Ersatz Monarch class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Ersatz Monarch-class (Replacement Monarch-class) battleship
was a projected new class of four battleships which were to be constructed for the Austro-Hungarian Navy
in 1914–1919. Designed to replace the Monarch class of coastal defense ships, each of the battleships were to carry ten 13.8 inches (350.5 mm) guns as their primary armament, a slight improvement over her predecessors, the . The ships were 574 feet (175 m) and were designed to displace 24100 LT (24,486.8 t; 26,992.1 ST).
The Austro-Hungarian Navy intended to lay down the first vessel in July 1914, but the outbreak of World War I
that month caused the Navy to postpone construction until September. Ultimately, none of the vessels were laid down and they were formally canceled in late 1917. However, four of the 13.8-inch guns had been built and were transferred to the Austro-Hungarian Army
for use on the Italian Front
.
ordered the construction of four new battleships to replace the aging Monarch-class
in May 1914. As a result, the new class was known by the contract name for the first vessel, Ersatz-Monarch. The ships were to cost 82–83 million kronen
each. The class was to be built in two separate shipyards: two battleships were to be built by Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino
and two by Ganz & Co – Danubius
.
had already begun in 1910 when Skodawerke A.G made the first of many attempts to obtain the approval for a new generation of "super" dreadnoughts to replace the aging Monarch-class ships. The original proposal laid forth on 18 April 1911 consisted of 13.5 inches (34.3 cm) 45-caliber guns with three guns in each of the two superimposed turrets.
The Austro-Hungarian Naval Technical Committee later submitted three proposals by Austrian chief naval architect Franz Pitzinger on the general characteristics of the new class in December 1911. The first of the three proposals called for a 22000 LT (22,353.1 t; 24,640.1 ST) battleship with 12 inches (304.8 mm) guns. A later proposal had the new class weighing 23000 LT (23,369.2 t; 25,760.1 ST) and equipped with 13.6 inches (345.4 mm) guns. The last proposal had the battleship weighing as much as 24100 LT (24,486.8 t; 26,992.1 ST). Despite the first two proposals on the main guns' caliber, the final decision for the caliber was to be a modified and slightly larger version of the original proposal by Skodawerke A.G, with the main turrets to be equipped with 13.78 inches (350 mm) to 13.8 inches (350.5 mm) guns. The final design for the main turrets' caliber was influenced by the Imperial German Navy, which had incorporated this caliber on its new Mackensen-class
battlecruisers.
By January 1913, the Naval Technical Committee delivered its first official proposal for the new Ersatz Monarch-class battleships. The committee decided to choose the largest of the three initial proposals for the ship's tonnage, with each ship weighing roughly 24,100 tons. The battleships were to be equipped with a total of ten 13.8 inches (350.5 mm) 45-caliber guns, eighteen 5.9 inches (149.9 mm) 50-caliber guns, and twenty-two 3.5 inches (88.9 mm) 45-caliber guns. The main guns were to be between 13.78 inches (350 mm) and 13.8 inches (350.5 mm). It took another year and a half for this final design to be formally approved in July 1914. During this time, a further 12 designs were put forth.
Each battleship would have cost about 83 million crowns. The first battleship would have been laid down in July 1914, but this date was later pushed back to September due to the outbreak of World War I at the end of July. The first battleship, "Battleship VIII," was scheduled to have been completed on 30 June 1917. The second battleship, referred to as "Battleship IX," would have been laid down on 1 January 1915 and launched on 31 December 1917. The third and fourth battleships, "Battleship X" and "Battleship XI," were scheduled to be laid down on 1 June 1916 and completed on 31 May 1919.
The main guns were to be built by Skoda, and while the battleships themselves were never laid down, the guns for one battleship had been ordered prior to the beginning of World War I. These were the only orders that the Austro-Hungarian Navy had placed for any part of the four battleships. It was assumed that following a victorious conclusion to the war in just two months, work on the battleships would resume. As the war continued, four of the main guns that were ordered from the Skoda works were handed over to the Austro-Hungarian Army
for use on the Italian front. The rest of the completed main guns were later taken by the French as a war prize following the end of the war. In late 1917, the construction on all four vessels was canceled.
