S90 in Kiel, c. 1901
Class overview
Builders	Schichau (S),Germaniawerft (G)
Operators	Imperial German Navy
Preceded by	SMS D10
Succeeded by	S138 class
Built	1899–1907
In commission	1899–1921
Completed	48
General characteristics
Class & type	S90 class
Displacement	412 tonnes (405 long tons) designed 544 tonnes (535 long tons) full load
Length	65.70 m (215 ft 7 in)o/a
Beam	7 m (23 ft)
Draft	2.63 m (8 ft 8 in)
Propulsion	2-shaft VTE 3marine boilers 6,783 ihp (5.058 MW)
Speed	28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range	2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	2 officers, 67 enlisted
Armament	S90–107: 3 ×5 cm (2.0 in) SK L/40 guns 3 × 45 cm (17.7 in)torpedo tubes G132–134: 4 ×5.2 cm (2.0 in) SK L/55 guns 3 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes G135 and 136: 1 ×8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK L/35 gun 2 ×5.2 cm (2 in) SK L/55 guns 3 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes

TheS90 class oftorpedo boats was a group of large torpedo boats built for theGermanImperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) in the early 20th century. They wereHochsee-Torpedoboot ("High seas torpedo boat") built to varying designs bySchichau atElbing (36 vessels) andGermaniawerft atKiel (12 vessels). German torpedo boats were designated by shipbuilder, with the first letter of their designation reflecting their builder.^[1]

These 48 vessels were built to ten different designs over the period 1898 to 1907. Thus they varied in dimensions, and they gradually increased in size as more vessels were built. The boats were 62.70 to 68.50 meters (205 ft 9 in to 224 ft 9 in)long at the waterline and 63 to 71.50 m (206 ft 8 in to 234 ft 7 in)long overall. They hadbeam (nautical) of 7 to 7.65 m (23 ft 0 in to 25 ft 1 in) and adraft of 2.03 to 3.22 m (6 ft 8 in to 10 ft 7 in).^[2] Thehull for each boat was divided into elevenwatertight compartments, though afterG132, a twelfth compartment was added. They had a crew of two officers and fifty-five enlisted men, though some of the boats had larger crews;S120 had four more sailors, whileG132 had twelve more men, andG131 had a crew of three officers and 78 enlisted. When serving as half-flotillaflagships, the boats would have a flotilla leader's staff of four officers and eleven enlisted men in addition to the standard crew. The vessels carried ayawl and adinghy apiece.^[3]

TheS90-class boats were propelled by a pair of vertical, 3-cylindertriple expansion steam engines that drove a pair of three-bladedscrew propellers. Steam was provided by three coal-firedwater-tube boilers. Two boats,S125 andG137, were fitted withParsonssteam turbines instead of the older reciprocating engines;G137 also received an additional boiler. The reciprocating engine-powered boats were rated at 27 to 30knots (50 to 56 km/h; 31 to 35 mph) from 5,900 to 7,000indicated horsepower (4,400 to 5,200 kW). Meanwhile,S125 andG137 were rated at 6,600shaft horsepower (4,900 kW) and 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph), and 10,800 shp (8,100 kW) and 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), respectively. The boats had storage capacity for 93 to 168 t (92 to 165 long tons; 103 to 185 short tons) of coal. As a result, cruising radius varied significantly, from 830 to 1,500 nautical miles (1,540 to 2,780 km; 960 to 1,730 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph). Each vessel was equipped with one or two 4 to 8 kilowatts (5.4 to 10.7 hp) 110-Volt generators for electrical power. Steering was controlled with a pair ofrudders, one at the stern and the other in the bow.^[4]

Most of the ships of the class were armed with a main battery of three5 cm (2.0 in) SK L/40^[5] guns in single pivot mounts. They were supplied with a total of 252 shells that weighed 1.75 kg (3 lb 14 oz). The guns had amuzzle velocity of 656 m/s (2,150 ft/s) and a maximum range of 6,200 yd (5,700 m) at their highest elevation of 20 degrees.G132,G133,G134, andG136 were equipped with four5.2 cm (2 in) SK L/55 guns in single gun mounts. These guns fired a similar 1.75 kg shell at a muzzle velocity of 850 m/s (2,800 ft/s). The guns could elevate up to 20 degrees, at a maximum range of 7,100 m (7,800 yd).G135 was equipped with two of the 5.2 cm guns and one8.8 cm (3.5 in) gun, whileG137 had three 5.2 cm guns and one 8.8 cm gun. The 8.8 cm gun fired a shell weighing 7 kg (15 lb) at a muzzle velocity of 690 m/s (2,300 ft/s). The gun could be elevated to 25 degrees, for a maximum range of 8,790 m (9,610 yd). Many of the boats were rearmed throughout their time in service, trading their 5 cm or 5.2 cm guns for the more powerful 8.8 cm guns. All ships of the class carried three 45 cm (17.7 in) deck-mounted singletorpedo tubes with fivetorpedoes.^[3][6]

Most of the ships served into World War I.S90 sank theJapanese cruiser Takachiho on 17 October 1914, and was scuttled at Tsingtao later that day. Four of these boats took part in theBattle off Texel on the exact same day, in which a British light cruiser and four destroyers destroyed the Seventh Half-Flotilla consisting ofS119,S115,S117 andS118.

• Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0-87021-907-3.
• Gröner, Erich (1990).German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0-87021-790-9.

• Torpedo boats of the Imperial German Navy
• World War I torpedo boats of Germany

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata