page_title: SMS Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf
section_title: Service history
hierarchical_section_title: SMS Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf / Service history
caption_attribution_description: English: Squadron drill of SMS Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf, SMS Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie, SMS Kaiser Franz Joseph I and SMS Tiger at Kiel, oil on canvas. Deutsch: K.u.K. Eskader, bestehend aus den Schiffen Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf, Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie, Kaiser Franz Joseph I und Tiger, anlässlich der deutschen Flottenmanöver im Jahre 1890 in Kiel. Öl auf Leinwand.
context_page_description: SMS Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was a unique ironclad warship built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1880s. The last ironclad completed for the Austro-Hungarian Navy, Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was laid down in January 1884, launched in July 1887, and completed in September 1889. She was armed with a main battery of three 30.5-centimeter guns and had compound steel plating of the same thickness on her armored belt. The ship had an uneventful career, in large part due to her rapid obsolescence. She made trips to foreign countries to represent Austria-Hungary, but was reduced to a coastal defense ship by 1906. She continued in this role through World War I, based at Cattaro Bay, where her crew took part in the Cattaro Mutiny in early 1918. After the war, Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was transferred to the Navy of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and renamed Kumbor, but she remained in their inventory for only a year, being sold for scrap in 1922.
context_section_description: SMS Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was laid down on 25 January 1884 at the Navy Dockyard in Pola. She was launched on 6 July 1887 and then began fitting out, which was completed in September 1889. Embarrassingly for the Habsburgs, the ship's namesake had committed suicide earlier that year. In 1890, the German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, invited the Austro-Hungarian fleet to take part in the annual fleet training exercises in August. Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf, the ironclad Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie, and the protected cruiser Kaiser Franz Joseph I were sent to Germany under the command of Rear Admiral Johann von Hinke. While en route, the squadron made visits in Gibraltar and Britain; during the latter stop, the ships took part in the Cowes Regatta, where they were reviewed by Queen Victoria. The ships also stopped in Copenhagen, Denmark and Karlskrona, Sweden. During the voyage back to Austria-Hungary, the squadron visited Cherbourg, France and Palermo, Italy. Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf experienced repeated difficulties with her engines on the trip, but it was nevertheless considered to be a great success in the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
  In 1892, celebrations to honor the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's first trans-Atlantic voyage were held in several countries; Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf, Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie, and Kaiser Franz Joseph I represented Austria-Hungary during the ceremonies in Genoa, Italy, Columbus's birthplace. While there, she was inspected by King Umberto I of Italy and his son Victor Emmanuel III. Already by 1898, the ship was regarded by the Austro-Hungarian Navy as a second-rate vessel, after less than 10 years in service. The rapid pace of naval development in the late 19th century had quickly rendered her obsolescent. Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was reclassified as a coastal defense ship in 1906. In 1908, the Austro-Hungarian Navy attempted to sell the ship, Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie, and Tegetthoff to Uruguay to raise funds for new projects, but the deal fell through.
  After Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in July 1914, beginning World War I, the ship was stationed in Cattaro Bay under Commander Richard Florio, the leader of Mining Command II. The force also included an old destroyer, four torpedo boats, a minelayer, and two minesweepers, among other minor vessels. She remained there for the duration of the conflict. By early 1918, the long periods of inactivity had begun to wear on the crews of several warships at Cattaro, including Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf. On 1 February, the Cattaro Mutiny broke out, starting aboard the armored cruiser Sankt Georg and quickly spreading to other ships. Officers were confined to their quarters while a committee of sailors met to formulate a list of demands, which ranged from longer periods of leave and better rations to an end to the war, based on the United States President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points. The following day, shore batteries loyal to the government fired on Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf as she steamed to the Bay of Teodo, the outermost part of Cattaro Bay. The batteries scored a single hit that killed two men, which prompted many of the mutinous ships to abandon the effort. On the morning of 3 February, the Erzherzog Karl-class battleships of the III Division arrived in Cattaro, which convinced the last holdouts to surrender. Trials on the ringleaders commenced quickly and four men were executed.
  With the end of the war in November 1918 and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was transferred to the fledgling Navy of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in March 1921. They renamed her Kumbor, but she remained in their inventory only briefly, being broken up for scrap the following year.
caption: Painting of an Austro-Hungarian squadron, led by Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf, in Kiel, Germany
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