Nymphe-class corvette

The ships of the Nymphe class were 58.54 meters (192 ft 1 in) long at the waterline and were 64.9 m (212 ft 11 in) long overall. They had a beam of 10.2 m (33 ft 6 in) and a draft of 3.92 m (12 ft 10 in) forward and 4.47 m (14 ft 8 in) aft. They displaced 1,085 metric tons (1,068 long tons) as designed and up to 1,202 t (1,183 long tons) at full load. Their hulls were of timber construction, with transverse frames. The outer hull was carvel built and was sheathed in copper to protect the wood from biofouling on extended cruises abroad, where routine maintenance could not be carried out.[3][4]

The ship's crew consisted of 14 officers and 176 enlisted men. They carried four boats, one large and three small, of unrecorded type. the ships were good sea boats and they sailed well, unlike most of the other steam corvettes built by Prussia and the later unified Germany. Carrying ballast in the stern improved their sailing characteristics further, as did sailing in a beam sea. They lost considerable speed steaming in a head sea and they were not particularly maneuverable, though they performed better in this capacity under steam than under sail. Steering was controlled with a single rudder.[5]

The ships were powered by a single horizontal, 2-cylinder marine steam engine that drove a 2-bladed screw propeller that was 3.64 m (11 ft 11 in) in diameter. Steam was provided by two coal-fired fire-tube boilers manufactured by J Penn & Sons of Greenwich, which were ducted into a single retractable funnel. Their propulsion system gave the ships a top speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) at 800 metric horsepower (790 ihp). Coal storage amounted to 126 t (124 long tons). They had a cruising radius of 1,250 nautical miles (2,320 km; 1,440 mi) at a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). Nymphe and Medusa were equipped with a full ship rig to supplement their steam engine.[3][4]

Nymphe and Medusa were armed with a battery of ten 36-pounder guns and six 12-pounder guns, all of which were muzzleloading guns mounted on the broadside. In 1869, these guns were replaced with seventeen, and later nineteen, 12 cm (4.7 in) 23-caliber breechloading, built-up guns. These guns were supplied with 1,900 rounds of ammunition, and they had a range of 5,900 m (6,500 yd). Later in their careers, these were reduced to nine guns.[3][4]

Painting of the Battle of Jasmund, depicting the Prussian squadron, by Willy Stöwer

Nymphe saw action during the Second Schleswig War against Denmark in 1864, and took part in the largest action in the Baltic during the war, the Battle of Jasmund. She and the frigate Arcona sortied to attack the Danish blockade, and in the ensuing action, Nymphe was heavily engaged by the Danish frigate Sjælland, and she received around 70 hits, mostly to her rigging, though she was not seriously damaged and casualties were light.[7] The ship was in the process of being recalled to Germany during the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, and as a result, saw no action during the conflict, but she did see battle with French warships during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. A French squadron of ironclads had anchored off Danzig, and Nymphe launched a surprise night attack on the idle vessels, though she inflicted no serious damage on the armored vessels. Her attack nevertheless convinced the French admiral, Édouard Bouët-Willaumez, that his heavy ships were not useful in a close blockade of German ports, and so they left.[8]

In 1871, Nymphe embarked on a major overseas deployment to the Pacific Ocean and East Asia; while on the way, her crew caused a minor diplomatic incident with Brazil. While on the East Asia station, the ship's captain, Louis von Blanc, conducted negotiations the governments of islands in Oceania, Borneo, and the Sulu Archipelago. She also toured numerous cities to show the flag and searched unsuccessfully for a place to create a coaling station for German ships. She remained abroad until mid-1874, after which she was converted into a training ship for apprentice seamen. She served in that capacity for the next decade, during which she conducted training cruises, usually to the Americas, though in 1882 she toured the Mediterranean Sea, in part to strengthen German naval forces in the region during the 'Urabi revolt in Egypt. In poor condition and in need of a complete reconstruction by 1885, she was stricken from the naval register in July 1887 and hulked. Nymphe was ultimately sold in 1891 and broken up in Hamburg.[9]

Medusa went on two major overseas cruises during her career, the first to the Mediterranean Sea in 1867–1868 during the Cretan Revolt against Ottoman rule. She did not actively intervene in the conflict, and in 1868 she carried the squadron commander to visit the Ottoman government in Constantinople. The second, lengthier voyage lasted from 1868 to 1871, and centered on operations in East Asia. There, like Nymphe, she searched for a coaling station without success. She also protected German citizens in Japan during the final stage of the Boshin War and was damaged in a typhoon off the Japanese coast. After being repaired, she helped to suppress Chinese pirates and visited numerous ports to show the flag. After the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Medusa was trapped in Yokohama, Japan, by a French squadron blockading the port; as a result, she saw no action during the conflict, but she acted as a fleet in being that tied up the French warships and prevented them from attacking German merchant shipping.[10]

After returning to unified Germany in 1872, Medusa was converted into a training ship, a role she filled for the next eight years. During this period, she went on a number of training cruises, both in the Baltic Sea and longer voyages to North, Central, and South America, as well as the Mediterranean. She surreptitiously went to the Mediterranean to monitor tensions in the Balkans in 1876 and helped to secure restitution for the murder of a German diplomat in Salonika. Worn out by 1880 and in need of a thorough overhaul, the navy instead decided to remove the ship from service, using her as a hulk until 1891, when she was sold for scrap.[11]