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Technical data of the Tegetthoff class
Th e commander of the Szent István in his report dealt with the secondary battery most elaborately. He wrote that the ventilation of the 15 cm casemates was insuffi cient when the hatches were closed on the Oberdeck. He complained that the casemates were not fi tted with a dedicated ventilation system and fresh air could only be supplied through the gunports, but often only smoke and propellant gases were sucked into the casemates through these ports. Th e other commanders did not mention this ventilation problem. Linienschiff skapitän Teuschl, the commander of the Viribus Unitis wrote in his report that usually some hatches were open when the 15 cm guns were fi ring because the spent cartridges were transported through these hatches to the Oberdeck. Grassberger considered the communication of the fi re data and the use of the gunsights of the 15 cm guns diffi cult, Teuschl had similar views.329
Grassberger criticized the armor scheme of the ship which he considered outdated and vulnerable to plunging fi re and aerial bombs. He condemned the lack of armored gratings in the funnels and ventilation ducts. He considered the ventilation in general insuffi cient and proposed a totally new concept of ventilation for the future battleships. He complained about the ventilation and cable ducts which horizontally passed through main watertight bulkheads. In fact, this practice was accepted by the MTK and the Arsenal and the bulkheads of the Trieste built units were similarly constructed. He wrote that on the Tegetthoffs too many watertight doors were cut in the watertight bulkheads which threatened their watertightness. On the Szent István, he added, even more doors were cut, because the transverse bulkhead which separated the fore and the aft turbine rooms were pierced by two doors which could not be closed remotely. Grassberger did not mention that the three STT built dreadnoughts had not been fi tted with similar transverse watertight bulkheads in their turbine rooms. On the boilers of the Szent István he wrote that in contrast to the STT made boilers they could provide enough steam for the turbines. After his remarks on the boilers Grassberger wrote a lengthy explication of his views on the training of stokers.330
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Grassberger’s report was similar in many parts to the other commander’s reports because they all criticized the common fl aws of the Tegetthoff class: the weak construction of the hull and the watertight bulkheads, the insuffi cient ventilation, the low freeboard, the bad and outdated shape of the bow which rendered the ships very wet even in calm weather and the uncomfortable and crowded crew compartments. He as the other commanders considered the bow and the stern submerged torpedo tubes entirely superfl uous. Grassberger’s report differed from his colleagues’ chiefl y in its style, which was characterized by pedantry so typical of him.331
Technical data of the Tegetthoff class
Length on waterline: 151 m Overall length: 152.18 m Beam: 27.99 m Draught: 8.59 m
Displacements Normal or trial: 20,013 metric tons (20,008 metric tons) Full load: 21,595 metric tons (21,689 metric tons)
Weights (Viribus Unitis, calculation from August 1912332) Hull: 5,313 tons (25.8 %) Equipment and provisions: 1,488 (7.2 %) Armament including gun turrets: 3,327 tons (16.2 %) Ammunition: 902 tons (4.4 %) Machinery: 1,486 tons (7.3 %) Electric power plant and equipment: 349 tons (1.7 %) Vertical armor: 5,103 tons (24.8 %) Deck and torpedo protection: 1,686 tons (8.2 %) Fuel: 900 tons (4.4 %)
Total: 20,554 metric tons
Machinery Twelve coal fi ring Yarrow water tube boilers with oil spraying (Twelve coal fi ring Babcock-Wilcox water tube boilers with oil spraying and superheaters) Boilers in two boiler rooms, two funnels Two sets of Parsons-turbines on four shafts
