SMS Kígyó

SMS Kígyó (left), before 1920
History
Austria-Hungary
NameSMS Kígyó
NamesakeHungarian for snake
BuilderYarrow Shipbuilders, England
Laid down1898
Launched11 April 1899
Completed31 January 1900
RenamedTorpedoboot 14, 1910
FateSold for scrapping, 1920
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeCobra-class torpedo boat
Displacement132 long tons (134 t)
Length46.5 m (152 ft 7 in)
Beam4.6 m (15 ft 1 in)
Draft1.4 m (4 ft 7 in)
PropulsionReciprocating engines, 1,800 hp (1,342 kW)
Speed24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph)
Complement2 officers, 20 men
Armament

SMS Kígyó was a torpedo boat of the Austro-Hungarian Navy (KuK). In 1910, she was renamed Torpedoboot 14.

Design and construction

The Cobra-class torpedo boats were ordered in Great Britain for the Austro-Hungarian Navy, their design being based on the SMS Viper.

The ship was built at the Yarrow shipyard in London.[2] The torpedo boat was laid down in 1898, was launched on 11 April 1899, and commissioned on 31 January 1900.[3]

Technical data

The ship was a small coastal torpedo boat.[3] The length of the design was 46.6 meters (152 ft 11 in) (45.9 m, 150 ft 7 in between the perpendiculars), the width was 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in) and the draft was 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in).[3] Her standard displacement was 115 tons, and the full displacement was 135 tons.[3][4] The ship was powered by a triple-expansion steam engine with a design power of 1,800 horsepower (1,300 kW) (maximum 2,000 hp, 1,500 kW), steam supplied by two Yarrow boilers.[3] The single-screw propulsion system allowed to reach a speed of 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph).[3] She also held a stock of 30 tons of coal.

She was equipped with three 450 mm single torpedo tubes.[2] The artillery armament consisted of two single 47 mm L/33 Hotchkiss on-board cannons.

Operational history

In 1910, on the basis of the ordinance on the normalization of names, Kígyó was renamed Torpedoboot 14. In 1913, she underwent a major renovation, and in 1914 she was adapted to act as a seaplane tender, one torpedo tube being removed to be replaced by a catapult.[3] Due to the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy on 1 November 1918, the KuK flag was hoisted on the vessel for the last time.[5] As a result of the Treaty of Trianon, the ship was awarded to Great Britain.[2][6] The vessel was scrapped in 1920.[3]

References

  1. ^ "KuKKriegsmarine". www.kuk-kriegsmarine.at. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  2. ^ a b c Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London. p. 280.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Greger, René (1976). Austro-Hungarian Warships of World War I. London. p. 53.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ J. Gozdawa-Gołębiowski; T. Wywerka Prekurat (1994). Pierwsza wojna światowa na morzu. Warsaw. p. 528.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Rochowicz, Robert. The fate of the ships of the Austro-Hungarian fleet after October 30, 1918. p. 43.
  6. ^ Rochowicz, Robert. The fate of the ships of the Austro-Hungarian fleet after October 30, 1918. p. 47.