Editing Tegetthoff-class battleship (section)

== Background ==

[[File:Adriatic Sea, 1911.png|thumb|left|300px|Map of Austria-Hungary and Italy in 1911, with the Adriatic Sea laying between them.]]

With the establishment of the [[Austrian Naval League]] in September 1904 and the October appointment of Vice-Admiral [[Rudolf Montecuccoli]] to the posts of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy (German: ''Marinekommandant'') and Chief of the Naval Section of the War Ministry (German: ''Chef der Marinesektion''),{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|p=170}}{{sfn|Vego|1996|p=38}} the [[Austro-Hungarian Navy]] began an expansion program befitting a [[Great Power]]. Montecuccoli immediately pursued the efforts championed by his predecessor, Admiral [[Hermann von Spaun]], and pushed for a greatly expanded and modernized navy.{{sfn|Vego|1996|pp=38–39}}

Additional motivations existed which led to the development of the ''Tegetthoff'' class beyond Montecuccoli's own plans for the navy. New railroads had been constructed through Austria's [[Central Eastern Alps|Alpine passes]] between 1906 and 1908, linking [[Trieste]] and the [[Dalmatia]]n coastline to the rest of the Empire. Lower tariffs on the port of Trieste aided the expansion of the city and similar growth in Austria-Hungary's merchant marine. These changes necessitated the development of a new line of battleships capable of more than the defense of Austria-Hungary's coastline.{{sfn|Sokol|1968|pp=68–69}}

Prior to the turn of the century, [[sea power]] had not been a priority in Austrian foreign policy and the navy had little public interest or support. However, the appointment of Archduke [[Franz Ferdinand]] – heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and a prominent and influential supporter of naval expansion – to the position of [[admiral]] in September 1902 greatly increased the importance of the navy in the eyes of both the general public and the Austrian and Hungarian Parliaments.{{sfn|Sokol|1968|p=68}}{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|p=144}} Franz Ferdinand's interest in naval affairs stemmed primarily from his belief that a strong navy would be necessary to compete with Italy, which he viewed as Austria-Hungary's greatest regional threat.{{sfn|Vego|1996|p=43}}

The ''Tegetthoff''-class battleships were authorized when Austria-Hungary was engaged in a naval arms race with its nominal ally, [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]].{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|p=194}}{{sfn|Sokol|1968|p=158}} Italy's ''[[Regia Marina]]'' was considered the most important naval power in the region, which Austria-Hungary measured itself against, often unfavorably. The disparity between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian navies had existed for decades; in the late 1880s Italy boasted the third-largest fleet in the world, behind the [[French Navy]] and the British [[Royal Navy]].{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|p=128}}{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|p=173}} While that disparity had been somewhat equalized with the [[Imperial Russian Navy]] and [[German Imperial Navy]] surpassing the Italian Navy in 1893 and 1894 respectively,{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|p=128}} by 1903 the balance began to shift towards Italy's favor with the Italians claiming 18 [[pre-dreadnoughts]] in commission or under construction compared to 6 Austro-Hungarian battleships.{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|p=173}}

Following the construction of the final two {{sclass|Regina Elena|battleship|2}}s in 1903, the Italian Navy elected to construct [[Pisa-class cruiser|a series of large cruisers]] rather than additional battleships. Furthermore, a major scandal involving the [[Terni]] steelworks' armor contracts led to a government investigation that postponed several naval construction programs for three years. These delays meant that the Italian Navy would not initiate construction on another battleship until 1909, and provided the Austro-Hungarian Navy with an opportunity to address the disparity between the two fleets.{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|p=144}}

=== Austro-Italian naval arms race ===
[[File:SMS Viribus Unitis2.jpg|thumb|300px|''Viribus Unitis'' at anchor in 1914|alt=A large battleship sits motionless in the water with smoke coming out of its funnels and three small boats moving beside her in the foreground.]]

As late as 1903 the Italian advantage in naval arms appeared so large that the difficulty of Austria-Hungary catching up to the Italian Navy, much less surpassing it, appeared insurmountable. Events changed, however, with the revolution in naval technology created by the launch of the British {{HMS|Dreadnought|1906|6}} in 1906 and the [[Anglo-German naval arms race]] that followed. The value of pre-dreadnought battleships declined rapidly and numerous ships in European navies were rendered obsolete, giving Austria-Hungary an opportunity to make up for past neglect in naval affairs. With an improved financial situation and budget from the [[Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867]], and with Archduke Ferdinand and Admiral Montecuccoli both supportive of constructing a new class of modern battleships, the stage was set for the development of Austria-Hungary's first and only class of dreadnought battleships.{{sfn|Vego|1996|p=39}}{{sfn|Sokol|1968|p=68}}

Shortly after assuming command as Chief of the Navy, Montecuccoli drafted his first proposal for a modern Austrian fleet in the spring of 1905. It was to consist of 12 battleships, 4 armored cruisers, 8 scout cruisers, 18 destroyers, 36 high seas torpedo craft, and 6 submarines. While these plans were ambitious, they lacked any ships the size of the ''Tegetthoff'' class.{{sfn|Vego|1996|p=39}} Additional proposals came from outside the Naval Section of the War Ministry. The [[Slovenes|Slovenian]] politician and prominent [[Trialism in Austria-Hungary|Trialist]] [[Ivan Šusteršič]] presented a proposal to the ''[[Reichsrat (Austria)|Reichsrat]]'' in 1905 calling for the construction of nine additional battleships.{{sfn|Kiszling|1953|p=234}} The Austrian Naval League also presented its proposals for the construction of a series of dreadnoughts. Petitioning the Naval Section of the War Ministry in March 1909 to construct three dreadnoughts of {{convert|19000|t|LT|0|sp=us}}, the League justified its proposal by arguing that a strong navy would be necessary to protect Austria-Hungary's growing merchant marine, and that Italian naval spending was twice Austria-Hungary's.{{sfn|Vego|1996|p=56}}

