Laid down at the shipyard of Wigram, London, England in 1852, launched on 13 April 1854, completed in September the same year, was present at the Battle of Lisa in the Adriatic Sea between the Austrian and Italian navies and was lost due when powder on board exploded on 2 February 1869 10 miles North North West of Lissa.. Of the Radetzky-class with as sister ships the Adria and Donau. With a displacement of 2.234 (full load) tons were her dimensions 70,62 (over all) x 13,06 x 5,46 metres or 231’8” x 32’10”x 18’. Her two cylinder engines supplied 1.200 ihp allowing a speed of 9 knots. Her crew numbered 354-398 tons. Her armament consisted in 1863 of 6-60pdr Paixhan shell guns, 40-30pdr muzzle loading gun and 2-24pdr breech loading guns. Four years later consisted her armament of 32-30pdr muzzle loading rifled guns, 14-24pdr breech loading rifled guns and 4-4pdr guns.
The Dutch newspaper
Opregte Haarlemsche Courant dated 26 February 1869 published an item dated Viena 22 February which reported that in the afternoon of the day before yesterday the Radetsky was blown up. She was on a training cruise and of the 365 men on board mainly young sailors were just twenty saved. Although immediately boats were sent from the nearest station it was feared that all other crewmembers were killed. What caused the explosion was still unknown although some survivors that near one of the powder rooms a fire had been which unseen by the crew reached the powder with the instantly disastrous result.
