SMS Helgoland (1867)

Austro-Hungarian Navy Frigate (1871-1890)

This is the last Austro-Hungarian Frigate built before 1870. Helgoland was classed as a screw corvette, even a sloop in some publications (like Conways) due to her tonnage. She was wooden built, not composite, armed with British Guns, and was the first of her kind. Completed at Pola in 1869, she roamed the mediterranean with a highlight, her 1872–1873 training cruise to the Atlantic and Americas. However after 1880 she remained less active, except in 1886 to west and southern Africa, and was decommissioned ten years later in 1890, after service as a training ship.

Conway’s photo, the only one known.

Design of the class

When looking at the Austro-Hungarian Navy, it is tempting to look at Ironclads first, especially in the context of the battle of Lissa (1866), but in 1870, the yound Empire had also a fleet of Frigates, Corvettes and Sloops: She boasted the screw Frigates Novara, Schwarzenberg, Radetzky, and corvettes such as Donau (two of them), Herzherzog Friedrich, Radetzky, and Saida. The what Conways classes as sloops, SMS Helgoland was the first, followed by the larger Fasana (1870) and the Aurora class (1870-73) to complete this sail and steam fleet. There was large gap between constructions. Most Frigates were 1850s Austrian constructions, and there was a large gap between the Herzherzog Friedrich class (1857-58) and the Radetzky class (ii) launched in 1872-73. They had been built at STT, a new state-sponsored shipyard.

Difference between screw Frigates, Corvettes and Sloops were not that easy in that era. All three had the same barque style or ship style rigging with three masts. Some authors states Frigates were in the range of 1,800 to 3,500 tonnes, corvettes below 1,800 tonnes and sloops below 1,200 tonnes, but this was varied among nations. It seems the major separation factor was about their armament, not their tonnage: A frigate had about 30 guns and more, a corvette less than this, and a sloop about a dozen at the most. But from the 1850s to the 1870s innovation in artillery meant the number of guns had less importance than their size and capabilities, swapping from smootbore muzzle-loaders on rolling mounts to rifled rear-loaders on rails.

Construction of SMS Helgoland was decided after the battle of Lissa, at Pola Navy Yard. The name was chosen to honor the Austro-Prussian fleet that foight the Danes in the Second Schleswig War. She was to be armed with few, modern British guns but comparable to the Herzherzog Friedrich class, started at Venice in the 1950s, notably as replacement, with largely a wooden hull. She was laid down on 17 September 1866 and launched on 23 December 1867, then completed on 3 April 1869.

Hull and general design

Helgoland (after the 1864, not the 4 June 1849 naval battle) was 74.26 m (243 ft 8 in) long overall, had a beam of 11.38 m (37 ft 4 in) and draft of 5.3 m (17 ft 5 in) for a displacement of 1,798 long tons (1,827 t). The wooden hull still below the waterline was entirely copper-sheathed, to protect it from biofouling as well as damage from marine parasites such as shipworm. She had a crew of 235 officers and enlisted sailors. Superstructures were reduced to a minimum, with access hatches on deck, some dorade boxes, fixations for service boats (with probably six under davits) and a flying bridge across at the rear, with the helmsman post and his traditional double wheel close to the rudder axle.

Officers were housed aft in probably luxurious acomodations. The big issue about the appearance of this ship is that there are very few pictures, engraving, just one photo (published by Conways). What else that may have existed, is no longer with us today. We can however see she had a clipper style bow and stern, and the classic 3-masted arrangement of earlier ships, on four stages. She was moderately decorated with yellow (golden) painted frise to the figurehead forward, as well as on her “castle” aft. The hull was all black, decks and structures, without gun port white line. Masts were in “buff” color and the underside having a yellowish-green hue due to the copper plating. No waterline per se, as the sole photo of this ship shows the sheating went well above the waterline, about one meter.

Powerplant

Helgoland was powered by a 2-cylinder, horizontal marine steam engine. There was a single screw propeller, likely two-bladed, which was common at the time. She likely had from four to six boilers, albeit this detail is unknown. She however had a single funnel to exhaust these, located amidships. It was between the fore and main mast. It may have been also telectopic. This propulsive plant ensured an output of 1,127 indicated horsepower (ihp) equivalent to 840 kilowatt, for a top speed of 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph).

As for her three-masted sailing rig to supplement her steam engine for long crossings, it was probably of the “ship rig” type with four square yard levels and spankers, plus a long bowprit. A full rigging intended for long range sailing, which she did in her career (see below), but required a large crew. With 235 men, it was not that massive but the 1860s rigging was more “automated”, albeit capstans were still manned, not steam-powered yet. Men were doubling as gunnery and sail crews, since steam power was used in combat. Depending on her mensurations she could have been 10-11 knots under sails, just as much as under steam. We don’t known if the propeller could be hoisted up to reduce drag, but if two-bladed, if was aligned to the keel for less drag.

Armament

Helgoland had a modern (for the time) main battery ordered in Britain: Two 7 inches (178 mm) muzzle-loading guns from Armstrong, four 8-pounder guns and a single 3-pounder gun, likely on deck forward, acting as chase gun but likely on a swivel mount. It could have been used as salute gun albeit, it was rifled and thus likely had a long barrel.

7 inches (178 mm) MLs

All we know is that these were muzzle-loaders, likely smoothbore. They were posted on either side of the main battery amidship to keep balance. Probably old-style wheeled mount so traverse was very limited. No more information on these. Data for the RBL and RMLs are plentyful however. One possible look-alike was the 1846 British 68-pounder smootbore (hence the image) which true bore caliber was 8.12 inches (20.6 cm), with shells and shots 7.92 inches (20.1 cm) in diameter.

