SMS Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia SMS " Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia " ( " Empress and Queen Maria Theresa " ) was an armored cruiser used by the imperial Austro - Hungarian Navy from 1895 to 1917 ; she was the first ship of that type built by the Austro - Hungarian Navy . The ship was a unique design , built by the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard in Trieste ; she was laid down in July 1891 , launched in April 1893 , and completed in November 1894 . Armed with a main battery of two guns and eight guns , the ship provided the basis for two subsequent armored cruiser designs for the Austro - Hungarian Navy . In 1898 , " Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia " was deployed to the Caribbean to safeguard Austro - Hungarian interests during the Spanish – American War ; she inadvertently arrived off Santiago de Cuba on the morning the Spanish squadron attempted to escape from the American blockade , and was nearly attacked herself . In 1900 , she was sent to China to assist in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion , and remained in East Asian waters until 1902 . She was heavily modernized between 1906 and 1910 , and served in the 1st Cruiser Division after returning to the fleet . She was used first as a harbor guard ship and then as a barracks ship during World War I . After the end of the war , she was surrendered to Britain as a war prize and broken up for scrap in 1920 . Design . In the 1890s , the Austro - Hungarian Navy began building large , modern cruisers , beginning with the protected cruiser s of the . The " Marinesektion " , the executive committee of the Navy , decided to follow the " Kaiser Franz Joseph I " - class ships with a more powerful vessel , a larger , better armed armored cruiser , as the type had begun to gain prominence in foreign navies . The Austro - Hungarians requested design proposals from five British shipyards , though none of them were awarded the contract . The Navy gave the contract for " torpedo - ram cruiser C " , as it was provisionally titled , to Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino , the Austrian dockyard in Trieste . The two subsequent armored cruisers , and , were improved versions of this design . " Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia " was long at the waterline and long overall . She had a beam of and a draft of . As designed , the ship displaced , and at full load she displaced . She had a crew of 475 officers and men . The ship was powered by two 3 - cylinder , horizontal triple expansion engines rated at . This gave the ship a top speed of . " Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia " was armed with a main battery of two 24 cm K L / 35 gun s , manufactured by Krupp , and mounted in two single turrets , one forward and one aft . These guns were the primary offensive armament . For defense against torpedo boat s , she also carried eight Krupp 8 cm SK L / 35 gun s , twelve Skoda 4 . 7 cm SK L / 44 gun s , six Hotchkiss 47 mm L / 33 gun s , and a pair of 7 cm L / 15 landing guns ; these guns were primarily mounted in casemate s or sponsons . The landing guns could be taken ashore to provide support for a landing party . Her armament was rounded out by four torpedo tube s , one in the bow , one in the stern , and one on each side . Both the main battery turrets and the armored belt were protected by thick steel armor . The main deck was thick . The casemates were armored with of steel , and the conning tower had thick sides . Service history . " Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia " was laid down on 1 June 1891 , launched on 29 April 1893 , and commissioned into the fleet in November 1894 . In 1895 , Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria took a squadron of warships , including " Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia " , to Germany to participate in the celebrations for the opening of the Kiel Canal . The squadron called on the port of Brest , France on the way , and stopped in Portsmouth on the return voyage . In early 1897 , the ship joined the massive international fleet that demonstrated off Crete to protest the Greek annexation of the island from the Ottoman Empire . The Austro - Hungarian fleet was the third largest contingent , after the Italians and British . The Austro - Hungarians and Germans were dissatisfied with the compromise worked out , and so withdrew their contingents early , in March 1898 . In 1898 , " Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia " was dispatched to Cuba during the Spanish – American War , to evacuate Austrian and German nationals in the city of Santiago . The ship arrived off Santiago on 3 July , the day the Spanish admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete attempted to break out of the harbor , through the American blockade . The American battleship initially mistook " Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia " for a Spanish cruiser attempting to reinforce Cervera , but correctly identified her moments before she would have opened fire . After inspecting her , Admiral William T . Sampson , the American commander , permitted the Austrian cruiser to enter the harbor for her mission . After picking up the evacuees , " Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia " went to Port Royal , Jamaica , and remained in the Caribbean until the end of the war . On 9 May , she departed , bound for Pola , and arrived on 9 December . Over the winter of 1898 – 1899 , the ship served in the winter training squadron along with the battleship . As anti - foreign violence began to rise in China in early 1900 , the Great Powers began to send warships to the Far East to increase the pressure on the Chinese government to reign in the violence . At the peak of the Boxer Rebellion , " Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia " was deployed to the area under the command of Victor Ritter Bless von Sambuchi , along with numerous other European warships . She left Pola in June , and was followed by the cruisers and the next month . The ships joined the international fleet off Taku in September 1900 , though by that time , most of the fighting had already occurred . Nevertheless , " Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia " and " Aspern " remained in East Asian waters for an extended deployment . Captain Anton Haus took command of the ship , and in June 1901 , he took the ship to Hankow up the Yangtze River ; she was the largest ship to have steamed that far up the river . She returned to Austria - Hungary in 1902 , and was replaced in China by the new armored cruiser " Kaiser Karl VI " . Between 1906 – 1908 and 1909 – 1910 , the ship was rebuilt and equipped with more modern main guns . The 24 cm guns were replaced with quick - firing 19 cm L / 42 guns manufactured by Skoda . Four 37 mm Vickers revolving cannon were also installed . The ship ' s heavy fighting masts were removed . In 1912 , the ship was sent to Salonika to safeguard Austro - Hungarian interests during the Balkan Wars . She was then assigned to the 1st Cruiser Division , and remained in that unit after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 . It consisted of the other two armored cruisers in the fleet , and three light cruisers , under the command of Vice Admiral Paul Fiedler . She was used as a harbor guard ship in Senenico starting in 1914 . In 1916 , she was withdrawn from service and disarmed the following year for use as a barracks ship for German U - boat crews operating out of the Austrian naval base at Pola . Her guns were converted for use on land and sent to the Italian front . After the end of the war , in 1920 , " Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia " was allocated to Britain as a war prize . The British sold her to an Italian ship - breaking firm , which broke her up for scrap .