Habsburg - class battleship The " Habsburg " class was a group of pre - dreadnought battleship s built by Austria - Hungary at the turn of the 20th century . They were the first sea - going battleship built by Austria - Hungary since the center - battery ship in 1876 . The class was composed of three ships : , , and . They were armed with three 24 cm ( 9 . 4 in ) guns in two turrets and were capable of slightly better than at full speed . " Habsburg " and " Árpád " were modernized in 1910 – 11 . " Habsburg " was launched on 9 September 1900 , " Árpád " just over a year later on 11 September 1901 , and " Babenberg " on 4 October 1902 . The ships saw limited service during World War I in the IV Division of the Austro - Hungarian fleet . " Babenberg " and " Árpád " bombarded the Italian port of Ancona in 1915 , but the three battleships were largely inactive for the remainder of their service . They were decommissioned in 1916 to free up the majority of their crews for service in the submarine and air forces . All three ships were ultimately ceded to Great Britain following the end of the war ; they were sold to Italian ship - breakers and scrapped in 1921 . Design . General characteristics and machinery . The ships of the " Habsburg " class were 113 . 11 m ( 371 ft ) long at the waterline and 114 . 55 m ( 375 ft 10 in ) long overall . They had a beam of 19 . 8 m ( 65 ft ) and a draft of 7 . 5 m ( 24 ft 6 in ) . Freeboard was approximately forward and about aft . They displaced 8 , 364 metric tons ( 8 , 232 long tons ) . The ships had a crew of 638 officers and enlisted men . The ships had a flush main deck that was planked with wood , while the upper decks were covered with linoleum or corticine . The hulls for each ship were constructed from transverse and longitudinal steel frames , over which the outer hull plates were riveted . The hull incorporated a double bottom that ran for 63 % of its length . A series of watertight bulkheads extended from the keel to the gun deck ; there were a total of 174 watertight compartments in each ship . The ships had a metacentric height of between and . Bilge keels were mounted on either side of the hull to reduce rolling . Their machinery system consisted of 2 - shaft 4 - cylinder vertical triple expansion engines . They were supplied with steam by 16 Belleville boilers . " Habsburg " s powerplant was rated at 15 , 063 indicated horsepower ( ihp ) , which produced a top speed of . " Árpád " s system was slightly less efficient , at 14 , 307 ihp , though it achieved a comparable speed of on trials . " Babenberg " had the most powerful engines of the three , which ran at 16 , 000 ihp and provided a top speed of . Armament . The ships ' primary armament was three 24 cm ( 9 . 4 in ) L / 40 guns , with two mounted in a twin turret forward and one mounted in a single turret aft of the main superstructure . The guns were manufactured by Krupp in Germany , and were the C 97 type . The guns had a rate of fire of between three to four 215 kg ( 474 lb ) armor - piercing ( AP ) shells per minute . The gun turrets could depress to −5° and elevate to 30° . At maximum elevation , the guns had a range of 16 , 900 m ( 18 , 500 yd ) . At a range of 10 , 000 m ( 11 , 000 yd ) , the armor - piercing shell could penetrate up to 30 cm ( 11 . 8 in ) of iron plate , the standard form of armor for contemporary ships . Armor penetration was significantly reduced against the newer Harvey steel , to 18 cm ( 7 in ) . Krupp cemented steel was even more difficult to penetrate ; the AP shells could penetrate only 12 cm ( 4 . 7 in ) at 10 , 000 m . Secondary armament included twelve 15 cm ( 5 . 9 inch ) SK L / 40 guns in casemate s . They were mounted in an unusual arrangement : there were two decks of three guns each on either side amidships . These guns could fire armor - piercing shells at a rate of 4 – 5 per minute . The guns could depress to −7 degrees and elevate to 20 degrees , for a maximum range of 13 , 700 m ( 14 , 990 yd ) . They were manually elevated and trained . The ships carried a wide array of smaller weapons , for defense against torpedo boats . These included ten 7 cm ( 2 . 75 in ) L / 45 guns , six 4 . 7 cm ( 1 . 85 in ) L / 44 quick - firing ( QF ) guns , and two 4 . 7 cm ( 1 . 45 in ) L / 33 QF guns . All of these guns were emplaced in single mounts , either on the upper decks and superstructure , or in casemates at the bow and stern . With the exception of the main battery 24 cm weapons , all of the guns carried on the ships were manufactured by Škoda Works in Pilsen . The ships also carried two Whitehead 45 cm ( 17 . 