 Panther in port | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Austro-Hungarian Empire | |
| Name | SMSPanther |
| Builder | Armstrong,Elswick |
| Laid down | 29 October 1884 |
| Launched | 13 June 1885 |
| Completed | 31 December 1885 |
| Fate | Broken up, 1920 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Panther-classcruiser |
| Displacement | 1,557long tons (1,582 t) |
| Length | 73.19 m (240 ft 1 in) |
| Beam | 10.39 m (34 ft 1 in) |
| Draft | 4.28 m (14 ft 1 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 18.4knots (34.1 km/h; 21.2 mph) |
| Range | 2,800 nmi (5,200 km; 3,200 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Crew | 186 |
| Armament |
|
| Armor | Deck: 12 mm (0.47 in) |
SMSPanther was atorpedo cruiser (Torpedoschiff) of theAustro-Hungarian Navy. She and hersister ship,Leopard were part of a program to build up Austria-Hungary'sfleet of torpedo craft in the 1880s. She was thelead ship ofher class, and was built in Britain byArmstrong, from herkeel laying in October 1884 to her completion in December 1885. She was armed with a battery of two 12 cm (4.7 in) guns and ten 47 mm (1.9 in) guns, along with four 356 mm (14 in)torpedo tubes.
After arriving in Austria-Hungary,Panther initially served with the main fleet. During this period, she visited Spain for the1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition. Starting in the mid-1890s, the ship spent much of her time abroad. From 1896 to 1898, she was stationed in China, and she sent a shore party to help United StatesMarines protect US civilians during a riot. She went on a cruise in theMediterranean in 1902, and in 1905, she visitedEast Africa.Panther was modernized in 1909–1910 and received a new gun armament. At the outbreak ofWorld War I in July 1914, the ship was assigned to the Coastal Defense Special Group; these ships provided artillery support to an Austro-Hungarian Army attack in January 1916 that knocked Montenegro out of the war. The next year,Panther was withdrawn from frontline service and employed as atraining ship. Awarded to Britain in the postwar division ofwar prizes,Panther wasbroken up for scrap in Italy in 1920.
In the early 1880s,Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral)Maximilian Daublebsky von Sterneck pressed for new naval construction to strengthen the chronically neglectedAustro-Hungarian Navy, but realizing that newironclad battleships could not be built given the parliaments' unwillingness to fund such expensive projects, he requested a pair of smallprotected cruisers. These ships would be used defensively against the larger and more expensive ironclads possessed by Austria-Hungary's rivals.[1][2] Because the small Austro-Hungarian shipbuilding industry lacked experience building modern cruising vessels, the contracts for the new ships were given toArmstrong in the United Kingdom, though the experience the navy gained was used to build the follow-on cruiserTiger domestically.[3][4]
Panther was 73.19 meters (240 ft 1 in)long overall, with abeam of 10.39 m (34 ft 1 in) and adraft of 4.28 m (14 ft 1 in). Shedisplaced 1,557long tons (1,582 t) atnormal loading. Hersuperstructure was fairly minimal, consisting primarily of a smallconning tower forward. The ship had aninverted bow and aforecastle deck that extended for the first third of the vessel. She was fitted with a pair of polemasts. Her crew numbered 186 officers and men.[5]
The ship'spropulsion system consisted of a pair of two-cylinder verticalcompoundsteam engines that drove a pair ofscrew propellers. Steam was provided by six cylindricalfire-tube boilers that were trunked into twofunnels. On trials,Panther reached a speed of 18.4knots (34.1 km/h; 21.2 mph) from 5,940indicated horsepower (4,430 kW), slightly slower than hersister shipLeopard. The ship had a cruising radius of 2,800nautical miles (5,200 km; 3,200 mi) at a more economical speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[5][6]
The ship was armed with amain battery of two 12-centimeter (4.7 in) 35-caliber (cal.) guns manufactured byKrupp in single mounts, which were placed insponsonsamidships, one per side. These were supported by asecondary battery of four47 mm (1.9 in)quick-firing guns and six 47 mmrevolver cannon, which provided close-range defense againsttorpedo boats. The ship's primary offensive armament was her four 356 mm (14 in)torpedo tubes. The torpedo tubes were located singly, in thebow,stern, and at either beam.Panther was protected with a thin 12 mm (0.47 in) armored deck.[5]
