SMS was the first torpedo-armed aviso built for the Imperial German Navy (). She was built in Britain in 1875–1876, and was the last major warship built for Germany by a foreign shipyard. Ordered as a testbed for the new Whitehead torpedo, was armed with a pair of torpedo tubes, and was capable of a top speed of , making her the fastest ship in the German fleet at the time. was the first torpedo-armed vessel in a series of avisos that ultimately developed into the first light cruisers. In addition to her impact in German warship design, also influenced numerous other navies, who built dozens of similar avisos and torpedo vessels of their own.
served for the first two decades of her career with the torpedo boat flotilla. In 1878–1880, she was captained by Alfred von Tirpitz, the future architect of the High Seas Fleet. In 1882, she cruised the Mediterranean Sea with several other German warships, and was present during the British bombardment of Alexandria, where she protected German interests. was used as a fishery protection ship from 1899 until 1914, when the outbreak of World War I necessitated her mobilization as a coastal patrol ship. She served in this capacity for the duration of the war, and was stricken from the naval register in December 1919. The ship was finally sold for scrapping in August 1921, after forty-five years of service.
Design In 1869, the Prussian Navy sent then- (KK) Alexander von Monts to Austria to examine the new Whitehead torpedoes then being developed there. Albrecht von Stosch, the commander in chief of the new Imperial German Navy, approved a plan to develop a torpedo arm for the German fleet a part of his fleet plan of 1872. Stosch envisioned a variety of torpedo craft, including small torpedo boats for use in coastal areas and larger vessels capable of operating at sea. He placed Monts in charge of the program in 1873. That year, Stosch's naval construction program called for a tender for the new torpedo boats. Because German firms had no experience building a ship of this type, the navy placed an order from the British firm the Thames Iron Works, which was to be built to the firm's design. The new vessel, named after the 18th century cavalry commander Hans Joachim von Zieten, was to be the last major warship purchased by the German navy from a foreign shipyard.
In addition to the planned role as a tender for torpedo boats, she was also intended to serve as a test platform for the new self-propelled torpedo. Up to the mid-1870s, the German navy had only experimented with a handful of torpedo ships, all of which were equipped with the old spar torpedo. spent much of her early career taking part in experiments with early torpedoes and as a tender for torpedo boats. The ship's design provided the basis for both later German avisos—the —and all subsequent light cruisers, but also inspired numerous foreign designs, such as several classes of French, Italian, and Austrian avisos and torpedo craft.
General characteristics was long at the waterline and long overall. She had a beam of and a draft of forward. She displaced as designed and up to at full load. The hull was constructed with transverse iron frames and contained eight watertight compartments. Initially, had only a small bridge forward, but in 1899, a new superstructure was built; it included a conning tower with a compass platform. A chart house was also added forward of the funnel.
was a good sea boat with a gentle motion, but she was very crank. She was very maneuverable, but she handled poorly in a head sea. In bad weather, she took on considerable amounts of water and was very dangerous. The ship had a crew of 6 officers and 88 enlisted men, though later in her career the figure rose to 7 and 99, respectively. During her career as a fishery protection ship, the number of enlisted sailors rose further, to 104. carried a number of smaller boats: one picket boat, one cutter, two yawls, and one dinghy. Later in her career, the picket boat was removed and two barges were added.
Machinery The ship's propulsion system consisted of two horizontal 2-cylinder double-expansion steam engines manufactured by John Penn and Sons. The engines drove two 3-bladed propellers that were wide in diameter. Steam was provided by six coal-fired, cylindrical fire-tube boilers, also manufactured by John Penn and Sons, which were vented through a single funnel amidships. The boilers were replaced with new models in 1891 during a refit at the (Imperial Shipyard) in Kiel. As built, was fitted with a schooner rig with a sail area of to supplement her steam engines, but this was later reduced to only an auxiliary gaff sail.
The engines were rated at , but only managed to reach at maximum power. With the new boilers, the engines reached . Her top speed as designed was to have been , but with her original boilers, she could make at full power. This speed nevertheless made the fastest ship in the German fleet. With the new boilers, she could steam at up to . could carry up to of coal, which allowed her to steam for at a cruising speed of . During the refit, she also had one electricity generator, with an output of at 67 volts, installed.
Armament s primary armament consisted of a pair of torpedo tubes. Both were submerged in the hull, one in the bow and one in the stern. They were supplied with a total of ten Whitehead torpedoes. These powerful weapons, coupled with the ship's high speed and maneuverability, made her a formidable vessel for the period. In 1878, the forward torpedo tube was relocated to a swivel launcher mounted on the deck, and two guns were installed. She was also equipped with six machine guns. Later in her career, the torpedo tubes were removed, due to their obsolescence, and she was rearmed with six SK L/40 guns, though two were later removed. The guns were supplied with a total of 864 rounds of ammunition, and could engage targets out to . She was also equipped to lay naval mines, and she could carry 49 of them.
