SMSLeitha

Leithaafter restoration work
History
Austria-Hungary
Name	SMSLeitha
Namesake	The warship was named after the Austrian river,Leitha(in Hungarian "Lajta" )
Builder	Újpesti Shipyard, Óbudai Shipyard, Budapest
Cost	about 425,000florins
Laid down	17 May 1871
Launched	13 October 1872
Status	Museum ship
General characteristics
Class and type	Leitha-classriver monitor
Length	50.5 m (165 ft 8 in)
Beam	8.65 m (28 ft 5 in)
Draught	1.3 m (4 ft 3 in)
Speed	9.6knots(17.8 km/h; 11.0 mph)
Armament	As built: Two large-caliber, Wahrendorf-type cannons of 15 cm in the turret, two Nordenfelt guns, 19mm calibre, on the upper deck After 1892: 1 x 120mm L/33 gun in new armored turret 2 x Skoda-made 47mm/40 SFK L/44 Hotchkiss guns 1 x 8mm Salvator-Dormus machine gun 1915: 1 x 120mm L/33 gun in turret 1 x 66mm L/37 SFK L/42 gun on the stern 1 x 66mm L/18 G.18 gun on aft superstructure 2 x 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannon 2 x 8mm Schwarzlose machine guns

SMSLeithaorLajta Monitor Museumshipwas the firstriver monitorin Europe and the oldest and also the only remaining, fully restored warship of theAustro-Hungarian Navy.Currently it is moored on theDanubeinBudapestnear theHungarian Parliament Buildingas amuseum ship.

Themonitorwas an innovation in the history of warship construction. The first European river monitors were constructed by theAustro-Hungarian Monarchy,namely the SMSLeithaand SMSMaros,and since then the river warships of the Monarchy were built in pairs. According to the customs of that time, river warships were named after the rivers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The names were chosen to reflect the dual (Imperial and Royal,Austrian and Hungarian) nature of the monarchy; thus, one of the ships received an Austrian name, the other one a Hungarian. This is the reason why this warship was named after the Austrian riverLeitha(in Hungarian "Lajta" ), while her sister ship was named after a Hungarian river, theMaros.

The construction of the first Danube monitors was dictated by the Monarchy's foreign policy ambitions, and the military and economic situation of the times. The ambition of becoming a great continental power turned the attention of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in the direction of theBalkansas it could not expand towards the West. However, the Monarchy had to be prepared to compensate the states along the Danube, which had been newly liberated fromTurkishrule, and that of CzaristRussia.To gain more influence in the Balkanstherefore the commander of the Monarchy's naval fleet, admiralWilhelm von Tegetthoffsuggested the construction of monitor type warships. Finances were raised, the necessary funds having been voted from the budget of 1869. The cost of theLeithaamounted to 425,000florins.

Construction

SMSLeithain 1872

The construction of the two monitors began in 1870 at a Hungarian shipyard, with some parts, including the turret, arriving from England. The monitors were launched one year later in 1871, SMSLeithaon 17 May, and SMSMaroson 20 April.The designer of the first pair of monitors wasJosef von Romako,who designed many other seagoing warships for the Empire. He had to take into consideration the fact that because of the low average depth of the Hungarian rivers, he could only build shallow-draft ships, which made his task very difficult, given that warships are very heavy due to their armour and weaponry. Romako solved the weight problem with a curved hull and lighter armour plates. With a low-freeboard, the ship needed less armour, ending up with a draft of just 1.3 m.

History

History of the monitors

The first monitor was built in theAmerican Civil War,which was between the Northern,Unionand Southern,Confederatestates, the Northern states introduced an innovation in military technology,USSMonitor,designed by the Swede,John Ericsson.USSMonitorclashed with the SouthernCSSVirginia– thought to be unsinkable – in March 1862, in which battle the former ship was victorious in thatVirginiahad to withdraw from the battle.The new military technology solution began to be copied all over the world. The career of the monitors started in 1862 and lasted up until 1965. During this period almost 200 examples of them served in 25 countries, having the displacement from 250 tons to 8,000 tons. Three main types have been developed: ocean-going, coastal and river monitors.

