The ''Erzherzog Karl'' class was a class of
pre-dreadnought battleship
Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, protec ...
s of the
Austro-Hungarian Navy built before
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. All of the battleships of the ''Erzherzog Karl''-class were built in the
Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyards in
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...
. The first battleship, was laid down in 1902. Construction on the remaining two battleships, and continued up to 1905. ''Erzherzog Karl'' was commissioned in 1906, while ''Erzherzog Ferdinand Max'' and ''Erzherzog Friedrich'' were commissioned in 1907. The three ''Erzherzog Karl''-class battleships were considered relatively modern by the time they were commissioned. However, small docking space and budget restraints resulted in the class being fairly compact. Nevertheless, they were well designed and properly protected. The ''Erzherzog Karl'' class were the last and largest pre-dreadnoughts built by the Austrian Navy. They were named after members of the Austrian Royal family.
Despite these qualities, the ''Erzherzog Karl''-class battleships were inferior to the more modern
Dreadnought
The dreadnought (alternatively spelled dreadnaught) was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her ...
type battleships – with their "all big gun" armament and turbine propulsion. As a result, they only played a limited role during World War I. At the beginning of the war, the members of the ''Erzherzog Karl'' class formed the III division of the Austrian-Hungarian battle-fleet. Despite their largely inactive involvement in the conflict, the battleships of the ''Erzherzog Karl'' class did participate in the flight of and during the opening days of the war, as well as the bombardment of Ancona on 23 May 1915.
The ships also took part in suppressing a major mutiny among the crew members of several armored cruisers stationed in
Cattaro
Kotor (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative ...
between 1–3 February 1918. Following Austria-Hungary's defeat in World War I, ''Erzherzog Karl'' and ''Erzherzog Friedrich'' were handed over to France. The remaining battleship, ''Erzherzog Ferdinand Max'', was given to Great Britain. ''Erzherzog Karl'' ran aground at
Bizerte and was broken up there in 1921. The remaining two battleships were scrapped in 1921 in Italy.
Design
General characteristics
![Erzherzog-class](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Erzherzog-class.JPG)
The ''Erzherzog Karl'' class displaced . They were long, had a
beam of and a
draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...
of . They were manned by 700 men.
Propulsion
The ships were propelled by two two-shaft, four cylinder
vertical triple expansion steam engines. On trials, they developed , which could move the ship along at a speed of . On trials, ''Erzherzog Karl''s engines managed to produce a knot more speed than was originally planned.
Armament
The ''Erzherzog Karl'' class carried a primary armament made by
Škoda Works
The Škoda Works ( cs, Škodovy závody, ) was one of the largest European industrial conglomerates of the 20th century, founded by Czech engineer Emil Škoda in 1859 in Plzeň, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia, Austrian Empire. It is the predece ...
. On each ship, there were four
/40 caliber guns in two twin turrets on the centerline. These guns were an Austro-Hungarian replica of the 24 cm/40 (9.4")
Krupp C/94, which was used on the ''Habsburg''s. The guns could be depressed to −5° and elevated to 30°. The arc of fire of the guns was 300°, or 150° in each direction. Each gun required a crew of twenty men. At maximum elevation, the gun could fire a shell . They could fire three to four armor-piercing shells per minute at a muzzle velocity of . Each of the guns weighed at least .
Their secondary armament consisted of twelve
/42 caliber guns, also made by Škoda, mounted in eight single casemates on either wing of the ship and two single midships turrets on the either wing of the ship. They could be depressed to −3° and elevated to 20°. They could fire a armor-piercing shell at maximum elevation with a muzzle velocity of . The gun weighed 12.1 tons and could fire three rounds per minute.
The ships had a tertiary armament for protection against
torpedo boats
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of s ...
in the form of the
/45 caliber gun, too manufactured by Škoda. They could be depressed to −10° and elevated to 20, and had an arc of fire of 360°, meaning that they could fire at any target within their range of fire. The guns could fire about ten to fifteen rounds per minute. At their maximum elevation, the guns could fire a high-explosive charge at a muzzle velocity of .
Anti-aircraft and airship protection was covered by the four
Vickers
Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...
anti-aircraft guns on the ship. They could be depressed to −5° and elevated to 80°. They had an arc of fire of 360°, which meant that they also could engage any target within their range. Manually operated by only one crewman, they could fire a shell at maximum elevation with a muzzle velocity of . Designed in 1910, each of the guns weighed . After 1916-17 refits two Škoda 7 cm L/45 guns on anti-aircraft mounts were installed.
The ''Erzherzog Karl'' class was also fitted with two above water
torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s, although they were rarely used.
