&sq=&lang=&file=File:SMS_Zara_NH_87593.jpg) SMS Zara early in her career
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders |
|
| Operators |  Austro-Hungarian Navy |
| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | SMS Lussin |
| Built | 1878–1882 |
| In commission | 1881–1918 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Scrapped | 3 |
| General characteristics [a] | |
| Type | Torpedo cruiser |
| Displacement | 833 long tons (846 t) |
| Length | 62.71 m (205 ft 9 in) |
| Beam | 8.22 m (27 ft 0 in) |
| Draft | 4.1 m (13 ft 5 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 12.63 kn (23.39 km/h; 14.53 mph) |
| Crew |
|
| Armament |
|
| Armor | Deck: 19 mm (0.75 in) |
The Zara class was a class of three torpedo cruisers built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the late 1870s and early 1880s; they were the first large torpedo-armed warships built by Austria-Hungary. The class comprised three ships, Zara, Spalato, and Sebenico; the last vessel was built to a slightly different design, and is sometimes not counted as a member of the class. The design was prepared by Josef von Romako, the Chief Constructor of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, after a lengthy design process throughout the 1870s. The first two ships were armed with deck-mounted torpedo tubes, while Sebenico received an experimental tube in her bow, submerged below the waterline.
Despite the lengthy design process, the ships proved to be failures in service, primarily as a result of their low speed. Intended to reach a speed of at least 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), none of the vessels were able to steam that fast. The changes made to Sebenico during construction were meant to address the problem, but she was unable to reach her design speed either. As a result, they saw very little active service, spending much of their careers in reserve. By the 1890s, they were reactivated for training ship duties, and in 1897 Sebenico took part in an international naval demonstration off Crete, where she sank a Greek blockade runner. Training ship duties continued through the early 1910s. During World War I, all three vessels were used as guard ships, but none saw action. After the war, they were seized as war prizes by the Allies and awarded to Italy in 1920; all were broken up immediately thereafter.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).