SMS ''Viper'' was a

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

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 ...

. ''Viper'' was built by the British shipbuilder

Yarrow ''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Growing to tall, it is characterized by small whitish flowers, a tall stem of fernlike leaves, and a pungent odor. The plan ...

between 1895 and 1896 and formed the basis for the following s. She was renamed ''Torpedoboot 17'' in 1910 and served through the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a patrol boat and minesweeper. She was scrapped in 1920.

Design

In 1895, the

purchased one prototype

each from the British shipbuilder

and the German shipbuilder

Schichau-Werke The Schichau-Werke (F. Schichau, Maschinen- und Lokomotivfabrik, Schiffswerft und Eisengießerei GmbH) was a German engineering works and shipyard based in Elbing, Germany (now Elbląg, Poland) on the Frisches Haff (Vistula Lagoon) of then-East ...

, two specialist builders of torpedo vessels. Yarrow's design was long overall and

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

, with a beam of and a draught of .

Displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

was normal and full load. Two coal-fired Yarrow

water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-generat ...

s fed a single three-cylinder

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure (HP) cylinder, then having given up heat ...

which drove a single propeller shaft. The machinery was rated at giving a speed of . The ships was armed by two L/33 Skoda guns and three

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s, with two tubes forward on the sides of the ship, where they could fire almost dead ahead, and one on the ships' centreline aft. The ship had a crew of 21.

Construction and service

The Yarrow torpedo boat, named ''Viper'', was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

at Yarrow's Poplar,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

shipyard in 1895, and launched in January 1896, earlier than the competing Schichau-built torpedo boat . She reached a speed of during

sea trials A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on o ...

, and was completed in October 1896. While both torpedo boats had similar stability and seaworthiness, ''Natter'' suffered from vibrations at high speed, and the Yarrow design was chosen for further orders, with four ships of the slightly larger ordered from Yarrow. In 1910, Austria renamed most of its torpedo boats, with ''Viper'' becoming ''Tb 17''. On the outbreak of the

''Tb 17'' formed part of the 21st Torpedo boat Group of the 11th Torpedo Craft Division, a local defence force based at

Cattaro Kotor (Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a town in Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,347 and is the administrative cen ...

, and was still based at Cattaro on 20 March 1917, as a member of the 25th Torpedo boat Group of the 15th Torpedo Craft Division. She was employed as an escort and minesweeper during the war, and was allocated to France as a

War reparation War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. War reparations can take the form of hard currency, precious metals, natural resources, in ...

as part of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1919. She was scrapped in 1920.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Viper, SMS Torpedo boats of the Austro-Hungarian Navy World War I torpedo boats of Austria-Hungary Ships built in Poplar 1896 ships