Zenta-class cruiser

Line-drawing of the Zenta class

In January 1895, the senior officers of the Austro-Hungarian Navy decided to build two types of modern cruisers: large armored cruisers of around 5,800 long tons (5,900 t) and smaller vessels of around 1,700 long tons (1,700 t). The latter were intended to screen the battleships of the main fleet, scouting for enemy vessels and protecting them from torpedo boat attacks; they would also serve abroad on foreign stations. In a preliminary meeting on 22 January, the naval command issued a set of basic specifications for the projected small cruiser; the length was to be 94 m (308 ft 5 in), and the ship should carry an armament of eight 12 cm (4.7 in) guns and sixteen 47 mm (1.9 in) guns. The chief constructor, Josef Kuchinka, prepared the initial design based on specifications that had been issued by the naval command, and his proposal featured a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) and a cruising range of 3,800 nautical miles (7,000 km; 4,400 mi) at a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). Since the speed of the new cruisers was the highest priority, the naval engineer Jakob Fassl held an evaluation in February to determine the best boiler to install in the vessels. Consideration was given to a number of boilers, including White-Forster, Thornycroft, and Locomotive boilers.[1]

Work on the first vessel, provisionally titled "Kreuzer A", began on 8 August 1896, though the design would not be finalized for another nine months. During the lengthy design process, a number of changes were made. The torpedo tubes, originally planned to be in deck-mounted launchers, were moved to the hull above the waterline. The navy ultimately settled on Yarrow boilers for the ships, since it saved 56 long tons (57 t) compared to the other types. Triple-expansion steam engines were selected, but to achieve the high speed desired, they were installed "upside down", with the low-pressure cylinder in front of the higher-pressure cylinders. Because the ships were expected to serve overseas, the design staff originally planned to include a supplementary sailing rig with a surface area of 586 m² (6,310 sq ft). The second member of the class, "Kreuzer B", received a layer of Muntz metal over a layer of teak to protect her hull on long voyages. Several other navies similarly experimented with sheathing their steel cruiser hulls, but the practice failed to produce the desired results. By the time design work had finished, the ships' displacement had grown to about 2,350 long tons (2,390 t). Due to the rapid pace of technological development at the turn of the 20th century, the Zenta class was rapidly rendered obsolete, and already by 1910, they were in need of replacement.[2]

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• Sondhaus, Lawrence (1994). The Naval Policy of Austria-Hungary, 1867–1918. West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press. ISBN 978-1-55753-034-9.