History Austro-Hungarian Navy

1 history

1.1 origins
1.2 19th century

1.2.1 modernising navy
1.2.2 novara expedition
1.2.3 second schleswig war
1.2.4 third italian war of independence
1.2.5 peace-time
1.2.6 polar expedition


1.3 between centuries

1.3.1 crete rebellion
1.3.2 boxer rebellion
1.3.3 montenegro
1.3.4 european naval arms race
1.3.5 dreadnought era
1.3.6 submarine fleet


1.4 world war i

1.4.1 battle @ durazzo
1.4.2 battle of otranto straits
1.4.3 cattaro mutiny
1.4.4 late world war i
1.4.5 ships lost

history

emperor joseph ii.



an overview of adriatic ports today.


origins

until end of 18th century, there limited attempts establish austrian navy. habsburgs had employed armed ships sailing danube in 16th , 17th centuries fight ottoman empire, , ships guarding merchant fleet operated austrian netherlands, these forces neither under common command nor did serve common purpose. after 7 years war austrian vulnerability privateers in mediterranean sea led count kaunitz push creation of small force of frigates. specific naval ensign (marineflagge) based on red-white-red colours introduced in reign of emperor joseph ii.

this situation changed considerably in 1797 treaty of campo formio between france , austria. austria ceded france austrian netherlands , islands in mediterranean, including corfu , venetian islands in adriatic. venice , territories divided between 2 states, , austrian emperor received city of venice along istria , dalmatia. substantial venetian naval forces , facilities handed on austria , became basis of formation of future austrian navy.

the 19th century

officers , men of austrian navy in 1820.

in 1802 archduke charles of austria, acting in role inspector general of navy ordered formation of naval cadet academy in venice (cesarea regia scuola dei cadetti di marina), move trieste in 1848 , - under later name of imperial , royal naval academy (k.u.k. marine-akademie) - fiume (now rijeka, croatia), remained until world war i.

the navy gained first influential supporter when archduke charles third son archduke friedrich entered service in 1837. young archduke introduced many modernizing reforms, aiming make country s naval force less venetian , more austrian . in 1844 archduke friedrich promoted vice-admiral , commander-in-chief of navy, died 1 year later @ age of twenty-six.

austrian warships had first military encounters during oriental crisis of 1840 part of british-led fleet ousted viceroy of egypt, muhammad ali, ottoman syria. archduke friedrich took part in campaign , awarded military order of maria theresa exceptional leadership.

archduke ferdinand maximilian in naval uniform, c. 1864.


modernising navy

in 1849 dane hans von dahlerup appointed commander-in-chief of austrian navy. introduced many personal , other reforms , imposed in navy replacement of italian language german language. in following years strength of navy reached 4 frigates, 6 corvettes, 7 brigs, , smaller ships.

in 1854 younger brother of reigning emperor franz joseph took office commander-in-chief of austrian navy. archduke ferdinand maximilian twenty-two @ time. archduke friedrich s distant relative trained navy, , threw himself new career zeal. carried out many reforms modernise naval forces, , instrumental in creating naval port @ trieste battle fleet admiral wilhelm von tegetthoff later secure victories in italian war.

in venice naval shipyard retained. here austrian screw-driven gunboat kerka (crew: 100) launched in 1860 (in service until 1908). venice lagoon flotilla of austrian warships was, in 1864, moored in front of church of san giorgio , included screw-driven gunboat ausluger, paddle-steamer alnoch, , 5 paddle-gunboats of types 1 iv.

novara expedition

from novara expedition: sketch of coca plant.



main article: novara expedition


s.m.s. novara commemorative coin, issued austria in 2004.