Armor
The armor plating of the battleships around the waterline belt, one of the more vulnerable areas of a ship, was , while their deck armor was . The turrets and casemates had and armor respectively. This was done in order to protect the battleships against a possible shell landing on the turrets and the imminent explosion resulting from such a hit. The
conning tower of the ships had of armor plating, while the bulkheads inside the battleship that separated different compartments were thick.
Construction
The ''Erzherzog Karl'' class, like the ''Habsburg'' class before them and the ''Radetzky'' class after them were named after archdukes of the Austro-Hungarian Royal Family, specifically
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...
,
Maximilian I of Mexico and
Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen
Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen (Friedrich Maria Albrecht Wilhelm Karl; 4 June 1856 – 30 December 1936) was a member of the House of Habsburg and the supreme commander of the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I.
Early life
Fr ...
. The ships were all laid down at the
Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino in Trieste. The first ship of the class, was laid down on 24 July 1902. Following 15 months of construction she was launched on 4 October 1903 and finally commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy on 17 June 1906. The next ship of the class was . She was laid down on 4 October 1902 and launched on 30 April 1904. ''Erzherzog Friedrich'' was finally commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy on 31 January 1907. The third and final ship of the ''Erzherzog Karl'' class was . She was laid down on 9 March 1904 and later launched on 21 May 1905. She was commissioned into the navy on 21 December 1907.
Ships
Service history
At the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the three ships formed the III division of the
Austrian-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...
battle-fleet and spent most of the war based at
Pola Pola or POLA may refer to:
People
* House of Pola, an Italian noble family
* Pola Alonso (1923–2004), Argentine actress
* Pola Brändle (born 1980), German artist and photographer
* Pola Gauguin (1883–1961), Danish painter
* Pola Gojawiczyńsk ...
. The members of the ''Erzherzog Karl'' class were mobilized on the eve of the war to support the flight of and . The two German ships were attempting to break out of
Messina, being chased by the French Navy and the Royal Navy, and make their way to Turkey. The breakout succeeded. When the flotilla had advanced as far south as
Brindisi in south eastern Italy, the Austro-Hungarian ships were recalled. In company with other units of the Austro Hungarian Navy the class took part in the bombardment of
Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...
on May 24, 1915. There they expended 24 rounds of 240 mm armor-piercing shells at signal and semaphore stations as well as 74 rounds of 190 mm shells aimed at
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
gun-batteries and other port installations.
A major mutiny among crews of the armored cruisers stationed in
Cattaro
Kotor (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative ...
, including and , began on 1 February 1918. Two days later, the three ''Erzherzog Karl''-class ships arrived in the port and assisted with the suppression of the mutiny. Following the restoration of order in the naval base, the armored cruisers ''Sankt Georg'' and ''Kaiser Karl VI'' were decommissioned and the three ''Erzherzog Karl''-class battleships were stationed in Cattaro in their place.
For the morning of 11 June, Admiral
Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya ( hu, Vitéz nagybányai Horthy Miklós; ; English: Nicholas Horthy; german: Nikolaus Horthy Ritter von Nagybánya; 18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957), was a Hungarian admiral and dictator who served as the regent ...
planned a major assault on the
Otranto Barrage
The Otranto Barrage was an Allied naval blockade of the Otranto Straits between Brindisi in Italy and Corfu on the Greek side of the Adriatic Sea in the First World War. The blockade was intended to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Navy from escap ...
; the three ''Erzherzog Karl''s and the four s were to provide support for the s. The plan was intended to replicate the success of the
raid conducted one year earlier. Horthy's plan was to destroy the blockading fleet by luring Allied ships to the cruisers and lighter ships, which were protected from the heavier guns of the battleships, including the ''Erzherzog Karl'' class. However, on the morning of 10 June, the dreadnought was torpedoed and sunk by an Italian
torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
. Horthy felt surprise had been lost and therefore called off the operation. This was to be the last military action the ''Erzherzog Karl''-class ships were to take part in and they spent the rest of their career at port in Pola.
Following the end of World War I in November 1918, the members of the ''Erzherzog Karl'' class were first taken over by Yugoslavia in 1919, but ''Erzherzog Karl'' and ''Erzherzog Friedrich'' were then ceded as war reparations to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. The remaining battleship, ''Erzherzog Ferdinand Max'', was ceded to the United Kingdom. However, ''Erzherzog Karl'' ran aground at
Bizerte on her voyage to
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
and was eventually broken up ''
in situ
''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...
''. The remaining two battleships were scrapped in 1921.
See also
*
Austro-Hungarian Navy
References
Citations
Bibliography
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{{Good article
Battleship classes
Erzherzog Karl class battleship