 Zenta in Pola in 1901 after returning from China
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Austria-Hungary | |
| Name | Zenta |
| Namesake | Battle of Zenta |
| Builder | Pola Navy Yard |
| Laid down | 8 August 1896 |
| Launched | 18 August 1897 |
| Sponsored by | Archduchess Maria Josepha |
| Commissioned | 25 May 1899 |
| Fate | Sunk during the Battle of Antivari, 16 August 1914 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Zenta-class protected cruiser |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 96.88 m (317 ft 10 in) |
| Beam | 11.73 m (38 ft 6 in) |
| Draft | 4.24 m (13 ft 11 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion | |
| Sail plan | Brigantine-rigged |
| Speed | 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
| Range | 3,200 nmi (5,900 km; 3,700 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement | 308 |
| Armament |
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| Armor |
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SMS Zenta was the lead ship of the Zenta class of protected cruisers built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the late 1890s. The class included two other vessels, Aspern and Szigetvár. The Zentas were intended to serve as fleet scouts and to guard the battleships against attacks by torpedo boats. She carried a main battery of eight 12 cm (4.7 in) guns manufactured by Škoda; Zenta and her sisters were the first major warships of the Austro-Hungarian fleet to be armed entirely with domestically produced guns. Unlike earlier Austro-Hungarian cruisers, the Zenta class discarded heavy belt armor in favor of a higher top speed.
After entering service in 1899, Zenta was sent to East Asia to represent Austria-Hungary in the region. She was involved in the Boxer Rebellion in Qing China in 1900, sending landing parties ashore as part of the Eight-Nation Alliance to guard the Legation Quarter and to fight in the Battle of the Taku Forts. Zenta returned home in 1901 and was sent on another long-distance cruise in 1902–1903 to visit various ports in Africa and South America. The ship served in home waters beginning in 1904, spending her time with training exercises. In 1913, during the First Balkan War, she participated in the blockade of Montenegro by an international fleet.
At the start of World War I in July 1914, Zenta was sent to the southern end of the Adriatic Sea to attack targets in Montenegro. She was cruising off that country's coast to enforce another blockade on 16 August when she and the destroyer Ulan encountered the main French battle fleet. In the ensuing Battle of Antivari, Zenta was sunk by the French battleships, with heavy loss of life as the French failed to pick up survivors. Some 139 men, including her commander Paul Pachner, swam to shore, where they were captured by Montenegrin forces and imprisoned until 1916 when the Austro-Hungarian Army overran the country.