All Austria-Hungary torpedoes were made by the Whitehead firm at Fiume. With few exceptions, almost all torpedoes in the world were built by Whitehead during the first decade of the 20th century. As of 1913 the factory was producing 1,200 torpedoes per year and could have easily doubled their orders had not the size of the plant limited production.
At the start of World War I, the Austro-Hungarian government took over the Fiume plant from Vickers and imprisoned the British manager. When Italy declared war on the Central Powers in 1915, it was decided that the plant was dangerously exposed to attack from the sea and production was moved inward to St. Polten, located some 50 km west of Vienna.
At the end of the war, the Fiume plant was taken over by the Italian government and continued to produce torpedoes for that country.
| Ship Class Used On | Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia and Satellit |
|---|---|
| Date Of Design | 1892 |
| Date In Service | 1894 |
| Weight | 996 lbs. (452 kg) |
| Overall Length | 159 in. (4.03 m) |
| Explosive Charge | 196 lbs. (89 kg) Wet-guncotton |
| Range / Speed | 440 yards (400 m) / 28 knots |
| Power | Compressed Air |
| Ship Class Used On | Coastal Defence |
|---|---|
| Date Of Design | 1896 |
| Date In Service | 1897 |
| Weight | 1,415 lbs. (642 kg) |
| Overall Length | 236 in. (6.00 m) |
| Explosive Charge | 220 lbs. (100 kg) |
| Range / Speed | 1,090 yards (1,000 m) / 28 knots
2,180 yards (2,000 m) / 23 knots |
| Power | Compressed Air |
Used Woolwich-type steering and four-blade contraprops.
| Ship Class Used On | Monarch class, Zenta and Cobra |
|---|---|
| Date Of Design | 1900 |
| Date In Service | 1902 |
| Weight | 1,235 lbs. (560 kg) |
| Overall Length | 201 in. (5.10 m) |
| Explosive Charge | 130 lbs. (59 kg) |
| Range / Speed | 440 yards (400 m) / 30 knots
1,090 yards (1,000 m) / 28 knots |
| Power | Compressed Air |
The designations for the L5 series did not distinguish between the different models, they were all "L5". I have used suffixes "a", "b", "c", etc., in order to be able to tell them apart.
| Ship Class Used On | Habsburg class |
|---|---|
| Date Of Design | 1902 |
| Date In Service | 1903 |
| Weight | 1,246 lbs. (565 kg) |
| Overall Length | 201 in. (5.10 m) |
| Explosive Charge | 130 lbs. (59 kg) |
| Range / Speed | 3,280 yards (3,000 m) / 30 knots |
| Power | Heater |
| Ship Class Used On | L5c: Huszar and Kaiman class
L5d: St Georg and Erzherzog Karl classes |
|---|---|
| Date Of Design | 1904 |
| Date In Service | 1905 |
| Weight | L5c: 1,420 lbs. (644 kg)
L5d: 1,415 lbs. (642 kg) |
| Overall Length | 202 in. (5.12 m) |
| Explosive Charge | 209 lbs. (95 kg) |
| Range / Speed | 3,280 yards (3,000 m) / 32.5 knots
6,560 yards (6,000 m) / 19.5 knots |
| Power | Heater |
These torps used a four-cylinder engine. The L5c was for above-water tubes on destroyers while the L5d was for submerged tubes on armored ships.
| Ship Class Used On | L5e: Huszar and Kaiman classes and for 110-ton torpedo boats
L5f: Submarines |
|---|---|
| Date Of Design | 1908 |
| Date In Service | 1909 |
| Weight | 1,442 lbs. (654 kg) |
| Overall Length | 205 in. (5.20 m) |
| Explosive Charge | 243 lbs. (110 kg) |
| Range / Speed | 5,470 yards (5,000 m) / 33.5 knots
10,940 yards (10,000 m) / 20.5 knots |
| Power | Heater |
| Ship Class Used On | Radetsky, Zrinyi and Franz Ferdinand |
|---|---|
| Date Of Design | 1908 |
| Date In Service | 1909 |
| Weight | 1,442 lbs. (654 kg) |
| Overall Length | 208 in. (5.28 m) |
| Explosive Charge | 243 lbs. (110 kg) |
| Range / Speed | 5,470 yards (5,000 m) / 33.5 knots
10,940 yards (10,000 m) / 20.5 knots |
| Power | Heater |
| Ship Class Used On | Unknown |
|---|---|
| Date Of Design | 1911 |
| Date In Service | 1912 |
| Weight | 1,702 lbs. (772 kg) |
| Overall Length | 216 in. (5.50 m) |
| Explosive Charge | 243 lbs. (110 kg) |
| Range / Speed | 1,090 yards (1,000 m) / 42 knots
6,560 yards (6,000 m) / 27 knots |
| Power | Wet-heater |
A major improvement, this model had water-injection, a heater, a turbine powered gyro and a four-cylinder engine.
| Ship Class Used On | Tegetthoff class |
|---|---|
| Date Of Design | 1908 |
| Date In Service | 1909 |
| Weight | 2,945 lbs. (1,336 kg) |
| Overall Length | 259 in. (6.30 m) |
| Explosive Charge | 397 lbs. (180 kg) |
| Range / Speed | 1,090 yards (1,000 m) / 41 knots
10,900 yards (10,000 m) / 29 knots |
| Power | Heater |
| Ship Class Used On | Planned "Rapidkreuzer" class |
|---|---|
| Date Of Design | 1913 |
| Date In Service | 1914 |
| Weight | 3,505 lbs. (1,590 kg) |
| Overall Length | 283 in. (7.18 m) |
| Explosive Charge | 397 lbs. (180 kg) |
| Range / Speed | 1,090 yards (1,000 m) / 41 knots
10,900 yards (10,000 m) / 36 knots |
| Power | Wet-heater |
"Naval Weapons of World War One" by Norman Friedman
05 August 2020 - New datapage