archduke ferdinand maximilian initiated large-scale scientific expedition (1857–1859) during frigate sms novara became first austrian warship circumnavigate globe. journey lasted 2 years , 3 months , accomplished under command of kommodore bernhard von wüllerstorf-urbair, 345 officers , crew, , 7 scientists aboard. expedition planned imperial academy of sciences in vienna , aimed gain new knowledge in disciplines of astronomy, botany, zoology, geology, oceanography , hydrography. sms novara sailed trieste on 30 april 1857, visiting gibraltar, madeira, rio de janeiro, cape town, st. paul island, ceylon, madras, nicobar islands, singapore, batavia, manila, hong kong, shanghai, puynipet island, stuarts, sydney (5 november 1858), auckland, tahiti, valparaiso , gravosa before returning trieste on 30 august 1859.

in 1863 royal navy s battleship hms marlborough, flagship of admiral fremantle, made courtesy visit pola, main port of austro-hungarian navy.

in april 1864 archduke ferdinand maximilian stepped down commander-in-chief of navy , accepted throne of mexico louis napoleon, becoming maximilian of mexico. traveled trieste veracruz aboard sms novara, escorted frigates sms bellona (austrian) , thémis (french), , imperial yacht phantasie led warship procession palace @ schloß miramar out sea. when arrested , executed 4 years later, admiral wilhelm von tegetthoff sent aboard novara take ferdinand maximilian s body austria.

second schleswig war

the second schleswig war 1864 invasion of schleswig-holstein prussia , austria. @ time, duchies part of kingdom of denmark. rear-admiral wilhelm von tegetthoff commanded small austrian flotilla traveled mediterranean sea north sea.

on may 9, 1864, tegetthoff commanded austrian naval forces in naval action off heligoland flagship, screw-driven sms schwarzenberg. action tactical victory danish forces. last significant naval action fought squadrons of wooden ships , last significant naval action involving denmark.

tegetthoff (centre) @ battle of lissa, painting anton romako, 1880


third italian war of independence


screw-driven corvette erzherzog friedrich in 1868, veteran of battle of lissa

on 20 july 1866, near island of vis (lissa) in adriatic, austrian fleet, under command of rear-admiral wilhelm von tegetthoff, made name in modern era @ battle of lissa during third italian war of independence. battle pitted austrian naval forces against naval forces of newly created kingdom of italy. decisive victory outnumbered austrian on superior italian force, , first major european sea battle involving ships using iron , steam, , 1 of last involve large wooden battleships , deliberate ramming.

peace-time

in 1873 new sail , steam frigate sms laudon (crew 480) added fleet, took part in international naval review off gruž in 1880.

during peace-time austrian ships visited asia, north america, south america, , pacific ocean.

in 1869 emperor franz joseph travelled on board screw-driven corvette sms viribus unitis (not confused later battleship of same name) opening of suez canal. ship had been named after personal motto.

polar expedition

austro-hungarian ships , naval personnel involved in arctic exploration, discovering franz josef land during expedition lasted 1872 1874.

led naval officer karl weyprecht , infantry officer , landscape artist julius payer, custom-built schooner tegetthoff left tromsø in july 1872. @ end of august got locked in pack-ice north of novaya zemlya , drifted hitherto unknown polar regions. on drift when explorers discovered archipelago named after emperor franz joseph i.

in may 1874 payer decided abandon ice-locked ship , try return sledges , boats. on 14 august 1874 expedition reached open sea , on 3 september set foot on russian mainland.

between centuries
crete rebellion

in late 1896 rebellion broke out on crete, , on 21 january 1897 greek army landed in crete liberate island ottoman empire , unite greece. european powers, including austria-hungary, intervened, , proclaimed crete international protectorate. warships of k.u.k. kriegsmarine patrolled waters off crete in blockade of ottoman naval forces. crete remained in anomalous position until ceded greece in 1913.

the boxer rebellion

austria-hungary part of eight-nation alliance during boxer rebellion in china (1899–1901). member of allied nations, austria sent 2 training ships , cruisers sms kaiserin und königin maria theresia, sms kaiserin elisabeth, sms aspern, , sms zenta , company of marines north china coast in april 1900, based @ russia concession of port arthur.

in june helped hold tianjin railway against boxer forces, , fired upon several armed junks on hai river near tong-tcheou. took part in seizure of taku forts commanding approaches tianjin, , boarding , capture of 4 chinese destroyers capt. roger keyes of hms fame. in k.u.k. forces suffered few casualties during rebellion.

after uprising cruiser maintained permanently on china station, , detachment of marines deployed @ embassy in peking.

lieutenant georg ludwig von trapp, serve submarine commander during world war , become famous in musical sound of music after world war ii, decorated bravery aboard sms kaiserin und königin maria theresia during rebellion.

montenegro

during first balkan war austria-hungary joined germany, france, united kingdom , italy in blockading seaport town of bar (antivari) in kingdom of montenegro.

european naval arms race

scale drawing of radetzky-class semi-dreadnought.

among many factors giving rise world war naval arms race between british empire , imperial germany. germany enhanced naval infrastructure, building new dry docks, , enlarging kiel canal enable larger vessels navigate it. however, not european naval arms race. imperial russia had commenced building new modern navy following naval defeat in russo-japanese war. austro-hungarian empire , kingdom of italy in race of own domination of adriatic sea. k.u.k. kriegsmarine had prominent supporter @ time in face of archduke franz ferdinand. other imperial naval enthusiasts before him, franz ferdinand had keen private interest in fleet , energetic campaigner naval matters.

the dreadnought era

in 1906 britain completed battleship hms dreadnought, , advanced argued rendered previous battleships obsolete, although britain , other countries kept pre-dreadnoughts in service.

dreadnought sms tegetthoff, named after admiral von tegetthoff

austria-hungary s naval architects, aware of inevitable dominance of big gun dreadnought type designs, presented case marinesektion des reichskriegsministeriums (naval section @ war ministry) in vienna, on 5 october 1908 ordered construction of own dreadnought, first contract being awarded werft das stabilimento tecnico triestino (stt) , naval weaponry provided Škoda works in pilsen. marine budget 1910 substantially enlarged permit major refits of existing fleet , more dreadnoughts. battleships sms tegetthoff , sms viribus unitis both launched archduke franz ferdinand @ trieste, amongst great rejoicing, on 24 june 1911, , 21 march 1912 respectively. followed sms prinz eugen, , sms szent istván. these battleships, constructed later many of earlier british , german dreadnoughts, considerably ahead in aspects of design, of both french , italian navies, , constructed marconi wireless rooms anti-aircraft armaments. has been claimed first battleships in world equipped torpedo launchers built bows.

between 22 , 28 may 1914 tegetthoff, accompanied viribus unitis, made courtesy visit british mediterranean fleet in malta.

submarine fleet

in 1904, after allowing navies of other countries pioneer submarine developments, austro-hungarian navy ordered austrian naval technical committee (mtk) produce submarine design. january 1905 design developed mtk , other designs submitted public part of design competition rejected navy impracticable. instead opted order 2 submarines each of designs simon lake, germaniawerft, , john philip holland competitive evaluation. 2 germaniawerft submarines comprised u-3 class. navy authorized 2 boats, u-3 , u-4, germaniawerft in 1906.

the u-3-class improved version of germaniawerft s design imperial german navy s first u-boat, u-1, , featured double hull internal saddle tanks. germaniawerft engineers refined design s hull shape through extensive model trials.

u-3 , u-4 both laid down on 12 march 1907 @ germaniawerft in kiel , launched in august , november 1908, respectively. after completion, each towed pola via gibraltar, u-3 arriving in january 1909 , u-4 arriving in april.

the u-5 class built same design c-class navy , built robert whitehead s firm of whitehead & co. under license holland , company, electric boat. components first 2 austrian boats manufactured electric boat company , assembled @ fiume, while third boat speculative private venture whitehead failed find buyer , purchased austria-hungary upon outbreak of world war i.