8-Pdr guns

It was considered a “light gun”, weighting still around 1000 kgs and 200 kgs for the mount for approx. 2 meters long, and a shell weight around 3.5-3.6 kgs. The exact model is unknown, albeit conways precises (p.276) it was rifled, not smoothbore, albeit perhaps muzzle-loading. There was no “8-pdr” rifled in British service (as far as the search goes), so it might have been made in Austria. The single 3-pdr on deck was also rifled. These two were located on either side of the main 7-inches gun on the broadside, for four total.

Career of SMS Helgoland

Once in service, SMS Helgoland joined a squadron patrolling the Levant, eastern Mediterranean under command of Rear Admiral Friedrich von Pöck, on board Erzherzog Ferdinand Max and with the older Salamander, gunboats Streiter, Reka, and Hum and a screw schooner (Kerka). In August she was in Alexandria meeting the transport ship Bravo and escort a gift to the Emperor from Isma’il Pasha. She departed on 27 August but storms underway forced them shelter into Cape Krio, Gavdos, then Zakynthos and Corfu on 7 September. Next she returned to the east, met ironclads in Smyrna and with Erzherzog Ferdinand Max from 28 September she visited Mytilene (2 October) and back to Smyrna. On the 21st Pöck came aboard with pilots and they sailed to Varna to meet Franz Joseph’s yacht Greif. Helgoland escorted Greif and two steamers to Constantinople, meeting the Ottoman imperial yacht Sultaniye. Next was a tour the eastern Mediterranean. She was ordered to Beirut and she escorted Greif back south to Port Said on 15 November for the opening ceremonies for the Suez Canal. She left on 25 November via Corfu to recoal and arrived in Trieste on 3 December, then left for Pola on 6 December for repairs.

Helgoland had a refit, and made a small trip from Pola to Kumbor. She then joined Habsburg, Hum, and Kerka at Gravosa on 20 May 1870, and she followed Habsburg to Fasana for shooting practice. Helgoland returned to Pola and started again on 18 June for Port Said, reached on 16 July. She stayed here for 6 day and sailed for Syria via Beirut, then Port Said in August. She was back to Corfu on 9 September for exercises with the active squadron (Habsburg, Dandolo, Hum, Reka, Kerka). She became a station ship in Marseille by October. A severe storm underway destroyed her jibboom, damaged her rudder, she had repairs in Cagliari. She arrived on 16 November, remained until 1 April, before a tour of the Mediterranean (Barcelona, Mahón, Menorca, Naples, Palermo, Smyrna). Her squadron commander ordered repairs, so she returned to Pola on 2 June. She remained drydocked from 7 March 1872 (copper bottom cleaned, screw replaced) but later dry-docked again (masts, hull re-caulking, interior spaces, guns, new deck house at the stern).

Naval budgets curtailed activities so she only had rare training cruises. She made one in the Mediterranean in 1872, reaching Cartagena on 8 December. Stormed forced her into Roquetas de Mar and she proceed to Gibraltar, replenished and departed on 22 December, crossed the Atlantic to Bahia, Brazil on 4 February 1873. Newt was Salvador, a few repairs and replenishments and she arrived in Barbados on 11 March, then Kingston for more repairs and on 31 March, Port Royal, Havana, eaching the US East coast in May and New York City on 8 May. She left on 3 June for Rhode Island, then Newport for a crossing back to Portugal, rounding Cape St. Vincent on 21 July for Gibraltar, resupplying and repairs. She was ordered to Cádiz (revolutionary unrest) until 4 August, back to Gibraltar and then Pola on 29 August, decommissioned on 3 September.

She was recommissioned on 3 November 1873 for another long training cruise from 11 November, via Fasana and Lissa, Port Said, the Suez Canal, Suez, Aden, Zanzibar. Nearby she helped a stranded French barque Benecia on a coral reef. She left on 31 January to Bagamoyo, Kingani River and back to Zanzibar, the Comoro Islands, and Madagascar, Nosy Be. In March she sailed to Mauritius. In May she had repairs here (boilers, foremast replaced) and in June, she was underway when returning to fix her distiller. In August she arrived at Simon’s Town, procceded into the Atlantic to the Azores (November). A devere cyclone damaged her rudder. Next she arrived at São Miguel Island for repairs, departing on 14 March 1875, via Tangiers and Gibraltar, she arrived at Pola on 7 May after a 24,699 nautical miles (45,743 km; 28,423 mi) trip. Her next overseas adventure was 1879 to Australia, representing Austria-Hungary at the Sydney International Exhibition. She had a last overseas cruise in 1886, seeing ports in western and southern Africa, and was decommissioned for good in 1890, BU in 1897.

Read More/Src

Books

Pawlik, Georg (2003). Des Kaisers Schwimmende Festungen: die Kasemattschiffe Österreich-Ungarns. Neuer Wissenschaftlicher Verlag.
Scheltema de Heere, R. F. (1973). Fisher, Edward C. (ed.). “Austro-Hungarian Battleships”. Warship International. X
Sieche, Erwin & Bilzer, Ferdinand (1979). “Austria-Hungary”. Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1860–1905.
Sondhaus, Lawrence (1994). The Naval Policy of Austria-Hungary, 1867–1918. Purdue University Press.

Links

shipstamps.co.uk/
weaponsandwarfare.com
en.wikipedia.org SMS_Helgoland
navypedia KuK cruisers