# SMS Luchs

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/SMS_Luchs
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/SMS_Luchs.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Luchs
> Source revision: 1329355502
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**SMS *Luchs*** was the fourth member of the [*Iltis*-class gunboat](/source/Iltis-class_gunboat) of [gunboats](/source/Gunboat) built for the German *[Kaiserliche Marine](/source/Kaiserliche_Marine)* (Imperial Navy) in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The ships were built to modernize the German gunboat force that was used to patrol the [German colonial empire](/source/German_colonial_empire). They were ordered in three groups of two ships, each pair incorporating design improvements. *Luchs*, along with [SMS *Tiger*](/source/SMS_Tiger_(1899)), was armed with a [main battery](/source/Main_battery) of two 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns, had a top speed of 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph), and could cruise for more than 2,500 nautical miles (4,630 km; 2,880 mi).

Initially planned to serve on the American Station, *Luchs* was reassigned to the [East Asia Squadron](/source/East_Asia_Squadron) in response to the [Boxer Uprising](/source/Boxer_Uprising) in [Qing China](/source/Qing_China) in 1900. After arriving, some of her men and guns were transferred to [SMS *Schamien*](/source/SMS_Schamien), which was purchased to serve as a river gunboat during the fighting in China. During the [Russo-Japanese War](/source/Russo-Japanese_War) in 1904, *Luchs* participated in the internment of Russian naval forces that had stopped in the German naval base at [Qingdao](/source/Qingdao). The ship spent the next several years patrolling in East Asian waters. During the [Xinhai Revolution](/source/Xinhai_Revolution) in 1911–1912, *Luchs* was stationed in several cities to protect foreign nationals in China. After the start of [World War I](/source/World_War_I) in July 1914, *Luchs* was disarmed; her guns and part of her crew were used to equip the steamer [SS *Prinz Eitel Friedrich*](/source/SS_Prinz_Eitel_Friedrich_(1904)) as an [auxiliary cruiser](/source/Auxiliary_cruiser). *Luchs* was subsequently [scuttled](/source/Scuttling) during the [Siege of Qingdao](/source/Siege_of_Qingdao) in September 1914.

## Design

Main article: [*Iltis*-class gunboat](/source/Iltis-class_gunboat)

The German *[Kaiserliche Marine](/source/Kaiserliche_Marine)* (Imperial Navy) abandoned [gunboat](/source/Gunboat) construction for more a decade after [SMS *Eber*](/source/SMS_Eber_(1887)), launched in 1887, instead focusing on larger [unprotected cruisers](/source/Unprotected_cruiser) beginning with the [*Schwalbe*-class cruiser](/source/Schwalbe-class_cruiser). By the mid-1890s, the navy began planning replacements for the older vessels of the [*Wolf*-class gunboat](/source/Wolf-class_gunboat) and [*Habicht*-class gunboates](/source/Habicht-class_gunboat). The new ships were scheduled to begin construction by 1900, but the loss of the gunboat [SMS *Iltis*](/source/SMS_Iltis_(1878)) in a storm necessitated an immediate replacement, which was added to the 1898 naval budget. The new ship was planned to patrol the [German colonial empire](/source/German_colonial_empire); requirements included engines powerful enough for the ship to steam up the [Yangtze](/source/Yangtze) in China, where the new gunboat was intended to be deployed. Six ships were built in three identical pairs; each pair incorporated incremental improvements over the preceding set, and *Luchs* was one of the second pair, along with [SMS *Tiger*](/source/SMS_Tiger_(1899)).[1]

*Luchs* was 65.2 meters (213 ft 11 in) [long overall](/source/Length_overall) and had a [beam](/source/Beam_(nautical)) of 9.1 m (29 ft 10 in) and a [draft](/source/Draft_(hull)) of 3.56 m (11 ft 8 in) forward. She [displaced](/source/Displacement_(ship)) 894 tonnes (880 long tons) as designed and 1,108 t (1,091 long tons) at [full load](/source/Full_load). The ship had a raised [forecastle](/source/Forecastle) deck and a straight [stem](/source/Stem_(ship)). Her [superstructure](/source/Superstructure) consisted primarily of a [conning tower](/source/Conning_tower) with an open [bridge](/source/Bridge_(nautical)) atop it. She had a crew of 9 officers and 121 enlisted men.[2][3]