1878–1892 refit

Leithafirst saw action in 1878 in the occupation of Bosnia, when the Monarchy invaded Bosnia-Herzegovina, which had been under Turkish rule until that time. The ship actively participated in battles on theSavariver.

After that, she performed routine duties on the Danube and tributaries until 1892, when the Austro-Hungarian Navy decided to build two new, modern monitors, to be namedKorosandSzamos.At the same time, it was decided to moderniseLeithaandMaros.The superstructure was enlarged, and the turret was replaced by a single modern 120mm L/33 gun in a smaller armored mounting. Also, a modern secondary armament, consisting of a pair of Skoda 47mm L/40 SFK L/44 guns and an 8mm Salvator-Dormus machine gun, was installed.

World War I

At the outbreak of the war,Leithawas about to be demobilized. However it was decided to deployLeitha,together with her sister ship,Maros,again. By then they were the oldest fighting warships in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. In 1914 (11 August – 1 December)Leithawas in action again on the Sava.The first Hungarian war hero of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, sailor János Huj, serving aboardLeitha,was killed in these battles (12 August).The ship's greatest damage occurred in October 1914, during the first occupation of Belgrade, when the turret suffered a direct hit, all the crew inside being killed. Following this serious damage, she was withdrawn for repairs. In 1915 she received one Škoda66 mm (2.6 in)SFK L/42 gun, an L/18 model of the same weapon above it, a pair of 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannon, and a pair of 8mm Schwarzlose machine guns, as a replacement for the 47mm guns installed in 1892. Afterwards, she became the flagship of theDanube flotillaparticipating in the second occupation ofBelgrade.She was in action against the Romanian troops crossing the Danube, and also supported the Central Powers crossing of the Danube atSvishtov.

1919

After the Austro-Hungarian monarchy had lost World War I, its naval fleet had to be demobilized.Yet, the short-termSoviet Republicin Hungary in 1919, urged the reinstatement of the Danube fleet, therefore the vessel, by that time renamedLajtawas deployed once more. In this period, she fought against the Czech interventionist troops betweenKomáromandEsztergom.In the same year in June,Lajtaand her sister ship,Marostook an active part in the so-called "monitor-revolt",named after these monitors taking part in it, which was one of the first anti-communist rebellions in the world. A military takeover was to be organized in Budapest as a demonstration against the current communist dictatorship, and a very important part would have been naval support from the Danube. When the monitors appeared on the river, they hoisted the red-white-green national flag, instead of the Soviet red one. People welcomed them, but the revolt was soon suppressed by Hungarian communist forces. During the" monitor-revolt ", Captain László Csicsery died on boardLajta.

Elevator ship

In 1921, under the control of the Entente Powers who did not need her due to her old age, the armament, armour and the machinery ofLajtawas removed, and she was sold at auction. An enterprise from Budapest bought the monitor in 1928, converted her to an elevator ship (which can convey the mined gravel to the river bank from barges), by constructing a conveyor belt and associated machinery on board. From that moment,Lajtaserved as a civilian ship, under the name of "József Lajoselevator ship ". After theHungarian Communist Partycame to power in 1949, the company was nationalized as the FOKA gravel mining company, and the ship continued working as an elevator ship until 1992, now under the name ofFK-201.In 1992 the FOKA enterprise was sold, includingLajta,to a Swiss company.

