Construction
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The assembly of the first gun turret for 'Viribus Unitis', Škoda Works in Pilsen
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The launching of 'Szent István', Rijeka Harbour
The Austro-Hungarian government ordered the construction of a new fleet in 1908, following the announcement of the start of construction of the first dreadnought for the Regia Marina (the Italian navy), the RN Dante Alighieri. The ships of this class were among the first ships to utilize triple gun turrets for their main armament, the first one being the Italian battleship Dante Alighieri, which the Austro-Hungarian ships were supposed to act against in a war; as for the Italian ship, this choice made it possible to deliver a heavier broadside than other dreadnoughts of a similar size. The triple turrets were built at the Škoda Works, in Plzeň, Bohemia (Czech republic), and was available at short notice because Škoda were already working on a design for an order for the Russian navy.
The first unit was to bear the name of Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, an Austrian naval admiral of the 19th century, but Franz Joseph I wanted it to be named after his personal motto, Viribus Unitis (Latin for "With united forces"). In any event, the class name remained Tegetthoff.
The first three ships were built at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino yard, Trieste, but as a condition of agreeing to the construction and financing of the new fleet, the Hungarian parliament insisted that one of the battleships be built at the Hungarian facility, the Danubius yard at Fiume – Rijeka (pronounced: riiyeca), now Croatia. However, the Danibius shipyard had until then never built anything larger than a destroyer, therefore delayed construction as the yard was extended in preparation for the dreadnought. For this reason the final ship, delivered seventeen months late, was given a Hungarian name—named Szent István after Saint Stephen, the first king and patron saint of Hungary.
Read more about this topic: Tegetthoff Class Battleship
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