SMS Geier was a German cruiser from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and the First World War. The keel for this unit was laid in 1893, the launch took place in 1894, and entry into service in the Kaiserliche Marine - in 1895. The length of the ship was 83.9 meters and a width of 10.6 meters. Full displacement reached about 1,900 tons, and maximum speed - to about 15-16 knots. The deck armament, at the time of launch, consisted mainly of eight 105 mm guns and two 450 mm torpedo tubes. The vessel was built at the Kaiserliche Werft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven.
SMS Geier was the sixth and final ship of the Bussard-class. Cruisers of this type, including, of course, SMS Geier, were designed primarily with the longest possible range in mind, and they were intended to be used on communication routes leading to German colonies in Africa and the South Pacific, and on the basis of existing bases there. They complemented the Schwalbe-class cruisers, which were designed for the same tasks. SMS Geier spent the lion's share of his service under the German flag in American, Asian and African waters. In the period 1897-1900 he served in the Caribbean and western coasts of South America. In 1900, he took part in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in China. Later, he served in African waters and in the Mediterranean, only to be re-ported to China in 1914. In October of the same year, he was interned in Hawaii by the US government. After the United States joined the First World War, he was incorporated into the US Navy under the name USS Schurz and assigned to convoy service. The ship sank as a result of a collision with another unit on June 21, 1918.