16th International Symposium on Boat & Ship Archaeology

117 Zadar, Croatia | 26 September – 1 October 2021 Marko Uhač 1 & Ida Koncani Uhač 2 1 Ministry of Culture, Directorate for Protection of Cultural Heritage, Conservation Department in Pula, Pula, Croatia 2 Archaeological Museum of Istria, Pula, Croatia Last Austro-Hungarian Navy Rettungskutter I Kl. Many ships on the Adriatic still sail without a proper understanding of their cultur- al and historical importance. A real pearl of maritime history was recently discov- ered in such circimstances: the last example of a wooden boat of the Austro-Hun- garian Navy. It is a type of Rettungskutter I Kl. - a lifeboat of the 1 st class - whose spe- cific purpose was the ability to launch quickly from the mother warship and sail in bad hydro-meteorological conditions, with the aim of rescuing an individual man at sea or resolving other emergencies. Some of the larger warships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy had one Rettungskutter / lifeboat on board. The boat is 9 m long, and its hull is built with double planking. The construction system ena- bled the boat to be stored on the deck of the ship without any fear that the wood would dry out and its hull would therefore cease to be watertight. Under the side benches and below the bow and stern deck, air boxes were installed, which al- lowed the boat to float even when it was full of water. It’s construction dates back to the turn of the 19 th century. The technical characteristics and design of the boat was based on tradition of lifeboats built in northern Europe.