# Meteor-class aviso

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The ***Meteor* class** was a pair of two [avisos](/source/Aviso) built for the German *[Kaiserliche Marine](/source/Kaiserliche_Marine)* (Imperial Navy) in the late-1880s and early 1890s. The [class](/source/Ship_class) comprised two ships: [SMS *Meteor*](/source/SMS_Meteor_(1890)) and [SMS *Comet*](/source/SMS_Comet_(1892)). Unlike earlier avisos built for the fleet, which were designed to fill a variety of roles, the *Meteor* class was intended to protect the fleet's [capital ships](/source/Capital_ship) from [torpedo boat](/source/Torpedo_boat) attacks. They were armed with a battery of four 8.8 cm (3.5 in) [quick-firing guns](/source/Quick-firing_gun). Both vessels suffered from serious problems that rendered them unfit for service, namely poor [seakeeping](/source/Seakeeping) and excessive vibration of their propeller shafts. As a result, they saw little service, with *Comet*'s only periods in commission being to test what were unsuccessful attempts to correct the problems. *Meteor* had a somewhat more active career, serving with the fleet in 1893–1894 and then as a fishery protection ship in 1895–1896, but she, too, spent most of her existence [laid up](/source/Laid_up). Both vessels were decommissioned in 1896 and struck from the [naval register](/source/Naval_register) in 1911. *Meteor* was then used as a [barracks ship](/source/Barracks_ship), while *Comet* became a storage [hulk](/source/Hulk_(ship_type)); the two ships were [broken up](/source/Ship_breaking) in 1919 and 1921, respectively.

## Design

The Imperial Navy began building small [avisos](/source/Aviso) in the 1880s to serve in the main fleet in German waters. These vessels were intended to support the [battle line](/source/Line_of_battle), as scouts for the fleet, as [flotilla leaders](/source/Flotilla_leader) for the fleet's [torpedo boats](/source/Torpedo_boat), and as a screen against enemy torpedo boats. Unlike the contemporary [German unprotected cruisers](/source/List_of_unprotected_cruisers_of_Germany), their designs emphasized offensive capability and high speed rather than a long cruising radius. In 1888, the German naval command decided that future avisos should be focused solely on defense against hostile torpedo boats. Compared to the earlier [*Wacht*-class avisos](/source/Wacht-class_aviso), the *Meteor* design was slightly smaller and [displaced](/source/Displacement_(ship)) around 25 percent less than the earlier vessels. The primary alterations included a more powerful propulsion system, a new gun armament of [quick-firing guns](/source/Quick-firing_gun), and slightly thicker armor plating.[1][2]

*Meteor* and *Comet* proved to be failures in service. They suffered from severe vibration and their small size rendered them poor [sea boats](/source/Seakeeping); these defects significantly curtailed their careers, and they spent most of their existence in reserve.[2][3] The *Meteor* class was the second to last aviso design produced by the Imperial Navy, followed only by [SMS *Hela*](/source/SMS_Hela); by the 1890s, German naval designers had taken the best characteristics of the avisos and the contemporary [unprotected cruisers](/source/Unprotected_cruisers) and combined them in the [*Gazelle*-class cruiser](/source/Gazelle-class_cruiser) of [light cruisers](/source/Light_cruiser), the first vessels of that type of warship.[1]

### General characteristics and machinery

*Meteor* and *Comet* were 79.86 meters (262 ft 0 in) [long at the waterline](/source/Length_at_the_waterline) and 79.86 m (262 ft 0 in) [long overall](/source/Length_overall). They had a [beam](/source/Beam_(nautical)) of 9.56 m (31 ft 4 in) and a maximum [draft](/source/Draft_(hull)) of 3.68 m (12 ft 1 in) forward. *Meteor* displaced 961 tonnes (946 long tons) as designed and up to 1,078 t (1,061 long tons) at [full combat load](/source/Full-load_displacement), while *Comet* was slightly heavier, at 992 t (976 long tons) and 1,117 t (1,099 long tons), respectively. Their hulls were constructed from transverse steel frames. *Meteor* was initially fitted with a single pole [mainmast](/source/Mainmast), while *Comet* had the pole mainmast along with a smaller mast further aft for [wireless telegraphy](/source/Wireless_telegraphy). In 1901–1902, *Meteor* was fitted with the second mast as well.[4]

The *Meteor*-class ships had a crew of 7 officers and 108 enlisted men. The ships carried several smaller boats, including one [yawl](/source/Yawl), one [dinghy](/source/Dinghy), and one [cutter](/source/Cutter_(boat)). They were poor sea boats; they were very unstable in anything but calm weather. They also vibrated excessively due to severe [cavitation](/source/Cavitation), particularly at high speeds. Both ships were, however, very maneuverable vessels. Their [metacentric height](/source/Metacentric_height) was .41 m (1 ft 4 in).[4][5]

