| Austro-Hungarian "Meteor" Type |
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Destroyers |
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| According to international tactical doctrine the next unit under the
torpedo cruiser was the torpedoboat destroyer, but the Austrian navy was so anglophile that it clung to the British system of ship classification [boat — vessel — ship] and insisted on calling her destroyers ‘torpedo vessels’ [Torpedofahrzeug]. |
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| The first such vessel was the Meteor, designed in Austria, and
built by F. Schichau at Elbing (Elblag). She shows a superficial resemblance to the
contemporary German flotilla leaders [Divisionsboote] D 1 and D 2. Note the typical German type additional retractable bow rudder. In the same year two 2m-longer successors, the Blitz and the Komet were ordered at F. Schichau too. Meteor received an additional 35 cm turnable deck torpedo tube in 1904. |
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| The more than 25 year old destroyer was assigned to the local defense of Pola during the war. The forward 47 mm QF was replaced by a 7 cm cal 45 AA gun in February 1918. Blitz received an additional 35 cm deck torpedo tube instead of the aft 47 mm QF in 1903. She was deployed to the Bocche di Cattaro during the war. | |
Komet received two Yarrow watertube boilers instead of the two
old cylindrical boilers in February 1912 and therefore two funnels.  |
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| All three were allocated to Italy for scrap by the Allied Naval Delegations at Paris end of January 1920. |
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| Technical Data | ||
| Laid down: Launched: Commissioned: Displacement: Dimensions: Propulsion: Max. Speed: Fuel: Range: Crew: |
December 1896 at F. Schichau, Elbing 15 June 1887 31 August 1887 360 / 422 ts 58.74 × 7.4 × 2.11/3.06 m 2 cylindrical boilers; 1x3cyl VTE; 1 shaft; 2,700 IHP 19.7 kts 100 t coal 3,400 nm/11; 1,455 nm/16 kts 5+55 |
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| Tactical Data: | ||
| Main: Torpedoes: Mines: Searchlights |
9x47 mm cal 33 [9x1] (rearmed in 1918: 1x70 mm cal 45; 6x47 mm cal 44; 1x8 mm AA Mg) 1×350 mm (above water, bow); in 1904 one 350 mm deck torpedo tube added none 1x350 mm |
| Meteor - 1896-12-xx: laid down at F. Schichau, Elbing | |
| Komet - 1888-04-21: laid down; 1888-08-18: lauchned; 1888-11-06: commissioned | |
| Blitz - | |
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