&sq=&lang=&file=File:SMS_Panther_NH_87323.jpg) Panther in port
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Austria-Hungary | |
| Name | SMS Panther |
| Builder | Armstrong, Elswick |
| Laid down | 29 October 1884 |
| Launched | 13 June 1885 |
| Completed | 31 December 1885 |
| Fate | Broken up, 1920 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Panther-class cruiser |
| Displacement | 1,557 long 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 |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 18.4 knots (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 |
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| Armor | Deck: 12 mm (0.47 in) |
SMS Panther was a torpedo cruiser (Torpedoschiff) of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. She and her sister ship, Leopard were part of a program to build up Austria-Hungary's fleet of torpedo craft in the 1880s. She was the lead ship of her class, and was built in Britain by Armstrong, from her keel 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 the 1888 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 States Marines protect US civilians during a riot. She went on a cruise in the Mediterranean in 1902, and in 1905, she visited East Africa. Panther was modernized in 1909–1910 and received a new gun armament. At the outbreak of World 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 The next year, Panther was withdrawn from frontline service and employed as a training ship. Awarded to Britain in the postwar division of war prizes, Panther was broken up for scrap in Italy in 1920.