The Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine (Imperial and Royal War Navy), abbreviated as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine.
This navy existed under this name after the formation of the Dual Monarchy in 1867 and continued in service until the end of World War I in 1918. Prior to 1867, the country's naval forces were those of the Austrian Empire. By 1915 a total of 33,735 naval personnel served in the k.u.k. Kriegsmarine.
Neither Austria nor Hungary had a coast or sea ports after World War I, thus having little or no need for a naval force. The available ports in the Adriatic Sea became parts of Italy and Yugoslavia (today Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro).
Ships of the k.u.k. Kriegsmarine were designated SMS, for Seiner Majestät Schiff (His Majesty's Ship).
Read more about Austro-Hungarian Navy: Ports and Locations, Austrian Naval Air Arm, Problems Affecting The Navy, Famous Personnel, Naval Flags
Famous quotes containing the word navy:
“People run away from the name subsidy. It is a subsidy. I am not afraid to call it so. It is paid for the purpose of giving a merchant marine to the whole country so that the trade of the whole country will be benefitted thereby, and the men running the ships will of course make a reasonable profit.... Unless we have a merchant marine, our navy if called upon for offensive or defensive work is going to be most defective.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)