In the 1880s and 1890s, Germany built nine unprotected cruisers in three classes. These ships proved to be transitional designs, and experience gathered with them and a series of avisos helped to produce the first light cruisers of the German Navy. The unprotected cruisers, generally designed for service in Germany's colonial empire, required great endurance and relatively heavy firepower. The first ships of the type, the two s, were acquired in an effort to modernize an aged cruiser force that relied primarily on old sail frigates. The new ships were primarily steam-powered but retained auxiliary sailing rigs. The second design, the, was larger than the German: Schwalbe class and mounted newer, quick-firing guns, but was otherwise generally similar in capabilities., the final cruiser of the type, represented an attempt to merge the requirements for a colonial cruiser with those for a fleet scout as a result of Germany's chronically small naval budget; the design was unsatisfactory, and rather than continuing to build unprotected cruisers, German naval designers began work on the, the first modern light cruiser of the German Navy.
All nine cruisers served extensively in Germany's colonies and foreign interests, particularly in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. They participated in the suppression of numerous rebellions, including the Abushiri Revolt in German East Africa in 1889–90, the Boxer Uprising in China in 1900–1901, and the Sokehs Rebellion in the Caroline Islands in 1911. Most of the ships were recalled to Germany and decommissioned by the early 1910s, having been replaced by the newer light cruisers. and were scrapped in 1912, but the rest continued on in secondary roles. Of the remaining seven ships, only and remained abroad at the start of World War I in August 1914. German: Cormoran was stationed in Qingdao, but her engines were worn out, so she was scuttled to prevent her capture. German: Geier briefly operated against British shipping in the Pacific before running low on coal. She put into Hawaii, where she was interned by the US Navy. After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, she was seized and commissioned into American service as USS Schurz, though she was accidentally sunk in a collision in June 1918., employed as a mine storage hulk in Wilhelmshaven during the war, was destroyed by an accidental explosion in 1917.,,, and German: Gefion were used in a variety of secondary roles during the war, including as floating barracks, training cruisers, and target ships. The first three ships were all broken up for scrap in the early 1920s, while German: Gefion was briefly used as a freighter, before she too was scrapped, in 1923.
| Armament | The number and type of the primary armament | |
|---|---|---|
| Displacement | Ship displacement at full combat load | |
| Propulsion | Number of shafts, type of propulsion system, and top speed generated | |
| Service | The dates work began and finished on the ship and its ultimate fate | |
| Laid down | The date the keel began to be assembled | |
| Commissioned | The date the ship was commissioned |
See main article: Schwalbe-class cruiser.
Prior to the mid-1880s, the German German: [[Kaiserliche Marine]] (Imperial Navy) had built two types of cruising vessels; small avisos suitable for short-range service with the main fleet, and larger, sail-and-steam-powered screw corvettes that could serve on long-range patrols of the German colonial empire. The first unprotected cruisers of the German fleet, the German: Schwalbe-class cruisers, were designed in 1886 to replace the motley collection of old sailing ships that Germany then relied upon to patrol the overseas empire. Leo von Caprivi, then the Chief of the German: Kaiserliche Marine, requested cruisers that had the range to operate abroad, but which also possessed sufficient combat power to be useful in time of war; the old sailing ships so poorly armed that they were ineffective as combat ships. German: Schwalbe and German: Sperber were therefore armed with a main battery of eight 10.5cm (04.1inches) guns.
Both ships served abroad for the majority of their careers, primarily in Germany's African colonies and in Asia and the Pacific. Their service lives were generally uneventful, apart from the normal routine of colonial policing. They were both sent to German East Africa to help put down the Abushiri Revolt in 1889–1890, and German: Schwalbe joined the Eight Nation Alliance against the Boxer Uprising in China in 1900. Both ships were decommissioned by 1911 and were thereafter used for secondary roles: German: Schwalbe as a training ship and German: Sperber as a target ship. After World War I, both vessels were sold and broken up for scrap by 1922.
| Ship | Armament | Displacement | Propulsion | Service | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | ||||
| 8 × K L/35 guns | 2 × 2-cylinder double-expansion marine steam engines, 13.5kn | April 1886 | 8 May 1888 | Scrapped, 1922 | ||
| September 1887 | 2 April 1889 | Scrapped, 1922 | ||||
See main article: Bussard-class cruiser.