Service history
Construction and torpedo testing
was built by the Thames Iron Works in London. She was laid down in 1875 and was launched on 9 March 1876. She was completed on 15 July 1876, and commissioned into the German fleet on 1 August. KK Franz Mensing took command of the ship. arrived at the German naval base at Wilhelmshaven ten days later. On the way to Wilhelmshaven, the ship conducted sea trials in the North Sea; upon her arrival, she was taken into the shipyard for fitting-out work. At the time of the ship's commissioning, Otto von Diederichs served aboard as her executive officer in her first crew. Diederichs supervised the installation of the ship's torpedo tubes, along with the magazine for storing the torpedoes. The work lasted until September, which prevented from participating in the annual August–September fleet exercises. Instead, she was sent to the torpedo training school at Friedrichsort in mid-September. She remained there until she was moved to Kiel to be decommissioned for the winter on 17 November. In March 1877, Diederichs returned to the ship and prepared her for service in the training season that year. The ship was ready for active duty by 11 June and thereafter conducted further sea trials and torpedo training.
After entered service in June 1877, Diederichs was replaced by (KL) Alfred von Tirpitz, who took over torpedo testing while he was assigned to the Torpedo School at Kiel. Diederichs meanwhile readied the old gunboat as a tender for . On 18 September, and participated in the first major test of the new Whitehead torpedoes in the German navy, which was observed by Stosch. During the exercises, scored three hits on a stationary target, one of which at a distance of , which was deemed a great success. After the conclusion of the maneuvers, was placed in reserve on 2 October for the winter. The analysis of the testing showed that the bow-mounted torpedo tube was not satisfactory, and so Diederichs was tasked with redesigning her armament in January 1878. Diederichs moved the bow tube to a swivel mount on her deck, and added two 12 cm guns to improve her defense against small warships. The refit work was completed by 16 April 1878, permitting Tirpitz to take command of the ship on 6 May. He served as the ship's commander until August 1880. Tirpitz, as the commander of Germany's torpedo boat flotilla, staunchly advocated the development of torpedo craft rather than a fleet of battleships.
After the ship returned to service in May 1878, she carried out experiments in the area off Friedrichsort, and thereafter began training sailors in the use of torpedoes, which the navy intended to install aboard larger vessels. On 13 May, she was present at the launching of the new ironclad . thereafter conducted a torpedo demonstration for members of the , who observed aboard the aviso . torpedoed and sank a small shallop, and then carried out tests with larger wooden-hulled vessels, including vessels with iron-reinforced hulls. The demonstrations led to plans to place torpedo-armed launches aboard the fleet's ironclads, though priority was given to development of the torpedoes themselves. was decommissioned for the winter on 3 October. was recommissioned on 5 May 1879 for her normal training and experimentation routine. That year, she sank the old aviso with a pair of torpedoes. was decommissioned for the winter again on 7 October. She was recommissioned on 3 May 1880, and on 28 July, during maneuvers with the fleet, torpedoed and sank the old paddle steamer . The test was carried out off Heikendorf, steaming at full speed and firing at a range of . In August, KL Max von Fischel relieved Tirpitz as the ship's commander. was once again laid up for the winter on 15 October. The ship was thereafter withdrawn from her role as a torpedo training and test ship, as she was no longer sufficient for the task. The new screw corvette had recently been completed as a purpose-built torpedo training vessel, and she replaced in that role.
Service with the fleet
underwent a major overhaul in 1881 and was recommissioned on 27 June under the command of KL Wilhelm Büchsel; on 16 August, she was reclassified as an aviso. The ship was present for a naval review held for Kaiser Wilhelm I on 17 September, during which she hosted Helmuth von Moltke. On 1 October, she embarked a commission for a short trip to Alsen. She was again decommissioned on 20 October. She was recommissioned for another period of active service on 14 August 1882, now commanded by KK Carl Barandon. Five days later, joined a cruising squadron that consisted of the screw corvettes and , the steamer , and the gunboat , for operations in the Mediterranean Sea. The ships were present during the British bombardment of Alexandria in August 1882; they sent men ashore to protect the German embassy, along with a German-run hospital. was at Alexandria on 30 September, where she was replaced by the gunboat , though remained in the area until 14 October, by which time the situation had calmed. She departed for Germany that day, but stopped in numerous Mediterranean ports on her way back, arriving in Kiel on 15 November. There, she was again decommissioned ten days later.