The Zenta was the lead ship of the Zenta class of protected cruisers built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the late 1890s. It was 97m wide and 12m wide, with the full load weight of 2,543tons. Unlike earlier Austro-Hungarian cruisers, the Zenta class discarded heavy belt armor in favor of a higher top speed.
Before participation in the blockade of Montenegrin coast in 1913 during Ffirst Balkan War, Zenta was in service in East Asia, Adrica and South America.
At the start of World War I in July 1914, Zenta was sent to the southern end of the Adriatic Sea to attack targets in Montenegro. She was cruising off that country's coast to enforce another blockade on 16 August when she and the destroyer Ulan encountered the main French battle fleet. In the ensuing Battle of Antivari, Zenta was sunk by the French battleships, with heavy loss of 173 men killed, as the French failed to pick up survivors. Some 139 men, including her commander Paul Pachner, swam to shore, where they were captured by Montenegrin forces and imprisoned.