Her propulsion system consisted of a pair of horizontal [triple-expansion steam engines](/source/Triple-expansion_steam_engine) each driving a single [screw propeller](/source/Screw_propeller), with steam supplied by four coal-fired [Thornycroft boilers](/source/Thornycroft_boiler). Exhaust was vented through two [funnels](/source/Funnel_(ship)) located [amidships](/source/Amidships). *Luchs* could steam at a top speed of 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph) at 1,300 metric horsepower (1,300 hp). 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).[2][3]

*Luchs* was armed with a [main battery](/source/Main_battery) of two [10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/40 guns](/source/10.5_cm_SK_L/40_naval_gun), with 482 rounds of ammunition. One was placed on the forecastle and the other at the [stern](/source/Stern). She also carried six [37 mm (1.5 in) Maxim guns](/source/3.7_cm_Maxim_machine_cannon). The only armor protection carried by the ship was 8 mm (0.31 in) of steel plate on the conning tower.[2][4]

## Service history

### 1898–1904

*Luchs* was [laid down](/source/Keel_laying) at the [*Kaiserliche Werft*](/source/Kaiserliche_Werft_Danzig) (Imperial Shipyard) in [Danzig](/source/Danzig) in December 1898 under the provisional name "*[Ersatz](/source/Ersatz)* [SMS *Habicht*](/source/SMS_Habicht_(1879))".[a] She was [launched](/source/Ceremonial_ship_launching) on 18 October 1899 and curiously, at the ceremony, her name was misspelled as *Lux*. By the time she was [commissioned](/source/Ship_commissioning) into active service on 15 May 1900, her name had been corrected. Her first commander was *[Korvettenkapitän](/source/Korvettenkapit%C3%A4n)* (KK—Corvette Captain) [Harald Dähnhardt](/source/Harald_D%C3%A4hnhardt). The ship thereafter began [sea trials](/source/Sea_trials).[2][5] While still on her initial testing, she was assigned to the American Station, along with the [protected cruiser](/source/Protected_cruiser) [SMS *Vineta*](/source/SMS_Vineta_(1897)) and the [unprotected cruiser](/source/Unprotected_cruiser) [SMS *Geier*](/source/SMS_Geier).[6] But already on 30 June, *Luchs'* orders were changed and she was diverted to join the German naval forces in the [Far East](/source/Far_East) responding to the [Boxer Uprising](/source/Boxer_Uprising) in [Qing China](/source/Qing_China).[7]

After completing her trials, the ship sailed from [Kiel](/source/Kiel), Germany, on 7 July. While on the way, she met the main element of the German fleet being sent to Chinese waters, centered on the four [*Brandenburg*-class battleships](/source/Brandenburg-class_battleship), in [Port Said](/source/Port_Said), [Egypt](/source/Ottoman_Egypt). *Luchs* had a machinery breakdown soon thereafter, however, and had to stop in [Aden](/source/Aden_Province) for repairs from 1 to 9 August. She arrived in [Singapore](/source/Singapore) on 29 August and thereafter joined the [East Asia Squadron](/source/East_Asia_Squadron). The squadron commander, aboard his [flagship](/source/Flagship) the [armored cruiser](/source/Armored_cruiser) [SMS *Fürst Bismarck*](/source/SMS_F%C3%BCrst_Bismarck), ordered *Luchs* to go to [Guangzhou](/source/Guangzhou) to secure German interests in southern China during the Boxer Uprising. After arriving there on 20 October, she contributed men and weapons to the gunboat [SMS *Schamien*](/source/SMS_Schamien), which had been purchased to assist in suppressing the Boxers.[7]

