River Gunboats Read online

  One notable occasion was on 29 September 1893, when Independencia was ordered to pursue and recapture the rebel-controlled Los Andes during the combat of Espinillo. By the end of the fight, Independencia had suffered just one hit from a machine-gun round, but Los Andes was flooding from a water-line hit by a 24cm shell from Independencia, and the rebels hid between foreign ships before surrendering. Independencia served as a mother ship for submarines from 1948, before being transferred to the Coastguard for duty as pilot station ship Recalada-Practicos. She was scrapped in 1968. Her sister-ship also became a pilot station ship, Interseccion-Practicos and was scrapped in the same year.

  Launched:

  Independencia 1891, Libertad 1892 by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead.

  Independencia profile. (Drawing courtesy of The Blueprints)

  Dimensions:

  Displ: 2,336 tons; L: 73.1m/240ft; B: 13.53m/44ft 3in; D: 3.96m/13ft.

  Crew:

  155.

  Power/Speed:

  Twin screws; 2 × compound vertical steam engines, total 2,897ihp/14.4 knots.

  Guns/Armour:

  2 × 24cm Krupp BL; 4 × 4.7in Armstrong QF; 4 × 3-pounder Nordenfelt QF; 4 × 1in Maxim-Nordenfelt three-barrelled MG; 2 × 18in Whitehead torpedo tubes above the waterline/8in belt 5ft deep, closed by front 8in and rear 6in cross bulkheads; Curved protective deck 1in thick behind the belt, 2in thick at the extremities, curving down at the bow to reinforce the ram and extending to the stern to protect the steering gear; Barbette trunks 8in thick (upper part) and 5in thick (lower part); Main turrets 5in vertical and 3in sloping sections. 1883: 2 × 9.2in Armstrong BL; 2 × 3-pounder Armstrong QF; 4 × 37mm Hotchkiss QF.

  Fate:

  Both scrapped 1968.

  ARA Paraná and Rosario

  The firm of Armstrong took over from Cammell Laird, to supply the last pair of armoured river gunboats, Paraná and Rosario. Following the previous ‘riverine battleships’, they too carried a heavy armament, with a pair of 6in howitzers for shore bombardment, able to drop their shells into trenches and gun emplacements on the river banks. The howitzers were backed up (literally) by two pairs of 12-pounder (3in) QF, but the close proximity as evidenced by the VIP photo below indicates that each group of three would be unlikely to be all fired directly over the bow or stern, due to severe blast interference.

  Rosario was commissioned on 7 August 1909, and Paraná the next day, but their delivery to Argentina was delayed by a diversion to Boulogne-sur-Mer, for the inauguration of the statue of General San Martin.

  Both gunboats had active careers patrolling the river systems, and carrying out cadet training on a regular annual basis, except during the Great War. Due to the unrestricted U-boat attacks on merchant ships, the supply of high-grade Welsh anthracite and other British coal was virtually cut off, and in 1917 both gunboats were laid up inactive. They served throughout the Second World War, Paraná being sold for scrap in August 1958. Rosario was sold in December 1959, and was dismantled in 1961 and 1962 in the San Fernando Canal, her teak decking being especially sought after for domestic flooring.

  Marshal Estigarriba, President of Paraguay, on board Paraná in 1939. Note the breech of the Vickers 6in howitzer to the right, and the close proximity of the muzzles of the two forward 12-pounders on the left. (Photo from Website www.histamar.org)

  ARA Paraná in grey, probably following the Great War. Both sister-ships originally had ornate bow scrolls, but here they have been removed. (Photo from Website www.histamar.org)

  Launched:

  Paraná 28 April 1908, Rosario 27 July 1908, by Armstrong, Newcastle-on-Tyne.

  Dimensions:

  Displ: 1,053 tons full load; L: 76.4m/250ft 8in; B: 9.8m/32ft 2in; D: 2.74m/9ft.

  Crew:

  145.

  Power/Speed:

  Twin screws; 2 × VTE steam engines, total 1,300ihp/15 knots.

  Guns/Armour:

  2 × 6in/12 cal Vickers howitzers; 6 × 3in/50 cal QF; 8 × 7.65mm MG; 4 × 75mm field guns for landing parties/4in belt of Krupp cemented; 1in protective deck.

