 In 1904, the Austro-Hungarian Navy, after allowing the navies of other countries to pioneer submarine developments, ordered the Austrian Naval Technical Committee ( or ) to produce a submarine design.When the Navy rejected the January 1905 MTK design and other designs submitted as part of a public competition as impracticable, they instead opted to order two submarines each of designs by Simon Lake, Germaniawerft, and John Philip Holland for a competitive evaluation.Based on the trials results, the Austro-Hungarian Navy determined the characteristics that the next generation of Austro-Hungarian submarines should have.