Custoza 1877
| Name | No | Yard No | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Comp | Fate |
| Custoza | 79 | STT, San Rocco | 17.11.1869 | 20.8.1872 | 2/1875 | TS 1902, accommodation hulk 1914 |
|
Displacement normal, t |
7609 |
|
Displacement full, t |
7731 |
|
Length, m |
95.0 oa 92.1 pp |
|
Breadth, m |
17.7 |
|
Draught, m |
7.90 |
|
No of shafts |
1 |
|
Machinery |
1 2-cyl HRCR, 8 rectangular boilers |
|
Power, h. p. |
4158 |
|
Max speed, kts |
13.7 |
|
Fuel, t |
coal 600 |
| Endurance, nm(kts) | 2800(10) |
| Armour, mm | wrought iron; belt: 230, casemates: 175 - 150 |
|
Armament |
8 x 1 - 263/20 G. L/22 C.73, 6 x 1 - 87/22 G. L/24 M.75, 2 x 1 - 66/16 G. L/18 |
|
Complement |
548 |
Project history: Chief Engineer Romako designed two casemate ships, Custoza and Erzherzog Albrecht - the first iron ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy - after studying the results of the Battle of Lissa. He arranged the guns at two levels, so that they could bear forward while the ship was speeding up to ram the enemy. His designs emphasised less speed and fewer guns, in favour of high defensive capability. Originally Custoza was fully-rigged, but the spars were reduced in 1877 to schooner rig with three square sails on the foremast.
Ship protection: 229mm(amidships)-152mm-127mm(ends) belt protected all ship length and extended from 1.5m under wl to 2.1m above wl and was backed by 203mm teak layer. Two-deck casemate (16m long) was connected with upper edge of the belt and was backed by 260mm wood. Lower part was protected by 178mm sides and 127mm transverse bulkheads, upper part by 152mm sides and 127mm fwd and 114mm aft transverse bulkheads.
Modernizations: 1882: + 4 - 350 TT (1 bow, 2 beam, 1 stern)
1890s: + 4 x 1 - 47/30 SFK L/33 H, 5 x 5 - 47/22 SFK L/25 H, 2 x 5 - 25/41 Nordenfeldt
Naval service: Custoza was named after the Battle of Custozza in northern Italy, but due to a spelling error in the official papers she was christened Custoza. From 1914 she served as a workers' accommodation ship and in 1920 she was ceded to Italy as a war reparation.
Custoza
Many thanks to Wolfgang Stöhr for additional information on this page.
© Ivan Gogin, 2014