Szent Istvan; battleship Tegetthoff class; Austro-Hungarian Navy
Built: Ganz & Comp. Danubius A.-G., Rijeka, launched 17th January 1914, entered service 17th November 1915
Sunk: 10th June 1918 (hit by a torpedo)
Dimensions: l=152.8 m, w=27.9 m
Coordinates: 44.24870° N, 14.43405° E
Location: about 8 nm SW of the island of Premuda
Access: 1/5 access is solely by boat (the location is in the open sea)
Visibility: 3/5 very variable, occasionally exceptional
Current: 2/5 moderate, occasionally strong
Flora and fauna: 4/5 varied life on and around the wreck, occasionally specimens of large fish


HISTORY:

It would be difficult to find a more famous warship which was sunk in the Adriatic in one of the conflicts and countless battles than the Szent Istvan, whose maritime grave magical mysteriousness has always attracted teams of explorers from the countries which participated in the First World War. In the true sense of the word they consider it the “Adriatic’s Titanic” and the peak of their personal diving ventures, in a similar way that alpinists experience the conquering of Mount Everest.

In order to strengthen its fleet, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in the first decade of the 20th century made the decision to build four modern battleships – dreadnoughts of the Tegetthoff class which would, along with four Radetzky class ships, constitute the backbone of its navy. They were the most modern warships of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy's great striking power.

The Szent Istvan spent most of the war in the naval port of Pula, where it was docked. From a total of 937 days since the Szent Istvan entered the Austro-Hungarian fleet, is spent only 54 days out of the harbour which was completely insufficient for the full training of the crew. Apart from frequent air alerts, the crew did not have the opportunity to go through any kind of drill under battles conditions.

Due to many years of inactivity, Admiral Horthy planned a major operation in which the main fleet was supposed to take part, with the Tegetthoff division of battleships taking a major role. It was planned that a group of two battleships (the Szent Istvan and the Tegetthoff) with an escort of one destroyer (the Velebit) and six torpedo boats would sail out on the evening of 9th June 1918. In the cove of Telašćica of Dugi Otok they would meet with others from the group, wherefrom they would all together launch an attack on Otranto.

There was an overheating of one of the bearings of the starboard turbine of the Szent Istvan, so its speed was reduced to just 12.5 knots. Later its speed was increased to 14 knots, but it was clear that the ships would not manage to sail to Telašćica before dawn. Around 0215 hrs. the ships were only at the island of Susak. At that time two Italian torpedo boats were waiting in ambush near the little island of Lutrošnjak, in the Italian Navy they were known at MAS (Motoscafo Anti Sommergibile – anti-submarine motorboats). At 0315 hrs., they noticed the Austro-Hungarian squadron which was approaching. Ten minutes later the boats went into the attack and, passing by unnoticed between two torpedo boats, they launched torpedoes at the battleships.

Two dull explosions reverberated through the air, and along the starboard side of the Szent Istvan at the level of the boiler a high column of water rose into the air. The ship immediately leaned to starboard at an angle of 10 degrees and slowed down, but soon it stopped completely. The unaffected Tegetthoff strived to move away from the scene constantly changing course so as to not to become a victim of the supposed submarine. On the Szent Istvan they tried to reduce the breach of water, to fix the list of the ship and restart its engines. They partially succeeded and at a speed of about 4.5 knots tried to sail to the Bay of Brgulje near the island of Molat. However soon the ship stopped again because of the crew’s poor training and due to the bad sealing of the watertight doors and bulkheads the water penetrated further in greater quantities. When the Tegetthoff came closer and prepared for towing, the Szent Istvan’s side guns opened fire because someone thought they had seen the periscope of a submarine. The Tegetthoff quickly moved away so that it would not became a victim of the non-existent submarine, after a repeated alert from the Istvan fired at 0520 hrs. it approached again to carry out towing. However at that time the hit ship was already listing so much that to everyone it was clear that it would not last much longer.

