Austro-Hungarian Navy

Versuchsgleitboot 1 prototype (1916) The Austro-Hungarian secret weapon The Versuchsgleitboot (“Above, gliding boat”) was a prototype of a fast, small wing-in-ground torpedo boat build in 1916 by Dagobert Müller von Thomamuehl. It was out of this world at that time, by using a particular hover effect to lift it just above the surface, reaching a … Read more

Zara class torpedo vessels (1880) Zara, Spalato, Sebenico, Lussin The forgotten Zara class cruisers When speaking of “Zara”, the name (outside a clothing brand) in naval history resonates as an Italian heavy cruiser class, which always comes to mind to navy nerds. Not far away, fifty years earlier, another “Zara” class was active… in the … Read more

Admiral Spaun & Novara class cruisers Austria-Hungary (1909-13) SMS Admiral Spaun, Novara, Saida, Helgoland. The last Austro-Hungarian cruisers The Novara class was also called often “Admiral Spaun” by mixing the two classes, very close. Since it’s the case we will see both. There was the prototype, first local cruiser fitted with steam turbines, and the … Read more

Tegetthoff class battleships (1911) Tegetthoff, Viribus Unitis, Prinz Eugen, Szent Istvan (1911) First Dreadnoughts and last Austro-Hungarian battleships: SMS Tegetthoff at anchor The Tegetthof was also by far the most impressive and the most famous battleship class of the small Austro-Hungarian Navy. In 1908, the Admiralty was aware of its backwardness on foreign navies, all … Read more

Herzherzog Karl class battleships Erzherzog Karl, Ferdinand Max, Friedrich (1902) The previous Herzherzog Ferdinand Max in 1900, former famous Ironclad distinguished at the battle of Lissa in 1865. KuK battleships still on budget… As soon at they were allowed larger budgets, the Admiralty shipbuildings’s director Friedrich Popper was found ready to develop a series of … Read more

Habsburg class battleships Habsburg, Babenberg, Árpád (1898) The first Austrian sea-going Battleships: After the three Monarchs in 1898, the director of shipbuilding Siegfried Popper studied the design of a deep-sea battleship, the first since the Tegetthof of 1878. Unfortunately, the low credits allocated for its construction generated a ship inferior to other battleships of the … Read more

SMS Sankt Georg (1903) Austro-Hungarian armoured cruiser The last Austrian armoured cruiser: After the Kaiser Karl IV’s departure, the admiralty impressed by the new cruiser immediately ordered an improved replica at the STT yard in Trieste. SMS Sankt Georg (Saint George) was, therefore, the closely derived and retained a generally similar appearance, but the differences … Read more

Kaiser Franz Joseph I class protected cruisers (1889) Kaiser Franz Joseph I, Kaiserin Elisabeth (1889) SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth sea trials The first Austrian-built cruisers The only modern cruisers previously built for the Austro-Hungarian navy were the two Panthers of 1885 from the English Armstrong-Elswick shipyards and typical of this kind of economic export unit. They … Read more

Austro-Hungarian Destroyers (1909-1918) Introduction Destroyers in Austro-Hungary were a logical development of sea-going torpedo-boats, like in other navies. This lineage went to three stages, the third one being the result of war lessons and confined to the drawing board and then archives of the successors states. Speaking of Torpedo Boats, the old empire started early … Read more

SMS Kaiser Karl IV (1898) Pre-dreadnought Battleship The Kaiser Karl IV, second armoured cruiser: Assuming that the KuK Maria Theresia had been a semi-failure, the new director of shipbuilding, Friedrich Popper decided to create a new armoured cruiser inspired this time concepts used for the Habsburg. The result is a much larger, more stable and … Read more