_-_no_text.jpg) Illustration of Ariadne, c. 1871
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ariadne class |
| Builders | Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig |
| Preceded by | Augusta-class corvette |
| Succeeded by | Leipzig-class corvette |
| Built | 1868–1876 |
| In service | 1872–1896 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Scrapped | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Screw corvette |
| Displacement | Full load: 2,072 metric tons (2,039 long tons) |
| Length | 68.16 meters (223 ft 7 in) (loa) |
| Beam | 10.8 m (35 ft 5 in) |
| Draft | 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Range | 1,340 nautical miles (2,480 km; 1,540 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Crew |
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| Armament |
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The Ariadne class was a group of three screw corvettes of the North German Federal Navy and Imperial Navy, built in the 1860s and 1870s. The class comprised three ships: Ariadne, Luise, and Freya. The first two vessels were identical, but Freya was built to a modified design with a longer hull, which allowed her to carry more powerful engines and additional coal for the boilers. The ships were ordered as part of a naval construction program directed at strengthening the North German Federal Navy, though by the time they entered service, all of the German states had united into the German Empire. They were intended to serve on extended cruises abroad, protecting German interests overseas. Their primary armament consisted of six or eight 15 cm (5.9 in) guns, and they were fitted with full ship rigs to supplement their steam engines on long voyages abroad.
All three of the ships served extensively on overseas deployments throughout the 1870s and early 1880s, primarily in South America, the Mediterranean Sea, and East Asia. On these voyages, the ships and their captains performed a number of duties, including protecting German nationals during periods of unrest or open warfare in various countries, negotiating trade agreements with numerous governments, and combating piracy. They were also tasked with conducting surveys to improve navigational charts and scientific experiments.
In the early to mid-1880s, all three of the ships were converted into training ships for apprentice seamen, and they went on training cruises over the course of the rest of the decade. These frequently went to the West Indies, where they were used to show the flag. While on one such training cruise in 1883, Freya helped to protect civilians in Haiti during a period of unrest on the island. All three ships were decommissioned by 1892, with Ariadne being immediately scrapped. Luise survived as a hulk and torpedo test ship until 1896 when she too was sold for scrap, and Freya simply saw no further use between her decommissioning in 1884 and her disposal in 1896.