Josef Ritter von Romako (1828 – 5 June 1882) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture by occupation Design occupations Occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's rol ...

in the 19th century. He was responsible for designing most of the

ironclad warship An ironclad was a steam-propelled warship protected by steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The firs ...

s of the

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', ) was the navy, naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated ''SMS'', for ''Seiner Majestät Schiff'' (His Majes ...

, from the first vessels of the in the early 1860s to , built in the late 1870s and early 1880s. He was also responsible for designing the s.

Career

He was born in 1828 in Atzgersdorf in

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

and studied at the ''Technische Universität'' (Technical University) in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He joined the Austrian Navy and was appointed a provisional cadet on 25 September 1849. On 1 November 1859, he became the ''Schiffbau Oberingeniuer'' (main shipbuilding engineer), and it was during this period that he designed the Austrian ships that saw action at the Battle of Lissa on 20 July 1866. Romako's designs tended to emphasize stronger armor than foreign contemporaries. On 1 November 1866, was promoted to the position of ''Schiffbau-Inspektor'' (Shipbuilding Inspector), and on 28 February 1870, he became the ''Obersten-Schiffbau-Ingeniuer''. In the early 1870s, he designed the casemate ship ''Tegetthoff'' and later in the decade, he prepared the design for the first Austro-Hungarian torpedo cruisers of the and the follow-on vessel, .Bilzer, p. 164 The cruisers were the first steel hulled vessels of the Austro-Hungarian fleet, and they represented a transition from the wooden sailing cruisers of the 1860s to the more modern steel cruisers of the 1880s. Romako based his design on the German aviso .Sondhaus, p. 73 During the course of his career, he was awarded the Order of the Iron Crown, and he was ennobled in 1869. He also received the Danish

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

and the Mexican

Order of Guadalupe There were three Imperial Orders of the Mexican Empire, which were Order of chivalry, Orders of chivalry created to reward Heads of state and prominent people during the two periods of the Mexican Empire (disambiguation), Mexican Empire — the ' ...

. After a career spanning 33 years, he died on 5 June 1882.Bilzer, p. 164

Family

His brother, Anton Romako, was a painter.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Romako, Josef Naval architects from Austria-Hungary Austro-Hungarian Navy officers 1828 births 1882 deaths People from Liesing