SMS Viribus Unitis
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Name | SMS Viribus Unitis |
| Ordered | 1908 |
| Builder | Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino, Trieste |
| Laid down | 24 July 1910 |
| Launched | 24 June 1911 |
| Commissioned | 5 December 1912 |
| Fate | Sunk, 1 November 1918 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Tegetthoff-class battleship |
| Displacement | 20,000 t (19,684 long tons) standard |
| Length | 152 m (498 ft 8 in) |
| Beam | 27.9 m (91 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 8.7 m (28 ft 7 in) |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) 12 Yarrow boilers 4 Parsons steam turbines, 27,000 hp (20,134 kW) 4 shafts |
| Speed | 20.4 knots (23.5 mph; 37.8 km/h) |
| Range | 4,200 nmi (7,800 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h) |
| Complement | 32 officers, 16 petty-officers, 993 men (1,087 max) |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) • 12 × 305 mm (12 in) guns in triple turrets • 12 × 150 mm (6 in) guns in single casemates • 18 × 70 mm (3 in) guns in single mountings • 4 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes |
| Armour | list error: <br /> list (help) Belt, barbettes, turrets and conning tower: 11 in (279 mm) Deck: 1.4 in (36 mm) |
SMS Viribus Unitis was the first Austro-Hungarian dreadnought battleship of the Tegetthoff-class. Its name - which means "With United Forces" - was the personal motto of emperor Franz Joseph I.
Viribus Unitis was built at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino yard of Trieste.
Sinking
After it was clear that Austria-Hungary had lost World War I, the Austrian government decided to give the ship, along with much of the fleet, to the newly-formed State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. This move would have avoided handing the fleet to the Allies, since the new state had declared neutrality. However, the now-idle Viribus Unitis and the rest of the former Austro-Hungarian fleet were soon targeted by the Italian Regia Marina. Viribus Unitis was sunk at anchor at Pula by a limpet mine attached by the crew of an Italian mignatta human torpedo on 1 November 1918, three days before the end of the war and only hours after command had been assumed by the new Croatian captain.[1]
Overnight, an Italian sabotage team from a nearby patrol boat, who had not heard of the new State's creation and non-belligerence, penetrated the harbour of Polaand laid two 200 kg mines under the Viribus Unitis ready to explode at 6:30 sharp. The two-man team was captured and taken aboard Viribus Unitis, where they informed Vuković of what they had done (but without revealing the exact position of the explosive).
Vuković arranged for the prisoners (Raffaele Paoletti and Raffaele Rossetti) to be taken safely to the sister ship Tegetthof, and ordered the evacuation of the ship. But the explosion did not happened at 6:30 and Vukovic returned to the ship with many sailors (believing mistakenly that the Italians had lied). He therefore remained on his ship and went down with her and 300-400 of her crew when the mines exploded shortly afterwards at 6:44
The battleship sank in 15 minutes.[1] The two Italian crew were interned until the end of the war and were honored by the Kingdom of Italy with the Gold Medal of Military Valor.
Commemorations
Two deactivated shells from the ship's main guns form part of the Faro della Vittoria (Victory Lighthouse) built on a hill above Trieste as a war memorial in the 1920s. This also includes the anchor of the torpedo-boat Audace, the first Italian warship to enter Trieste at the end of World War I.[2]
A meticulously detailed cut-away model of SMS Viribus Unitis, about 6 metres long, is on display at the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum in Vienna, Austria.
The ship's anchor, as well as that of her sister ship (Tegetthoff) can be seen at the entrance to the Naval History Museum in Venice, Italy. The museum also has, on display, segments of the mignatta human torpedo used to sink Viribus Unitis.
References
See also
- List of ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy
- List of ship commissionings in 1912
- List of ship launches in 1911
- List of shipwrecks in 1918
- Tegetthoff class battleship
- The SMS Viribus Unitis was recently selected as the main motif of a very high value collectors' coin: the Austrian SMS Viribus Unitis commemorative coin, minted on September 13, 2006. The obverse side shows the flagship Viribus Unitis as seen from the deck of an accompanying ship in the fleet. Two other ships of an older class can be seen in the background.
External links