the u-5-class boats had single-hulled design teardrop shape bore strong resemblance modern nuclear submarines. boats on 105 feet (32 m) long , displaced 240 tonnes (260 short tons) surfaced, , 273 tonnes (301 short tons) submerged. torpedo tubes featured unique, cloverleaf-shaped design hatches rotated on central axis. ships powered twin 6-cylinder gasoline engines while surfaced, suffered inadequate ventilation resulted in frequent intoxication of crew. while submerged, propelled twin electric motors. 3 boats built in class: u-5, u-6, , u-12.

world war i


austro-hungarian dreadnoughts @ pola.



austro-hungarian fleet manoeuvres in february 1913.

after assassination of archduke franz ferdinand , wife in 1914, austro-hungarian navy honoured them lying in state aboard sms viribus unitis.

during first world war, navy saw action, prior italian entry spent of time in major naval base @ pola, except small skirmishes. following italian declaration of war mere fact of existence tied italian navy , french navy in mediterranean duration of war.

following declaration of war in august 1914 french , montenegrin forces attempted cause havoc @ cattaro, kuk kriegsmarine s southernmost base in adriatic. throughout september, october , november 1914 navy bombarded allied forces resulting in decisive defeat latter, , again in january 1916 in called battle of lovćen, instrumental in montenegro being knocked out of war early.

linienschiffsleutnant von trapp on bridge of u-5

on 23 may 1915, when italy declared war on austria-hungary, austro-hungarian navy left harbors in pola (today pula, croatia), sebenico (today Šibenik, croatia) , cattaro (today kotor, montenegro) bombard eastern italian coast between venice , barletta. main targets cities of ancona, rimini, vieste, manfredonia, barletta , bridges , railway tracks along coast. 1917 austro-hungarian fleet yet largely undamaged.

the presence of 3 allied navies in mediterranean made measures of co-ordination , common doctrine extraordinarily difficult. mediterranean divided eleven zones, of british naval authorities responsible four, french four, , italians three. differing command structures, national pride , language barrier contributed lack of cohesion in application of allied sea power, producing situation in german , austro-hungarian u-boat attacks on shipping flourished. example of lack of co-ordination sinking of italian troop transport minas bound italy salonika, torpedoed in 1 of british zones in february 1917 loss of 870 lives, british escort not understanding message , failing relieve italian destroyer, turned around @ zone barrier.

battle @ durazzo

in december 1915 k.u.k. kriegsmarine cruiser squadron attempted make raid on serbian troops evacuating albania. after sinking french submarine , bombarding town of durazzo squadron ran minefield, sinking 1 destroyer , damaging another. next day group ran squadron of british, french, , italian cruisers , destroyers. resulting battle left 2 austrian destroyers sunk , light damage another, while dealing minor damage allied warships , others.

a three-power conference on 28 april 1917, @ corfu, discussed more offensive strategy in adriatic, italians not prepared consider big ship operations, considering size of austro-hungarian fleet. british , french seemed reluctant move alone against austro-hungarians, if meant full-scale battle. austrians not inactive either, , allied conference in session planning offensive operation against otranto barrage.

battle of otranto straits


sms novara after battle of otranto straits.



monument heroes of otranto battle on prevlaka in today croatia

throughout 1917 adriatic remained key u-boat war on shipping in mediterranean. cattaro, 140 miles above narrow straits of otranto, main u-boat base entire threat mediterranean shipping came.

the otranto barrage, constructed allies 120 naval drifters, used deploy , patrol submarine nets, , 30 motor launches, equipped depth charges, designed stop passage of u-boats cattaro. however, failed so, , inception in 1916, barrage had caught 2 u-boats, austrian u-6 , german ub-44 out of hundreds of possible passages.

however, barrage meant austro-hungarian surface fleet not leave adriatic sea unless willing give battle blocking forces. this, , war drew on bringing supply difficulties coal, plus fear of mines, limited austro-hungarian navy shelling italian , serbian coastlines.

there had been 4 small-scale austro-hungarian attacks on barrage, on 11 march, 21 , 25 april , 5 may 1917, none of them amounted anything. greater preparations made, 2 u-boats despatched lay mines off brindisi third patrolling exits in case anglo-italian forces drawn out during attack. whole operation timed night of 14/15 may, led biggest battle of austro-hungarian navy in world war i, battle of otranto straits.

