The Dreadnought revolution was a significant event in the history of naval warfare, and its impact was felt across the world. The Austro-Hungarian Navy was no exception to this, and it underwent a significant transformation during this period. Before the turn of the century, Austria-Hungary did not prioritize sea power in its foreign policy, and the navy had little public interest or support. However, the appointment of Archduke Franz Ferdinand as admiral in September 1902 greatly increased the importance of the navy in the eyes of both the general public and the Austrian and Hungarian Parliaments . Franz Ferdinand was a prominent and influential supporter of naval expansion, and his interest in naval affairs stemmed primarily from his belief that a strong navy would be necessary to compete with Italy, which he viewed as Austria-Hungary’s greatest regional threat.
As of 1903, the Italian Navy’s advantage in naval arms was so significant that it seemed impossible for Austria-Hungary to catch up, let alone surpass it. Few years passed by and the Dreadnought revolution began in 1906 when the British Royal Navy launched the HMS Dreadnought, a new type of battleship that was faster, more heavily armed, and more heavily armoured than any other ship at the time. This new design quickly rendered all other battleships obsolete, and other navies around the world began to follow suit.
The Austro-Hungarian Navy was slow to adopt this new technology, but eventually, it too began to build its own Dreadnoughts. In 1908, the naval architects of Austria-Hungary were aware of the growing dominance of the dreadnought type designs. They presented their case to the Marinesektion des Reichskriegsministeriums (Naval Section at the War Ministry) in Vienna, which then ordered the construction of their own dreadnoughts on October 5th of that year. The first contract was awarded to ‘Werft das Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino (STT)’, and the naval weaponry was to be provided by the Škoda Works in Pilsen. The Marine budget for 1910 was substantially enlarged to permit major refits of the existing fleet and more dreadnoughts.
The first of these was the Tegetthoff-class battleship, which was launched in 1911. This new ship was a significant improvement over the older warships in the Austro-Hungarian fleet, and it helped to modernize the navy. On June 24, 1911, and March 21, 1912, Archduke Franz Ferdinand launched SMS Tegetthoff and SMS Viribus Unitis, at Trieste. These battleships were constructed later than many of the earlier British and German dreadnoughts and due to this they were considerably ahead in some aspects of design, especially compared to both the French and Italian navies. They were constructed with Marconi wireless rooms as well as anti-aircraft armaments which was not that common at that time. It also has been claimed that they were the first battleships in the world equipped with torpedo launchers built into their bow, however this feature did not proven to be a useful addition.
Unfortunately, the Austro-Hungarian Navy was never able to fully embrace the Dreadnought revolution. The navy was plagued by budgetary constraints and political infighting, which made it difficult to build and maintain a modern fleet. Additionally, the navy was hampered by its reliance on foreign suppliers for many of its key components, which made it difficult to keep up with other navies around the world.
Despite these challenges, the Austro-Hungarian Navy continued to build Dreadnoughts throughout the early 20th century. These ships played an important role in World War I, but they were ultimately unable to prevent the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
In conclusion, the Dreadnought revolution had a profound impact on naval warfare in the early 20th century. The Austro-Hungarian Navy was slow to adopt this new technology, but it eventually built its own Dreadnoughts. These ships helped to modernize the navy, but they were ultimately unable to prevent its decline.
We will take a closer look at these four vessels that belong to this class and their fascinating history in this series of posts.