SMS Tegetthoff (1878)

SMS Tegetthoff was an ironclad warship of the Austro-Hungarian navy. She was built by the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard in Trieste, between April 1876 and October 1881. She was armed with a main battery of six 28 cm guns mounted in a central-battery. The ship had a limited career, and did not see action. In 1897, she was reduced to a guard ship in Pola, and in 1912 she was renamed Mars. She served as a training ship after 1917, and after the end of World War I, she was surrendered as a war prize to Italy, which sold her for scrapping in 1920.

Design
Tegetthoff was a central battery ship designed by Chief Engineer Joseph von Romako. She was 89.39 m long at the waterline and 92.46 m long overall. She had a beam of 21.78 m and a draft of 7.57 m and she displaced 7431 MT. Tegetthoff was the first ship in the Austrian Navy to be built with an all-steel hull, which allowed for a considerable savings in weight. The ship's crew numbered 525 officers and men, though after her reconstruction in the mid-1890s, this number was increased to between 568 and 575. The main armored belt and the casemate for the main battery guns were protected with 356 mm thick armor plate, and the end bulkheads of the armored citadel were 254 to 305 mm thick. The conning tower had sides that were 127 to 178 mm thick.

As built, the ship was powered by a single 2-cylinder steam engine that was rated at 6706 ihp. This gave Tegetthoff a top speed of 13.97 kn on trials. After her reconstruction in the early 1890s, her propulsion system was replaced with a pair of 3-cylinder triple expansion engines built by the German firm Schichau-Werke. These were rated at 8160 ihp, for a top speed of 15.32 kn on trials. After the refit, she was equipped with eight cylindrical water-tube boilers. She was initially fitted with a sailing rig, though this was removed during the modernization, and two heavy fighting masts were installed in its place.

Tegetthoff was initially equipped with a main battery of six 28 cm L/18 breech-loading guns manufactured by Krupp. These guns were mounted in a central battery amidships, and were intended to be used during pursuit and ramming attempts. The ammunition magazine was located directly below the main battery. The ship also carried six 9 cm L/24 breech-loaders, two 7 cm L/15 breech-loaders, and four 47 mm quick-firing (QF) guns. After her modernization, the main battery was replaced with 24 cm L/35 C/86 guns from Krupp. The secondary guns now consisted of five 15 cm L/35 QF guns, two 7 cm L/15 guns, nine 47 mm L/44 QF guns, six 47 mm L/33 machine guns, and a pair of 8 mm machine guns. Tegetthoff was also equipped with two 35 cm torpedo tubes, one in the bow and one in the stern.

Service history
Tegetthoff was laid down in 1876 at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard in Trieste. Named for Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, the victor of the Battle of Lissa, the ship was launched in 1878, and commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian fleet in 1881. In 1893–1894, she was modernized and had her propulsion system updated and her armament was replaced with newer guns. Tegetthoff's career was rather limited; after 1897 she was used as a guard ship in Pola. In 1912 she was renamed Mars, so that her original name could be used on a new battleship launched that year. She remained in service as a guard ship after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914. In 1917, she was used as a school ship for midshipmen, and the following year she was reduced to a hulk. Following the end of World War I, the ship was surrendered to Italy, where she was broken up by 1920.