In late February 1901, *Luchs* was relieved by her [sister ship](/source/Sister_ship) [SMS *Jaguar*](/source/SMS_Jaguar), allowing the former to sail to [Tanggu](/source/Tanggu,_Tianjin) to assist in the withdrawal of the East Asia Expeditionary Corps. By this time, the Boxer Uprising had been largely defeated. After several weeks at [Qingdao](/source/Qingdao) and then [Shanghai](/source/Shanghai), *Luchs* was sent up the Yangtze river as far as [Hankou](/source/Hankou), where she remained until early April 1902. While at Hankou, in October 1901, was temporarily replaced by *[Kapitänleutnant](/source/Kapit%C3%A4nleutnant)* (KL—Captain Lieutenant) [Ernst-Oldwig von Natzmer](/source/Ernst-Oldwig_von_Natzmer), who was in turn replaced by KK [Georg Wuthmann](/source/Georg_Wuthmann) in November. She then joined the unprotected cruisers [SMS *Schwalbe*](/source/SMS_Schwalbe_(1887)) and *Geier* at [Ningbo](/source/Ningbo), where unrest had broken out. *Luchs* was soon released, however, and by the end of April, she had arrived in [Hong Kong](/source/Hong_Kong) for periodic maintenance that lasted until early June. She spent the next four months patrolling southern Chinese ports, and during this period she also sailed to visit Japan. In November, she embarked the new squadron commander, *[Vizeadmiral](/source/Vizeadmiral)* [Richard Geissler](/source/Richard_Geissler) for a cruise up the Yangtze to Hankou.[5]

KL [Ernst Ewers](/source/Ernst_Ewers) took command of the ship in January 1903, though he served as captain for just two months.[8] In February, *Tiger* repeated the river cruise to Hankou, this time carrying *[Konteradmiral](/source/Konteradmiral)* (KAdm—Rear Admiral) [Friedrich von Baudissin](/source/Friedrich_von_Baudissin), the squadron's deputy commander. The ship thereafter returned to Shanghai for periodic maintenance. She spent the next year touring southern Chinese ports, and only returned to Shanghai for her next annual repair period that lasted from June to August 1904.[7] By that time, the [Russo-Japanese War](/source/Russo-Japanese_War) had broken out. In August, the badly damaged Russian [battleship](/source/Battleship) [*Tsesarevich*](/source/Russian_battleship_Tsesarevich) and three [destroyers](/source/Destroyer) sought refuge in the German naval base at Qingdao following the Russian defeat in the [Battle of the Yellow Sea](/source/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 [SMS *Hansa*](/source/SMS_Hansa_(1898)) cleared for action to prevent them from leaving the port. The two cruisers were then reinforced by *Luchs* and her sister [SMS *Tiger*](/source/SMS_Tiger_(1899)) and the cruisers [SMS *Hertha*](/source/SMS_Hertha_(1897)) and *Geier*.[9] *Luchs* thereafter resumed routine cruises in East Asia, and in November, KL [Johannes Hartog](/source/Johannes_Hartog) became the ship's captain.[5]

### 1905–1914

In 1905, *Luchs* conducted her normal routine of peacetime cruises through the East Asia station, including picking up the new squadron commander, KAdm [Alfred Breusing](/source/Alfred_Breusing) in [Bangkok](/source/Bangkok), [Siam](/source/Siam), in November. Breusing was again aboard the ship for a voyage up the Yangtze to Hankou in May 1906. The rest of the year passed uneventfully for *Luchs*, and in March 1907, she returned to Qingdao for an overhaul that lasted into May. On 25 May, she sailed to try to assist the French armored cruiser [French cruiser *Chanzy*](/source/French_cruiser_Chanzy), which had [run aground](/source/Ship_grounding) off [Zhoushan](/source/Zhoushan), but the French refused German assistance. In January 1908, *Luchs* embarked the squadron commander and his staff in the mouth of the [Mekong](/source/Mekong) river in southern [French Indochina](/source/French_Indochina) and took them to Siam to make a formal visit to King [Chulalongkorn](/source/Chulalongkorn) in Bangkok. The rest of the year passed uneventfully for *Luchs*, with the exception of the November arrival of KK [Karl von Hornhardt](/source/Karl_von_Hornhardt), the ship's next captain.[10] The ship spent December 1909 and early January 1910 in Hong Kong for the Christmas and New Year's festivities in company with the armored cruiser [SMS *Scharnhorst*](/source/SMS_Scharnhorst) and the [light cruiser](/source/Light_cruiser) [SMS *Leipzig*](/source/SMS_Leipzig_(1905)). In January, *Scharnhorst*, *Leipzig*, and *Luchs* went on a tour of East Asian ports, including Bangkok, [Manila](/source/Manila), and stops in [Sumatra](/source/Sumatra) and [North Borneo](/source/North_Borneo). By 22 March, the ships had returned to the German port at Qingdao.[11]

