page_title: SMS Schwalbe
section_title: First deployment to East Africa
hierarchical_section_title: SMS Schwalbe / Service history / First deployment to East Africa
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of German East Africa, 1892 Slovenčina: Mapa Nemeckej Východnej Afriky, 1892
context_page_description: SMS Schwalbe was an unprotected cruiser built for the German Kaiserliche Marine, the lead ship of the Schwalbe class. She had one sister ship, Sperber. Schwalbe was built at the Kaiserliche Werft in Wilhelmshaven; her keel was laid down in April 1886 and her completed hull was launched in August 1887. She was commissioned for service in May 1888. Designed for colonial service, Schwalbe was armed with a main battery of eight 10.5-centimeter guns and had a cruising radius of over 3,000 nautical miles; she also had an auxiliary sailing rig to supplement her steam engines.
  Schwalbe spent the majority of her career overseas. She served in German East Africa from 1889 to 1893, and during this period she assisted in the suppression of the Abushiri Revolt. In 1893, she returned to Germany for a major overhaul. She was decommissioned until 1898, when she returned to service for another tour abroad. She initially returned to German East Africa, where she patrolled South African waters to protect German shipping during the Second Boer War. The outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900 prompted the Kaiserliche Marine to send Schwalbe to join the European forces battling the Boxers.
context_section_description: 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.
  On 29 August, Schwalbe returned to the blockade line off German East Africa. During this period, she frequently carried Deinhard on special trips. Between 7 and 10 October, she carried the station commander to survey the colony's northern border with British Kenya in company with the British gunboat HMS Mariner. Schwalbe continued to operate against insurgent forces, particularly to support Reichskommissar (Imperial Commissioner) Hermann Wissmann's forces. At the end of October, Schwalbe was joined by her sister ship Sperber. In early December, Schwalbe and Sperber were present at ceremonial reception of the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition at Bagamoyo. Both ships were also involved with settling the border of Wituland on 27–29 December. In mid-January 1890, Pfeil, Leipzig, and Sophie left East Africa, leaving Schwalbe, Sperber, and Carola on the station. Schwalbe went to Cape Town in South Africa for an overhaul that lasted from 3 March until mid-April.
  Following her return from Cape Town, Schwalbe returned to supporting operations to pacify the coastal area in southern German East Africa carried out by Wissmann. During this period, several artillery pieces were captured, one of which was taken aboard Schwalbe before eventually being given to the Training Inspection for the colonial troops. By mid-May, the uprising had finally been suppressed. Schwalbe thereafter conducted the normal peacetime routine of cruising the coast to show the German flag. Hirschberg contracted malaria and became severely ill, prompting his return to Germany on 24 June to recover; KK Rüdiger arrived on 13 July to take over command of the ship. On 9 October, Rüdiger presided over a ceremony to dedicate a memorial in Tanga to the naval personnel who had been killed in the Abushiri revolt. Meanwhile, on 1 July, Wituland had been ceded to Britain as part of the Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty; this development upset the Sultan of Wituland, who ordered the killing of several Europeans in the colony, mostly Germans. The British launched a punitive expedition, and Schwalbe remained in the area as an observer until the end of October.
  In June 1891, Schwalbe went to Mahé in the Seychelles to rest her crew. Rüdiger was promoted to the position of Deputy Governor of the colony in October, and KK Oelrichs replaced him aboard the ship. Schwalbe then departed to visit Bombay, returning to German East Africa on 27 January 1892. Unrest in Moshi required Schwalbe's presence to provide support for the Schutztruppen. She was anchored off Tanga by June, and in October, the death of Ali bin Said, the Sultan of Zanzibar, caused a succession crisis that forced Schwalbe and other vessels to steam to the island to help mediate the disputes. By January 1893, Schwalbe was free to return to Bombay for repairs. In May, Schwalbe received the order to return to Germany. She arrived in Kiel on 6 August, and was decommissioned on 25 August. The Kaiserliche Werft in Kiel took the ship
caption: Contemporary map of German East Africa
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