Their propulsion system consisted of two vertical 3-cylinder [triple expansion engines](/source/Triple_expansion_engine) that drove a pair of 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) wide, three-bladed screw propellers. Steam for the engines was provided by four coal-fired [locomotive boilers](/source/Locomotive_boiler) that were trunked into two [funnels](/source/Funnel_(ship)) on the centerline. The ships were equipped with a pair of [electric generators](/source/Electric_generator) with a combined output of 20 to 24 kilowatts (27 to 32 hp) at 67 [volts](/source/Volt). Steering was controlled by a single rudder.[4]

The ships' propulsion system varied slightly in performance. *Meteor*'s engines were rated at 4,500 metric horsepower (4,400 hp) for a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph), though she exceeded both figures on [sea trials](/source/Sea_trials), reaching a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). *Comet*'s engines were rated for 5,000 metric horsepower (4,900 hp) and 19.5 kn (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph), which she did not exceed on her trials. Both ships had a range of approximately 960 nautical miles (1,780 km; 1,100 mi) at 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph).[4]

### Armament and armor

The ships were armed with four [8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 guns](/source/8.8_cm_SK_L/30_gun) placed in single pivot mounts, two side-by-side forward, and two side-by-side aft. The guns were supplied with between 462 and 680 rounds of ammunition, and they had a range of 6,900 m (7,500 yd). They also carried three 35 cm (13.8 in) [torpedo tubes](/source/Torpedo_tube), one mounted submerged in the bow and the other two in deck-mounted launchers on the [broadside](/source/Broadside_(naval)). They were supplied with eight [torpedoes](/source/Torpedo). Both ships were protected with steel armor. They had a 15 mm (0.59 in) thick [deck](/source/Deck_(ship)) with 25 mm (0.98 in) thick sloped sides. The [conning tower](/source/Conning_tower) had 30 mm (1.2 in) thick plating on the sides, with a 15 mm thick roof.[4]

## Ships

Construction data Ship Builder Laid down Launched Completed SMS Meteor Germaniawerft, Kiel[6] December 1888[6] 20 January 1890[6] 15 May 1891[6] SMS Comet AG Vulcan, Stettin[2] November 1891[2] 15 November 1892[2] 29 April 1893[2]

## Service history

Main articles: [SMS Meteor (1890)](/source/SMS_Meteor_(1890)) and [SMS Comet (1892)](/source/SMS_Comet_(1892))

After *Meteor* entered service, the problems with her design became apparent; attempts to remedy the defects and [sea trials](/source/Sea_trials) to determine the efforts' effectiveness occupied much of the ship's first two years in service. This period also saw the ship take part in training exercises with the rest of the German fleet. By 1893, *Comet* had also entered service, and she also underwent ultimately ineffective modifications following her initial trials. *Meteor* was employed as a fisheries protection vessel in 1895–1896, though she proved unsuited to the task, owing to her small size, which limited the amount of coal she could store and thus the amount of time she could remain on patrol in Germany's coastal waters. As a result, she was withdrawn from that service in late 1896.[6]

*Comet* never saw an extended period of active service; her only periods in [commission](/source/Ship_commissioning) were to conduct trials after alterations were made to the ship. She, too, was [laid up](/source/Laid_up) in 1896; both ships were reclassified as [light cruisers](/source/Light_cruiser) in 1899 and then reduced to harbor [guard ships](/source/Guard_ship) in 1904. Both were struck from the [naval register](/source/Naval_register) in 1911, with *Meteor* becoming a [barracks ship](/source/Barracks_ship) in [Kiel](/source/Kiel) and *Comet* being converted into a storage [hulk](/source/Hulk_(ship_type)) for [naval mines](/source/Naval_mine). *Meteor* and *Comet* were sold for [scrapping](/source/Ship_breaking) in 1919 and 1921, respectively.[2][3][4]

## Notes

1. Lyon, pp. 249, 257–258.

1. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 2, p. 188.

1. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 6, pp. 81–82.

1. Gröner, p. 96.

1. Lyon, p. 257.

1. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 6, p. 81.

## References

- Gröner, Erich (1990). *German Warships: 1815–1945*. Vol. I: Major Surface Vessels. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
- Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert; & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). *Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart* [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 2. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8364-9743-5.
- Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert; & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). *Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart* [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 6. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0237-4.
- Lyon, Hugh (1979). ["Germany"](https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2). *Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905*. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.

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