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Iltis-class gunboat

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A 1902 lithograph of Iltis
Class overview
Preceded bySMS Loreley
Succeeded bySMS Meteor
Built1897–1903
In commission1898–1917
Completed6
Lost5
Scrapped1
General characteristics
TypeGunboat
Displacement
Length65.2 m (213 ft 11 in) o/a
Beam9.1 m (29 ft 10 in)
Draft3.59 m (11 ft 9 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph)
Range3,080 nautical miles (5,700 km; 3,540 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Complement
  • 9 officers
  • 121 enlisted men
Armament
ArmorConning tower: 8 mm (0.31 in)

The Iltis class was a group of six gunboats built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The class comprised Iltis, the lead ship, Jaguar, Tiger, Luchs, Panther, and Eber.

Design

Characteristics

Jaguar soon after completion in 1899

The ships of the Iltis class varied slightly in detail. The first four ships were 65.2 meters (213 ft 11 in) long overall and had a beam of 9.1 m (29 ft 10 in), while Panther and Eber were 66.9 m (219 ft 6 in) long overall; their beam increased slightly to 9.7 m (31 ft 10 in). The ships had a draft of 3.54 to 3.59 m (11 ft 7 in to 11 ft 9 in) forward. Iltis and Jaguar displaced 894 metric tons (880 long tons) as designed and 1,048 t (1,031 long tons) at full load. The first two ships had a raised forecastle deck and a pronounced ram bow, while the latter four exchanged the ram for a straight stem. Their superstructure consisted primarily of a conning tower with an open bridge atop it. They had a crew of 9 officers and 121 enlisted men.

The ships' propulsion system consisted of a pair of horizontal triple-expansion steam engines each driving a single screw propeller, with steam supplied by four coal-fired Thornycroft boilers. Exhaust was vented through two funnels located amidships. The ships was rated to steam at a top speed of 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph) at 1,300 metric horsepower (1,300 ihp), though all members of the class exceeded these figures in service. The ships' engines varied in efficiency. Iltis and Jaguar had a cruising radius of about 3,080 nautical miles (5,700 km; 3,540 mi) at a speed of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph), but at the same speed, Tiger and Luchs were capable of only 2,580 nautical miles (4,780 km; 2,970 mi). Panther and Eber, meanwhile, could sail for 3,400 nautical miles (6,300 km; 3,900 mi) at that speed.

Iltis and Jaguar were armed with a main battery of four 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 guns, with 1,124 rounds of ammunition. Two guns were placed side-by-side on the forecastle and the other pair side-by-side near the stern. The rest of the class exchanged these guns for a pair of 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/40 guns, with 482 rounds of ammunition. These were also carried at the bow and stern, but singly. All six ships also carried six 37 mm (1.5 in) Maxim guns. The only armor protection carried by the ships was 8 mm (0.31 in) of steel plate on the conning tower.

Ships

Luchs c. 1900
Construction data
Ship Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned
Iltis Schichau-Werke, Danzig 1897 4 August 1898 1 Decemebr 1898
Jaguar 1898 19 September 1898 4 April 1899
Tiger Kaiserlich Werft, Kiel 15 August 1899 3 April 1900
Luchs 18 October 1899 15 May 1900
Panther 1900 1 April 1901 15 March 1902
Eber AG Vulcan, Stettin 1902 6 June 1903 15 September 1903

Service history

A 1902 lithograph of Jaguar

Notes

  1. ^ Gröner, pp. 142–143.
  2. ^ Lyon, p. 260.
  3. Nottelmann, p. 74.
  4. ^ Gröner, p. 142.

References

  • Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Vol. I: Major Surface Vessels. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
  • Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien: ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies: A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 2. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8364-9743-5.
  • Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 4. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0382-1.
  • Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien: ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart (Band 5) [The German Warships: Biographies: A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present (Vol. 5)] (in German). Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0456-9.
  • Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien: ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart (Band 7) [The German Warships: Biographies: A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present (Vol. 7)] (in German). Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 9783782202671.
  • Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 8. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag.
  • Lyon, Hugh (1979). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
  • Nottelmann, Dirk (2022). "The Development of the Small Cruiser in the Imperial German Navy Part III: The Gunboats". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2022. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. pp. 63–79. ISBN 978-1-4728-4781-2.
Iltis-class gunboats
Gunboats of the German Navy
Imperial Germany
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High seas gunboats
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Miscellaneous vessels
Nazi Germany
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