 Drache at anchor after her 1867 refit
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino, Trieste |
| Operators |  Austria–Hungary |
| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | Kaiser Max class |
| Built | 1861–1862 |
| In commission | 1862–1883 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Scrapped | 2 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type | Ironclad armored frigate |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 70.1 m (230 ft) |
| Beam | 13.94 m (45 ft 9 in) |
| Draft | 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion | 1 Shaft, 1 Steam engine |
| Sail plan | Barque-rigged |
| Speed | 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) |
| Complement | 346 |
| Armament |
|
| Armor | Waterline belt: 115 mm (4.5 in) |
The Drache-class ironclads were a pair of wooden-hulled armored frigates built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1860s, the first ironclads built for Austria-Hungary. Ordered in response to a pair of Italian ironclads in 1860, Drache and Salamander were laid down in early 1861, launched later that year, and completed in 1862. They participated in the Austrian victory over the Italians in the Battle of Lissa, where Drache destroyed the coastal defense ship Palestro, one of two Italian ships sunk in the action. Both ships were withdrawn from front-line service in 1875. Drache's hull was in poor condition, so she was discarded and eventually broken up in 1883, and Salamander became a harbor guard ship. She was hulked in 1883 and converted into floating storage for naval mines before being scrapped in 1895–1896.