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 Victoria
SMS "Victoria" was the second and final member of the of steam corvettes built for the Prussian Navy in the 1860s. She had one sister ship, ; the ships were armed with a battery of fourteen guns. "Victoria" was laid down in 1863 at the Arman Brothers shipyard in Bordeaux, France and was launched in early 1864. Originally ordered by the Confederate States Navy, her delivery was blocked by the French Emperor Napoleon III, and she was instead sold to the Prussian Navy in May 1864. The Prussians had been in search of vessels to strengthen their fleet before and during the Second Schleswig War against Denmark, but "Victoria" arrived too late to see action in the conflict.