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SMS Luchs
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<p>SMS <i>Luchs</i> was the fourth member of the <a href="/facts/Iltis-class_gunboat/VJ2HT9ou"><i>Iltis</i> class</a> of <a href="/facts/Gunboat/J8q4Iglu">gunboats</a> built for the German <i><a href="/facts/Kaiserliche_Marine/wNhU6Hlo">Kaiserliche Marine</a></i> (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 <a href="/facts/German_colonial_empire/CC1hchUz">German colonial empire</a>. They were ordered in three groups of two ships, each pair incorporating design improvements. <i>Luchs</i>, along with <a href="/facts/SMS_Tiger_(1899)/9a89y4Uj"><i>Tiger</i></a>, was armed with a <a href="/facts/Main_battery/kGY2PubV">main battery</a> of two 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns, had a top speed of 13.5 <a href="/facts/Knot_(unit)/Sho0TF2y">knots</a> (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph), and could cruise for more than 2,500 <a href="/facts/Nautical_mile/V4yJzvKw">nautical miles</a> (4,630 km; 2,880 mi). </p><p>Initially planned to serve on the American Station, <i>Luchs</i> was reassigned to the <a href="/facts/East_Asia_Squadron/x1l2AAL9">East Asia Squadron</a> in response to the <a href="/facts/Boxer_Uprising/eMnpKNVl">Boxer Uprising</a> in <a href="/facts/Qing_China/5j6r4p5m">Qing China</a> in 1900. After arriving, some of her men and guns were transferred to Schamien, which was purchased to serve as a river gunboat during the fighting in China. During the <a href="/facts/Russo-Japanese_War/YWIxIkE2">Russo-Japanese War</a> in 1904, <i>Luchs</i> participated in the internment of Russian naval forces that had stopped in the German naval base at <a href="/facts/Qingdao/5BjM20Ju">Qingdao</a>. The ship spent the next several years patrolling in East Asian waters. During the <a href="/facts/Xinhai_Revolution/lCnPzBWo">Xinhai Revolution</a> in 1911–1912, <i>Luchs</i> was stationed in several cities to protect foreign nationals in China. After the start of <a href="/facts/World_War_I/vITTUanQ">World War I</a> in July 1914, <i>Luchs</i> was disarmed; her guns and part of her crew were used to equip the steamer <a href="/facts/SS_Prinz_Eitel_Friedrich_(1904)/5mRMzz9B"><i>Prinz Eitel Friedrich</i></a> as an <a href="/facts/Auxiliary_cruiser/5KjaDHf8">auxiliary cruiser</a>. <i>Luchs</i> was subsequently <a href="/facts/Scuttling/kDeqTHM7">scuttled</a> during the <a href="/facts/Siege_of_Qingdao/nlLVRtRM">Siege of Qingdao</a> in September 1914. </p>