  Fate:

  Paraná scrapped 1958; Rosario scrapped 1961–2.

  ARA Murature and King

  These patrol boats were laid down as a class of four minelayers during the Second World War. During their construction, Murature and King were reclassified as patrol boats, leaving the other two vessels, Piedra Buena and Azopardo, to be completed as anti-submarine frigates.

  ARA P-21 King coming alongside. (Photo: Argentine Armed Forces)

  Breech end of the forward 10.5cm DP gun on ARA King, photographed on 19 May 2004 at North Darsena. (Photo from Website www.histamar.org)

  Murature at least was initially armed with four 10.5cm DP guns, the stern two being unshielded. No 3 gun was later changed for a twin Bofors mounting.

  After service in the Antarctic, in 1947 Murature joined the River Squadron, and two years later became flagship of the River Plate division. King joined the river patrols in 1950. During the revolt against the Peron regime in September 1955, while defending the Rio Santiago Naval Base, Murature shot down a Peronist Avro Lincoln bomber. At that time King was immobilised with her engines removed, but she was towed to the West Dock and covered it against air and ground attack by Peronist forces.

  Both units spent much of their later careers patrolling the river systems, even visiting the Brazilian Amazon. Murature was scrapped in 2014, but her sister survived up until the time of writing, still in service.

  Launched:

  King 3 November 1943, Murature 1944, by Rio Santiago Naval Yard.

  Dimensions:

  Displ: 1,030 tons; L: 77m/252ft 7in; B: 9m/29ft 6in; D: 4m/13ft 1in.

  Crew:

  130.

  Power/Speed:

  Twin screws; 2 × Werkspoor diesel engines, total 2,500bhp/18 knots.

  Guns/Armour:

  4 (later 3) × 10.5cm DP; 4 × 40mm Bofors; MG.

  Fate:

  Murature sold for scrapping September 2014; King in active service 2017.

  Murature class in profile.

  AUSTRIA POST-1918

  Following the armistice signed on 3 November 1918 at the Villa Giusti, the entire Austro-Hungarian river flotilla was taken over by other nations. The Hungarians held the majority of the ships, and these took part in the brief fighting between the Communist regime and its neighbours. In April 1920 the victorious Allies finally decided on the allocation of the surviving Austro-Hungarian vessels.

  The Austrian Republic received no monitors, but were allocated the following river patrol boats:

  120-ton type

  Barsch (formerly ‘m’). On 30 July 1920 she was sold to Hungary (in exchange for the 60-ton patrol boat Siofok) and renamed Baja. For her subsequent service, see HUNGARY.

  Compo (formerly ‘n’). She in fact never entered Austrian service, and on 6 October 1927 was sold to Hungary and renamed Györ. For her subsequent service, see HUNGARY.

  Stör (formerly ‘p’). She was commissioned by Austria on 14 May 1921, but on 6 October 1927 was sold to Hungary and renamed Sopron. For her subsequent service, see HUNGARY.

  60-ton type

  Fogas (formerly ‘i’). On 6 October 1927 she was sold to Hungary and renamed Gödöllö. For her subsequent service, see HUNGARY.

  In addition, on 24 July 1927 Austria purchased Siofok (the former Austro-Hungarian Csuka) from Hungary. In Austrian service she did not take up her former name but was renamed Birago.

  1920–1938

  Birago

  After the Anschluss of 1938, the sole river patrol boat retained by Austria, the 60-ton Birago, was taken over by the German Kriegsmarine. They attempted to put her back into service and bring her up to modern German specifications, but the work was abandoned, and from 7 October 1939 she was scrapped at Linz.

  Pioneer Boats

  Between the wars, the Austrian Bundesheer Pioneer Corps operated a flotilla of small motorboats. When these were armed they carried 8mm Schwarzlose MG. The 33-ton boat G
azelle was armed with a 20mm cannon in addition to the MG.

  14-ton Schleppboot (tug)

  The 14-ton boats were named, in order of building, Krems, Drau, Mur, Traun, Salzach, Enns and Inn.

  Launched:

  April 1930 (Krems) – January 1937 (Inn), by Zeugsanstalt Krems.

  Dimensions:

  Displ: 14 tons; L: 14.4m/47ft 3in; B: 3m/9ft 10in; D: 0.80m/2ft 7½in.