Panther was built in Britain by theArmstrong shipyard inElswick. Herkeel waslaid down on 29 October 1884, and her completedhull waslaunched on 13 June 1885. She was completed on 31 December 1885.[5] On 15 January 1886, the ship's first commander arrived to take the ship toPola, which she reached on 12 February. Upon arrival, she was taken into the shipyard to have her armament installed, including her torpedo tubes in 1887. After this work was completed in 1887,Panther entered service with the fleet, where she served as aflotilla leader for torpedo boats. This included a period of service with the main fleet from 6 May to 5 June in 1886.[7]
She participated in the annual fleet maneuvers in 1888, along with the ironcladsDon Juan d'Austria,Kaiser Max,Custoza,Tegetthoff, and the cruisersLeopard andMeteor.[8] That year,Panther andLeopard joined a squadron that included the ironcladsTegetthoff,Custoza,Kaiser Max,Don Juan d'Austria, andPrinz Eugen to represent Austria-Hungary in the opening ceremonies for theBarcelona Universal Exposition from 25 April to 2 May. This was the largest squadron of the Austro-Hungarian Navy that had operated outside theAdriatic. On 21 June, she ran aground and the ship's captain,Rudolf Montecuccoli, later the chief of theMarinesektion, was reprimanded and forced to pay for the repair costs.[9][10]
In early 1896,Panther was adapted for extended overseas cruises. From 1 May 1896 to 28 February 1898,Panther was deployed to the East Asian station. During this period, she assisted AmericanMarines from thegunboatUSS Monocacy inShanghai. The Austro-Hungarian landing partyPanther sent ashore helped the Marines protect American civilians during riots in the area.Panther returned home in 1898 after having been relieved by the oldcorvettesSaida andFrundsberg.[10][11] After returning to Austria-Hungary, she was decommissioned in 1899. She returned to active duty for service with the summer training squadron in 1900 and 1902. In 1902,Panther cruised the westernMediterranean Sea and briefly into theAtlantic Ocean, making a call inRabat, Morocco. One of the purposes of the trip was to deliver a gift toAbdelaziz, theSultan of Morocco.[10][12]
The ship went toEast Africa in 1905, departing Austria-Hungary on 15 January, under the command of CaptainLudwig von Höhnel. The ship stopped in French-controlledDjibouti, where Höhnel and a group left the ship to travel overland toEthiopia, where they concluded a trading treaty for Austria-Hungary. Höhnel's mission lasted from 4 February to 10 April. From there,Panther continued on in the Pacific Ocean, making visits in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and China, before ultimately returning to Austria-Hungary on 22 December 1906.[13][14] In June 1909, the ship was drydocked for modernization that included a complete overhaul of her gun battery; after emerging from the shipyard, she carried four66 mm (2.6 in) 45-cal. guns and ten 47 mm QF guns, along with her original torpedo tubes.[5][6] Electric lighting and equipment to bake bread were also installed. From 16 August 1909 to 15 November 1910,Panther made another voyage to East Asia; during the trip, she cruised inJapan's inland sea and made several stops along the Chinese coast. From her return to Austria-Hungary to 1913, she served as a station ship inTrieste.[14]
At the outbreak ofWorld War I in July 1914,Panther was assigned to the Coastal Defense Special Group, along with the threeMonarch-class coastal defense ships and the cruiserKaiser Franz Joseph I. The ships were commanded byRear AdmiralRichard von Barry.[15][16] From 8 to 10 January 1916,Panther and the ships of the Coastal Defense Special Group provided artillery support to the troops of theXIX Corps as they mounted a major attack to destroy Montenegrin forces fromMount Lovcen. The success of the offensive forced Montenegro out of the war shortly thereafter.[17] Later that year, she had one of her 66 mm guns replaced with a 66 mm gun in ananti-aircraft mounting. From 15 February 1917, she was employed as atraining ship for the Submarine Commander's School inCattaro Bay. On 6 May, she was taken to Pola for an overhaul, and returned to training duties on 29 May. Under the terms of theTreaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Britain receivedPanther as awar prize in 1920, but she was instead sold toship breakers in Italy and scrapped in 1920.[5][6][18]
