SMS Zieten SMS " Zieten " was the first aviso built for the Imperial German Navy ( " Kaiserliche Marine " ) . She was built in Britain in 1875 – 1876 , and was the last major warship built for Germany by a foreign shipyard . Ordered as a testbed for the new Whitehead torpedo , " Zieten " was armed with a pair of torpedo tube s , and was capable of a top speed of , making her the fastest ship in the German fleet at the time . " Zieten " proved to be the first in a series of avisos that ultimately developed into the first light cruiser s . In addition to her impact in German warship design , " Zieten " also influenced numerous other navies , who built dozens of avisos and torpedo vessels of their own . " Zieten " served for the first two decades of her career with the torpedo boat flotilla . In 1878 – 1880 , she was captained by Alfred von Tirpitz , the future architect of the High Seas Fleet . In 1882 , she cruised the Mediterranean Sea with several other German warships , and was present during the British bombardment of Alexandria , where she protected German interests . " Zieten " was used as a fishery protection ship from 1899 until 1914 , when the outbreak of World War I necessitated her mobilization as a coastal patrol ship . She served in this capacity for the duration of the war , and was stricken from the naval register in December 1919 . The ship was finally sold for scrapping in August 1921 , after forty - five years of service . Design . In 1869 , the Prussian Navy sent then - " Korvettenkapitän " Alexander von Monts to Austria to examine the new Whitehead torpedo es then being developed there . Albrecht von Stosch , the commander in chief of the new Imperial German Navy , approved a plan to develop a torpedo arm for the German fleet , and placed Monts in charge of the program in 1873 . That year , Stosch ' s naval construction program called for a tender for the new torpedo boat s . The tender was ordered from the British firm the Thames Iron Works , and named " Zieten " . She was to be the last major warship purchased by the German navy from a foreign shipyard . In addition to the planned role as a tender for torpedo boats , she was also intended to serve as a test platform for the new self - propelled torpedo . Up to the mid - 1870s , the German navy had only experimented with a handful of torpedo ships , all of which were equipped with the old spar torpedo . The ship ' s design provided the basis for both later German avisos — the — and all subsequent light cruiser s , but also to numerous foreign designs , such as several classes of French , Italian , and Austrian avisos and torpedo craft . General characteristics . " Zieten " was long at the waterline and long overall . She had a beam of and a draft of forward . She displaced as designed and up to at full combat load . The hull was constructed with transverse iron frames and contained eight watertight compartments . Initially , " Zieten " had only a small bridge forward , but in 1899 , a new superstructure was built ; it included a conning tower with a compass platform . A chart house was also added forward of the funnel . " Zieten " was a good sea boat with a gentle motion , but she was very crank . She was very maneuverable , but she handled poorly in a head sea . In bad weather , she took on considerable amounts of water and was very dangerous . The ship had a crew of 6 officers and 88 enlisted men , though later in her career the figure rose to 7 and 99 , respectively . During her career as a fishery protection ship , it rose further , to 7 officers and 104 sailors . " Zieten " carried a number of smaller boats : one picket boat , one cutter , two yawls , and one dinghy . Later in her career , the picket boat was removed and two barges were added . Machinery . The ships propulsion system consisted of two horizontal 2 - cylinder double expansion engines manufactured by John Penn and Sons . The engines drove two 3 - bladed propellers that were wide in diameter . Steam was provided by six coal - fired cylindrical boilers , also manufactured by John Penn and Sons , which were trunked into a single funnel amidships . The boilers were replaced with new models in 1891 during a refit at the " Kaiserliche Werft " shipyard in Kiel . As built , " Zieten " was fitted with a schooner rig with a sail area of to supplement her steam engines , but this was later reduced to only an auxiliary gaff sail . The engines were rated at , but only managed to reach at maximum power . With the new boilers , the engines reached . Her top speed as designed was to have been , but with her original boilers , she could make at full power . This speed nevertheless made " Zieten " the fastest ship in the German fleet . With