SMS Elisabeth

SMS Elisabeth was the final member of the Arcona class of steam frigates built for the Prussian Navy in the 1860s. The class comprised five ships, and were the first major steam-powered warships ordered for the Prussian Navy. The ships were ordered as part of a major construction program to strengthen the nascent Prussian fleet, under the direction of Prince Adalbert, and were intended to provide defense against the Royal Danish Navy. Elisabeth was armed with a battery of twenty-eight guns, and was capable of steaming at a speed of 12.1 knots (22.4 km/h; 13.9 mph). Elisabeth was laid down in 1866, launched in 1868, and commissioned in 1869, by which time the Prussian Navy had been replaced by the North German Federal Navy.
Elisabeth joined a squadron that was sent to the Mediterranean Sea for the opening ceremonies for the Suez Canal in late 1869. She was activated during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, first as a guard ship during the French blockade of the North German coast. Plans to deploy the ship as a commerce raider later in the war came to nothing due to repeated problems with her propulsion system. After the war, in late 1872, she joined a squadron sent to the Caribbean...