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 suppress a revolt in Cattaro Bay. In 1908, she was converted into the gunnery training school tender “SMS Feuerspeier”. In 1915, she became a barracks ship. She survived until 1918, ceded to Italy in 1920 as a war prize, renamed Buttafuoco (translation of her former name) and remained used as a utility hulk upt o WW2, and survived still before being scrapped in …1950. She lived longer as an auxiliary vessel than a warship.
Development
In 1869, the Austro-Hungarian navy asked its star naval engineer and Chief architect Engineer Josef von Romako, already responsible from previous ironclads, to prepare designs for two new ironclads, both being proposed as modern casemate ships instead of broadside ones. The first became the large Custoza, the second Erzherzog Albrecht. Budgetary shortages indeed, for which the Austrian butted heads against the landlocked Hungarians seemed to go against the construction of a full size sister ship to Custoza. Instead, she was designed to be smaller and cheaper, yet Romako incorporated all lessons of the Battle of Lissa (1866) again, just digested after three years, and favored heavy armor plus end-on fire in order to used effectively ramming tactics.
The new ironclad would keep the same arrangement as her sister but with fewer guns and lower machinery power. Her casemate design was inspired by SMS Lissa. However unlike the later and like Custoya she would not be wooden-hulled but constructed with iron. Both Erzherzog Albrecht and Custoza built together would be the first Austro-Hungarian iron-hulled ships and the design was approved after review by Vice Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff in the same law for the both ironclads. Construction was ordered at STT for Erzherzog Albrecht in early 1870 but the vote was difficult to escure still and she was laid down on 1st June 1870.
Design of the class
Hull and general design
Erzherzog Albrecht measured indeed 87.87 meters (288 ft 3 in) long at the waterline, 89.69 m (294 ft 3 in) long overall versus 95.03 m (311 ft 9 in) for Custoza. She was however almost as beamy at 17.15 m (56 ft 3 in) versus 17.7 m (58 ft 1 in) for a much reduced average draft of 6.72 m (22 ft) versus 7.9 m (25 ft 11 in). With this, she displaced 5,980 long tons (6,080 t) versus 7,175.95 long tons (7,291.10 t) normal, 7,730.99 long tons (7,855.05 t) full load for Custoza. As for her construction, Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships clailmed she was the second Austro-Hungarian iron-built ship historian R. F. Scheltema de Heere argued she had however no an all-iron, but a composite of iron and wood hull. Meanwhile the framing was indeed metal as the outer plating, but not the decks nor internal walls, with the wood acting as a “buffer”, backing out armour by its flexibility. It was sandwiched between outer, thick amour plates, and thinner, softer iron internal plates stopping any possible wooden shards and shrapnel in case of a hit. The ship was otherwise very similar to Custoza with a distinctive two-stage casemate.
The eight guns were indeed placed in two superposed casemated of four each, two either side, with corresponding gun ports to fire forward, broadside and aft. Other than that, the decks were bare as usual for the time, with tall bulwarks either side, flush deck (no forecastle or stern castle), a rear flying bridge deck with the helmsman’s post, the three masts, funnel aft amidship and its access hatches below, large deck hatches, fixation for various boats (cutters, barges, yawls, cutters, whalers) including four under davits aft, two smaller cutters forward. There was also a forward main flying deck with a proper open bridge in front of the funnels, aft of the foremast, with four ladders for access and sttring atop the unique, small conning tower. The boats were for a crew totalling 540 officers and enlisted men.
Powerplant
Erzherzog Albrecht featured the same type of propulsion system as her sister Custoza, just downgraded for her size: She had a single-expansion, horizontal, 2-cylinder steam engine (2-cyl HRCR) built at home by Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino (STT). It was fed by seven or eight rectangular boilers, also build there in the forges, and driving a single screw propeller 6.324 m (20.75 ft) in diameter. It could not be retracted and was likely 2-bladed, but it needs to be confirmed by photo evidence. The advantage was to be stopped in the axis of the keel aft when using sails, to not cause drag.
Note that some sources cites either, other seven boilers with a total of twenty-six fireboxes, which tend to confirm a paired number. All were trunked into a single funnel amidships which was rather tall, and possibiliy retractable. This engine produced 3,969 indicated horsepower (2,960 kW), that some sources rounds to 4,000 ihp (trials), for a top speed of 12.84 knots (23.78 km/h; 14.78 mph). On speed trials on 28 October 1874, she cranked 13.38 knots (24.78 km/h; 15.40 mph) based on 4,057 ihp (3,025 kW) indeed when overheated. The storage capacity was 467.9 long tons (475.4 t) of coal, rounded to 500, for an estimated steam range of 2300 nautical miles (4,560 km) at 10 knots in economical speed.