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
was a projected new class of four battleships which were to be constructed for the Austro-Hungarian Navy
Austro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine , abbreviated as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine....
in 1914–1919. Designed to replace the Monarch class of coastal defense ships, each of the battleships were to carry ten 13.8 inches (350.5 mm) guns as their primary armament, a slight improvement over her predecessors, the . The ships were 574 feet (175 m) and were designed to displace 24100 LT (24,486.8 t; 26,992.1 ST).
The Austro-Hungarian Navy intended to lay down the first vessel in July 1914, but the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
that month caused the Navy to postpone construction until September. Ultimately, none of the vessels were laid down and they were formally canceled in late 1917. However, four of the 13.8-inch guns had been built and were transferred to the Austro-Hungarian Army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
for use on the Italian Front
Italian Campaign (World War I)
The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Italy, along with their allies, in northern Italy between 1915 and 1918. Italy hoped that by joining the countries of the Triple Entente against the Central Powers it would gain Cisalpine Tyrol , the...
.
History
The Austro-Hungarian NavyAustro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine , abbreviated as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine....
ordered the construction of four new battleships to replace the aging Monarch-class
Monarch class battleship
The Monarch class was a class of battleships, although resembling coastal defence ships, built by Austria-Hungary at the end of the 19th century. The Monarchs were the first ships of their type to utilize turrets. The class comprised three ships: , , and , each armed with two L/40 guns in two...
in May 1914. As a result, the new class was known by the contract name for the first vessel, Ersatz-Monarch. The ships were to cost 82–83 million kronen
Austro-Hungarian krone
The Krone or korona was the official currency of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1892 until the dissolution of the empire in 1918...
each. The class was to be built in two separate shipyards: two battleships were to be built by Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino
Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino
Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino was a private shipbuilding company based in Trieste from the mid-19th to early 20th century, and the most important naval shipbuilding firm of the Austro-Hungarian Empire....
and two by Ganz & Co – Danubius
3. Maj
3. Maj is a shipyard in Croatia, located in the city of Rijeka. It builds mainly oil tankers, bulk cargo ships, and container ships. It also sometimes builds smaller passenger ferries or yachts...
.
Proposals
The construction of the Tegetthoff-class battleshipsTegetthoff class battleship
The Tegetthoff-class was the sole class of dreadnought battleship built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Four ships were built, SMS Viribus Unitis, SMS Tegetthoff, SMS Prinz Eugen and SMS Szent Istvan...
had already begun in 1910 when Skodawerke A.G made the first of many attempts to obtain the approval for a new generation of "super" dreadnoughts to replace the aging Monarch-class ships. The original proposal laid forth on 18 April 1911 consisted of 13.5 inches (34.3 cm) 45-caliber guns with three guns in each of the two superimposed turrets.
The Austro-Hungarian Naval Technical Committee later submitted three proposals by Austrian chief naval architect Franz Pitzinger on the general characteristics of the new class in December 1911. The first of the three proposals called for a 22000 LT (22,353.1 t; 24,640.1 ST) battleship with 12 inches (304.8 mm) guns. A later proposal had the new class weighing 23000 LT (23,369.2 t; 25,760.1 ST) and equipped with 13.6 inches (345.4 mm) guns. The last proposal had the battleship weighing as much as 24100 LT (24,486.8 t; 26,992.1 ST). Despite the first two proposals on the main guns' caliber, the final decision for the caliber was to be a modified and slightly larger version of the original proposal by Skodawerke A.G, with the main turrets to be equipped with 13.78 inches (350 mm) to 13.8 inches (350.5 mm) guns. The final design for the main turrets' caliber was influenced by the Imperial German Navy, which had incorporated this caliber on its new Mackensen-class
Mackensen class battlecruiser
The Mackensen class was the last class of battlecruisers to be built by Germany in World War I. The class was to have comprised four ships: Mackensen, the name ship, Graf Spee, Prinz Eitel Friedrich, and Fürst Bismarck. None of the vessels were completed, as shipbuilding priorities were redirected...
battlecruisers.