7 in ) submerged torpedo tubes . Armor . " Habsburg " and her sisters were protected by face - hardened chrome - nickel steel . The main armored belt was in the central portion of each ship , where the ammunition magazines , machinery spaces , and other critical areas were located . The belt tapered slightly to on either end of the central section . Past the barbettes , the hull was protected by about of armor plate , up to the bow and stern . The entire belt , including the thinner portions forward and aft of the main battery barbettes , extended for below the waterline and above . The belt was widened at the bow to cover the ram . Side protection was supplemented by thick armor above the main belt ; this section of armor extended up to meet the gun deck . The armored deck was thick . The main battery turrets were protected by armor plate that was thick on the sides and faces of the gun mounts . The armored barbettes that held the turrets , working chambers , and shell rooms were protected with of armor . The casemates for the 15 cm guns were on the outboard side and on the less vulnerable inboard side . The forward conning tower was armored with sides that were thick and contained a thick communications tube ; the aft conning tower was less well - protected . Its sides were 100 mm thick , and its communication tube was only 50 mm thick . Construction . " Habsburg " was laid down at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard in Trieste on 13 March 1899 . She was launched on 9 September 1900 , after which fitting - out work was conducted . The ship was finally finished by December 1902 ; she was commissioned into the Austro - Hungarian fleet on the 31st of that month . " Árpád " followed " Habsburg " three months later ; she was laid down at the STT shipyard on 10 June 1899 and launched on 11 September 1901 . She was commissioned into the fleet on 15 June 1903 . " Babenberg " , the last ship of the three , was laid down at the STT dockyard on 19 January 1901 . She was launched on 4 October 1902 and completed on 15 April 1904 , when she joined her sisters in the fleet . Service history . Peace - time . " Habsburg " and " Árpád " took part in their first fleet maneuvers in mid 1903 . By the following summer , " Babenberg " was ready for active service , and she too participated in fleet drills . During the 1904 training exercises , the three " Habsburg " s engaged the three battleships in simulated combat ; the maneuver marked the first time two homogeneous squadrons consisting of modern battleships operated in the Austro - Hungarian navy . The three " Habsburg " - class ships formed the I Division while the " Monarch " s formed the II Division . The ships were also active in the Mediterranean . " Habsburg " conducted a training cruise with the three " Monarch " - class battleships in January 1903 . She was joined by " Árpád " the following year . With the commissioning of the s in 1906 – 1907 , the three " Habsburg " - class ships were transferred to the II Division , and the three " Monarch " s went to the III Division . World War I . At the outbreak of World War I in late July 1914 , " Habsburg " was serving as the flagship of the III Battleship Division of the Austro - Hungarian fleet , under the command of Captain Miklós Horthy , alongside her two sisters . They were later transferred to the IV Division after the new s came into service . At around the same time , she was mobilized along with her sisterships and and the remainder of the Austro - Hungarian Navy to support the flight of and . The two German ships were stationed in the Mediterranean and were attempting to break out of the strait of Messina , which was surrounded by British troops and vessels and make their way to Turkey . After the Germans successfully broke out of Messina , the navy was recalled . The fleet had by that time advanced as far south as Brindisi in south eastern Italy . After Italy entered the war on the side of France and England , the Austro - Hungarian navy bombarded several Italian installations ; " Babenberg " took part in the attack on Ancona in 1915 . They were later decommissioned and served as harbor defense ships for the latter portion of the conflict . Their crews were then transferred to man new U - boat s and aircraft . By 1918 , " Árpád " was converted into a training ship . Following the end of the war , the ships were awarded to Great Britain as war prize s , but were instead sold and broken up for scrapping in Italy in 1921 .