The Tegetthoffs packed twelve 12-inch guns into four superfiring triple turrets on a hull of roughly 21,700 tons at full load. That compact concentration of firepower made them visually and tactically striking, but their machinery seldom delivered the advertised 20 knots. Construction was divided between Trieste and Fiume, while British components supplied part of the propulsion system. Szent István was sunk by an Italian torpedo boat in June 1918. Viribus Unitis was sunk by Italian frogmen after transfer to the new State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, giving the class's final losses a sharp political as well as operational context.
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Tegetthoff's compact superfiring design
The Tegetthoff class packed twelve 12-inch guns into four superfiring triple turrets, though reaching its nominal 20 knots was difficult.