![]() Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf | |
Class overview | |
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Preceded by | Tegetthoff |
Succeeded by | Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie |
History | |
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Name | Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf |
Namesake | Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria |
Builder | Pola Navy Yard |
Laid down | 25 January 1884 |
Launched | 6 July 1887 |
Commissioned | 20 September 1889 |
Fate | Transferred to Navy of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, 1921 |
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Acquired | 1921 |
Renamed | Kumbor |
Stricken | 1922 |
Fate | Broken up for scrap, 1922 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Barbette ship |
Displacement | 6,829 long tons (6,939 t) |
Length | 97.6 m (320 ft 3 in) o/a |
Beam | 19.27 m (63 ft 3 in) |
Draft | 7.39 m (24 ft 3 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | |
Speed | 15.5 kn (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) |
Crew | 447–450 |
Armament |
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Armor |
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.
In the decades that followed the Austrian victory at the Battle of Lissa in 1866, naval expenditure in the Austro-Hungarian Empire were drastically reduced, in large part due to the veto power the Hungarian half of the empire held. Surrounded by potentially hostile countries powers on land, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was more concerned with these threats, and so naval development was not prioritized. [1] Admiral Friedrich von Pöck argued for several years to improve the strength of the Austro-Hungarian fleet, finally winning authorization to build the center battery ship Tegetthoff in 1875. He spent another six years trying in vain to secure a sister ship to Tegetthoff. [2]
Finally, in 1881, Pöck succeeded in securing funding for a new ironclad, authorized as "Ersatz Salamander", a replacement for the earlier ironclad frigate. The new ship, to be named Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf, cost 5.44 million florins. [3] According to Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, the design for the new ship was prepared by Josef Kuchinka, the Director of Naval Construction for the Austro-Hungarian Navy, but the naval historian R. F. Scheltema de Heere credits the naval engineer Moriz Soyka with the work. [4] A second ship, Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie, was authorized at the same time. [5] The designs for both vessels were heavily influenced by foreign ships like the French ironclads Duguesclin and Amiral Duperré, both of which featured a similar arrangement of the main battery guns that Kuchinka used for his new ships. [6]
Chronically starved of funding, the navy was forced to accept significant compromises in the size—and therefore capabilities—of Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf and Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie, particularly compared to the far larger and more heavily armed Amiral Duperré that inspired their design. Scheltema de Heere severely criticized the decision to build two ships of markedly different size and power at the same time, stating "Either you need three guns or you can do with two, but one unit larger than the other is nonsense." [7] Nearly another decade would pass before the Austro-Hungarian Navy secured funding for new capital ships, the three Monarch-class coastal defense ships begun in 1893. [8]
Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was 90.26 meters (296 ft 2 in) long between perpendiculars and 97.6 m (320 ft 3 in) long overall. She had a beam of 19.27 m (63 ft 3 in) and a draft of 7.39 m (24 ft 3 in), and she displaced 6,829 long tons (6,939 t ) normally and 7,315.10 long tons (7,432.48 t) at full load. Her hull was constructed with transverse and longitudinal steel frames, over which the outer steel hull plating was riveted; it was also extensively sub-divided into watertight compartments and had a double bottom. She had a pronounced ram bow, a common feature of capital ships of the period. The ship had a flush deck and was fitted with a large forward conning tower with a bridge mounted atop it along with a smaller secondary conning tower further aft. [4] [5]
Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was fitted with a single pole mast with a large fighting top placed amidships. The ship had a transverse metacentric height of 2.24 m (7 ft 4 in) at full load. Steering was controlled with a single rudder. [4] [5] She was fitted with electrical pumps that had a capacity of 2,000 long tons (2,032 t) of water per hour. [9] Her crew varied between 447 and 450 officers and enlisted men throughout her career. [5]
Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino manufactured Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf's propulsion system. The ship was powered by a pair of two-cylinder, vertical triple-expansion steam engines, driving a pair of four-bladed screw propellers that were 5.49 m (18 ft) in diameter. Steam for the engines was provided by ten coal-fired fire-tube boilers, each of which had three fireboxes. The boilers were vented through two funnels. Her propulsion system was rated to provide 6,000 indicated horsepower (4,500 kW ) for a top speed of 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph). With forced draft, the power could be increased to 7,500 ihp (5,600 kW), though the increase in speed was modest, to 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). The ship was fitted with four electrical generators to power internal lighting and searchlights. [5] [9] [10]
Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was armed with a main battery of three 30.5-centimeter (12 in) MRK 35-caliber guns mounted singly in open barbettes. Two were placed forward in sponsons over the battery deck to maximize end-on fire, with the third placed aft. The guns were manufactured by Krupp, while the carriages that carried them were built by Armstrong Mitchell & Co. Each of the forward guns had an arc of 180 degrees, while the stern gun could traverse 270 degrees, all hydraulically operated. The guns fired a 450-kilogram (990 lb) shell using a 140 kg (310 lb) charge of brown powder, which produced a muzzle velocity of 530 meters per second (1,700 ft/s). While the open barbettes provided a wide field of fire for the slow-firing guns, they were rapidly rendered obsolete by the successful application of quick-firing (QF) technology to large-caliber artillery pieces. [5] [9] The guns were supplied with forty shells apiece. [4]
The main battery was supported by a secondary battery of six 12 cm (4.7 in) 35-caliber guns, also built by Krupp. These guns fired a 26 kg (57 lb) shell with a 15 kg (33 lb) propellant charge, and the ship carried a total of 256 of the shells. She carried seven 47 mm (1.9 in) QF guns for close-range defense against torpedo boats; five were 44-caliber guns and the other two were shorter 33-caliber pieces, all built by Hotchkiss. She carried a total of 1770 rounds of ammunition for the guns. Her gun armament was rounded out by a pair of 37 mm (1.5 in) 44-caliber QF guns and a pair of 7 cm (2.8 in) 15-caliber landing guns for use by landing parties. The 37 mm guns were supplied with a total of 780 rounds. As was customary for capital ships of the period, she carried four 40 cm (15.7 in) torpedo tubes; one was mounted in the bow, another in the stern, and one on each broadside. The ship carried fourteen torpedoes. [4] [5] [9]
Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was protected with compound armor manufactured by the Dillinger Hütte works in Germany. [11] The ship's armored belt was 305 mm thick amidships, where it protected the ammunition magazines and machinery spaces, and reduced to 62 mm (2.4 in) elsewhere. Transverse bulkheads capped the ends of the thickest portion of the belt, with the forward bulkhead 242 mm (9.5 in) and the aft bulkhead 203 mm (8 in) thick. An armored deck 95 mm (3.7 in) thick protected the ship's vitals from shells that passed over the side armor. The barbettes for the main battery were 254 mm (10 in) thick. [5] [9]
SMS Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was laid down on 25 January 1884 at the Navy Dockyard in Pola. She was launched on 6 July 1887 and then began fitting out, which was completed in September 1889. [5] The ship was commissioned to begin sea trials on 20 September. [4] Embarrassingly for the Habsburgs, the ship's namesake had committed suicide earlier that year in the Mayerling incident. In 1890, the German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, invited the Austro-Hungarian fleet to take part in the annual fleet training exercises in August. Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf, the ironclad Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie, and the protected cruiser Kaiser Franz Joseph I were sent to Germany under the command of Rear Admiral Johann von Hinke. While en route, the squadron made visits in Gibraltar and Britain; during the latter stop, the ships took part in the Cowes Regatta, where they were reviewed by Queen Victoria. The ships also stopped in Copenhagen, Denmark and Karlskrona, Sweden. During the voyage back to Austria-Hungary, the squadron visited Cherbourg, France and Palermo, Italy. Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf experienced repeated difficulties with her engines on the trip, but it was nevertheless considered to be a great success in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. [12]