  Power/Speed:

  Twin screws; diesel engines, total 200bhp/17 knots.

  Guns/Armour:

  3 × 8mm Schwarzlose MG.

  Barsch in Austrian service between April 1920 and July 1929. (Drawing courtesy of Erwin Sieche)

  Birago as in 1935 after being purchased from Hungary. Note the folding mainmast and the telescoping armoured crow’s nest. (Drawing courtesy of Erwin Sieche)

  14-ton Schleppboot. (Drawing by Erwin Sieche)

  The design built as Gazelle. (Drawing by Erwin Sieche)

  2cm Tankgewehr M 35. (Photo from Marine- und Flußkriegseinheiten by Erwin Steinböck)

  33-ton Schleppboot (tug) Gazelle

  Launched:

  1934 by Mittlere Schiffsteil.

  Dimensions:

  Displ: 32.8 tons; L: 21m/68ft 11in; B: 3.85m/12ft 7½in; D: 0.80m/2ft 7½in.

  Power/Speed:

  Twin screws; 2 × diesel engines, total 320bhp/11.8 knots.

  Guns/Armour:

  1 × 20mm M 35 cannon; 2 × 8mm Schwarzlose MG.

  1935 Kampfboot Designs

  In 1935 designs were drawn up for combat boats armed with cannon. Two types were envisaged, the 5-ton type with a 20mm cannon, and the 9-ton type with a 47mm Böhler anti-tank gun. In the event neither type would be built.

  1945–2006

  After the end of the Second World War, the Austrian government planned to build a flotilla of nine patrol boats to help secure the Danube as an international waterway. In fact only two boats were built, the small Oberst Brecht and the larger Niederösterreich.

  5-ton Kampfboot.

  9-ton Kampfboot. (Drawings by Erwin Sieche)

  The crew of Niederösterreich saluting a visiting Soviet squadron, Vienna, April 1985. (Photo courtesy of Erwin Sieche)

  Oberst Brecht

  Launched:

  1958 by Korneuburg Werft, No A601. Steel hull.

  Dimensions:

  Displ: 10 tons; L: 12.3m/40ft 4in; B: 2.51m/8ft 2in; D: 0.75m/2ft 5½in.

  Crew:

  6.

  Power/Speed:

  Twin screws; 2 × Graf & Stift diesel engines, total 290bhp/14 knots.

  Guns/Armour:

  1 × 84mm Carl Gustav recoilless anti-tank rifle; 1 × 0.50 cal Browning HMG.

  Fate:

  Stricken July 2006. Retained as museum exhibit.

  Niederösterreich

  Launched:

  1970 by Korneuburg Werft, No A604. Steel hull.

  Dimensions:

  Displ: 73 tons; L: 29.67m/97ft 4in; B: 5.41m/17ft 7in; D: 1.1m/3ft 7in.

  Crew:

  9.

  Power/Speed:

  Twin screws; 2 × MWM diesel engines, total 1,620hp/22 knots.

  Guns/Armour:

  1 × 20mm Oerlikon Mark 66 cannon; 1 × 84mm Carl Gustav recoilless anti-tank rifle; 1 × 0.50 cal Browning HMG; 2 × 7.62mm MG/Bulletproof bridge/wheel-house.

  Fate:

  Stricken July 2006. Retained as museum exhibit.

  The Patrouillenbootstaffel was operated by the Army Pioneers up until 31 July 2006. Apart from the high diesel consumption of Niederösterreich during a time of severe budgetary restrictions, it was realised that both patrol boats were vulnerable to tank fire from the banks, and to aircraft, especially while negotiating the many locks of the post-war Danube, which has been dammed at several points to install electricity-generating stations. With their retirement, the long history of the Austrian riverine forces was brought to a close.

  Oberst Brecht dazzle-painted. For a colour view, see Appendix 2.

  Oberst Brecht. (Drawing by Erwin Sieche)

  Niederösterreich. (Drawing by Erwin Sieche)

  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

  It is all too easy to dismiss the Austro-Hungarian Empire for its role in starting the First World War and its calamitous collapse at the end of that conflict. Apart from major contributions to art, music, ballet and architecture up to and during the Belle Époque, a visit to the entrance hall of the Vienna Army Museum will reveal the statues of the numerous Austrian marshals and generals who for centuries defended Central Europe against the expansion of the Ottoman Empire.

