SMS Cormoran (1892)

Cormoran in Brisbane, Australia
History
German Empire
Name:	Cormoran
Laid down:	1890
Launched:	17 May 1892
Commissioned:	25 July 1893
Fate:	Scuttled at Tsingtau, 28 September 1914
General characteristics
Class and type:	Bussard-class unprotected cruiser
Displacement:	1,864 t (1,835 long tons; 2,055 short tons)
Length:	82.6 m (271 ft 0 in)
Beam:	12.7 m (41 ft 8 in)
Draft:	4.42 m (14 ft 6 in)
Propulsion:	2 × 3-cylinder triple expansion engines, 2 screws
Speed:	15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph)
Range:	2,950 nmi (5,460 km) at 9 knots (17 km/h)
Complement:	9 officers 152 enlisted men
Armament:	8 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/35 guns 5 × revolver cannon 2 × 35 cm (14 in) torpedo tubes

SMS Cormoran ("His Majesty's Ship Cormorant") was an unprotected cruiser of the Bussard class, the fifth member of a class of six ships. She was built for the Imperial German Navy for overseas duty. The cruiser's keel was laid down in Danzig in 1890; she was launched in May 1892 and commissioned in July 1893. Cormoran was armed with a main battery of eight 10.5-centimeter (4.1 in) guns, and could steam at a speed of 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph).

Cormoran spent the majority of her career abroad, usually in Germany's South Pacific colonies in the Samoan Islands. Her duties there typically consisted of survey work and suppressing colonial unrest. She briefly cruised in South African waters in late 1894 and early 1895 before steaming to the Pacific. She participated in the seizure of the Kiautschou Bay concession in the Shandong Peninsula in China in 1897. Cormoran returned to Germany in 1903 and was modernized in 1907–08. The following year, she returned to the South Pacific, where she remained until the outbreak of World War I in August 1914. Docked in Tsingtau for repairs at the onset of hostilities, she was unable to actively take part in the fighting. She was therefore disarmed and scuttled in the harbor; her guns were used to strengthen the defenses of the port.

Cormoran was 82.6 meters (271 ft) long overall and had a beam of 12.7 m (42 ft) and a draft of 4.42 m (14.5 ft) forward. She displaced 1,864 t (1,835 long tons; 2,055 short tons) at full combat load. Her propulsion system consisted of two horizontal 3-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines powered by four coal-fired cylindrical boilers. These provided a top speed of 15.5 kn (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) and a range of approximately 2,950 nautical miles (5,460 km; 3,390 mi) at 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph). She had a crew of 9 officers and 152 enlisted men.