SMS Turul

SMS Turul was one of the dozen Huszár-class destroyers built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Completed in 1908, she served in World War I and was ceded to Italy as war reparations in 1920. The ship was scrapped shortly afterwards.

History
Austria-Hungary
Name	Turul
Builder	Danubius, Rijeka
Laid down	27 July 1907
Launched	9 August 1908
Completed	31 December 1908
Fate	Ceded to Italy, 1920, and scrapped
General characteristics (as built)
Class & type	Huszár-class destroyer
Displacement	390 t (380 long tons)
Length	68.39 m (224 ft 5 in) (o/a)
Beam	6.25 m (20 ft 6 in)
Draught	1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)
Installed power	4 × Yarrow boilers 6,000 ihp (4,500 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 triple-expansion engines
Speed	28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range	500 nmi (930 km; 580 mi) at 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Complement	70
Armament	1 × single 66 mm (2.6 in) gun 7 × single 47 mm (1.9 in) guns 2 × single 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes

Design and description

The Huszar-class ships had a flush deck design with a distinctive "turtleback" forecastle that was intended to clear water from the bow during high-speed navigation, but was poorly designed for high waves or bad weather. The ships normally displaced 390 metric tons (380 long tons) and 420 metric tons (410 long tons) at full load. They measured 68.39 meters (224 ft 5 in) long overall with a beam of 6.25 meters (20 ft 6 in), and a draft of 1.78–1.85 meters (5 ft 10 in – 6 ft 1 in).^[1] The ships were propelled by two 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam from four Yarrow boilers; each boiler was provided with an individual funnel. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 6,000 indicated horsepower (4,500 kW) for an intended maximum speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). During the ships' sea trials, they generally exceeded this figure, reaching 28–28.5 knots (51.9–52.8 km/h; 32.2–32.8 mph). The ships carried enough coal to give them a range of 500 nautical miles (930 km; 580 mi) at 28 knots. Their crew numbered 70 officers and men.^[2]

The main armament of the Huszar class consisted of a single 45-caliber Škoda SFK (German: Schnell-Feuer Kanone) 66-millimeter (2.6 in) gun]. The gun was mounted on a platform on the forecastle with the turtleback leading right up to it. Their secondary armament included seven 47-millimeter (1.9 in) guns. Two guns were positioned on the main deck right behind the bow gun's mount, four others were located on the deck amidships; all of these guns were on the broadside. The seventh gun was on the stern. All of the guns were fitted with gun shields. The ships were equipped with two 450-millimeter (17.7 in) torpedo tubes in two single, rotating mounts. One of these was located between the forward gun mount and the superstructure while the other was positioned between the aft funnel and the stern gun.^[3][4]

In 1913 the ships exchanged their seven 47 mm (1.9 in) guns for five 30-caliber Škoda 66 mm (2.6 in) guns. These guns replaced the stern and amidships weapons. To save weight, gun shields were not fitted to these guns. Two years later the Huszar's were equipped with an 8-millimeter (0.31 in) Schwarzlose M.7/12 anti-aircraft machine gun. In 1917, the ships were supposed to exchange their 66 mm SFK guns with new K07 guns on anti-aircraft mounts and one 30-caliber gun was supposed to installed in an anti-aircraft mount, but it is uncertain how much of this was actually done.^[3]

Construction and career

Turul was laid down on 27 July 1907 by Danubius at their shipyard in Rijeka and launched on 9 August 1908. She was completed on 31 December 1908.^[5] The ship was ceded to Italy in 1920 and broken up shortly afterward.^[6]