Dispatch vessels and veterans

Avisos & Old Cruisers

Fast fleet messengers, torpedo-boat hunters and long-range station cruisers reveal how Germany searched for new ship types at the end of the nineteenth century.

7 ships in 5 design groups

Before the modern small cruiser

Experiments in speed, range and role

These ships answered very different requirements: defending the battle line, scouting for the fleet and maintaining a naval presence across distant colonial stations.

Profile of Comet

Torpedo-boat defense aviso

Comet

1894–1921
Designed to hunt torpedo boats, Comet spent only months in active service before becoming a harbor auxiliary.Explore ship →
Profile of Bussard

Overseas cruiser

Bussard

1890–1913
Bussard carried German naval presence through African and Pacific stations during an entire career spent overseas.Explore ship →
Profile of Seeadler

Overseas cruiser

Seeadler

1892–1917
Seeadler completed an exceptional thirteen and a half years abroad before a mine explosion destroyed her at Wilhelmshaven.Explore ship →
Profile of Condor

Overseas cruiser

Condor

1892–1921
Condor served from East Africa to the Pacific before finishing the war as a stationary mine hulk.Explore ship →
Profile of Gefion

Cruiser corvette

Gefion

1894–1923
Gefion combined fleet reconnaissance, overseas reach and commerce-war ambitions in an unusually long-ranged cruiser corvette.Explore ship →
Profile of Greif

Torpedo-boat defense aviso

Greif

1887–1921
Greif was fast enough to confront early torpedo boats, but the weapon she was built to counter soon outgrew her.Explore ship →
Profile of Hela

Fleet aviso

Hela

1896–1914
A direct precursor of the small cruiser, Hela served the fleet and overseas before a submarine sank her in September 1914.Explore ship →