SMS Tegetthoff ( 1878 ) SMS " Tegetthoff was an ironclad warship of the Austro - Hungarian navy . She was built by the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard in Trieste , between April 1876 and October 1881 . She was armed with a main battery of six guns mounted in a central - battery . The ship had a limited career , and did not see action . In 1897 , she was reduced to a guard ship in Pola , and in 1912 she was renamed Mars " . She served as a training ship after 1917 , and after the end of World War I , she was surrendered as a war prize to Italy , which sold her for scrapping in 1920 . Design . " Tegetthoff " was a central battery ship designed by Chief Engineer Joseph von Romako . She was long at the waterline and long overall . She had a beam of and a draft of and she displaced . " Tegetthoff " was the first ship in the Austrian Navy to be built with an all - steel hull , which allowed for a considerable savings in weight . The ship ' s crew numbered 525 officers and men , though after her reconstruction in the mid - 1890s , this number was increased to between 568 and 575 . The main armored belt and the casemate for the main battery guns were protected with thick armor plate , and the end bulkheads of the armored citadel were thick . The conning tower had sides that were thick . As built , the ship was powered by a single 2 - cylinder steam engine that was rated at . This gave " Tegetthoff " a top speed of on trials . After her reconstruction in the early 1890s , her propulsion system was replaced with a pair of 3 - cylinder triple expansion engines built by the German firm Schichau - Werke . These were rated at , for a top speed of on trials . After the refit , she was equipped with eight cylindrical water - tube boilers . She was initially fitted with a sailing rig , though this was removed during the modernization , and two heavy fighting masts were installed in its place . " Tegetthoff " was initially equipped with a main battery of six L / 18 breech - loading guns manufactured by Krupp . These guns were mounted in a central battery amidships , and were intended to be used during pursuit and ramming attempts . The ammunition magazine was located directly below the main battery . The ship also carried six L / 24 breech - loaders , two L / 15 breech - loaders , and four quick - firing ( QF ) guns . After her modernization , the main battery was replaced with L / 35 C / 86 guns from Krupp . The secondary guns now consisted of five L / 35 QF guns , two 7 cm L / 15 guns , nine 47 mm L / 44 QF guns , six 47 mm L / 33 machine guns , and a pair of machine guns . " Tegetthoff " was also equipped with two torpedo tube s , one in the bow and one in the stern . Service history . " Tegetthoff " was laid down in 1876 at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard in Trieste . Named for Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff , the victor of the Battle of Lissa , the ship was launched in 1878 , and commissioned into the Austro - Hungarian fleet in 1881 . In 1893 – 1894 , she was modernized and had her propulsion system updated and her armament was replaced with newer guns . " Tegetthoff " s career was rather limited ; after 1897 she was used as a guard ship in Pola . In 1912 she was renamed " Mars " , so that her original name could be used on a new battleship launched that year . She remained in service as a guard ship after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 . In 1917 , she was used as a school ship for midshipmen , and the following year she was reduced to a hulk . Following the end of World War I , the ship was surrendered to Italy , where she was broken up by 1920 .