cruisers, the Zenta class discarded heavy belt armor in favor of a higher top speed.
SMS Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia was an armored cruiser used by the imperial Austro-Hungarian Navy from 1895 to 1917; she was the first ship of that type built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. The ship was a unique design, built by the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard in Trieste; she was laid down in July 1891, launched in April 1893, and completed in November 1894. Armed with a main battery of two 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns and eight 15 cm (5.9 in) guns, the ship provided the basis for two subsequent armored cruiser designs for the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
SMS Panther was a torpedo cruiser (Torpedoschiff) of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. She and her sister ship, Leopard were part of a program to build up Austria-Hungary's fleet of torpedo craft in the 1880s. She was the lead ship of her class, and was built in Britain by Armstrong, from her keel laying in October 1884 to her completion in December 1885. She was armed with a battery of two 12 cm (4.7 in) guns and ten 47 mm (1.9 in) guns, along with four 356 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes.
SMS Leopard was a torpedo cruiser (Torpedoschiff) of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. She and her sister ship, SMS Panther, were part of a program to build up Austria-Hungary's fleet of torpedo craft in the 1880s. Both ships, the only members of the Panther class, were built in Britain at the Armstrong shipyard in Elswick. Leopard was laid down in January 1885, launched in September 1885, and completed in March 1886. She was armed with a battery of two 12 cm (4.7 in) guns and ten 47 mm (1.9 in) guns, along with four 356 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes.
SMS Tiger was a torpedo cruiser built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the mid-1880s. An enlarged and improved version of the Panther class, she was part of a program to build up Austria-Hungary's fleet of torpedo craft in the 1880s. The Panther class, purchased from a British shipyard, was acquired in part to gain experience building cruisers of the type; this provided the basis for the design of Tiger. She was laid down at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard in October 1886, she was launched in June 1887, and was completed in March 1888. The ship was armed with a battery of four 12 cm (4.7 in) guns and three 35 cm (14 in) torpedo tubes, and was capable of speeds in excess of 19 knots.
SMS Lussin was a torpedo cruiser of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, a modified version of the preceding Zara class. As envisaged by the Marinekommandant, Vice Admiral Friedrich von Pöck, Lussin would be the leader of a flotilla of torpedo boats, with the additional capability of carrying out scouting duties. The ship proved to be too slow and too lightly armed for either of these tasks, so she spent the majority of her career as a training ship for engine and boiler room personnel, along with occasional stints with the main fleet for training exercises. She took part in only one significant operation, an international blockade of Greece in 1886 to prevent the country from declaring war on the Ottoman Empire. In 1910–1913, Lussin was rebuilt as an admiralty yacht, and she spent World War I as a barracks ship for German U-boat crews based in Pola. After the war, she was ceded to Italy as a war prize, renamed Sorrento, and briefly saw service as a mother ship for MAS boats from 1924 to 1928, when she was discarded.
SMS Kaiser Karl VI was the second of three armored cruisers built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. She was built by the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino in Trieste between June 1896 and May 1900, when she was commissioned into the fleet. Kaiser Karl VI represented a significant improvement over the preceding design—Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia—being faster and more heavily armed and armored. She provided the basis for the third design, Sankt Georg, which featured further incremental improvements. Having no overseas colonies to patrol, Austria-Hungary built the ship solely to reinforce its battle fleet.
SMS Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was a unique ironclad warship built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1880s, the fleet's last vessel of that type. The ship was laid down in January 1884, launched in July 1887, and completed in September 1889. She was armed with a main battery of three 30.5-centimeter (12 in) guns and had compound steel plating of the same thickness on her armored belt. The ship had an uneventful career, in large part due to her rapid obsolescence. She made trips to foreign countries to represent Austria-Hungary, but was reduced to a coastal defense ship by 1906. She continued in this role through World War I, based at Cattaro Bay, where her crew took part in the Cattaro Mutiny in early 1918. After the war, Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was transferred to the Navy of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, renamed Kumbor and classed as a coastal defence ship, but she remained in their inventory for only a year, being sold for scrap in 1922.
SMS Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie was an ironclad warship built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1880s, the last vessel of that type to be built for Austria-Hungary. The ship, named for Archduchess Stephanie, Crown Princess of Austria, was laid down in November 1884, was launched in April 1887 and completed in July 1889. She was armed with a pair of 30.5-centimeter (12 in) guns in open barbettes and had a top speed of 17 knots. Her service was limited, in large part due to the rapid pace of naval development in the 1890s, which quickly rendered her obsolescent. As a result, her career was generally limited to routine training and the occasional visit to foreign countries. In 1897, she took part in an international naval demonstration to force a compromise over Greek and Ottoman claims to the island of Crete. Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie was decommissioned in 1905, hulked in 1910, and converted into a barracks ship in 1914. After Austria-Hungary's defeat in World War I, the ship was transferred to Italy as a war prize and was eventually broken up for scrap in 1926.
SMS Kaiser Max was an ironclad warship built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1870s, the lead ship of the Kaiser Max class. The ship was purportedly the same vessel that had been laid down in 1861, and had simply been reconstructed. This was a fiction, however; the head of the Austro-Hungarian Navy could not secure funding for new ships, but reconstruction projects were uncontroversial, so he "rebuilt" the three earlier Kaiser Max-class ironclads. Only the engines and parts of the armor plate were reused in the new Kaiser Max, which was laid down in February 1874, launched in December 1875, and commissioned in October 1876. The ship's career was fairly limited, in part due to slender naval budgets that prevented much active use. She made foreign visits and took part in limited training exercises in the 1880s and 1890s. Long since obsolete, Kaiser Max was removed from service in 1904 and converted into a barracks ship. After World War I, the ship was transferred to the Royal Yugoslav Navy as a war prize and renamed Tivat. Her fate thereafter is uncertain, either being sold for scrap in 1924 or retained through 1941.