At 0445 hrs. the starboard guns were under water, and at 0538 hrs. the listing became visible to the naked eye. The command to abandon ship was given, and the crew gathered on the left, highly raised side of the deck. At 0558 hrs. the Szent Istvan began to turn over, and at 0605 hrs. it completely capsized. The dramatic moments of the capsizing were recorded forever by film cameras on the Tegetthoff. Incidentally, a film crew had boarded the ship which should have filmed the ensuing battle at Otranto, but in a tragic twist of fate they recorded the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian squadron before the battle had even began. The capsized Szent Istvan floated for several minutes more on the surface, until at 0612 hrs. it disappeared from the surface in a huge maelstrom of water and air which emanated at the surface some time.

The escorting ships rescued the surviving members of the crew, amongst them was Commander Heinrich Seitz. 89 crew members were killed or disappeared, whilst 976 were saved, of whom 29 were injured. Those who died were mostly engineers who had not made it to the deck on time, and amongst them were 35 Croatian sailors.

The Italian Navy’s sinking of the Szent Istvan was considered one the greatest naval successes of the First World War, so Luigi Rizzo became one of its celebrated heroes. As a permanent memorial of this event, even today on 10th June – the date of the sinking of Szent Istvan, is celebrated in Italy as Navy Day.


WRECK CONDITION AND DIVING:

The position of the sunken ship is in the open sea, about 8 nm SW of the island of Premuda and about 14 nm SSW of the island of Ilovik. The depth of the sea in this spot is 66 metres, and the bottom is sandy and partly muddy. The ship lies is the same position as when it sank, its keel turned towards the surface. Due to its length, during its sinking its stern was still at the surface when the bow rested on the seabed. The hull of the ship didn’t withstand the great strain to its structure, and so the hull broke transversally. When the ship settled on the bottom, a crack opened at the fore section of about two to three metres wide. The ship lay on its superstructure, which prevented the main deck from sinking into the mud, and also caused the hull to remain tilted to starboard with regard to the bottom at about 12 degrees. The main deck at the stern therefore did not lay on the bottom, but was raised about four metres above the seabed at its highest point. The shallowest parts of the ship are the two large propellers and the two rudders, the height of which are at a depth of 45 metres. Stretched out between the rudders like torn curtains of some grand hall are the remains of fishing nets which, who knows when, were entangled to the wreck.

Descending down the side of the ship we remain astonished by the huge dimensions of the ship’s hull. From the shallowest point of the ship to the seabed is a height of 21 metres, which is equal to a six-storey building! At the very top of the stern itself can be seen the windows of the admiral’s veranda, a closed balcony from which a door leads towards the admiral’s quarters. This was the only entrance which we could break in through to the stern section of the ship during previous expeditions. Descending even deeper, we arrive at the main deck and only then can it be seen that, in an upside-down position, it is not lying on the bottom. The space between the deck and the bottom is vast and dark, and it is not recommended to enter without good lighting. However when we find ourselves under the deck, our eyes quickly become accustomed to the darkness. At the bottom lies a thick layer of dead crustaceans which for decades have shed away from the wreck. On the decks are openings which lead below decks, now above us. However through the openings it is not possible to enter the interior, because various objects have fallen over them and obstructed the way. The stern turret can be reached by diving the described way between the deck and the seabed, however due to the darkness it is also not pleasant. Below the upper, port side of the ship, can be seen the remains of the superstructure which should be reached cautiously. Approaching the bow section of the ship, at the level of the gun turret, we come across the crack where the ship was broken. Through the crack it is possible to enter the interior of the ammunition stores, where on the bottom heavy calibre shells are scattered. Others are stacked in the lift which leads to the turret. Visibility at the bow section of the ship is sometimes poor due to the silty layer of water which mostly hangs around the seabed. Due to the ship’s immense size and the great depths, it is not possible to visit in one dive; several dives would be needed to obtain a complete picture of the wreck.

As the wreck has lain undisturbed on the seabed for almost eight decades, it has become the habitat for large numbers of fish. On all parts of the ship can be encountered major species of fish, amongst which the most common are conger eels and groupers. Shoals of smaller fish also gather around the ship.

The wreck of Szent Istvan is placed under special protection as a cultural monument and its location can only be dived with special permission.


The description and illustrations are a courtesy of Danijel Frka and Jasen Mesić. Buy the whole book here: https://shop.naklada-val.hr/product_info.php?products_id=561

The recorded final moments of the sinking ship can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pSiCjfhUUw