Following the construction of Austria-Hungary's last class of pre-dreadnought battleships, the {{sclass|Radetzky|battleship|4}},{{sfn|Sokol|1968|pp=150–151}} Montecuccoli submitted his first proposal for true dreadnought battleships for the Austro-Hungarian Navy.{{sfn|Vego|1996|p=53}} Taking advantage of political support for naval expansion he had obtained in both Austria and Hungary over the course of several years, and Austrian fears of a war with Italy over the [[Bosnian Crisis]] during the previous year, Montecuccoli drafted a new memorandum to [[Emperor of Austria|Emperor]] [[Franz Joseph I]] in January 1909 proposing an enlarged Austro-Hungarian Navy consisting of 16 battleships, 12 cruisers, 24 destroyers, 72 seagoing torpedo boats, and 12 submarines. While this was a modified version of his 1905 plan, one notable change was the inclusion of four additional dreadnought battleships with a displacement of {{convert|20000|t|LT|0|sp=us}} at load. These ships would become the ''Tegetthoff'' class.{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|p=183}}{{sfn|Vego|1996|pp=62, 69}}

{|class="wikitable"
|+
! colspan="6" |Naval strength of Italy and Austria-Hungary in May 1909{{sfn|Vego|1996|p=59}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |'''Type'''
| colspan="2" |'''Italy'''
| colspan="2" |'''Austria-Hungary'''
| rowspan="2" |'''Italian/Austro-Hungarian''' 
'''tonnage ratio'''
|-
|'''Number'''
|'''Tonnage'''
|'''Number'''
|'''Tonnage'''
|-
|Battleships
|10 (2 under construction)
|{{convert|124,112|t|LT|0|sp=us}}
|9 (3 under construction)
|{{convert|73,836|t|LT|0|sp=us}}
|1.7:1
|-
|Armored cruisers
|8 (2 under construction)
|{{convert|59,869|t|LT|0|sp=us}}
|3
|{{convert|18,992|t|LT|0|sp=us}}
|3.1:1
|-
|Protected cruisers
|6 (1 under construction)
|{{convert|14,605|t|LT|0|sp=us}}
|6
|{{convert|16,727|t|LT|0}}
|0.9:1
|-
|Torpedo vessels
|6
|{{convert|3,110|t|LT|0|sp=us}}
|6
|{{convert|2,730|t|LT|0|sp=us}}
|1.1:1
|-
|Destroyers
|17 (2 under construction)
|{{convert|5,698|t|LT|0|sp=us}}
|8 (4 under construction)
|{{convert|3,200|t|LT|0|sp=us}}
|1.8:1
|-
|High seas torpedo boats
|8 (8 under construction)
|{{convert|5,936|t|LT|0|sp=us}}
|17 (7 under construction)
|{{convert|3,400|t|LT|0|sp=us}}
|1.7:1
|-
|Coastal torpedo boats
|59
|{{convert|5,254|t|LT|0|sp=us}}
|28 (14 under construction)
|{{convert|2,410|t|LT|0|sp=us}}
|2.1:1
|-
|Submarines
|7 (5 under construction)
|{{convert|1,155|t|LT|0|sp=us}}
|2 (6 under construction)
|{{convert|474|t|LT|0|sp=us}}
|2.4:1
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''121 (20 under construction)'''
|'''{{convert|219,759|t|LT|0|sp=us}}'''
|'''79 (34 under construction)'''
|'''{{convert|121,769|t|LT|0|sp=us}}'''
|'''1.8:1'''
|}

=== Proposals ===
[[File:SMS Zrinyi.png|thumb|left|300px|A ship of the ''Radetzky'' class, {{SMS|Zrínyi||2}}. The ''Tegetthoff'' class was initially based on the design of the ''Radetzky'' class]]
Following up on Montecuccoli's memorandum, the Naval Section of the War Ministry submitted its specifications for the ''Tegetthoff''-class battleships to [[Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino]] in October 1908, who in turn hired [[naval architecture|naval architect]] [[Siegfried Popper]] to produce a design. In December 1908, the Naval Section of the War Ministry also began a competition for the design of the ''Tegetthoff'' class, with the aim of producing alternate designs aside from those Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino would present.{{sfn|Sieche|1991|p=113}}

Emperor Franz Joseph I approved Montecuccoli's plan in January 1909, who subsequently circulated it among the governments in Vienna and Budapest.{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|p=183}} In March, Popper presented five pre-project designs for the ''Tegetthoff'' class. These initial designs were effectively enlarged versions of the ''Radetzky'' class and lacked the triple [[gun turret|turrets]] which would later be found on the ''Tegetthoff''s.{{sfn|Scheltema de Heere|1973|p=77}} In April 1909, Popper returned with a new set of proposals, named "Variant VIII" which included triple turrets.{{sfn|Sieche|1991|p=114}} That same month, Montecuccoli's memorandum found its way into Italian newspapers, sparking hysteria among the Italian people and politicians. The Italian Navy used the report as justification for initiating a new dreadnought program. In June 1909 {{ship|Italian battleship|Dante Alighieri||2}} was laid down at the naval shipyard in [[Castellammare di Stabia]].{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|p=183}}