The German: Kaiserliche Marine designed the German: Bussard class in 1888 as an improved version of the German: Schwalbe class; like their predecessors, the German: Bussards were intended purely for colonial duty and were named for birds. They were larger and faster, with a comparable cruising radius and the same number and caliber of guns, though all but the first ship were equipped with new quick-firing models. The German: Bussard class was also the last cruiser design to incorporate a sailing rig in the German Navy.
All five ships served extensively in Germany's colonial possessions in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. German: Seeadler participated in the suppression of the Boxer Uprising in 1900, German: Falke participated in the Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903, and German: Condor and German: Cormoran helped to defeat the Sokehs Rebellion in the Caroline Islands in 1911. German: Bussard and German: Falke were scrapped in 1912, while German: Seeadler and German: Condor returned to Germany in 1914 to be decommissioned. German: Cormoran and German: Geier remained in the Pacific at the outbreak of World War I; the former's engines were worn out and she was scuttled in Qingdao. German: Geier briefly attacked British shipping in the Pacific and tried to link up with the main body of Admiral Maximilian von Spee's East Asia Squadron, but put into Hawaii after running out of fuel. She was interned, seized by the US Navy in 1917, and commissioned as USS Schurz; she briefly served in the US Navy before she was accidentally rammed and sunk by a freighter in June 1918. Meanwhile, German: Seeadler was destroyed by an accidental explosion in 1917. German: Condor was the only member of the class to survive the war; she was broken up for scrap in 1921.
| Ship | Armament | Displacement | Propulsion | Service | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | ||||
| 8 × 10.5 cm K L/35 guns | 1868MT | 2 × 2-cylinder double-expansion steam engines, 15.5kn | 1888 | 7 October 1890 | Scrapped, 1913 | |
| 8 × 10.5 cm SK L/35 guns | 1890 | 14 September 1891 | Scrapped, 1913 | |||
| 1890 | 17 August 1892 | Destroyed, 19 April 1917 | ||||
| 1891 | 9 December 1892 | Scrapped, 1921 | ||||
| 1890 | 25 July 1893 | Scuttled, 28 September 1914 | ||||
| 1893 | 24 October 1895 | Captured, 6 April 1917, sunk 21 June 1918 | ||||
See main article: SMS Gefion.
German: Gefion was the last unprotected cruiser built for the German: Kaiserliche Marine; she was in fact a smaller version of contemporary protected cruisers like . The designers attempted to build a hybrid vessel that could serve as a fleet scout and as an overseas cruiser, mainly due to a smaller naval budget, which limited the navy's ability to acquire ships optimized for each role. The resulting design was unsatisfactory, since the requirements for the roles were contradictory. For example, powerful engines necessary for the high top speeds needed in a fleet scout were also very coal hungry, which reduced the ship's endurance; a long cruising radius was mandatory for ships intended to police Germany's far-flung colonial empire, however.
Construction of the ship was extended due to ventilation problems discovered during sea trials, which necessitated lengthy modifications. She spent the first two and a half years in Germany before being deployed to the East Asia Squadron at the end of 1897. She was present during the Boxer Uprising and took part in the Battle of Taku Forts in 1900. German: Gefion returned to Germany in late 1901, where she was modernized and then placed in reserve. She was to be recommissioned after the start of World War I, but shortages of personnel prevented her return to active service. Instead, she was used as a barracks ship. After the war, she was converted into a freighter and renamed German: Adolf Sommerfeld, though the conversion was not particularly successful and she was scrapped in 1923.