By January 1913, the Naval Technical Committee delivered its first official proposal for the new Ersatz Monarch-class battleships. The committee decided to choose the largest of the three initial proposals for the ship's tonnage, with each ship weighing roughly 24,100 tons. The battleships were to be equipped with a total of ten 13.8 inches (350.5 mm) 45-caliber guns, eighteen 5.9 inches (149.9 mm) 50-caliber guns, and twenty-two 3.5 inches (88.9 mm) 45-caliber guns. The main guns were to be between 13.78 inches (350 mm) and 13.8 inches (350.5 mm). It took another year and a half for this final design to be formally approved in July 1914. During this time, a further 12 designs were put forth.
Armament and propulsion
The standard weight for the class was to be 24100 LT (24,486.8 t; 26,992.1 ST) per ship. The ships' length would have been 574 feet (175 m) and the beam 93.5 ft (28.5 m) while the draft would have been 51 ft (15.5 m). The four battleships of the Ersatz Monarch-class would have been equipped with four-shaft steam turbines that produced 31000 shp and contained 15 Yarrow water-tube boilers (nine coal-fired and six oil-fired). These engines would have enabled the four battleships to travel at 21 knots (41.2 km/h). Their total range would have been 5000 nautical miles (9,260 km) while traveling at 10 knots (20 km/h). Each battleship was to be manned by a crew of 1,050 to 1,100 officers and men. According the approved gun designs from January 1913, the members of the Ersatz Monarch-class would have had 10 13.8 inches (350.5 mm) guns, 14 6 inches (152.4 mm) guns, 20 3.5 inches (88.9 mm) guns, two 1.85 inches (47 mm) guns and six 21.5 inches (546.1 mm) torpedo tubes.Armor
The armor plating on the ships would have been 12 in (304.8 mm) thick around the belt, barbettes, turrets and the conning tower, while the deck would have had 2.85 inches (72.4 mm) thick armor. The underwater defenses of the battleships were a drastic change from previous Austro-Hungarian battleship designs. The new design was similar to recent French and Russian designs. A horizontal armor deck was built into the vessel inwards from the bottom edge of the armor belt, as far as the last vertical bulkheads. The new guns that were approved for the final design were modified to increase the effect of a broadside. However, in order to keep a stable balance between the ships' protection, stability, and firepower, the battleships were to only be equipped with 10 guns. This new layout was unusual, having two turrets with three guns mounted on each of them being superimposed over two twin guns.Construction and cancellation
With the final design in place, four ships from the class were ordered by the Austro-Hungarian Navy in July 1914. The Austro-Hungarian Navy followed the traditional German custom of not naming the new ships until they were formally launched. As a result, the Navy only referred to them as "replacements" for the old Monarch-class ships, hence the name "Ersatz" (replacement). The four battleships themselves were simply referred to as "Battleships VIII-XI". Because several design sketches that all had slight differences were put forth, the exact final appearance of the ships are not known. However, they all would have been built with raised forecastles in order to give them better seaworthiness than their predecessors of the Tegetthoff class. The battleships would have been equipped with lattice towers that would hold searchlight platforms.Each battleship would have cost about 83 million crowns. The first battleship would have been laid down in July 1914, but this date was later pushed back to September due to the outbreak of World War I at the end of July. The first battleship, "Battleship VIII," was scheduled to have been completed on 30 June 1917. The second battleship, referred to as "Battleship IX," would have been laid down on 1 January 1915 and launched on 31 December 1917. The third and fourth battleships, "Battleship X" and "Battleship XI," were scheduled to be laid down on 1 June 1916 and completed on 31 May 1919.
The main guns were to be built by Skoda, and while the battleships themselves were never laid down, the guns for one battleship had been ordered prior to the beginning of World War I. These were the only orders that the Austro-Hungarian Navy had placed for any part of the four battleships. It was assumed that following a victorious conclusion to the war in just two months, work on the battleships would resume. As the war continued, four of the main guns that were ordered from the Skoda works were handed over to the Austro-Hungarian Army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
for use on the Italian front. The rest of the completed main guns were later taken by the French as a war prize following the end of the war. In late 1917, the construction on all four vessels was canceled.