NAVYPEDIA

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Kaiser Max 1876

Ships

Name	No	Yard No	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Comp	Fate
Don Juan d'Austria		117	STT, San Rocco	14.2.1874	25.10.1875	26.6.1876	stricken 6.1904
Kaiser Max		118	STT, San Rocco	14.2.1874	28.12.1875	26.10.1876	stricken 12.1904
Prinz Eugen			Marinearsenal Pola	10/1874	7.9.1877	11/1878	stricken 12.1904

Technical data

Displacement normal, t	3548
Displacement full, t
Length, m	75.9 oa 73.2 wl
Breadth, m	15.3
Draught, m	6.15
No of shafts	1
Machinery	1 2-cyl HRCR, 4 rectangular boilers
Power, h. p.	2755
Max speed, kts	13.3
Fuel, t	coal 380
Endurance, nm(kts)	2000(10)
Armour, mm	wrought iron; belt: 205, bulkheads: 115, casemate: 125
Armament	8 x 1 - 209/18 G. L/20 C.68, 4 x 1 - 87/22 G. L/24 M.75, 2 x 1 - 66/16 G. L/18
Complement	400

Standard scale images

Graphics

Project history

For political reasons new ships were at times not approved in the budget, but the rebuilding of existing ships was generally passed without opposition. Therefore the three obsolete armoured frigates of the Kaiser Max class were 'officially rebuilt'. In fact the rotten wooden hulls were scrapped, only the machinery without boilers, parts of the armour and serviceable parts of the equipment being used on completely new iron casemate ships with the same names. This often leads to confusion between old and 'rebuilt' ships. However, one conversion was three times as expensive as the building of a new warship, so the polity was ill advised. The original sail area of 1633.15m2 was reduced to 1158.60m2 in 1880.

Ship protection

The belt protected all ship length extending from 1.2m under wl to 1.7m above. Its thickness was 203mm amidships and 120-102mm at ship ends, the belt was backed by 254mm teak. Casemate was connected with upper edge of the belt and consisted from 152mm(to under edges of gun ports)-120mm(above) sides, transverse bulkheads were 120mm; casemate armour was backed by 318mm teak layer. Casemate was closed by 19mm deck.

Modernizations

1880: + 4 - 350 TT (1 bow, 2 beam, 1 stern)

1890s: + 6 x 1 - 47/30 SFK L/33 H, 3 x 5 - 47/22 SFK L/25 H, 2 x 5 - 25/41 Nordenfeldt

Naval service

Kaiser Max was stricken on 30.12.1904, and from 1909 she was an accommodation ship at Cattaro Bay; in 1920 she was ceded to Yugoslavia and renamed Tivat. Prinz Eugen was stricken on 30.12.1904; she was converted to a repair ship and renamed Vulkan; later her name was needed for one of the new Tegetthoff class dreadnoughts. In 1919 she was confiscated by Italy and towed away. In 1920 she was allocated to Yugoslavia but was never handed over to her new owners. Don Juan d'Austria (the different spelling serves to distinguish her from her predecessor, Juan de Austria) was stricken on 29.6.1904, and in 1905 she became an accommodation ship for torpedo boat staff. She sank in 1919 in circumstances which are not clear.