SMS Habicht (1860)

Habicht was laid down at the Keier & Devrient shipyard in Danzig 1859 and she was launched in 1860.^[2] After completion in late 1860, Habicht was moved to Stralsund and was then laid up on the nearby island of Dänholm.^[4] While out of service, her copper sheathing was removed from her hull so ventilation holes could be cut into the outer planking. Her entire propulsion system, including the masts and the funnel, was removed and a roof was erected over the hull to keep the elements out.^[5]

The ship remained out of service for the next few years. On 8 December 1863, the Prussian Navy ordered the fleet to mobilize, as tensions between Prussia and Denmark over the Schleswig–Holstein question rose sharply. Mobilization meant that Habicht and the rest of the gunboats at Stralsund would have to be reconstructed.^[6] After the start of the Second Schleswig War in February 1864, Habicht was recommissioned under the command of Leutnant zur See (LzS—Lieutenant at Sea) Paul von Reibnitz on 1 March to join III Flotilla Division.^[4] The Prussian gunboat divisions were assigned to guard the main Prussian ports on the Baltic coast, namely Stralsund, Stettin, and Swinemünde after the Royal Danish Navy imposed a blockade of the ports.^[7] III and V Divisions were based in Stralsund to defend the Kubitzer Bodden and the Bay of Greifswald.^[4]

In the aftermath of the Battle of Jasmund in mid-March, Prince Adalbert, the Prussian naval commander, ordered all five gunboat divisions to concentrate at Stralsund on 29 March to support the Prussian Army's invasion of the island of Als, but bad weather prevented the vessels from taking part in the operation. In April, LzS Carl von Eisendecher replaced Reibnitz as the ship's captain. Following a ceasefire in May, the Prussian fleet held a naval review in Swinemünde for King Wilhelm I on 6 June; the aviso Loreley led the gunboat divisions during the review.^[8] The ceasefire did not hold, and Habicht participated in a battle with Danish naval forces off Hiddensee on 3 July.^[4] Another ceasefire took effect on 20 July, which led to negotiations to end the war.^[9] In late September, Habicht was decommissioned and placed back in reserve at Dänholm.^[4] On 20 October, the combatants signed the Treaty of Vienna, formally ending the war.^[10]

Habicht was recommissioned again on 3 April 1867 to serve as a tender for the Marinestation der Ostsee (Baltic Sea Naval Station), based in Kiel. While serving in this role, Habicht also carried soldiers from the Seebataillon (Naval Battalion) around the area, and she took part in training exercises with naval gun crews. She also operated gunnery training ship Thetis. On 4 September, Habicht embarked visitors to the fourteenth Evangelical Church Conference for a local tour. The ship was decommissioned for the winter on 30 November, and was recommissioned on 1 April 1868. She resumed tender duties in Kiel, but funding shortages forced the navy to decommission the ship from 8 May to 10 July. After returning to service, she again operated as a tender for Thetis. Prince Adalbert came aboard Habicht for an inspection of the coasts of Holstein, Mecklenburg, and Western Pomerania from 20 to 22 September. The ship was placed back in reserve on 28 November.^[11]

Engine problems prevented Habicht from being recommissioned in 1869. After the start of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, the Prussian Navy mobilized its ships on 20 July, including Habicht. She was sent through the Eider Canal to join the ships guarding the mouth of the Elbe river, arriving there on 31 July. She saw no action during this period, and after the war in 1871, she was sent into the Unterelbe to supervise the withdrawal of French prisoners of war back to France. On 21 April, the ship was decommissioned at Wilhelmshaven.^[12] The following year, Habicht underwent a refit that included replacing her main gun with a more modern, iron 15 cm (5.9 in) RK L/22 gun. Her sailing rig was removed and a simple pole mast was fitted for signaling purposes.^[5] The ship's last period in service began on 19 March 1877, which saw the ship serve as a tender for the artillery training ship Renown. On 31 August, she was decommissioned again, and on 29 November, she was struck from the naval register. She was then converted into a storage hulk based in Wilhelmshaven. Her ultimate fate is unknown.^[11]

• Embree, Michael (2007). Bismarck's First War: The Campaign of Schleswig and Jutland 1864. Solihull: Helion & Co Ltd. ISBN 978-1-906033-03-3.
• Greene, Jack & Massignani, Alessandro (1998). Ironclads at War: The Origin and Development of the Armored Warship, 1854–1891. Pennsylvania: Combined Publishing. ISBN 978-0-938289-58-6.
• 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. 4. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0382-1.
• 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. 5. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0456-9.
• Lyon, David (1979). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 240–265. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
• Nottelmann, Dirk (2022). "The Development of the Small Cruiser in the Imperial German Navy Part III: The Gunboats". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2022. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. pp. 63–79. ISBN 978-1-4728-4781-2.