SMS Bussard SMS " Bussard " was an unprotected cruiser of the Imperial German Navy , built in the 1880s . She was the lead ship of her class , which included five other vessels . The cruiser ' s keel was laid in 1888 , and she was launched in January 1890 and commissioned in October of that year . Intended for overseas duty , " Bussard " was armed with a main battery of eight guns , and could steam at a speed of . " Bussard " served abroad for the majority of her career , first in the East Asia Division in the mid - 1890s , and in German East Africa for the first decade of the 20th century . She had a relatively peaceful career ; her only major action came while stationed in Asia in 1894 . There , she assisted in suppressing a local revolt in Samoa . In 1910 , she returned to Germany , where she remained in service for only two more years ; she was stricken in October 1912 and scrapped the following year in Hamburg . Design . " Bussard " was long overall and had a beam of and a draft of forward . She displaced at full combat load . Her propulsion system consisted of two horizontal 3 - cylinder triple - expansion steam engines powered by four coal - fired cylindrical boilers . These provided a top speed of and a range of approximately at . She had a crew of 9 officers and 152 enlisted men . The ship was armed with eight 10 . 5 cm K L / 35 guns in single pedestal mounts , supplied with 800 rounds of ammunition in total . They had a range of . Two guns were placed side by side forward , two on each broadside in sponsons , and two side by side aft . The gun armament was rounded out by five revolver cannon . She was also equipped with two torpedo tube s with five torpedoes , both of which were mounted on the deck . Service history . " Bussard " was laid down at the " Kaiserliche Werft " ( Imperial Shipyard ) in Danzig under the contract name " C " . She was launched on 23 January 1890 ; fitting - out work was completed quickly , and the new cruiser was ready for commissioning into the Imperial fleet on 7 October 1890 . She thereafter served on overseas stations in the German Empire . Early in her career , " Bussard " served on the East Asia Station with the East Asia Division . In July 1893 , she and her sister ship assisted in the suppression of a local revolt led by Mata ' afa Iosefo in Samoa . They were joined by the old British corvette , and the three vessels bombarded rebel positions on 7 July , forcing their surrender . Mata ' afa was taken to Apia , the capital , while " Bussard " remained behind to ensure the demilitarization of his supporters . In 1898 , " Bussard " returned to Germany , arriving in the Elbe River in March . On the return voyage , she carried several tropical birds for the Berlin Zoological Garden . After her arrival , " Bussard " went into drydock at the " Kaiserliche Werft " in Danzig for reconstruction . The barque rig was cut down to a top - sail schooner rig . A new , larger conning tower structure was built . Work was completed by 1900 , when " Bussard " returned to service . She was sent to China in response to the Boxer Rebellion earlier that year . While en route to China on 6 August 1900 , a boiler room exploded aboard " Bussard " , due to a blown out manhole gasket ; the explosion killed three sailors and seriously wounded another three men . After arriving in China , " Bussard " took part in the attack on the Taku Forts , along with her sisters and . Her crew suffered no casualties during the campaign . As of 1901 , " Bussard " was assigned to the East Africa Station in German East Africa , along with the unprotected cruiser . The only other German warships in Africa at the time were the gunboat s and the elderly ; these two ships were stationed in German West Africa . " Bussard " remained on the East Africa station in 1904 , and " Schwalbe " was replaced by her sister . During this period , Hans Paasche served as the ship ' s navigation officer ; he held this position for two years . By 1908 , " Sperber " had been transferred to German West Africa , and another of " Bussard " s sisters , " Seeadler " , took her place alongside " Bussard " . " Bussard " remained in Africa until 1910 , when she returned to Germany for a second and final time . She remained in active service for only a brief time ; she was stricken from the naval register on 25 October 1912 and was broken up for scrap the following year in Hamburg .