SMS Viribus Unitis: Austro-Hungarian Battleship (Super Drawings in 3D)
R 1,520
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SMS Viribus Unitis: Austro-Hungarian Battleship (Super Drawings in 3D)
Tegetthoff Class In 1907 the navy of the dualist, multinational Austro-Hungarian Empire placed an order for a new class of warships, whose design was based on the “all big gun†concept pioneered by HMS Dreadnought. Eventually four Tegetthoff class vessels were laid down, including the flagship Viribus Unitis, Tagetthoff, Prinz Eugen and Szent Istvan. The last warship of the class was not completed until well into World War I. The vessels’ careers were not especially eventful. They spent most of their service lives as a “fleet in being†anchored in a well-protected port of Pola with only occasional trips to the Fažana Channel (well-screened by Brijuni Islands) for gunnery practice. During the war the ships were manned mainly by reservists, while the most promising and experienced members of their crews were detached to serve onboard submarines or torpedo boats, or assigned to land-based units. The second ship of the class ended her career in rather dramatic circumstances, which is why she perhaps deserves a more detailed treatment.
Viribus Unitis The Battleship IV was laid down at San Marco on July 23, 1910 and launched on June 24, 1911. The Emperor’s court used the occasion to organize a lavish celebration designed to carry a strong political message. The Emperor insisted that the battleship be given a rather unusual, Latin name Viribus Unitis (Strength in Unity – Emperor’s personal motto).
REVIEWS
...competent, compact development and service summary... nearly 60 pages of photo-realistic, 3D color plates. Pioneering 3-gun main turrets. Secondary armament. Superstructure. Masts. Propellers and rudders. Anchors, cranes and anti-torpedo nets. Even colors...Stem to stern, Kagero certainly offers amazing levels of Viribus Unitis details – including the warship’s funky green anti-fouling paint and lavender boottopping. But therein lies the most exasperating aspect of Kagero’s stunning study: no one offers an injection-molded model of this beautiful battleship! Sure, a couple 1:700-scale resin Viribus Unitis kits have appeared. But they’re hard-to-find – and expensive. Maybe Kagero’s ripping reference will change all that. And we’ll soon add plastic Tegetthoff Class Dreadnoughts to our display cases! Rabidly recommended! Cybermodeler