SMS HELGOLAND AUSTRO-WĘGIERSKI LEKKI KRĄŻOWNIK Z I WOJNY ŚWIATOWEJ

SMS Helgoland was an Austro-Hungarian and later Italian light cruiser of World War I and the interwar period. The keel for this unit was laid in 1911, the launch took place in November 1912, and the entry into service in the Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine - in 1914. The length of the ship was 130.6 meters and a width of 12.8 meters. The displacement reached about 3,800 tons, and the maximum speed - to about 27-28 knots. The deck armament, at the time of the launch, consisted of, among other things: 9 100 mm guns, 1 anti-aircraft gun, 66 mm caliber, and 6 torpedo tubes, 450 mm caliber. SMS Helgoland was one of three ships belonging to the Novara class. In essence, they were modernized units of the Admiral Spaun type, and the main differences were related to the change of the on-board weapons, in which the main emphasis was on artillery, not torpedo weapons. At the same time, however, the main drawback of the Novara-class cruisers was that their armament was too light. However, the great advantage was the high top speed. SMS Helgoland was built at the Danubius shipyard in the city of Fiume. It was used primarily for operations in the Adriatic Sea, and during World War I it became famous for several successful raids on Italian ports. On May 15, 1917, she took part in an effective attack on British ships blocking the Strait of Otranto, in which 14 English trawlers were sunk. After 1918, the unit served in the Italian Navy under the name Brindisi. The ship was scrapped in 1937.