Kaiser’s wooden hull among the ironclads at Lissa

Kaiser is presented as a late wooden ship of the line whose career reached into the ironclad era. When Carlo Pellion di Persano’s flag transfer opened a gap in the Italian line, Wilhelm von Tegetthoff drove into it and the action became a melee. Under Anton von Petz, Kaiser was surrounded by Italian ironclads, rammed Re di Portogallo to protect Austrian unarmoured ships, and had her wooden hull raked at close range. Her gunfire also damaged Affondatore and jammed one of its turrets before Kaiser withdrew with serious casualties and damage. The episode underlines the overlap between old and new forms of naval warfare rather than a neat technological handover. It is also a vivid case of wooden ships retaining tactical agency in a battle remembered for ironclads and ramming.