Friedrich's latest flagship, the super-first-class battleship SMS Prinz Eugen, weighed a thousand tons more than the earlier Venetia and nearly four times as much as an ordinary sailing battleship.
It was also armed entirely with the latest large-caliber steel guns, and its shells were the newest Ship Killer high-explosive rounds.
As a result, a single volley sent an already badly damaged British warship to the bottom. Most of the British ships lagging behind met the same fate.
It wasn't that the British hadn't fought back. But there was a vast gulf between old sailing warships and the new ironclads. The former's counterattack was so feeble that it could barely scrape the protective paint off the latter's sides.
The bait Edward Clinton had thrown to Friedrich hadn't delayed him at all, which enraged Clinton.
"Damn it! What is that thing?! How can it be so fast? It's faster than a paddle steamer!"
"Captain, it must be a steam warship. Look, it even has a smokestack!"
"Idiot! Have you got a pig's brain? How could a steam warship not have paddle wheels?!"
After being berated by his superior, First Officer Cole was at a loss. But that black smoke had to be coming from a steam engine. As for why the ship had no paddle wheels, he had no idea.
"I don't know, sir! But those ships are at least twice as fast as ours. If this goes on, we're finished!"
Edward Clinton was so angry he nearly bit through the pipe in his mouth. He was determined to face the Austrian Navy himself.
He didn't believe those ships were really made of steel. Iron was denser than wood, so an iron ship couldn't possibly be faster than a wooden one. That was common sense! The Austrian Navy's ships had to be