SMS Cyclop (1860)

The keel for Cyclop was laid down in 1859 at the Königliche Werft (Royal Dockyard) in Danzig, and she was launched on 8 September 1860. Normally, new ships underwent sea trials upon completion, but budgetary shortages prevented the Prussian Navy from running a thorough examination of the vessel. Instead, the crew was limited to what could be observed during the short trip from Danzig to the naval arsenal at Dänholm off Stralsund. Upon arrival, she was laid up. The Prussian Navy planned to reactivate Cyclop in December 1863 owing to rising tensions between Prussia and Austria of the German Confederation and Denmark over the latter's November Constitution, which integrated the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg with Denmark, a violation of the London Protocol that had ended the First Schleswig War. Crew shortages and poor weather prevented Cyclop from being commissioned until January 1864.[3]

Following the outbreak of the Second Schleswig War in February, Cyclop served as the flagship of the III Division, which helped to defend the Prussian coast from the superior Danish fleet. In April, the III Division was deactivated and the gunboats were transferred to the Reserve Division. After the war, Cyclop took part in a naval review held for King Wilhelm I,[3][4] followed by a tour of ports in Holstein with now Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Jachmann.[5] On 15 September, Cyclop arrived in the new Prussian naval base at Kiel. In late 1864, she became the guard ship at the entrance to the Eider Canal, and she remained in this role through early 1866.[3] During this period, in 1865, the boat's 24-pounder was replaced with a rifled 21 cm (8.3 in) 68-pounder gun.[6] On 14 January 1866, Cyclop was transferred to the coastal fortification at Friedrichsort outside Kiel, along with the gunboat Scorpion and several cannon-armed shallops; these units formed the II Company of the Naval Artillery Division.[3]

Wilhelm I ordered the Navy to begin mobilization on 15 May as war with Austria became likely, leading to the Austro-Prussian War, which broke out in June. Cyclop was transferred to the North Sea along with the ironclad Arminius, which led the North Sea Flotilla of gunboats that was commanded by then-Korvettenkapitän (KK—Corvette Captain) Reinhold von Werner. For the duration of the conflict, the flotilla operated out of Geestemünde. Without a naval threat from Austria, the Prussian navy therefore concentrated its effort against the Kingdom of Hanover. On 15 June, Cyclop, Arminius and the gunboat Tiger covered the crossing of the Elbe river by General Edwin von Manteuffel and some 13,500 soldiers to attack the city of Hanover.[3][7][8] From mid-July to early October, Cyclop served as the tender to the frigate Gefion. Cyclop returned to Dänholm on 14 October and was decommissioned there.[3]

Cyclop remained out of service until 22 March 1869, when she was reactivated for service first as a guard ship in Kiel. She conducted a survey off Hörup Haff and Alsen for a shooting range for the old frigate Thetis, then assigned to the artillery school. In mid-June, Cyclop and two tugboats towed a 40-metric-ton (39-long-ton) floating crane from the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin to the Königliche Werft in Kiel. She then took part in the annual fleet maneuvers in August and September, after which her crew was reduced in Kiel for the remainder of the year. In early 1870, Cyclop helped pull the armored frigate Friedrich Carl free after she ran aground off the island of Langeland and towed her to Kiel for repairs. The damage proved to be too extensive for the Königliche Werft to complete, and so Friedrich Carl had to be towed to Britain; Cyclop escorted the ship through the Skagerrak.[3]

After France declared war on Prussia in July 1870, initiating the Franco-Prussian War, Cyclop and two smaller gunboats were transferred to guard the mouth of the Elbe river. She remained there for the duration of the conflict but saw no action against the French Navy. After the Prussian victory in 1871, which saw the creation of the German Empire, along with the Imperial German Navy, she returned to her previous role as a tender in Kiel. During the year, she assisted in the transfer of a new floating dry dock from Swinemünde to Kiel in company with the ironclad Kronprinz and the paddle steamer Preussischer Adler. Repeated, negative experiences with Danish pilots led the Imperial Navy to send Cyclop to assist with navigation off Langeland. In August, Cyclop served as a tender to the aviso Pommerania, which had returned from a scientific expedition.[3] On 11 November, Cyclop was scheduled to begin an overhaul in Danzig, but an inspection of the hull revealed it to be in too poor a condition. Accordingly, she was stricken from the naval register on 19 March 1872; usable parts were removed for use in the construction of new gunboats, and she was thereafter broken up.[9][10]