  In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Austrians were at the forefront of technical innovation. Robert Whitehead’s first successful automotive torpedo was developed for the Austrian Navy. Dr Porsche’s petrol-electric Landwehrzug all-wheel-drive artillery train was a sensation in 1912, the oceanographic exploration submersible Loligo was launched at Rijeka in 1913, and giant Škoda siege howitzers helped crush fortifications across Europe in 1914. At sea the Austro-Hungarian Navy were the first to launch dreadnoughts armed with triple turrets.

  On the Danube, for centuries the Austrians, then the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy and Empire, had maintained extensive flotillas of sail and oar-powered gunboats, blocking the river to Turkish encroachment. On Lake Garda, an Austrian flotilla had secured control of the lake during the Second and Third Wars of Italian Independence.

  The Austrians were the first to build modern armoured river gunboats of what would become the classic model, inspired by the USS Monitor. In fact their designs were so successful that one of the very first, the Leitha, has been fully restored to virtually her condition of 1873 as a museum ship, and at the time of writing at least one other example, the hulk of the Bodrog, still exists in Serbia, awaiting restoration in her turn. The introduction of the Maros class inspired the Germans to produce the Rhein and Mosel, and the existence of the Austro-Hungarian monitors almost certainly influenced the later Russian river monitor classes.

  Developments would include high-angle howitzers carried to fire over high river banks and nearby hills and into trench systems, controlled from armoured crows’ nests on telescoping masts. To pass under the Danube bridges, the masts would hinge at the base to fold flat. Later vessels had elaborate lattice masts which also telescoped and folded down.

  As rivers are relatively easy to blockade with mines, the Austro-Hungarian vessels could be fitted with complex mine rakes on the bows. Despite this, two of the monitors would fall victim to mines during the First World War. Once again, Austro-Hungarian technical skills would bring the lost vessels back into service relatively quickly.

  The two ‘Danube Dreadnoughts’, laid down but never completed, would have been tough opponents for all other river gunboats of the era. Projects for two even larger vessels were drawn up, but the design skills of the engineers were undermined by the collapse of the Empire during the Great War, and the later vessels would never be begun.

  To support the river monitors the Austrians also built a series of armoured river patrol boats, of which several would be deleted before and during the war. The initial classes of small vessels were adequate for patrol and policing duties, but were too vulnerable to modern artillery fire. However, the last 120-ton design was extremely successful and long-lived. This class would form the inspiration for the Czechoslovak President Masaryk.

  With the collapse of the Dual Monarchy in November 1918, most of the river monitors and patrol boats were divided up between various countries in the revised Europe of the post-war period. Their later developments can be traced under the individual country chapters. The European Danube Commission took over three of the oldest monitors, Leitha, Maros and Szamos, which were disarmed to be used as pontoons, and thanks to this Leitha was saved to be fully restored as a museum ship.

  Acknowledgements: All photos and plans in this chapter, apart from those taken from the official archives or marked otherwise, are courtesy of Erwin Sieche, many coming from his personal collection. />
  LAGOON GUNBOATS

  Analogous to river gunboats are many of the lake gunboats, such as those described in the following section, but the Austrian Navy also ordered special gunboats designed to operate withing the lagoon surrounding Venice. They were side-wheel paddle steamers, with the hull cut away at the stern to allow a clear field of fire for the large muzzle-loading guns. From the following photos and plan it is clear that they would not be able to operate on the open sea.

  They preceded the RN Rendel ‘Flatiron’ coast defence gunboats by some twelve years. By comparison the Rendel types were generally much larger, with the gun firing forward and aimed by manoeuvring the ship, as it could elevate but not traverse. The twin-screw Rendels could cross open stretches of water by lowering the gun by means of a hydraulic mechanism, which lowered the centre of gravity of the ship and improved stability. However, whenever a Rendel was required to voyage any distance from its base, for example to carry out shore bombardment, it would usually be towed by a larger vessel.

  The two vessels on the left and the third of the same type in the centre background are Austrian lagoon gunboats Nos II, III and VI seen at Venice between 1855 and 1866.

  A rear view of lagoon gunboat No I at Venice between 1855 and 1866. At this time the armament was a 48-pounder muzzle-loader. Note the extreme cutaway stern section to allow the large gun to traverse.