Erzherzog Albrecht of course had a full rig, barque style, with a square mast forward and two schooner masts aft. There was also a bowspar with spankers. Probably also optional stunsails in case the winds were favourable. Her behaviour and speed under sails is unknown, but she was bulky so likely around 10-11 knits at best, but on an unlimited range. She kept her rigging until 1892 and her full reconstruction, all was replaced by two short military masts fore and aft, in the place were the foremast and mainmast. The Mizzenmast was eliminated.
Protection
Erzherzog Albrecht had the following:
An armored belt was composed of wrought iron plate, 203 mm (8 in) thick at the waterline. It was all-length, extending from 1.2m under the waterline to 2.4m above. The 8 inches or 203mm figure was only amidships and it was tapered down to 120mm (5 inches) at both ends, and backed all along by a 200mm teak layer.
The main battery casemate was short (16 meters long or 52 feet) amidship, but on two levels, 177 mm (7 inches) strong of iron plating. It was backed by 260mm wood.
The transverse bulkheads closing this casemate fore and aft, were 126 mm (5 in) thick.
This casemate was also connected below with the upper edge of the belt.
Its Lower part was protected by 178mm sides but the upper part had 152mm (6 inches) sides wheeras the transverse bulkheads were thicker, at 127mm (5 inches) forward and 114mm (4.5 inches) aft transverse bulkheads.
Armament
Erzherzog Albrecht had a main battery comprising as seen above eight 24-centimeter (9.4 in) total, all 22-caliber breech-loading guns from Krupp in its Essen Works. They were mounted in the central armored battery two stories tall, so four guns apiece for each, two per side, with corresponding ports and recesses in the hull to fire directly ahead and astern. This was completed by several smaller guns, with six 9 cm (3.5 in) 24-caliber guns, two 7 cm (2.8 in) 15-caliber guns also from Krupp.
235mm/20 G. L/22 C.74
G. Stands for Gussstahl (Cast Steel/Crucible Steel) or Glatt (smoothbore barrel variant base), indicating it was constructed from Krupp’s world-famous crucible steel rather than traditional cast iron or bronze. The gun barrel, 22 calibers means it was 5,178.8 m long (approx. 5.2 meters or 17 feet) long.
C.74 Stands for Construktion 1874 marking the specific design revision or carriage configuration year. This was Built-up rifled breechloader (RBL) constructed using Krupp’s Ring Kanone (RK) methodology, where an inner steel tube was structurally reinforced with shrunken outer steel hoops (rings) to withstand higher firing pressures. It used cylindro-prismatic Krupp horizontal sliding wedge breech block combined with a Broadwell ring system for gas obturation (sealing). These heavy guns were also used for coastal defense fortification. They Fired heavy armor-piercing shells (Hartgussgranate), explosive common shells (Grenade), and anti-personnel canister shots (Kartätsche), propelled by large bagged charges of black or prismatic gunpowder. They remained until the ship was decommissioned in 1908.
87mm/22 G. L/24 M.75
The 9 cm Kanone C/73 had an exact 87 mm caliber bore. This technical shorthand completely documents the hardware profile of the field gun. The “/22” represents a production variant notation, indicating the number of grooves or specific rifling depths inside the tube (typically 24 grooves total). G Stands for Gussstahl (Cast Steel/Crucible Steel). This marked Krupp’s transition away from weaker materials like bronze or cast iron to high-tensile crucible steel. The length of the barrel was approx. 2.1 meters or 6.8 feet). M.75: Stands for Modell 1875 (or the variant approved for a specific export layout or carriage configuration in 1875), mirroring the fundamental C/73 (Construction 1873) framework used by the German army. It was of built-up Construction with a solid central rifled steel tube was reinforced by a steel hoop shrunk over the rear portion (from the trunnions back to the breech block) to safely contain higher explosion pressures. It featured Krupp’s signature cylindro-prismatic horizontal sliding-wedge breech block. It utilized separate-loading, bagged gunpowder charges and a Broadwell ring to tightly seal expanding propellant gases. It was Mounted on a robust box trail carriage manufactured entirely from bolted steel plates rather than traditional wood but lacking a modern recoil mechanism or gun shield. On its rails allowing it to traverse, the entire assembly rolled backward when fired and had to be manually wheeled back into position. It was a massive commercial export hit for Krupp, used by Belgium (as the 8c7 M 1878), Romania (as the Tunurile de 9 model 1875), Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire, and Japan.
Modernization
In the 1880s two 66mm/16 G. L/18 guns wee added as well as four 350mm or 14 inches torpedo tibes, one in the bow, one either beam, and one in the stern.