Museum ship

The Hungarian naval historianKároly Csonkarétidiscovered the historic ship at the end of the 1970s. An Austrian engineer,Friedrich Prasky,identified her, andAndrás Margitay-Bechthelped to get her back from the Swiss company, and later on he worked to establish the history of the ship scientifically. Their efforts resulted inLajtabeing declared a protected industrial and military historic monument. The Museum and Institution of Military History became her formal owner.Lajtahad to wait for her restoration in a shipyard until 2005, when conservation works were carried out on her. This was possible due to an agreement between the Ministry of Defense and theZoltán Gőzös Foundation,which took over the management ofLajta.The foundation is dedicated to preserve and restore museum ships and to exhibit these vessels at the Open Air Ship Museum ofNeszmély.The Zoltán Gőzös Foundation in co-operation with the Hungarian Society of Maritime History, Modelling and Tradition (whose volunteers spent more than 2000 hours working on the outfitting and the installation of the equipment and the exhibition on board)restored the ship in 2009 and on 20 August 2010 inaugurated the Lajta Monitor Museum Ship. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was performed by the defence minister's wife, Szilvia Hendéné Stiber. The minister,Csaba Hende,declaredLajtathe honorary flagship of the Hungarian Army's river warship regiment.

Gun turret

Wahrendorf-type cannon

The first rotating gun turret was adopted on the USSMonitor.This was a pioneering innovation, because formerly warships used rows of cannons on each broadside. Therefore, they could only fire when already turned into the required direction, parallel to the enemy's ship. But with the help of the rotating gun turret, it was not necessary to wait until the required position was reached, so ships could fire in any direction. The designer of the rotating gun turret in theLeithawas the British CaptainCowper Phipps Coles.

The ammunition magazine under the gun turret

The shells, and the charges, in silk bags, for the main guns, were stored here, as was the ammunition for the other guns of the ship. These were passed through openings in the deck, leading up into the gun turret. Seamen in this room could rotate the turret above them initially using hand winches. Later on, the gun turret was driven by an auxiliary steam engine. Altogether 9–10 people worked in here.

In the gun turret

Inside the gun turret two 15 cm breech loadingWahrendorfguns can be found. These could provide significant firepower, enhanced by the rotation of the turret. Ammunition was passed up from the magazine below through openings besides each of the guns. Altogether 16 gunners worked together in this confined space. During battles, one round could be fired by each of the guns about every 4–6 minutes, because the reloading was a relatively long procedure.

Other armament

The upper deck was extended in 1887, and twoNordenfelt gunscan be seen on the after part of this deck. These guns aremultiple barrelmachine gunswith four barrels each.The weight of each gun is 300 kg; the magazine could hold 32 rounds, 8 for each barrel. The entire magazine could be fired in about 20 seconds.

Stern

On the ship's stern the original version of theLajta’sname (Leitha) can be seen, and the crown of theHabsburgcoat of arms. The flag of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy can also be found here, which was used on all vessels of the Empire, both warships and merchant ships, after the order ofJoseph IIof 1786 which came into force on 1 January 1787. After the Reconciliation (Ausgleich) of 1867, merchant sea ships of the Dual Monarchy wore a different ensign: a combination of the Austrian and Hungarian colours, with their respective coats of arms.

Images

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  Wahrendorf-type cannons
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  Sailor's hammock
• 
  The water pump

Bibliography

• Caruana, Joseph; et al. (2005). "Question 22/04: Austro-Hungarian Danube River Monitors".Warship International.XLII(3): 238–242.ISSN0043-0374.
• Dodson, Aidan (2021). "SMSLeitha".In Jordan, John (ed.).Warship 2021.Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. pp. 194–196.ISBN978-1-4728-4779-9.
• Frampton, Viktor; Sieche, Erwin & Stewart, Charles L. (2006). "Question 22/04: Austro-Hungarian Danube River Monitors".Warship International.XLIII(3): 239–243.ISSN0043-0374.
• Klein, Herbert (2012). "The Danube Monitor SMSLeitha".Warship International.XLIX(3): 233–241.ISSN0043-0374.
• András Margitay-Becht: A Leitha monitor... és a többiek (2007)ISBN978-963-7097-26-3(The Leitha monitor and others -Hungarian book)

External links

• Lajta monitor
• Leitha
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