In 1892, celebrations to honor the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's first trans-Atlantic voyage were held in several countries; Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf, Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie, and Kaiser Franz Joseph I represented Austria-Hungary during the ceremonies in Genoa, Italy, Columbus's birthplace. While there, she was inspected by King Umberto I and his son Prince Victor Emmanuel. Already by 1898, the ship was regarded by the Austro-Hungarian Navy as a second-rate vessel, after less than 10 years in service. The rapid pace of naval development in the late 19th century had quickly rendered her obsolescent. [13] Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was reclassified as a coastal defense ship in 1906. [14] In 1908, the Austro-Hungarian Navy attempted to sell the ship, Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie, and Tegetthoff to Uruguay to raise funds for new projects, but the deal fell through. [15]
After Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in July 1914, beginning World War I, the ship was stationed in Cattaro Bay under Commander Richard Florio, the leader of Mining Command II. The force also included an old destroyer, four torpedo boats, a minelayer, and two minesweepers, among other minor vessels. She remained there for the duration of the conflict. [14] [16] On 29 November, the French submarine Cugnot slipped between the protective minefields outside Cattaro Bay and entered the bay, but she was spotted by the Kaiman-class torpedo boat57 T, which raised the alarm. The Huszár-class destroyer Ulan and the Blitz-class torpedo gunboat Blitz, along with the Schichau-class torpedo boat36, chased Cugnot, which was intending to attack Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf. Cugnot struck an underwater obstacle and cancelled the attack, and 57 T fired a torpedo at her, but the torpedo missed because the depth was set too low. Cugnot then escaped from the bay and out through the minefield gap. [17]
By early 1918, the long periods of inactivity had begun to wear on the crews of several warships at Cattaro, including Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf. On 1 February, the Cattaro Mutiny broke out, starting aboard the armored cruiser Sankt Georg and quickly spreading to other ships. [18] Officers were confined to their quarters while a committee of sailors met to formulate a list of demands, which ranged from longer periods of leave and better rations to an end to the war, based on the United States President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points. The following day, shore batteries loyal to the government fired on Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf as she steamed to the Bay of Teodo, the outermost part of Cattaro Bay. The batteries scored a single hit that killed two men, which prompted many of the mutinous ships to abandon the effort. On the morning of 3 February, the Erzherzog Karl-class battleships of the III Division arrived in Cattaro, which convinced the last holdouts to surrender. Trials on the ringleaders commenced quickly and four men were executed. [19] [20]
With the end of the war in November 1918 and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was transferred to the fledgling Navy of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in March 1921. They renamed her Kumbor and classed her as a coastal defence ship, but she remained in their inventory only briefly, being broken up for scrap the following year. [14] [21]
The Radetzky class was a group of three semi-dreadnought battleships built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy between 1907 and 1910. All ships were built by the STT shipyard in Trieste. They were the last pre-dreadnoughts built by the Austro-Hungarians, and the penultimate class of any type of Austro-Hungarian battleship completed. The class comprised three ships: Radetzky, Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand, and Zrínyi. They were armed with four 30.5-centimeter (12.0 in) guns in two twin turrets and eight 24 cm (9.4 in) guns in four twin turrets.
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 Tegetthoff was an ironclad warship of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. She was built by the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard in Trieste, between April 1876 and October 1881. She was armed with a main battery of six 28 cm (11 in) guns mounted in a central-battery. The ship had a limited career, and did not see action. In 1897, she was reduced to a guard ship in Pola, and in 1912 she was renamed Mars. She served as a training ship after 1917, and after the end of World War I, she was surrendered as a war prize to Italy, which sold her for scrapping in 1920.
The Monarch class was a class of three coastal defense ships built by Austria-Hungary at the end of the 19th century. The Monarchs were the first ships of their type to utilize turrets. The class comprised three ships: SMS Monarch, SMS Wien, and SMS Budapest, each armed with four 240 mm (9 in) L/40 guns in two turrets and capable of 15.5 knots at full speed. Budapest was fitted with slightly more modern and powerful engines, giving her a top speed of 17.5 knots.
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 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.
