SMS Pfeil SMS " Pfeil " was an aviso of the Imperial German Navy , the second and final member of the . She had one sister ship , . " Pfeil " was laid down at the " Kaiserliche Werft " shipyard in Wilhelmshaven in 1881 , launched in September 1882 , and commissioned in November 1884 . Throughout her career , " Pfeil " served in various units in the German fleet and participated in numerous training exercises . In 1889 – 90 , she was sent to German East Africa to assist in the suppression of a colonial revolt . In 1894 – 99 , she was used as a fishery protection ship , and after 1904 , she was used as a tender for the battle fleet . She served in this capacity until 1919 . " Pfeil " was stricken from the naval register in February 1922 and subsequently broken up for scrap . Design . " Pfeil " was long overall and had a beam of and a maximum draft of forward . She displaced at full combat load . Her propulsion system consisted of two horizontal 2 - cylinder double expansion engines . Steam for the engines was provided by eight coal - fired cylindrical boilers . The ship ' s propulsion system provided a top speed of and a range of approximately at . " Pfeil " had a crew of 7 officers and 127 enlisted men . As built , the ship was armed with one K L / 23 gun placed in a pivot mount . The gun was supplied with 100 rounds of ammunition . The ship was also equipped with four 8 . 7 cm K L / 23 guns in single mounts . " Pfeil " also carried one torpedo tube mounted in the bow . In 1891 – 92 , the ship was rearmed with six 8 . 8 cm SK L / 30 gun s in single mounts and three 35 cm torpedo tubes , one in the bow and one on each broadside , all submerged in the hull . Service history . " Pfeil " was laid down at the " Kaiserliche Werft " shipyard in Wilhelmshaven in 1881 . She was launched on 16 September 1882 , and commissioned into the German fleet on 25 November 1884 . From her commissioning , she was employed as a tender for the fleet . " Pfeil " participated in the annual maneuvers in the summer of 1885 . She was assigned to the unarmored division , along with the old sailing corvette s , , and . Independent division exercises took place in June , and in August , the divisions , which also included an armored division composed of several ironclads and a torpedo boat division led by " Pfeil " s sister ship , joined for combined fleet maneuvers that lasted until September . In 1889 , " Pfeil " and the cruiser were sent to German East Africa to participate in the suppression of local resistance to German colonial rule . By November 1890 , the rebellion had been defeated and German imperial rule returned . " Pfeil " was the first steel - hulled , unrigged warship ever sent by Germany to its African colonies . In 1891 , " Pfeil " served in the Training Squadron as a torpedo boat flotilla leader , along with " Blitz " and the aviso . During the annual summer exercises , the Training Squadron served as the hostile fleet , and conducted a mock attack on the harbor at Kiel . In early 1894 , " Pfeil " was assigned to the I Division of the Maneuver Squadron as the dispatch vessel for the four s . Later that year , the ship was used for fishery protection duties . She participated in the summer fleet exercises in 1897 , where she acted in the simulated hostile fleet . Her service as a fishery protection ship lasted until 1899 , when she returned to service with the fleet . She was withdrawn from active service in 1904 , when she resumed her old tender duties . In 1912 , " Pfeil " was assigned as the tender for the pre - dreadnought battleship s of the II Battle Squadron . While in the II Squadron , she wore a yellow identification band on her funnel , to distinguish her from her sister " Blitz " , which wore a white identification stripe . She remained in her tender duties through 1919 . She was stricken from the naval register on 16 February 1922 and broken up for scrap at Wilhelmshaven .