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A 1902 lithograph of Iltis
Class overview
Preceded by	SMS Loreley
Succeeded by	SMS Meteor
Built	1897–1903
In commission	1898–1926
Completed	6
Lost	5
Scrapped	1
General characteristics
Type	Gunboat
Displacement	Designed: 894 t (880 long tons) Full load: 1,048 t (1,031 long tons)
Length	65.2 m (213 ft 11 in) o/a
Beam	9.1 m (29 ft 10 in)
Draft	3.59 m (11 ft 9 in)
Installed power	4 × Thornycroft boilers 1,300 PS (1,300 ihp)
Propulsion	2 × triple-expansion steam engines 2 × screw propellers
Speed	13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph)
Range	3,080 nautical miles (5,700 km; 3,540 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Complement	9 officers 121 enlisted men
Armament	4 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 guns 6 × 37 mm (1.5 in) Maxim guns
Armor	Conning tower: 8 mm (0.31 in)
Notes

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

The German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) abandoned gunboat construction for more a decade after Eber, launched in 1887. General Leo von Caprivi, the chief of the Kaiserliche Admiralität (Imperial Admiralty) at the time, preferred a strategy of coastal defense, which meant concentrating the fleet in home waters and orienting it for defensive operations. The creation of the German colonial empire beginning in 1884 threatened Caprivi's plans, however, and necessitated the construction of vessels that could patrol Germany's fledgling empire. Caprivi began with the two Schwalbe-class cruisers in the mid-1880s.

By the early-1890s, the navy began planning to replace the older vessels of the Wolf and Habicht classes, though they expected the Wolfs to remain in service until 1908. An early proposal in 1892 envisioned ordering four more Bussard-class cruisers on top of the six already under construction, but the idea came to nothing. The Oberkommando der Marine (Naval High Command) requested a total of nine gunboats to be operational by the end of the decade. But the loss of the gunboat Iltis—one of the Wolf-class ships—necessitated an immediate replacement, which was added to the 1898 naval budget. The new ship was planned to patrol the German colonial empire; requirements included engines powerful enough for the ship to steam up the Yangtze in China, where the new gunboat was intended to be deployed. The ships would carry only a light armament, as they were not intended to engage in combat with equal counterparts; the ships would only be used to patrol the colonies. Six ships were built in three identical pairs.

General characteristics

The ships of the Iltis class varied slightly in dimensions. 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. Tiger and Luchs had the same design displacement, but full load increased to 1,108 t (1,091 long tons). The final pair of ships, Panther and Eber, increased design displacement to 977 t (962 long tons) and full load to 1,193 t (1,174 long tons).

Their hull consisted of transverse steel frames, over which the composite steel and timber hull planking was laid. They were sheathed in Muntz metal to protect them from marine biofouling on extended voyages abroad. The first three ships' hulls were divided into eleven watertight comparments, while the rest of the class only had ten. They all had a double bottom under the propulsion machinery spaces. 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, along with a smaller deck house further aft. The ships were fitted with a pair of pole masts for signaling purposes. The only armor protection carried by the ships was 8 mm (0.31 in) of steel plate on the conning tower, which was suitable only against rifle bullets and shell fragments.

Steering was controlled via a single rudder, and they maneuvered well under most conditions, apart from shallow waters or at high speed. The ships handled generally well, and were considered good sea boats, but they rolled badly in a beam sea. They also suffered from significant yaw and heel in a quartering sea. Despite their small size, they were generally dry vessels. For Panther and Eber, their deadwood was extended to correct the tendency to lose way.

They had a crew of 9 officers and 121 enlisted men. Each vessel carried a number of smaller boats, including one barge, one launch, one cutter, one yawl, and one dinghy. In addition, Panther and Eber each carried a second cutter, and while the Iltis-class ships operated in Chinese waters, they carried a pair of sampans as well.

Machinery

Iltis's propulsion system consisted of a pair of horizontal triple-expansion steam engines, each driving a single three-bladed screw propeller; the rest of the class received vertical triple-expansion engines. The engines were placed in a single engine room. Steam for the engines was supplied by four coal-fired Thornycroft boilers, with the exception of Eber, which received four navy-type boilers. All ships had their boilers installed in a single boiler room. Exhaust was vented through two funnels located amidships. The first four ships carried a pair of electricity generators that produced 16 kilowatts (21 hp) at 67 Volts, while Panther and Eber had three generators that produced 17.8 kW (23.9 hp) at 67 Volts and 20 kW (27 hp) at 110 Volts, respectively.

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' coal storage varied significantly, as did their engines' efficiency. Iltis and Jaguar carried a maximum of 190 t (190 long tons) of coal, and 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). At the same speed, Tiger and Luchs were capable of only 2,580 nautical miles (4,780 km; 2,970 mi), from a maximum capacity of 203 t (200 long tons) of coal. Panther and Eber, meanwhile, carried 283 t (279 long tons) of coal and could sail for 3,400 nautical miles (6,300 km; 3,900 mi) at that speed.

Armament

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. These weapons had a maximum range of 7,300 m (8,000 yd). 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, which had become available during the design process for the third member of the class. These guns were supplied with 482 rounds of ammunition, and could engage targets out to 12,200 m (13,300 yd). These were also carried at the bow and stern, but singly. The mounts initially used for the 10.5 cm guns proved to be fragile, as demonstrated by Panther's engagements in 1902 against the Haitian gunboat Crête-à-Pierrot and Venezuelan coastal fortifications, which led to modifications that resulted in an improved mounting.

All six ships also carried six 37 mm (1.5 in) Maxim guns, which were supplied with a total of 9,000 rounds of ammunition.

Ships

Service history

Notes

Footnotes

1. Figures are for Iltis; other members of the class varied in some details

Citations

1. Nottelmann, p. 73.
2. Nottelmann, pp. 73–74.
3. ^ Gröner, pp. 142–143.
4. Lyon, p. 260.
5. ^ Nottelmann, p. 74.
6. ^ Gröner, p. 143.
7. Nottelmann, p. 77.
8. ^ Gröner, p. 142.
9. Nottelmann, p. 76.
10. Nottelmann, p. 78.
11. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 8, p. 234.
12. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 5, p. 236.

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