 On 3 January 1889, Schwalbe bombarded rebel positions at Bagamoyo before taking Deinhard aboard to Dar es Salaam. The next day, she ran aground on the reef surrounding Fungu Yasini Island. The ship remained stranded for two days before Leipzig and the British steamer SS Woodcock arrived to pull her free. She thereafter took her place in a blockade line to prevent contraband from reaching the rebels; Schwalbe patrolled the line from Kiswere to Ras Kimbiji. On 1 March, she was moved to the area between Kilwa Kisiwani and Mafia Island. Schwalbe, Leipzig, and the corvette Carola sent a contingent of naval infantry ashore at Kunduchi to attack rebel forces there; the three warships also provided artillery support to the landing force. Korvettenkapitän (KK – Corvette Captain) Hirschberg, Schwalbe's captain, commanded the operation. Schwalbe returned to Bagamoyo on 8 May to launch another attack; further engagements took place at Saadani on 6 June and at Pangani on 8 July. Schwalbe and her crew were given a respite from the conflict from 20 July to 17 August for a period of rest and refit at Port Louis in Mauritius.
