Narrative - read on. | Specifications | Photos | LinksSMS Radetzky under way in the Adriatic during her trials. The Radetzky class of 3 ships was designed as an ideal battleship by the Austrian K.u.K.'s chief constructor, ing. Siegfried Popper, and became one of the best-known classes of semi-dreadnought battleship. While the dreadnought battleship eliminated different sizes of secondary gun in favor of an all-big-gun armament, the semi-dreadnought stuck to the tried-and-true formula of four 12" (305 mm) guns for main armament but supplemented it with a very heavy secondary armament, often mounted in turrets. This made for a somewhat more economical ship, but in ways it was a false economy. The ships' fighting power was reduced when all batteries were firing since it was impossible for spotters to differentiate between shell splashes from the different calibres of gun, and thus well-nigh impossible to correct elevation and trajectory. Powerfully armed, the Radetzkys mounted eight 9.4" guns (239 mm) in four twin wing turrets plus twenty 3.9" quick-firing guns in casemates (99 mm).
When the Radetzky class entered service in 1908-11, they were already obsolescent. The great enemy, Italy (actually allied to Austria-Hungary and Germany through the Triple Alliance, but distrusted nonetheless), was feverishly building its first dreadnought, the Dante Alighieri, and Austria was already constructing its four Teggetthoff class dreadnoughts in reply. Yet even as the monarchy appealed to the common people's patriotism to help fund its most ambitious constuction program ever, the Dual Monarchy was already disintegrating -- a fact reflected in the lax supervision and shoddy workmanship on the four dreadnoughts. The Radetzkys, all built at Stabilimento Tecnico di Trieste (STT), were well-crafted ships, although they would get little chance to prove their qualities in the great Adriatic Sitzkrieg of 1915-18: a major coal shortage restricted most capital ships of Italy and Austria-Hungary to port. Justifying Vienna's suspicions, Italy failed to honor its obligations under the Triple Alliance and instead came into the War on the Allied side in May 1915.
Seen here on prewar maneuvers in a tidily drawn chromolithographic card, the class saw limited action during World War I. In October 1914, Radetzky destroyed French army artillery batteries supporting the Army of Montenegro against the Austrian army at Cattaro. On May 24, 1915 all three ships bombarded the Italian coast. Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand, with the main fleet, bombarded Ancona. Zrinyi shelled port facilities at Senigalia, and Radetzky bombarded a railway bridge at Potenza. They then returned to Pola, where they remained for the rest of the war.
After WWI the three Radetzkys remained in limbo for almost 2 years. As Austria-Hungary imploded, imperial officials had negotiated to turn the ships over to the successor states of the new Yugoslavia purely to keep them out of Italian hands. U.S. and British enforcers swiftly siezed them until the peace conference could determine their fate. In the end they were all turned over to Italy, which sent them straight to the breakers.
Plans and Specifications
Plan of the Radetzky shows her fine lines and handsome, balanced design. The ship's superstructure is compact and symmetrical, based around a diamond-shaped citadel amidships, with a modest bridgeworks and two pole masts. Enlarge
Specifications for the Radetzky class:
Dimensions: 456' x 82' x 26'6" Displacement: 14,500 tons. Armament: (4) 12"/45 (2x2); (8) 9.4"/45 (4x2); (20) 4.1" QF; and (6) 11-pdr guns; (3) 18" torpedo tubes. Armor: Krupp Cemented type. Belt 9"; main turrets 10"; secondary turrets 7.9"; casemates 4.72"; deck 1.9"; conning tower 10"; bulkheads 2.13". Fuel capacity: 1,350 tons of coal. Propulsion: 12 coal-fired Yarrow boilers; (2) inverted vertical triple-expansion engines developing 20,000 hp, shafted to twin screw. Maximum speed: 20 kts. Tactical radius: 4,000 nm @ 10 kts. Crew: 890.
Ships in class: Radetzky · Zrinyi · Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand
Metric specifications:
Dimensions: 139m x 25m x 8.1m Displacement: 14,500 tons. Armament: (4) 305 mm/45 (2x2), (8) 24 cm (4x2), (20) 104 mm QF, and (6) 11-pdr. guns; (3) 45 cm torpedo tubes. Armor: Krupp Cemented type. Belt 230 mm; main turrets 250 mm; secondary turrets 200 mm; casemates 120 mm; deck 48 mm; conning tower 250 mm; bulkheads 54 mm. Fuel capacity: 1,350 tons of coal. Propulsion: 12 coal-fired Yarrow boilers; (2) inverted vertical triple-expansion engines developing 14,914 kW, shafted to twin screw. Maximum speed: 37 km/hr. Tactical radius: 7,408 km @ 18.5 km/hr. Crew: 890.
A Radetzky Class Gallery
Another masterful effort by Alex Kircher showing Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand at target practice, her main turrets rotated far to starboard. Evidently her aft turret has just fired. Kircher's love of his subject is evident here in the spirited way he has depicted the billowing gunsmoke and the shifting colors of sea and sky. This was another in the artist's series of cards celebrating the Austro-Hungarian fleet.
Zrinyi leaving harbor at Pola, her bow 12" turret rotated all the way to port. The ship was named after a prominent Hungarian family. The Habsburgs had extended their hold over their territories since 1869 by cementing their ties with the Hungarian ruling class. Together they governed the sprawling, unruly Habsburg Empire without sharing much power with the many other minorities presentin their domains. The steady growth of the Austro-Hungarian Reich in these last years before WWI reflected Turkish weakness rather than Austrian strength, but lavish public displays of pomp and luxury successfully masked the rot within. It would only take the strains of prolonged war -- total war -- for the entire edifice to collapse of its own weight. Click here for enlarged view.
On-deck view of Radetzky's great guns, part of the great catalog of KuK Kriegsmarine ships compiled by artist and historian Aldo Cherini.
Zrinyi raising steam for exercises with the rest of the Second Battleship Division.
In an shot evocative of bygone times, Zrinyi dances through sparkling Mediterranean wavelets.
Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand was the first of the class to be commissioned, in 1908, in deference to the unfortunate Archduke and heir to the Throne (not incidentally, a great patron of the K.u.K. Kriegsmarine). The vessel is seen at her Pola mooring on wash day. Note biplane landing on the water at left -- apparently a Lohner L flying boat. With plenty of points of reference, this photo emphasizes the sheer scale of these semi-dreadnoughts. Perhaps it is sad the senile Austro-Hungarian Empire lacked the imagination to use them to their full potential. Then again (recollecting the horrors of more aggressive warfare on the Atlantic and the North Sea), perhaps not.
Rarely seen quarter view of Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand emphasizes the long and spacious quarterdeck. Internally this was taken up by the engine rooms and barbettes, but there was no superstructure erected over the skylight, placed immediately aft of the mainmast. The aft 12" turret bookended the engine room casing from the other end. The ship is quite an eyeful with her lordly demeanor, bristling guns, and acrid smoke, but it is the handsome sweep of the hull that arrests the eye in this shot. Even with all their great size and power, these were remarkably graceful ships.