The Panther-class was a group of two torpedo cruisers, Panther and Leopard, built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1880s. The ships' primary armament was their four torpedo tubes, though they also carried a battery of medium and light-caliber guns. The ships were ordered in an effort to strengthen the defensive capabilities of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, during a period where funding for more expensive ironclad warships could not be secured from parliament. Since Austro-Hungarian naval designers did not have sufficient experience designing vessels of the type, the navy ordered the ships from the British Armstrong shipyard; work took from late 1884 to early 1886. After arriving in Austria-Hungary in 1886, the two ships served in a variety of roles. These included active duty with the main fleet in home waters, overseas training cruises, and showing the flag abroad. During World War I, the cruisers were mobilized for coastal defense duties, but saw no major action, apart from Panther shelling Montenegrin forces in 1916. After the war, both vessels were surrendered to Britain as war prizes and were broken up for scrap in 1920.
SMS Zara was a torpedo cruiser of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, the lead ship of the Zara class. She was laid down in August 1878, launched in November 1879, and commissioned into the fleet in July 1882. The ship was armed with a battery of light guns and four torpedo tubes. She proved to be poorly designed, being too slow for use as a fleet scout or as a flotilla leader for torpedo boats, so she saw little active service. Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, she was frequently in reserve, being activated infrequently to participate in training exercises. She served as a guard ship in Cattaro Bay for most of World War I, before being withdrawn for use as a cadet training ship in June 1917. She served in this capacity until the end of the war in 1918, and was ceded to Italy as a war prize in 1920. The Italian Navy had no use for the vessel, and sold her to ship breakers in 1921.
The Zara class was a class of three torpedo cruisers built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the late 1870s and early 1880s; they were the first large torpedo-armed warships built by Austria-Hungary. The class comprised three ships, Zara, Spalato, and Sebenico; the last vessel was built to a slightly different design, and is sometimes not counted as a member of the class. The design was prepared by Josef von Romako, the Chief Constructor of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, after a lengthy design process throughout the 1870s. The first two ships were armed with deck-mounted torpedo tubes, while Sebenico received an experimental tube in her bow, submerged below the waterline.
SMS Aspern was the second of the three Zenta-class cruisers built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1890s. The class included two other vessels, Zenta and Szigetvár. The Zentas were intended to serve as fleet scouts and to guard the battleships against attacks by torpedo boats. They carried a main battery of eight 12 cm (4.7 in) guns manufactured by Škoda; Aspern and her sisters were the first major warships of the Austro-Hungarian fleet to be armed entirely with domestically produced guns. Unlike earlier Austro-Hungarian cruisers, the Zenta class discarded heavy belt armor in favor of a higher top speed.
SMS Szigetvár was a protected cruiser of the Zenta class, the third and final member of her class, which was built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the late 1890s. The class included two other vessels, Zenta and Aspern. The Zentas were intended to serve as fleet scouts and to guard the battleships against attacks by torpedo boats. They carried a main battery of eight 12 cm (4.7 in) guns manufactured by Škoda; Szigetvár and her sisters were the first major warships of the Austro-Hungarian fleet to be armed entirely with domestically produced guns. Unlike earlier Austro-Hungarian cruisers, the Zenta class discarded heavy belt armor in favor of a higher top speed.
The Kaiser Franz Joseph I class was a class of two protected cruisers built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Named for Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I, the class comprised SMS Kaiser Franz Joseph I and SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth. Construction took place throughout the late 1880s, with both ships being laid down in 1888. Kaiser Franz Joseph I was built by Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino in Trieste, while Kaiserin Elisabeth was built at the Pola Navy Yard in Pola. The Kaiser Franz Joseph I-class ships were the first protected cruisers constructed by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Kaiser Franz Joseph I was the first ship of the class to be commissioned into the fleet in July 1890. She was followed by Kaiserin Elisabeth in November 1892.
SMS Kaiser Franz Joseph I was a protected cruiser built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Named for the Austrian emperor and Hungarian king Franz Joseph I, Kaiser Franz Joseph I was the lead ship of her namesake class. Constructed by Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino in Trieste, she was laid down in January 1888 and launched in May 1889. Kaiser Franz Joseph I was commissioned into the Navy in June 1890. As the first protected cruiser constructed by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, she was intended to serve as Austria-Hungary's response to the Italian cruisers Giovanni Bausan and Etna. Her design was heavily influenced by the Jeune École, a naval strategy which had gained prominence in the 1880s as a means to combat a larger and more heavily armored navy of battleships through the use of torpedo flotillas.
SMS Balaton was one of six Tátra-class destroyers built for the kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine shortly before the First World War. Completed in 1913, she did not participate in the attacks on the Italian mainland after Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary in May 1915. Two months later the ship bombarded a small island in the Central Adriatic Sea during an unsuccessful attempt to recapture it from the Italians. In November and early December Balaton was one of the ships conducting raids off the Albanian coast to interdict the supply lines between Italy and Albania. She played a minor role in the 1st Battle of Durazzo in late December. Balaton participated in several unsuccessful raids on the Otranto Barrage in 1917, although she sank an ammunition ship during the Battle of the Strait of Otranto. She was transferred to Italy in 1920 in accordance with the peace treaties ending the war and renamed Zenson. The Regia Marina used her for spare parts; she was discarded in 1923 and subsequently scrapped.
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