ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To the memory of my father, András Krámli

To the memory of Dr. Peter Jung

Th is book, together with its Hungarian twin published in 2018 is the result of two decades of research. Th is project could not have been possible without the help of many people, to whom I owe my gratitude and thanks. First of all I am indebted to the late Peter Jung, Marinereferent of the Kriegsarchiv, who introduced me to the world of Marinearchiv and whose assistance was vital when I began my research in Vienna on those rainy October days. I remember his remark on the yellow envelopes containing the top secret documents and that I should feel free to open them.

In 2013 I won the Géza Perjés Prize which inspired me to write the English version of my book on the Austro-Hungarian battleships. Th e Prize enabled me to publish this book. I am especially thankful to Éva Perjés and the curators of the Alapítvány a magyar hadi történetírás támo gatásá ra (Foundation for Hungarian Military His toriography) Pál Fodor, László Veszprémy, Róbert Hermann and Géza Pálff y. Th e fi nancial support of the Foundation covered the expenses of the printing.

Th is book could not have been published without the valuable help of Tony DiGiulian from the United States and Andrew Wilkie from Canada, both of whom took on the task of proofreading the manuscript. Mr DiGiulian, who created and runs the world’s leading website on naval weapons, NavWeaps.com, provided me with a range of advice and information on naval guns and ammunition. Mr. Wilkie, whose amazing website, Viribusunitis.ca is dedicated to the battleship Viribus Unitis and her sisters, off ered one of his fantastic 3D computer graphics of the Szent István for using as front cover of this book.

I am lucky to have worked with my friend and colleague, György Domokos, who took on the task of editing this book. He is the best editor I have ever worked with. I am also thankful to Gábor Ferenc Kiss, Viktor Andaházi Szeghy and the whole team of Belvedere Meridionale Kiadó. I am especially proud that this book was published in my hometown, Szeged.

I would like to thank Colonel Dr. Vilmos Kovács, the commander of the Hadtörténeti Intézet és Múzeum (Institute and Museum for Military History), Budapest, Róbert Hermann, László Vesz prémy, Balázs Lázár, Ferenc Bálint, Kristóf Csák váry, László Gondos, István Jándi, Kálmán Mészáros, Attila Süli, Péter Szabó, Péter András Tóth, Éva Tulipán. I am especially thankful to András Hatala, who made fantastic triple turret drawings and provided me with a range of information on explosives and projectile manufacturing. My friend and former colleague, Ferenc Pollmann shared his thoughts with me on Franz Ferdinand, the July Crisis and Dino Buzzati.

In the course of this study I have visited four archives in two countries. During the visits in these archives I have naturally benefi ted from the advice and assistance of a large number of individuals. I am especially grateful to the former and recent members of the Hungarian delegation in the Kriegsarchiv, Vienna: Tibor Balla, Attila Bonhardt, István Czigány, György Domokos, Gábor Kiss, Balázs Lázár, Ferenc Lenkefi , József Solymosi and Norbert Számvéber. I should like to thank Gábor Kiss in the Hadtörténelmi Levéltár, Zsu zsanna Mikó and Sándor Nyeste in the Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár. I am also indebted to my former colleagues in the Közlekedési Múzeum: László Eperjesi, Krisztina Csáki, Tamás Janovszki, Győző Jutkusz, Sándor Krizsán, László Magó and László Rózsa.

Th is project was only possible with international cooperation. Besides Tony DiGiulian and Andrew Wilkie, I would like to thank for their valuable help: M. Christian Ortner and Erwin

F. Sieche from Austria, Bill Jurens from Canada, Danijel Frka and Miljenko Smokvina from Croatia, Zisis Fotakis from Greece and Andrey Tameev from Russia. I am also indebted to many individuals in Hungary: György Ákos, Tamás Balogh, Ferenc Hüvös, György Koltai, Péter Kovács and Dávid Turbucz. I am especially thankful to my friend, László Kiss, who generously shared his library and photo collection with me, and with whom we had useful conversations about the fi re control of battleships.

Last but not least I would like to thank the support and help provided by my family.

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