List of cruisers of Austria-Hungary
These ships proved to be unsatisfactory in service, and so to gain experience building effective vessels, the Navy ordered the two Panther-class cruisers from Britain.
These provided the basis for the armored cruisers Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia, Kaiser Karl VI, and Sankt Georg, built between 1891 and 1905.
Josef von Romako, the Austro-Hungarian chief naval architect, prepared the design, which ultimately failed to meet expectations, primarily the result of an insufficiently high speed.
He used the Zaras as the basic starting point, but lengthened the hull to incorporate finer lines and thus improved hydrodynamics and included a more powerful engine.
By the time Lussin entered service, Pöck had died and his successor, Maximilian Daublebsky von Sterneck, decided to order future torpedo cruisers from more experienced foreign shipyards.
The refusal of the Imperial Council of Austria and the Diet of Hungary to grant larger naval budgets forced Sterneck to continue Pöck's policy of pursuing cheaper methods to defend the Austro-Hungarian coast, including torpedo cruisers.
As the domestically produced Zara and Lussin designs had been failures, Sterneck opted to order the two ships of the Panther class from the British shipbuilder Armstrong Whitworth.
The decision to build a force of torpedo-armed warships instead of capital ships represented a doctrinal shift led by Sterneck away from traditional theories to the Jeune École (Young School), which favored smaller, cheaper vessels.
[15] Both vessels were successful additions to the Austro-Hungarian Navy, operating with the main fleet for their first years in service; they also conducted several long-distance training voyages.
[19][20] Tiger served with the fleet for the first several years of her career, and in 1890 took part in a major cruise to visit Germany, Great Britain, and other countries in northern Europe.
In 1916, she was reduced to a barracks ship in Pola for German U-boat crews[21][22] In the final days of the war, the Austro-Hungarian Navy attempted to transfer more modern vessels, including Lacroma, to the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs to avoid their seizure by the Allies.
[23][24] During the design process for the Panther class, Sterneck predicted that larger vessels, of around 3,500 long tons (3,600 t) and armed with large-caliber guns, would be necessary in the future.
Like their Italian counterparts, Kaiser Franz Joseph I and Kaiserin Elisabeth carried a pair of 24 cm (9.4 in) guns in open barbettes to give them the ability to engage hostile capital ships, while retaining the high speed necessary to operate with the torpedo cruisers.
[23][25][26] In service, the ships proved to be incapable of performing the duties Sterneck envisioned, and moreover the Jeune École doctrine had fallen out of favor; while a third member of the class had been authorized, it was never built.
[29] Kaiser Franz Joseph I went to East Asia in 1897 before returning to take part in the international squadron off Crete and Kaiserin Elisabeth was sent to China to help suppress the Boxer Uprising in 1899.
Kaiserin Elisabeth was there at the start of World War I and she moved to join German forces in Qingdao; during the ensuing siege, she was disarmed to strengthen the land defenses of the port and her crew went ashore to fight as infantry.
[30][31] After the Kaiser Franz Joseph I class of protected cruisers had entered service and proved to be disappointments, the Austro-Hungarian Navy decided abandon the Jeune École doctrine and return to traditional fleet plans centered on large, heavily armored vessels.
[33] In 1898, she was sent to Cuba to evacuate Austro-Hungarian nationals during the Spanish–American War; while there, she was nearly attacked by American warships who mistook her for the similarly-named Spanish cruiser Infanta Maria Teresa.
[6] The follow-on to Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia was based heavily on that ship, the primary improvements being significantly strengthened armor protection and a newer model of 24 cm gun, along with more powerful machinery that gave a knot and a half increase in speed.
[40] She sortied in May 1917 to rescue the three Novara-class cruisers during the Battle of the Strait of Otranto; her appearance forced the British and Italian vessels pursuing the Novaras to break off the chase.
[42] The next three cruisers built by Austria-Hungary were iterative developments of Admiral Spaun, the primary improvements being more powerful turbines that allowed fewer engines to be used and a strengthened gun battery.
[47] In December 1915, the Navy's high command requested that the design be reworked to incorporate the wartime experience of the Austro-Hungarian fleet and its German allies.
Belt armor was also considerably strengthened, to 150 mm (5.9 in), as actions with British and French warships had demonstrated the smaller gun to be insufficiently powerful.
