 Following Szent István being hit by torpedoes and Tegetthoff pulling out of formation , Tegetthoff attempted to take the crippled Szent István into tow . However this attempt , as well as training the ship 's turrets and placing her crew to port as well as throwing any ready ammunition overboard failed and the battleship continued to sink . The attempt to tow Szent István was then abandoned . A few minutes after 6 : 00 am Szent István capsized and sank . Admiral Horthy soon canceled the attack because he thought that the Italians had discovered his plan and ordered the ships to return to Pola . On the contrary the Italians did not even discover that the Austrian dreadnoughts had departed Pola until later on 10 June when aerial reconnaissance photos revealed that they were no longer there . This was the last military operation that Tegetthoff was to take part in and she spent the rest of her career at port in Pola . 