SMS Prinz Eugen was an ironclad warship built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1870s, the third and final member of the Kaiser Max class. The ship was supposedly the same vessel that had been laid down in 1861, and had simply been reconstructed. In reality, 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 Prinz Eugen, which was laid down in October 1874, launched in September 1877, and commissioned in November 1878. The ship spent significant periods out of service, in part due to slender naval budgets that prevented much active use. In 1880, she took part in an international naval demonstration against the Ottoman Empire, and she went to Spain in 1888 for the Barcelona Universal Exposition. Prinz Eugen was stricken in 1904 and converted into a repair ship in 1906–1909. She was renamed Vulkan and served in this capacity through World War I; after the war, she was seized by Italy but was awarded to Yugoslavia in the postwar peace negotiations. Italy refused to hand the ship over, however, and her ultimate fate is unknown.
SMS Don Juan d'Austria was an ironclad warship built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1870s, the second of the three ships 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 Don Juan d'Austria, 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, Don Juan d'Austria was removed from service in 1904 and used as a barracks ship through World War I. After the war, she sank under unclear circumstances.
SMS Erzherzog Albrecht was an ironclad warship built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1870s, the only member of her class. Her design was similar to the ironclad Custoza, but Erzherzog Albrecht was built to a smaller size; like Custoza, she was an iron-hulled casemate ship armed with a battery of eight heavy guns. The ship was laid down in June 1870, was launched in April 1872, and was commissioned in June 1874. The ship's service career was limited; tight naval budgets precluded an active fleet policy in the 1870s, which did not markedly improve in the 1880s. Her first period of active service came in 1881 and 1882, when she helped suppress a revolt in Cattaro Bay. In 1908, she was converted into a tender for the gunnery training school, having been renamed Feuerspeier. In 1915, she became a barracks ship, and after World War I ended in 1918, was ceded to Italy as a war prize. She was renamed Buttafuoco, served in the Italian Navy as a hulk through World War II before being scrapped in 1950.
SMS Custoza was an ironclad warship built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1870s, the only member of her class. She was the first Austro-Hungarian ironclad to be built after the navy studied the results of the Battle of Lissa of 1866; she was also the first iron-hulled capital ship to be built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. She was laid down in November 1869, launched in August 1872, and completed in February 1875. Her career was fairly limited, in part due to reduced naval budgets in the 1870s that also delayed her completion. Custoza was somewhat more active in the 1880s, taking part in an international naval demonstration against the Ottoman Empire in 1880, being modernized in 1882, and a trip to Spain for the Barcelona Universal Exposition in 1888. The ship became a training ship in 1902, was converted into a barracks ship in 1914, and after World War I, was awarded as a war prize to Italy. Custoza was immediately broken up.
The Kaiser Max class of ironclad warships was a group of three casemate ships built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1870s: Kaiser Max, Don Juan d'Austria, and Prinz Eugen. The three ships were ostensibly the same vessels as the earlier Kaiser Max class, though they were in fact entire new vessels. Only parts of the earlier ships' machinery, armor plating, and other equipment were reused in the new ironclads. The ships were all laid down in 1874; the first two were launched in 1875 and completed in 1876, while work on Prinz Eugen proceeded much more slowly. She was launched in 1877 and completed in 1878. The three ships were armed with a battery of eight 21-centimeter (8.3 in) guns mounted in a central, armored casemate, and were capable of a top speed of 13.28 knots.
The Erzherzog Ferdinand Max class consisted of a pair of ironclad warships—Erzherzog Ferdinand Max and Habsburg—built for the Austrian Navy in the 1860s. They were the last broadside armored frigates to be built for the Austrian Empire, and the last vessels completed to see action against the Italians at the Battle of Lissa in 1866. Intended to have been armed with new breech-loading Krupp guns, the outbreak of the Seven Weeks' War prevented the delivery of the guns, forcing the Austrian Navy to arm the ships with a battery of sixteen older 48-pounder muzzle-loading guns.
The Kaiser Max class of broadside ironclads was a group of three vessels built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1860s. The class consisted of Kaiser Max, the lead ship, Prinz Eugen, and Don Juan d'Austria. They were an improved version of the preceding Drache class, being larger, carrying a larger gun battery, and having more powerful engines. The three ships were all laid down in 1861, launched in 1862, and completed in 1863.
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 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.