the new boilers , she could steam at up to . " Zieten " could carry up to of coal , which allowed her to steam for at a cruising speed of . During the refit , she also had one electricity generator , with an output of at 67 volts , installed . Armament . " Zieten " s primary armament consisted of a pair of torpedo tube s . Both were submerged in the hull , one in the bow and one in the stern . They were supplied with a total of ten Whitehead torpedoes . These powerful weapons , coupled with the ship ' s high speed and maneuverability , made her a powerful vessel for the period . In 1878 , the forward torpedo tube was relocated to a swivel launched mounted on the deck , and two guns were installed . She was also equipped with six machine gun s . Later in her career , the torpedo tubes were removed , due to their obsolescence , and she was rearmed with six SK L / 40 guns , though two were later removed . The guns were supplied with a total of 864 rounds of ammunition , and could engage targets out to . She was also equipped to lay naval mine s , and she could carry 49 of them . Service history . " Zieten " was built by the Thames Iron Works in London . She was laid down in 1875 and was launched on 9 March 1876 . She was completed on 15 July 1876 , and commissioned into the German fleet on 1 August . She was thereafter used in experiments with early torpedoes and as a tender for torpedo boats . In 1876 , Otto von Diederichs served aboard the ship as her executive officer in her first crew . In August , the ship conducted sea trials in the North Sea , before arriving in Wilhelmshaven on 11 August for fitting - out work . Diederichs supervised the installation of the ship ' s torpedo tubes , along with the magazine for storing the torpedoes . The work lasted until September , which prevented " Zieten " from participating in the annual August – September fleet exercises . As a result , she was placed in reserve on 17 September for the winter . In March 1877 , Diederichs returned to the ship and prepared her for service in the training season that year . The ship was ready for active duty by 11 June , and thereafter conducted further sea trials and torpedo training . After " Zieten " entered service in June 1877 , Diederichs was replaced by Alfred von Tirpitz , who took over torpedo testing while he was assigned to the Torpedo School at Kiel . Diederichs meanwhile readied the old gunboat as a tender for " Zieten " . On 18 September , " Zieten " and " Scorpion " participated in the first major test of the new Whitehead torpedoes in the German navy . During the exercises , " Zieten " scored three hits on a stationary target , which was deemed a great success . After the conclusion of the maneuvers , " Zieten " was placed in reserve on 2 October for the winter . The analysis of the testing showed that the bow - mounted torpedo tube was not satisfactory , and so Diederichs was tasked with redesigning her armament in January 1878 . Diederichs moved the bow tube to a swivel mount on her deck , and added two 12 cm guns to improve her defense against small warships . The refit work was completed by 16 April 1878 , permitting Tirpitz to take command of the ship on 6 May . He served as the ship ' s commander until August 1880 . Tirpitz , as the commander of Germany ' s torpedo boat flotilla , staunchly advocated the development of torpedo craft rather than a fleet of battleships . In July 1880 , during maneuvers with the fleet , " Zieten " torpedoed and sank the old paddle steamer . In 1882 , " Zieten " joined a cruising squadron that consisted of the corvette s and , the steamer , and a gunboat , for operations in the Mediterranean Sea . The ships were present during the British bombardment of Alexandria in August 1882 ; they sent men ashore to protect the German embassy , along with a German - run hospital . In July , " Zieten " joined a squadron of ships to take the newly crowned Kaiser Wilhelm II for a tour of Baltic ports , which included a visit to Tsar Alexander III of Russia . The ship was assigned as the dispatch vessel for the Reserve Squadron in the North Sea in 1898 , along with the coastal defense ship s and . Starting in 1899 , " Zieten " was used intermittently as a fishery protection ship . In September 1902 , " Zieten " participated in the final exercises during the annual fleet maneuvers . Her career as a fishery protection ship lasted until 1914 , when she was mobilized at the outbreak of World War I in August . She was used as a coast guard ship for the duration of the conflict . After Germany ' s defeat , " Zieten " was stricken from the naval register on 6 December 1919 . The ship was sold on 18 August 1921 for 655 , 000 marks and broken up in Wilhelmshaven .