Erzherzog Karl - class battleship The " Erzherzog Karl " class was a class of pre - dreadnought battleship s of the Austro - Hungarian Navy built before World War I . All of the battleships of the " Erzherzog Karl " - class were built in the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyards in Trieste . The first battleship , was laid down in 1902 . Construction on the remaining two battleships , and continued up to 1905 . Erzherzog Karl was commissioned in 1906 , while " Erzherzog Ferdinand Max " and " Erzherzog Friedrich " were commissioned in 1907 . The three " Erzherzog Karl " - class battleships were considered relatively modern by the time they were commissioned . However , small docking space and budget restraints resulted in the class being fairly compact . Nevertheless , they were well designed and properly protected . The " Erzherzog Karl " - class were the last and largest pre - dreadnoughts built by the Austrian Navy . They were named after members of the Austrian Royal family . Despite these qualities , the " Erzherzog Karl " - class battleships were inferior to the more modern Dreadnought type battleships – with their " all big gun " armament and turbine propulsion . As a result , they only played a limited role during World War I . At the beginning of the war , the members of the " Erzherzog Karl " - class formed the III division of the Austrian - Hungarian battle - fleet . Despite their largely inactive involvement in the conflict , the battleships of the " Erzherzog Karl " - class did participate in the flight of and during the opening days of the war , as well as the bombardment of Ancona on 23 May 1915 . The ships also took part in suppressing a major mutiny among the crew members of several armored cruisers stationed in Cattaro between 1 – 3 February 1918 . Following Austria - Hungary ' s defeat in World War I , " Erzherzog Karl " and " Erzherzog Friedrich " were handed over to France . The remaining battleship , " Erzherzog Ferdinand Max " , was given to Great Britain . " Erzherzog Karl " ran aground at Bizerte and was broken up there in 1921 . The remaining two battleships were scrapped in 1921 in Italy . Design . General Characteristics . The " Erzherzog Karl " class displaced . They were long , had a beam of and a draft of . They were manned by 700 men . Propulsion . The ships were propelled by two two - shaft , four cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines . On trials , they developed , which could move the ship along at a speed of . On trials , the " Erzherzog Karl " s engines managed to produce a knot more speed than was originally planned . Armament . As with the that was planned to be built 13 years later , the " Erzherzog Karl " class carried a primary armament made by Škoda Works . On each ship , there were four / 40 caliber guns in two twin turrets on the centerline . These guns were an Austro - Hungarian replica of the 24 cm / 40 ( 9 . 4 " ) Krupp C / 94 , which was used on the " Habsburg " s . The guns could be depressed to −5° and elevated to 30° . The arc of fire of the guns was 300° , or 150° in each direction . Each gun required a crew of twenty men . At maximum elevation , the gun could fire a shell . They could fire three to four armor - piercing shells per minute at a muzzle velocity of . Each of the guns weighed at least . Their secondary armament consisted of twelve / 42 caliber guns , also made by Škoda , mounted in eight single casemates on either wing of the ship and two twin turrets on the centerline . They could be depressed to −3° and elevated to 20° . They also could be trained 150° to the left and right . They could fire a armor - piercing shell at maximum elevation with a muzzle velocity of . The gun weighed 12 . 1 tons and could fire three rounds per minute . The ships had a tertiary armament for protection against torpedo boats in the form of the / 45 caliber gun , too manufactured by Škoda . They could be depressed to −10° and elevated to 20 , and had an arc of fire of 360° , meaning that they could fire at any target within their range of fire . The guns could fire about ten to fifteen rounds per minute . At their maximum elevation , the guns could fire a high - explosive charge at a muzzle velocity of . Anti - aircraft and airship protection was covered by the four Vickers anti - aircraft guns on the ship . They could be depressed to −5° and elevated to 80° . They had an arc of fire of 360° , which meant that they also could engage any target within their range . Manually operated by only one crewman , they could fire a shell at maximum elevation with a muzzle velocity of . Designed in 1910 , the each of the guns weighed . The " Erzherzog Karl " class was also fitted with two above water torpedo tube s , although they were rarely used . Armor . The armor plating of the battleships around the waterline belt , one of the more vulnerable areas of a ship , was , while their deck armor was . The turrets and casemates had and armor respectively . This was done in order to protect the battleships against a possible shell landing on the turrets and the imminent explosion resulting from such a hit . The conning tower of the ships had of armor plating , while the bulkheads inside the battleship that separated different compartments were thick . Construction . The " Erzherzog Karl " - class , like the " Habsburg " - class before them and the " Radetzky " - class after them were named after archdukes of the Austro - Hungarian Royal Family , specifically Archduke Charles , Duke of Teschen , Maximilian I of Mexico and Archduke Friedrich , Duke of Teschen . The ships were all laid down at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino in Trieste . The first ship of the class , was laid down on 24 July 1902 . Following 15 months of construction she was launched on 4 October 1903 and finally commissioned into the Austro - Hungarian Navy on 17 June 1906 . The next ship of the class was the . She was laid down on 4 October 1902 and launched on 30 April 1904 . " Erzherzog Friedrich " was finally commissioned into the Austro - Hungarian Navy on 31 January 1907 . The third and final ship of the " Erzherzog Karl " class was the . She was laid down on 9 March 1904 and later launched on 21 May 1905 . She was commissioned into the navy on 21 December 1907 . Service history . At the outbreak of World War I the three ships formed the III division of the Austrian - Hungarian battle - fleet and spent most of the war based at Pola . The members of the " Erzherzog Karl " class were mobilized on the eve of the war to support the flight of and . The two German ships were attempting to break out of Messina , which was surrounded by British troops , and make their way to Turkey . The breakout succeeded . When the flotilla had advanced as far south as Brindisi in south eastern Italy , the Austro - Hungarian ships were recalled . In company with other units of the Austro Hungarian Navy the class took part in the bombardment of Ancona on May 24 , 1915 . There they expended 24 rounds of 240 mm armor - piercing shells at signal and semaphore stations as well as 74 rounds of 190 mm shells aimed at Italian gun - batteries and other port installations . A major mutiny among crews of the armored cruisers stationed in Cattaro , including and , began on 1 February 1918 . Two days later , the three " Erzherzog Karl " - class ships arrived in the port and assisted with the suppression of the mutiny . Following the restoration of order in the naval base , the armored cruisers " Sankt Georg " and " Kaiser Karl VI " were decommissioned and the three " Erzherzog Karl " - class battleships were stationed in Cattaro in their place . For the morning of 11 June , Admiral Miklos Horthy planned a major assault on the Otranto Barrage ; the three " Erzherzog Karl " s and the four s were to provide support for the s . The plan was intended to replicate the success of the raid conducted one year earlier . Horthy ' s plan was to destroy the blockading fleet by luring Allied ships to the cruisers and lighter ships , which were protected from the heavier guns of the battleships , including the " Erzherzog Karl " - class . However , on the morning of 10 June , the dreadnought was torpedoed and sunk by an Italian torpedo boat . Horthy felt surprise had been lost and therefore called off the operation . This was to be the last military action the " Erzherzog Karl " - class ships were to take part in and they spent the rest of their career at port in Pola . Following the end of World War I in November 1918 , the members of the " Erzherzog Karl " class were first taken over by Yugoslavia in 1919 , but the " Erzherzog Karl " and " Erzherzog Friedrich " were then ceded as war reparations to France . The remaining battleship , " Erzherzog Ferdinand Max " was ceded to the United Kingdom . However , " Erzherzog Karl " sank on her voyage to Britain and was scrapped in 1920 . The remaining two battleships were scrapped in 1921 . References . Citations Bibliography