the first austro-hungarian warships strike 2 destroyers, sms csepel , sms balaton. italian convoy of 3 ships, escorted destroyer borea, approaching valona, when, out of darkness, austrians fell upon them. borea left sinking. of 3 merchant ships, 1 loaded ammunition hit , blown up, second set on fire, , third hit. 2 austrian destroyers steamed off northward.

meanwhile, 3 austro-hungarian cruisers under overall command of captain miklós horthy, sms novara, sms saida, , sms helgoland, had passed patrol of 4 french destroyers north of barrage, , thought friendly ships passed unchallenged. sailed through barrage before turning attack it. each austrian cruiser took one-third of line , began , systematically destroy barrage 10-centimetre (4 in) guns, urging allies on board abandon ships first.

during battle allies lost 2 destroyers, 14 drifters , 1 glider while austro-hungarian navy suffered minor damage (novara s steam supply pipes damaged shell) , few losses. austro-hungarian navy returned bases north in order repair , re-supply, , allies had rebuild blockade.

cattaro mutiny

in february 1918 mutiny started in 5th fleet stationed @ gulf of cattaro naval base. sailors on 40 ships joined mutiny on demands better treatment , call end war.

the mutiny failed spread beyond cattaro, , within 3 days loyal naval squadron had arrived. coastal artillery squadron fired several shells few of rebel s ships, , assaulted them k.u.k. marine infantry in short , successful skirmish. 800 sailors imprisoned, dozens court-martialed, , 4 seamen executed, including leader of uprising, franz rasch, bohemian. given huge crews required in naval vessels of time indication mutiny limited minority.

late world war i

admiral miklós horthy.

a second attempt force blockade took place in june 1918 under command of rear-admiral horthy. surprise attack planned, mission doomed when fleet chance spotted italian mas boat patrol, commanded luigi rizzo had sunk, @ anchor, 25 year-old battleship sms wien (5,785 tons) year before. rizzo s mas boat launched 2 torpedoes, hitting 1 of 4 austrian dreadnoughts, sms szent istván had slowed down due engine problems. element of surprise lost, horthy broke off attack. huge efforts made crew save szent istván, had been hit below water-line, , dreadnought battleship tegetthoff took in tow until tug arrived. after 6 a.m., pumps being unequal task, ship, listing badly, had abandoned. szent istván sank afterwards, taking 89 crewmen her. event filmed sister ship.

in 1918, in order avoid having give fleet victors, austrian emperor handed down entire austro-hungarian navy , merchant fleet, harbours, arsenals , shore fortifications new state of slovenes, croats , serbs. state of scs proclaimed officially on 29 october 1918 never recognized other countries. diplomatic notes sent governments of france, united kingdom, italy, united states , russia, notify them state of scs not @ war of them , council had taken on entire austro-hungarian fleet; no response provided, , practical purposes war went on unchanged. austria asked armistice on 29 october; after few days negotiation , signatures, armistice entered force on 4 november.

on 1 november 1918 2 sailors of italian regia marina, raffaele paolucci , raffaele rossetti, rode primitive manned torpedo (nicknamed mignatta or leech ) austro-hungarian naval base @ pola. using limpet mines, sank anchored viribus unitis, considerable loss of life, freighter wien. french navy commandeered new dreadnought prinz eugen, took france , later used target practice in atlantic, destroyed.

ships lost

ships lost in world war i:

1914: sms kaiserin elisabeth (siege of tsingtao, 1914), sms zenta
1915: sm u-12, sm u-3, sms lika, sms triglav
1916: sm u-6, sm u-16
1917: sm u-30, sms wildfang, sms wien, sms inn (sunk romanian mine)
1918: sm u-23, sms streiter, sm u-20, sm u-10, sms szent istván, sms viribus unitis


ships lost after world war i:

1919: sms kaiser franz joseph i






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