SMS Vulcano | |
History | |
---|---|
Austria-Hungary | |
Name | Vulcano (renamed Vulkan / Vulcan) |
Launched | 1843 [1] |
Fate | In service until 1872, stricken in 1884 to become a coal hulk [1] |
General characteristics | |
Displacement | 483 metric tons (475 long tons; 532 short tons) [2] |
Installed power | 120 ihp (89 kW) [3] |
Armament |
|
SMS Vulcano (subsequently renamed to German Vulkan, also Vulcan) was a paddle steamer [1] built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in Venice and launched in 1843. [2] Subsequently given the German name Vulkan, [5] or Vulcan. [1] Remained in service until 1872, and finally stricken in 1884 to become a coal hulk. [1]
In 1849 the Vulcano, serving as a balloon carrier (the precursor to the aircraft carrier), [6] launched hot air balloon bombs at Venice, the first offensive use of air power in naval aviation. [4] [7] [8]
In 1848 Venice rebelled, declaring independence from the Austrian Empire. Vulcano and other Austrian vessels managed to escape capture, however most of their men deserted to the Venetian side, in many cases since non-Italian officers promised immediate discharges to their Italian sailors. [9] In March 1848 Vulcano evacuated the personnel of the Austrian embassy from Naples, but the crew mutinied mid-route and attempted to direct the ship to Venice, however the ambassador Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg managed to restore order and direct the ship to Trieste. [10] [11]
Vulcano was part of squadron commanded by Captain Ludwig Kudriaffsky that blockaded Venice in April 1848. [9] On 26 April 1848 the Vulcano (armed with two 48-pounders and four 12-pounders) intercepted a Greek brig attempting to break the blockade, but was engaged in a gun battle with the Venetian Pio Nono (armed with an 80-pounder Paixhan and a 24-pounder) who hit the Vulcano twice forcing her to withdraw. [3]
In July 1849 Vulcano took part in the first aggressive use of balloons in warfare, [12] [13] serving as a balloon carrier (the precursor to the aircraft carrier) [6] in the first offensive use of air power in naval aviation. [4] [7] [8] Austrian forces besieging Venice attempted to float some 200 paper hot air balloons, each carrying a 24- to 30-pound bomb that was to be dropped from the balloon with a time fuse over the besieged city. The balloons were launched mainly from land; however, some were also launched from Vulcano. The Austrians used smaller pilot balloons to determine the correct fuse settings. At least one bomb fell in the city; however, due to the wind changing after launch, most of the balloons missed their target, and some drifted back over Austrian lines and the launching ship Vulcano. [14] [15] [16] On 4 July, she had run aground at Malamocco and come under fire from Manfrin Fort. A crew member was killed. She was damaged at her paddlebox. Vulcan was refloated the next day with assistance from SMS Custoza (1848) and the Austrian steamships Curtatone and Dorotea. [17]
In September 1869, a boiler explosion killed eleven of her crew and severely injured many more. [18] On 17 November 1869, she was one of seventy ships, all of which drew less than 13 feet of water, that sailed through the Suez Canal in a procession marking the opening of the canal. [19]
She remained in service until 1872, and finally struck in 1884 to become a coal hulk. [1]
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1912:
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1914.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1915:
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1916:
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1917.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1918:
Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves navalised aircraft, specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompasses similar activities not restricted to navies, including marines and coast guards, such as in U.S. naval aviators.
This is a list of aviation-related events during the 19th century :
The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated SMS, for Seiner Majestät Schiff. The k.u.k. Kriegsmarine came into being after the formation of Austria-Hungary in 1867, and ceased to exist in 1918 upon the Empire's defeat and subsequent collapse at the end of World War I.
A balloon carrier or balloon tender was a ship equipped with a balloon, usually tied to the ship by a rope or cable, and usually used for observation. During the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, these ships were built to have the furthest possible view of the surrounding waters. After several experiments, the type became formalized in the early 1900s, but was soon to be superseded by the development of seaplane carriers and regular aircraft carriers at the beginning of World War I.
Franz von Uchatius (1811–1881) was an Austrian artillery general and inventor. His inventions included both military applications and pioneer work in cinematography.
SMS Drache was the first of two Drache-class armored frigates built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1860s, the other being Salamander. Drache was laid down in February 1861, launched in September, and completed in November 1862. She remained in the Adriatic during the Second Schleswig War in 1864 while other ships were sent to attack Denmark. Two years later, Prussia and Italy attacked Austria in the Seven Weeks' War. The ship participated in the Austrian victory over the Italians in the Battle of Lissa, where she inflicted serious damage on the coastal defense ship Palestro, setting her on fire and ultimately destroying her. Drache was modernized immediately after the war, but saw little use thereafter. Badly rotted by 1875, she was stricken from the Navy List that year and eventually broken up in 1883.
The Formidabile class was a pair of ironclad warships built for the Italian Regia Marina in the 1860s. The class comprised two ships, Formidabile and Terribile. Initially ordered for the Regia Marina Sarda, by the time they were completed the Kingdom of Sardinia had unified the rest of the Italian states and created the Regia Marina. They were the first ironclads built for the Italian fleet. Wooden-hulled vessels plated with 4.3 inches (109 mm) of wrought iron, they were armed with a battery of twenty guns in a broadside arrangement.
SMS Erzherzog Ferdinand Max was the lead ship of the Erzherzog Ferdinand Max class of broadside ironclads built for the Austrian Navy in the 1860s. She was built by the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino, with her keel laying in October 1863, launching in May 1865, and commissioning in June 1866 at the outbreak of the Third Italian War of Independence and the Austro-Prussian War, fought concurrently. The ship was armed with a main battery of sixteen 48-pounder guns, though the rifled guns originally intended, which had been ordered from Prussia, had to be replaced with old smoothbore guns until after the conflicts ended.
SMS Kaiser Max was the lead ship of the Kaiser Max class of armored frigates built for the Austrian Navy in the 1860s. Her keel was laid in October 1861 at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard; she was launched in May 1862, and was completed in 1863. She carried her main battery—composed of sixteen 48-pounder guns and fifteen 24-pounders—in a traditional broadside arrangement, protected by an armored belt that was 110 mm (4.3 in) thick.
SMS Prinz Eugen was the second member of the Kaiser Max class built for the Austrian Navy in the 1860s. Her keel was laid in October 1861 at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard; she was launched in June 1862, and was completed in March 1863. She carried her main battery—composed of sixteen 48-pounder guns and fifteen 24-pounders—in a traditional broadside arrangement, protected by an armored belt that was 110 mm (4.3 in) thick.
SMS Don Juan d'Austria was the third member of the Kaiser Max class built for the Austrian Navy in the 1860s. Her keel was laid in October 1861 at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard; she was launched in July 1862, and was completed in 1863. She carried her main battery—composed of sixteen 48-pounder guns and fifteen 24-pounders—in a traditional broadside arrangement, protected by an armored belt that was 110 mm (4.3 in) thick.
An incendiary balloon is a balloon inflated with a lighter-than-air gas such as hot air, hydrogen, or helium, that has a bomb, incendiary device, or Molotov cocktail attached. The balloon is carried by the prevailing winds to the target area, where it falls or releases its payload.
The naval operations of the First Italian War of Independence took place between April 1848 and August 1849 and involved the Austrian Empire and the forces opposing it from the Republic of San Marco, the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Papal States and the Roman Republic. The conflict took place in the northern Adriatic Sea, mostly off the ports of Venice and Trieste. No major naval battles were fought, and much of the war was an ongoing stalemate between fleets lacking the superiority over each other to strike a decisive blow against the enemy.