 Jaguar c. 1899
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 German Empire | |
| Name | SMS Jaguar |
| Namesake | Jaguar |
| Builder | Schichau-Werke, Danzig |
| Laid down | September 1897 |
| Launched | 19 September 1898 |
| Commissioned | 4 April 1899 |
| Fate | Scuttled on 7 November 1914 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Iltis-class gunboat |
| Displacement | |
| 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 |
|
| Propulsion | |
| 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 |
|
| Armament | |
| Armor | Conning tower: 8 mm (0.31 in) |
SMS Jaguar was the second member of the Iltis class of gunboats built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the late 1890s and early 1900s, for overseas service. The ships were built to modernize the German gunboat force that was used to patrol the German colonial empire. They were ordered in three groups of two ships, each pair incorporating design improvements. Jaguar, along with Iltis, was armed with a main battery of four 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns, had a top speed of 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph), and could cruise for more than 3,000 nautical miles (5,560 km; 3,450 mi).
Jaguar spent the entirety of her active career as part of the East Asia Squadron, based in China. She assisted in the suppression of the Boxer Uprising in China in 1900 and 1901, being used to protect Germans in various port cities during the conflict. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, she cruised in Korean waters to ensure that the fighting there did not affect German interests. The ship next participated in the suppression of rebellions against German rule in the Caroline Islands and German Samoa in 1908 and 1909, respectively. During the Xinhai Revolution that began in China in 1910, Jaguar patrolled several Chinese ports to be available in the event the fighting began to affect Germans in China.
Jaguar was the only vessel of the four Iltis-class ships operating in China that was kept in service after the outbreak of World War I in July 1914. She saw significant action during the Siege of Qingdao, engaging in artillery duels with Japanese field guns. With the Germans set to surrender on 8 November, Jaguar was scuttled on the night of 6–7 November.