Austro-Hungarian Casemate Masted Ironclad 1874-1908. SMS Erzherzog Albrecht (“Archduke Albert”) was an ironclad of the Austro-Hungarian Navy built at STT in 1870-74, and on a design rouhly similar to Custoza, but smaller, yet still as an iron-hulled casemate ship with eight heavy guns. Her financing was complicated, her career was uneventful. In 1881-1882 she helped … Read more
KuK Kriegsmarine Submarine: SMS U3, U4 (1909) The Austro-Hungarian Empire developed U-Boats prior and during WWI. The first U1 sereie was derived from plans of US naval engineer Thomas Lake. But they were criticized for their weak gasoline engines and long, complicated diving procedures and were relegated to training in Pola until January 1918. The … Read more
K.u.K. Kriegsmarine Submarine: SMS U1, U2 (1909) New Cycle ! SMS U1 was the first in a short line of Austro-Hungarian submersibles (27 in all) prior and during WWI. Austria-Hungary started to enquire about these in 1904, but it’s really by 1906 that was started the first class, built at home, but from plans licenced … Read more
Austro-Hungarian Navy (1911-1937): Tátra, Balaton, Csepel, Lika, Triglav, Orjen. Ersatz: Triglav(ii), Lika(ii), Dukla, Uszok Tátra class destroyers: SMS Tátra, Balaton, Csepel, Lika, Triglav and Orjen were large, new generation Hungarian-built destroyers designed for the Adriatic. They were built in the general context of experimenting with larger destroyers-scouts leaning on light cruisers instead of torpedo-boat derived … Read more
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