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(Two sets of AEG-Curtiss turbines on two shafts) Four screws of 2750 mm diameter (two screws of 4000 mm diameter) Turbines divided in two watertight spaces, separated by a centerline longitudinal bulkhead (Turbines divided in four watertight spaces, separated by a centerline longitudinal bulkhead and a transversal bulkhead) Designed power: 25,000 SHP Viribus Unitis: 27,383 SHP Tegetthoff: 25,638 SHP Prinz Eugen: 27,183 SHP Szent István: 26,400 SHP Designed speed: 20 knots Viribus Unitis: 20.49 knots Tegetthoff: 20.31 knots Prinz Eugen: 20.41 knots Szent István: N/A Range: 5,000 nautical miles Fuel: coal 1,871 tons or briquette 1,536 tons, oil 162 tons (Coal 1,845 tons or briquette 1,519 tons, oil 267 tons)
Electric power 4×300 KW turbine-driven DC dynamos 2×150 KW turbine-driven DC dynamos 2×150 KW motor-driven DC dynamos 2×AC generators
Armor (KC: Krupp cemented, K: Krupp non-cemented,
SP: Spezialstahl, SM: Siemens-Martin) Belt: 280 mm KC, lower part tapered to 180 mm
KC on 80 mm teak Upper belt: 180 mm KC Casemate: 180 mm KC Bow/stern: 150/150 mm KC Fore and aft armored bulkheads: 150 mm KC Torpedo bulkhead: 25+25 mm SP Conning tower front and sides/back/roof: 280/150 mm KC/60 mm SM Aft conning tower 15 cm control towers front and sides/roof: 180 mm KC/40 mm SM Barbettes: 280 mm KC Armored deck sloped parts/horizontal part: 18 mm and 18+30 mm/18+18 mm SM Gun turrets face and sides/inclined parts/roof: 280 mm/200-130 mm KC/60 mm K Armament 12×30.5 cm/45 K10 Škoda guns with sliding wedge breech (Krupp-system) Weight of the gun turrets lower/superimposed 680/690 tons Weight of barrel with breech: 54.25 tons Elevation: -4º/+20º Elevation/train rate: 3º per sec/3º per sec Allowance for each gun: 76 Projectile’s weight: 450 kg Muzzle velocity: 800 mps Rate of fi re: 1-2 rounds per minute Range: 22,000 m later 19,000 m
12×15 cm/50 Škoda guns with sliding wedge breech in casemates Weight of a gun with shield: 19.8 tons Weight of the barrel: 6,085 kg Elevation: -6º/+15º Weight of the ammunition: 80 kg Allowance for each gun: 180 Projectile’s weight: 45.5 kg Muzzle velocity: 880 mps Rate of fi re: 6 rounds per minute Range: 15,000 m
18×7 cm/50 (6.6 cm) Škoda guns with sliding wedge breech on central pivots Weight of a gun with mounting: 2300 kg Elevation: -6.5°/+20° Weight of the ammunition: 8.5 kg Allowance for each gun: 400 Projectile’s weight: 4.5 kg Muzzle velocity: 850 mps Rate of fi re: 20 rounds per minute
4×7 cm/50 (3×7 cm) (6.6 cm) Škoda AA guns with sliding wedge breech on central pivots Weight of a gun with mounting: 2,030 kg Elevation: -5°/+90° Weight of the ammunition: 8.5 kg Allowance for each gun: 200 Projectile’s weight: 4.5 kg Muzzle velocity: 830 mps Rate of fi re: 20 rounds per minute
4×53.3 cm Whitehead submerged torpedo tubes (1 bow, 1 stern, 1-1 broadsides) Allowance: 3-3 for fore & aft tubes, 4-4 for broadside tubes
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Torpedo’s weight: 1,336 kg Overall length: 6.3 m Explosive charge: 180 kg
Fire control 2×3,658 mm (12 feet) Barr&Strouds rangefi nders on the conning towers 4×2,743 mm (9 feet) Barr&Strouds rangefi nders in the gun turrets 2×2,743 mm (9 feet) Barr&Strouds rangefi nders in the 15 cm fi re control towers 11×110 cm searchlights
Boats Two 13 ton electric boat cranes 1×13 ton steam barge 1×9 ton and 1×5 ton motor barges 2×4.7 ton sailing barges 4× cutters 1× rescue cutter 2× jolly boats 2× motor-gigs 4× small jolly boats
Complement 38 offi cers, 1,056 men
Call signs Viribus Unitis: AU and 60,033 Tegetthoff: AF and 60,034 Prinz Eugen: AP and 60,035 Szent István: AJ and 60,036 Commanders (Lschk: Linienschiff skapitän) Viribus Unitis Lschk Anton Willenik 27 August 1912 Lschk Anton Alexander Hansa 25 April 1913 Lschk Edmund Grassberger 17 August 1914 Lschk Kamillo Teuschl 15 August 1915 Lschk Gustav Ritter von Nauta 5 November 1917 Lschk Janko Vuković de Podkapelski March 1918
Tegetthoff Lschk Anton Alexander Hansa 27 March 1913 Lschk Franz von Holub 10 June 1913 Lschk Heinrich Ritter von Nauta 20 February 1917 Lschk Heinrich Freiherr Pergler von Perglas 15 April 1918
Prinz Eugen Lschk Johann Graf von und zu Firmian 9 April 1914 Lschk Dragutin von Prica 15 May 1917 Lschk Miklós Horthy, nagybányai 24 November 1917 – 26 February 1918 N/A
Szent István Lschk Edmund Grassberger 28 October 1915 Lschk Franz von Teichgräber 4 March 1917 – 29 September 1917 Lschk Franz Lauff er 10 October 1917 Lschk Heinrich Seitz von Treff en 11 March 1918 – 10 June 1918
Pages 94-98: 44 Plans of the Viribus Unitis Szent István model plan drawn by Ferenc Hűvös
