SMS Greif (ship, 1866)
SMS Greif was a Radaviso of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 19th century.
Paddle steamer Jupiter
The ship was built in 1857 as a paddle steamer Jupiter . It displaced 1,260 tons . In 1859 the Austrian Navy bought the ship and sank it in front of the entrance to Malamocco to block access to the Venice lagoon .
Battle of Lissa
In 1866 the ship was lifted again by the Austrian Navy, converted into a Radaviso with 400 HP, armed with two towed 12-pounders, and put into service under the name Greif with a crew of 102. The Greif took part in the naval battle of Lissa on July 20, 1866 under the command of frigate captain Kronowetter in Contreadmiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff's third division .
Imperial yacht
The ship was then converted into an imperial yacht and, accompanied by the corvette Helgoland , was used by Emperor Franz Joseph in 1869 on his extensive voyage to the Middle East and to open the Suez Canal . On this trip, the emperor returned a state visit from the Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz and visited the holy places in Jerusalem , where he stayed in the Austrian hospice . Due to the tight schedule, the emperor had to be rowed to the Greif on November 14th, despite the stormy weather , where he was quite soaked and frozen. Since that day he is said to have had a disturbed relationship with seafaring, and numerous anecdotes later revolved around this experience.
In 1884 the Greif was decommissioned and then used as the Hulk .