Later in 1910, significant unrest in [Hubei](/source/Hubei) province in central China prompted the Germans to send *Luchs*, her sister [SMS *Iltis*](/source/SMS_Iltis_(1898)), and the river gunboat [SMS *Otter*](/source/SMS_Otter_(1909)) to protect German interests there, along with naval forces from other countries. In January 1911, the squadron commander—KAdm [Erich Gühler](/source/Erich_G%C3%BChler)—died of [typhus](/source/Typhus), and *Luchs* sent men to escort his body from the consulate in Hong Kong to the [Norddeutscher Lloyd](/source/Norddeutscher_Lloyd) steamship [SS *Bülow*](/source/SS_B%C3%BClow) to be taken back to Germany. The procession also included men from the gunboat [SMS *Tsingtau*](/source/SMS_Tsingtau) and a British contingent. On 1 November, *Luchs* resumed cruising in the region before entering the Yangtze for a repair period at Hankou. The city was at the center of the [Xinhai Revolution](/source/Xinhai_Revolution), which would go on to topple the Qing dynasty. The ship was later sent to [Nanjing](/source/Nanjing) and Shanghai to protect foreign nationals in those cities, remaining there for the next year. These duties were interrupted by a trip to Japan in July 1912. In late 1912 and early 1913, she made another cruise in the Dutch East Indies before returning to various ports in China to continue to guard against unrest during the revolution.[12]

In mid-July 1914, *Luchs* was in the shipyard in Shanghai undergoing periodic maintenance when she received orders to return to Qingdao immediately. She was to join *Iltis* and the [torpedo boat](/source/Torpedo_boat) [SMS *S90*](/source/SMS_S90) to defend the harbor. Following the outbreak of [World War I](/source/World_War_I) at the end of the month, *Luchs* and *Tiger* were disarmed to equip the Norddeutscher Lloyd post steamer [SS *Prinz Eitel Friedrich*](/source/SS_Prinz_Eitel_Friedrich_(1904)) so it could be used as an [auxiliary cruiser](/source/Auxiliary_cruiser) to raid enemy merchant shipping. The commander of *Luchs*, KK Thierichens, left the ship to command *Prinz Eitel Friedrich*, and many men from both gunboats were sent to man the cruiser, which sailed on 6 August to join the main elements of the East Asia Squadron. *Luchs*, meanwhile, was decommissioned and [laid up](/source/Laid_up) initially in the outer harbor. She was later towed into the inner harbor, where on the night of 28–29 September during the [Siege of Qingdao](/source/Siege_of_Qingdao), she was [scuttled](/source/Scuttling) at the direction of the leader of the shipyard there.[12] Three of her sisters were also scuttled during the siege, including *Iltis* which was scuttled the same day as *Luchs*.[13]

## Notes

### Footnotes

1. German warships were ordered under provisional names. Additions to the fleet were given a single letter; ships intended to replace older or lost vessels were ordered as "*Ersatz* (name of the ship to be replaced)".[14]

### Citations

1. Nottelmann, pp. 73–74.

1. Gröner, pp. 142–143.

1. Lyon, p. 260.

1. Nottelmann, p. 74.

1. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 5, pp. 236–237.

1. Garbett, p. 693.

1. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 5, p. 237.

1. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 5, p. 236.

1. ["Togo Bound for the South?"](https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/08/14/117946109.pdf). *New York Times*. 14 August 1904. Retrieved 11 May 2012.

1. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 5, pp. 236, 238.

1. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 7, p. 107.

1. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 5, p. 238.

1. Gröner, p. 143.

1. Dodson, pp. 8–9.

## References

- Dodson, Aidan (2016). *The Kaiser's Battlefleet: German Capital Ships 1871–1918*. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-229-5.
- Garbett, H. (ed.) (1900). "Naval Notes". *R.U.S.I. Journal*. **XLIV** (268): 684–699. London: Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies. [doi:10.1080/03071840009420016](https://doi.org/10.1080/03071840009420016)
- 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 (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* [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 7. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. [OCLC 310653560](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/310653560)
- Lyon, Hugh (1979). ["Germany"](https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2). *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". *Warship 2022*. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. pp. 63–79. ISBN 978-1-4728-4781-2.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [SMS Luchs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Luchs) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Luchs?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.