SMS Novara (1913)

For other ships of the same name, see SMS Novara.
The damaged Austrian cruiser Novara after the battle of the Otranto Straits, 15 May 1917.
History
Austro-Hungary
Name: Novara
Namesake: Battle of Novara in 1849
Laid down: 1912
Launched: 1913
France
Name: Thionville
Namesake: Thionville
Decommissioned: 1942
Status: scrapped 1942
General characteristics
Class & type: Novara-class cruiser
Displacement:
  • 3,380 tons (designed)
  • 3,940 tons (full load)
Length: 130.64 m (428.6 ft)
Beam: 12.79 m (42.0 ft)
Draught: 5 m (16 ft)
Propulsion:
  • 16 × Yarrow boilers, 6 × Parsons steam turbines
  • 25,130 shp (18,740 kW)
Speed: 27 knots (50 km/h)
Complement: 327
Armament:
  • 9 × 10 cm (3.9 in) guns
  • 1 × 7 cm (2.8 in) gun
  • 6 × 53.3 cm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes

SMS Novara[1] was a Novara-class light cruiser of the Austro-Hungarian Navy which served during World War I.[2]

Construction

The launch of Novara

In 1912, the cruiser Novara[2] was constructed for the Austro-Hungarian Navy, based on an improved design of SMS Admiral Spaun. As a smaller cruiser, the four-funnel Novara had a displacement of 3,500 tons, a length of 424 feet (129 m), beam of 42 feet (13 m), and a complement of 318 crew. The ship carried armament of nine 3.9-inch (99.1 mm) guns and one 47-mm landing gun, plus four 17.7-inch (449.6 mm) torpedoes. The ship's engines provided 25,130 shp (18,740 kW) of power giving Novara a maximum speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). The cruiser had an armour belt of 2.5 inches (64 mm) and deck armour of 0.75 inches (19 mm).

Service history

Novara was the flagship of Admiral Miklós Horthy, later regent of Hungary. The vessel took part in the Battle of the Strait of Otranto on 14/15 May 1917, during which 14 Allied trawlers were sunk. Novara was slightly damaged when an Allied shell fractured one of its steam pipes, leading to a loss of power. She limped home.[3]

Novara was awarded to France following the end of World War I.[2] The ship was renamed Thionville and incorporated into the French fleet. The ship was scrapped in 1942.

Notes

  1. ↑ In German language for ship names, "SMS" means "Seiner Majestät Schiff" (in English: "His Majesty's Ship"). See more at: Kaiserliche Marine.
  2. 1 2 3 "SMS Novara, Austrian Postal History" (mail ship & postmark), Stamp Domain, 2001-09-30, StampDomain.com webpage: StampDom-Novara.
  3. ↑ Kemp, Peter, The Otranto Barrage, in History of the First World War, BPC Publishing Ltd., Bristol, 1971, p.2269.

References


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