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 Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia
"Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia" was laid down on 1 June 1891, launched on 29 April 1893, and was commissioned into the fleet in November 1894. In 1895, Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria took a squadron of warships, including "Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia", to Germany to participate in the celebrations for the opening of the Kiel Canal. The squadron called on the port of Brest, France on the way, and stopped in Portsmouth on the return voyage.