SMS Gneisenau
"Gneisenau" was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen, Germany in 1904, under construction number 144. She was launched on 14 June 1906, and commissioned into the fleet nearly two years later on 6 March 1908. The ship cost the German government 19,243,000 goldmarks. The ship had been designed for service with the High Seas Fleet, though it was found to be too weak for service with the battle fleet; instead it was deployed overseas, a role in which it performed well.
SMS Blitz (1862)
"Blitz" was laid down at the "Königliche Werft" (Royal Dockyard) in Danzig on 26 July 1861; her name was already assigned on 23 May, two months before work began. She was launched on 27 August 1862. On 22 May 1863, "Blitz" was ordered to deploy to the Mediterranean Sea along with her sister ship and the aviso . "Blitz" began sea trials five days later, and on 13 June the gunboat was formally commissioned into service for her tour abroad. On 18 August, the three vessels departed Prussia, bound for Greek waters. "Blitz"s first commander was then "Leutnant zur See" (Lieutenant at Sea) Archibald MacLean. Upon arrival, the three ships protected German nationals in Greece, which was experiencing a period of civil unrest. Later that year, the vessels entered the Black Sea; under the terms of the Treaty of Paris that had ended the Crimean War in 1856, Prussia was permitted to station warships in Sulina at the mouth of the Danube to enforce the peace. "Basilisk" and "Blitz" had their 15 cm gun removed during the trip to prevent damage in heavy weather. On 18 August 1863, the vessels left the Black Sea and returned to Piraeus, Greece, arriving on 9 October. There, on 3 December, they received the order to return to Prussia, as conflict with Denmark over the latter's November Constitution, which integrated the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg with Denmark, a violation of the London Protocol that had ended the First Schleswig War.