SMS Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia
Armored cruiser of the Austro-Hungarian Navy / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns and eight 15 cm (5.9 in) guns, the ship provided the basis for two subsequent armored cruiser designs for the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia, sometime between 1898 and 1900 | |
Class overview | |
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Preceded by | None |
Succeeded by | Kaiser Karl VI |
History | |
Austria-Hungary | |
Name | SMS Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia |
Namesake | Empress and Queen Maria Theresa |
Builder | Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino |
Laid down | 1 July 1891 |
Launched | 29 April 1893 |
Commissioned | November 1894 |
Fate | Ceded to Britain in 1920, broken up for scrap |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Armored cruiser |
Displacement | |
Length | 113.7 m (373 ft) |
Beam | 16.25 m (53 ft 4 in) |
Draft | 6.81 m (22 ft 4 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | |
Speed | 19.35 knots (36 km/h; 22 mph) |
Complement | 475 |
Armament |
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Armor |
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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 Uprising, 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.