| Austro-Hungarian "Radetzky" Class |
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Battleships |
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| Ships: Radetzky , Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand, Zrinyi | |
 Line Drawing of "S.M.S. Radetzky" by Erwin Sieche |
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| Technical Data | ||
| Built: Displacement: Dimensions: Propulsion: Max. Speed: Range: Crew: |
1907 - 1911 14,279.53 / 15,596.96 ts 138.79 × 24.57 × 4.14 20,000 / 20,888 IHP; 12 Yarrow boilers, 2 4cyl VTE; 2 shafts 20.16 kts 5,000 nm @ 10 kts / 1,854 t coal & 188 t oil 29 + 847 (30 + 860 from 1913/14) |
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| Tactical Data | ||
| Main: Secondary: QF: Armour: Torpedoes: Searchlights |
4×305 cal 45 [2x2]; 8x240 cal 45 [4x2] 20×100 cal 50 in single casemates 6×70 cal 45; 2x70 cal 18; 4x47 cal 44; 1x47 cal 33 b: 100-230; d: 18+30; t: 60-250; ct: 120-250 4x450 (stern, sides & beam, below waterline) 8×900 mm |
Radetzky: laid down 26
November 1907 at S.T.T.; launched 3 July 1909; commissioned 15 January 1911.
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| The Radetzky was representing the A.-H. navy at the
coronation fleet review for King George V. on 24 June 1911 at Spithead. When commissioned
the three units formed the 1st battle squadron. Their visits in the Levant were caused by
the Balkan Wars, when European powers deployed warships to protect their subjects. End of
March 1912 the trio together with the armored cruiser Kaiserin
und Königin Maria Theresia visited the Ionian Sea, in November 1912 they sailed
together with the light cruisers Admiral Spaun and Aspern
and two destroyers in the Levant. From April to October 1913 they were part of the
international naval blockade of Montenegro. Between 31 March and 7 June the Zrinyí
together with the new dreadnoughts Viribus Unitis
and Tegetthoff visited the Levant including Syrian and Egyptian ports. At the begin of WW I they were sent to the Bocche di Cattaro (Boka Kotorska) to fight the Montenegrin batteries but called back in August 1914. Only Radetzky was sent a second time to Cattaro for shore bombardments which she carried out very effectively. The trio, now forming the 2nd division of the 1st battle squadron took part in the great A.-H. naval sortie against the Italian coast the next day after the Italian declaration of war. The following 42 months of the war they lay idle in the harbor of Pola, forming the core of the A.-H. ‘fleet in being’. After the disintegration of the Habsburg monarchy end of October 1918 both the Radetzky and the Zrinyí were manned by Yugoslav (S.H.S.) nucleus crews and transferred to Sette Castelli Bay (Kasteljanski Zaljev) near Spalato (Split) to prevent them from falling into Italian hands. The Italians meanwhile had occupied Pola and taken over all ex-A.-H. ships. Radetzky and Zrinyí were put under US custody and indeed commissioned for a short time as USN battleships. Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand was transferred by the Italians, together with a batch of other ex-A.-H. ships to Venice to take part in a bombastic V-Day parade held on 24 March 1919. End of January 1920 the Allied Naval delegations in Paris allocated all three to Italy for scrapping. |
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| Zrinyí: laid down 20 January 1909 at S.T.T.; launched 12 April 1910; commissioned 15 September 1911. | |
| Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand: laid down 12 September 1907 Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino, Triest; launched 30 September 1908; commissioned 5 June 1910. |
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