SMS Wespe (1876)

Wespe's sister ship Natter in Kiel
History
German Empire
Name	Wespe
Namesake	SMS Wespe
Builder	AG Weser, Bremen
Laid down	May 1875
Launched	6 July 1876
Commissioned	26 November 1876
Decommissioned	14 September 1885
Stricken	28 June 1909
Fate	Sold, 1910
General characteristics
Type	Gunboat
Displacement	Design: 1,098 t (1,081 long tons) Full load: 1,163 t (1,145 long tons)
Length	46.4 m (152 ft 3 in)
Beam	10.6 m (34 ft 9 in)
Draft	3.2 to 3.4 m (10 ft 6 in to 11 ft 2 in)
Installed power	4 × fire-tube boilers 800 PS (790 ihp)
Propulsion	2 × double-expansion steam engines 2 × screw propellers
Speed	10.4 knots (19.3 km/h; 12.0 mph)
Complement	3 officers 73–85 enlisted
Armament	1 × 30.5 cm (12 in) MRK L/22 gun
Armor	Belt: 102 to 203 mm (4 to 8 in) Barbette: 203 mm (8 in) Deck: 44 mm (1.7 in)

SMS Wespe was the lead ship of the Wespe class of ironclad gunboats built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the 1870s. The ships, which were armed with a single 30.5 cm (12 in) MRK L/22 gun, were intended to serve as part of a coastal defense fleet. Wespe saw little active service after her initial sea trials in 1877, being commissioned for short training periods in 1880, 1881, and 1885. She was refitted twice during her career to strengthen her armament, in 1883 and 1892–1894. Wespe was struck from the naval register in 1909 and then used as a barge. The details of her disposal are unknown.