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Does Austria Have a Navy?

Emily Yoffe
Posted Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2000, at 12:33 PM ET

In The Sound of Music, now enjoying a revival in Manhattan as the campy Sing-A-Long Sound of Music, Capt. Georg von Trapp, the severe widower whose heart is won by the madcap Maria, is retired from the Austrian navy. Since Austria is a landlocked country, why does it have a navy?

It doesn't anymore. But back before the captain became paterfamilias to a troop of singing moppets, he was a famous World War I submarine captain in the navy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The empire controlled the port city Trieste (now part of Italy) and the Slovenian and Croatian coasts. Today the Austrian military has two boats in the Danube.

So, how do you solve a problem like Maria?

Next question?

Explainer wishes to thank Lt. Col. Ewald Hausdorf, assistant defense attaché at the Austrian Embassy, and reader Robert J. Zepfel for submitting the question.

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Emily Yoffe is the author of What the Dog Did: Tales From a Formerly Reluctant Dog Owner. You can send your Human Guinea Pig suggestions or comments to .
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Reader Comments from The Fray:


In justice you should have mentioned the Battle of Lissa, where Admiral von. Tegelhoff beat the Italian Fleet by employing daring tactics to break the Italian line, ramming the enemy line and sinking a great number of her ships, even with older ships and guns with smaller ranges. Those who enjoy studying Naval Tactics still study this battle, as an important contribution to Naval History.

--Haroldo Basto Cordeiro Jr

(To reply, click here.)
[Your Fray Editor went and found out for you, from a handy naval battles website here. The Battle of Lissa was part of the Seven Weeks War in 1866.]


Thanks for clearing this up--now will be able to sleep at night. Or maybe not. Germany had U-boats in WWI but Austria? Damn, there goes my nightly rest again....

--Peter Schwarz

(To reply, click here.)

[Note from the Fray Editor: And Fred Hoefle knows how to solve a problem like Maria, but his solution is not for the easily shocked.]

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