In 1892 she received four 47mm/30 SFK L/33 (1.9 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon, and five 5-barreled 47mm/22 SFK L/25 35-caliber flat quick-firing guns hotchkiss, and two 5-barrel gatling style 25mm/41 Nordenfeldt or 0.98 in machine guns. She kept aso her with four 35 cm (14 in) torpedo tubes. The superstructure was completely rebuilt: Her tall bulwarks were removed, replaced by light open barriers, so seaworthiness somewhat degraded, she received new modern round boilers for higher pressure and from a single to two funnels. There was not an enclose bridge over the CT, the masts as seen above were now two miliutary ones without rigging, two fighting tops in which were installed the 25 mm HMGs. However the casemates and original heavy guns remained. By that stage she was considered as a harbour defence ship.
⚙ specifications |
|
| Displacement | 5,980 long tons (6,080 t) |
| Dimensions | 87.87/89.69 x 17.15 x 6.72 m (288 ft 3 in/294 ft 3 in x 56 ft 3 in x 22 ft) |
| Propulsion | 1 screw HRCR, 8 boilers power 3,969 ihp (2,960 kW) |
| Speed | 12.84 knots (23.78 km/h; 14.78 mph) |
| Range | Steam: 2300 nm/10 kts. Sail: Unlimited |
| Armament | 8× 24 cm, 6× 9 cm, 2× 7 cm guns, see notes |
| Protection | Belt 203 mm (8 in), Casemate 177 mm (7 in), see notes |
| Crew | 540 |
Career of Erzherzog Albrecht
The ironclad “feldmarshall albert” prior to 1892 src https://laststandonzombieisland.com
The keel for Erzherzog Albrecht was laid down at the STT, Trieste, on 1 June 1870, launched on 24 April 1872, completed in June 1874. Her krupp guns came from Germany and were installed in the naval arsenal at Pola. Completion was delayed by budgetary cuts, notablh the armour plates were made in Britain and had to be paid for and imported. Funding for the iron armor was indeed only approved in January 1871. The ship was only fully completed byJune 1874, and started her sea trials on 27 October. However due to further budget reduction the entire ironclad and frigate fleet was laid up in reserve at Pola, crews dimissed apart a small group of care taker and officers. Only a selected few screw frigates saw service abroad, more for exploration and trade than training. She remained mothballed until 1881 and alongside the unarmored frigate Laudon, several other smaller ships, were all sent to Cattaro Bay after full recommission, to help suppress a revolt. This ended in March 1882, the ships shelling the rebel positions until they surrendered.
Erzherzog Albrecht was modernized afterwards and saw the fleet maneuvers of 1887, notably gunnery training. In June-July 1889, she even became flagship for these fleet training exercises, including her sister Custoza, and the ironclads Tegetthoff, Kaiser Max, Prinz Eugen, and Don Juan d’Austria. She was supposed to have been rebuilt in 1892-3 as shown in some photos. She remained in service until 1908. The she was converted into a tender for the gunnery school and renamed “Feuerspeier” (“firebrand”) to free the name for more modern cruisers, and remained in that occupation until October 1915. In World War I she was repurposed asbarracks ship for German naval personnel that crewed U-boats to patrol the Adriatic Sea. After November 1918, she was ceded to Italy as war prize under the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. She was renamed “Buttafuoco”, a literral traduction of her former name, and served as a hulk for the Regia Marina until World War II came and went. She was decidedly old when it was decided to scrap her so she was sold and broken up from 1950.
Read More/Src
Books
“Foreign Items”. The US Army and Navy Journal and Gazette of the Regular and Volunteer Forces. New York.
Pawlik, Georg (2003). Des Kaisers Schwimmende Festungen: die Kasemattschiffe Österreich-Ungarn, Vienna: Neuer Wissenschaftlicher Verlag.
Scheltema de Heere, R. F. (1973). Fisher, Edward C. (ed.). “Austro-Hungarian Battleships”. Warship International. X (1). Toledo: Naval Records Club, Inc..
Sieche, Erwin & Bilzer, Ferdinand (1979). “Austria-Hungary”. In Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1860–1905.
Sondhaus, Lawrence (1994). The Naval Policy of Austria-Hungary, 1867–1918. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press.
Very, Edward W. (1880). Navies of the World. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Links
navypedia.org
austro-hungarian-army.co.uk biopic of her namesake
cs.wikipedia.org
wiki en SMS_Erzherzog_Albrecht
darabanth.com poscard showing the ship in 1905
agenziabozzo.it/ other photo, 1880 Archivio – Note: W. Aichelburg, Register der k(u)k Kriegschiffe. NW Verlag, Wien