SMS Iltis was the third and final member of the Wolf class of steam gunboats built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the 1870s.
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Iltis |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Wolf-class gunboat |
| Displacement | 570 t (560 long tons) |
| Length | 47.2 m (154 ft 10 in) |
| Beam | 7.66 m (25 ft 2 in) |
| Draft | 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion | 1 × Marine steam engine |
| Speed | 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) |
| Range | 1,640 nmi (3,040 km; 1,890 mi) at 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) |
| Complement |
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| Armament |
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Design
editGerman economic activity in Qing China in the 1870s faced significant threats from piracy and resistance from local officials, so the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) stationed warships in East Asia to protect its trade interests. The two Albatross-class gunboats and the rebuilt Cyclop were too few for the task, so another three vessels were ordered according to the fleet plan that had been approved in 1872. The design for the new ships was completed in 1876, and it called for reusing the engines from three of the Camäleon-class gunboats that had been ordered in the 1859 plan. These three ships became the Wolf-class gunboats.[1]
Iltis was 47.2 meters (154 ft 10 in) long overall, with a beam of 7.66 m (25 ft 2 in) and a draft of 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in). She displaced 490 metric tons (480 long tons) as designed and 570 t (560 long tons) at full load. The ship's crew consisted of 5 officers and 80 enlisted men. She was powered by a marine steam engine that drove a 2-bladed screw propeller, with steam provided by two coal-fired trunk fire-tube boilers. Her propulsion system was rated to produce a top speed of 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) at 340 metric horsepower (340 ihp), but she reached 9.2 knots (17.0 km/h; 10.6 mph) in service. At a cruising speed of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph), she could steam for 1,640 nautical miles (3,040 km; 1,890 mi). To supplement the steam engine on long voyages, the ships were fitted with a barque sailing rig.[2][3]
The ship was armed with a pair of 12.5 cm (4.9 in) K L/23 built-up guns, which were supplied with a total of 270 rounds of ammunition. She carried an additional pair of 8.7 cm (3.4 in) K L/24 built up guns and three 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon.[2][3]
Service history
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Iltis was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft Danzig (Imperial Shipyard) in Danzig in 1877. She was launched on 18 September 1878 and was commissioned on 2 March 1880.[2]
Notes
editReferences
edit- 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. 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 [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 8. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag.
- Lyon, David (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. pp. 240–265. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.