SMS Tiger

SMS Tiger was the third member of the Iltis class of gunboats built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Other ships of the class were SMS Iltis, SMS Luchs, SMS Eber, SMS Jaguar and SMS Panther.

For the Austro-Hungarian cruiser, see SMS Tiger (1887).
Tiger c. 1901
History
German Empire
Name: SMS Tiger
Builder: Kaiserliche Werft Danzig
Laid down: 1898
Launched: 15 August 1899
Commissioned: 3 April 1900
Fate: scuttled on 29 October 1914
General characteristics
Class and type: Iltis-class gunboat
Displacement: 1,108 t (1,091 long tons)
Length: 65.2 meters (214 ft) o/a
Beam: 9.1 m (30 ft)
Draft: 3.56 m (11.7 ft)
Installed power:
Propulsion:
Speed: 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Range: 2,580 nautical miles (4,780 km; 2,970 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Complement:
  • 9 officers
  • 121 enlisted men
Armament:

Design

Tiger was 65.2 meters (214 ft) long overall and had a beam of 9.1 m (30 ft) and a draft of 3.56 m (11.7 ft) forward. She displaced 1,108 metric tons (1,091 long tons; 1,221 short tons) at full load. Her 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. Tiger could steam at a top speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) at 1,372 metric horsepower (1,353 ihp). The ship had a cruising radius of about 2,580 nautical miles (4,780 km; 2,970 mi) at a speed of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph).[1] She had a crew of 9 officers and 121 enlisted men.[2] Tiger was armed with a main battery of two 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/40 guns, with 482 rounds of ammunition. She also carried six machine guns.[1][3]

Service history
An Iltis-class ship in the harbor at Tsingtao

Tiger was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) in Danzig in 1898. She was launched on 15 August 1899 and commissioned into the German fleet on 3 April 1900.[4]

In August 1904, the badly damaged Russian battleship Tsesarevich and three destroyers sought refuge in the German naval base at Tsingtao following the Russian defeat in the Battle of the Yellow Sea. As Germany was neutral, the East Asia Squadron interned Tsesarevich and the destroyers. On 13 August, the Russian ships restocked their coal supplies from three British steamers, but the armored cruiser Fürst Bismarck and the protected cruiser Hansa cleared for action to prevent them from leaving the port. The two cruisers were joined by Tiger and her sister Luchs and the cruisers Hertha and Geier.[5]

Tiger was scuttled on 29 October 1914 at the German colony in the Kiautschou Bay concession during the Siege of Tsingtao. Three of her sisters were also scuttled during the siege.[2]

Notes
  1. Gröner, p. 142
  2. Gröner, p. 143
  3. Gardiner, p. 260
  4. Gröner, pp. 142–153
  5. "Togo Bound for the South?" (PDF). The New York Times. 14 August 1904. Retrieved 11 May 2012.

References
  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
  • Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Vol. I: Major Surface Vessels. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9.

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