Kaiman-class torpedo boat

Kaiman-class torpedo boat.
The 24 Kaiman-class ships were high-seas torpedo boats built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy between 1904 and 1910. Yarrow Shipbuilders built the lead ship (launched on 3 June 1905), Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino of Trieste built 13 boats, and Ganz-Danubius constructed the remaining 10 boats at their shipyards at Fiume. The class was considered to be a very successful design, and all boats saw extensive active service during World War I, undertaking a range of tasks, including escort duties, shore bombardments and minesweeping. All survived, although several were damaged by naval mines and collisions. One was torpedoed and badly damaged by a French submarine, and two sank an Italian submarine. All the boats were transferred to the Allies and scrapped at the end of the war, except for four that were allocated to the navy of the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. These were discarded and broken up between 1928 and 1930.