L/35 guns, manufactured by Krupp, and mounted in two single turrets, one forward and one aft. These guns were the primary offensive armament, and they were installed in electrically trained turrets. These guns were supported by a secondary battery of eight Krupp SK L/35 guns, which were placed in individual casemate mounts, four on the main deck and four in the upper deck. For defense against torpedo boats, she carried twelve Skoda L/44 guns and six Hotchkiss 47 mm L/33 guns; these guns were individually mounted in casemates, sponsons, or open mounts. She also carried a pair of 7 cm L/18 landing guns, which could be taken ashore to provide support for a landing party. Her armament was rounded out by four torpedo tubes, one in the bow, one in the stern, and one on each side. The ship was protected by an armored belt that was of steel armor. The main deck was thick, sloping down at the sides to meet the bottom edge of the belt. The turrets were protected by 100 mm of armor plate and they sat atop 150 mm barbettes. The secondary casemates received of protection, and the forward conning tower had sides. Modifications The ship was modernized several times in her career, with emphasis placed on reducing topweight; in addition to replacing the military masts with simple pole masts by 1903, her superstructure was also reduced. Two of her 47 mm guns were removed in 1904 in another attempt to improve her stability. In 1906, her old 24 cm guns were replaced with a pair of modern, quick-firing SK L/42 guns in new, smaller turrets. By 1910, further alterations were made, which included further reductions to her superstructure. Larger funnels were installed to improve ventilation from the boilers and thus engine performance. Her 15 cm guns were relocated; the main-deck guns were moved to the upper deck, and all eight guns were moved further to either end of the superstructure, now mounted in embrasures. Two were placed on either side of the forward conning tower and the other four were placed abreast of the rear tower. Service history Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia was laid down on 1 June 1891, launched on 29 April 1893, and was commissioned into the fleet in November 1894. In 1895, Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria took a squadron of warships, including Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia, to Germany