Yes, there was once a Austrian Navy. Austro-Hungarian to be precise.
This ship is the SMS SZENT ISTVAN; background here. A little trivia; she was actually a "Hungarian" Battleship. So, all those jokes about the Hungarian Navy aren't all that out in the weeds.
the true fullbore were the tiny Italian torpedo boats that sunk her...
ReplyDeletemore info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Szent_Istv%C3%A1n
Milan Vego, who was just awarded the general prize for this year by the US Naval Institute, can rightfully be considered a member of an offshoot of this illustrious navy, see:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/essay-contests
Also, Captain/Baron (Freiherr) von Trapp was the premier U-boat ACE for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in World War I, to my knowledge the only submarine skipper to skink a moving light cruiser with a torpedo during the war. NO wonder Doenitz and the Nazis wanted him. "The Hills are alive...." john t. kuehn
Threadjack: Obama just announced the post-war draw down of DoD.
ReplyDeleteWay to suck, Barry......
capt von trapp (sound of music) was austrian navy iirc.
ReplyDeleteGotta admire the guy above and beyond his prowess with der unterseeboote.
ReplyDeleteI mean, he dumped a really good looking squash (l) for an even better looking squash (r).
I always thought the triple turrets were interesting. Didn't realize this class was the first to have them though. The calmness of the sea had to have been another factor in the low death toll.
ReplyDelete