The Camäleon-class gunboats were built by the Prussian Navy in the 1860s to strengthen Prussia's coastal defense forces. Members of the class saw action during the Second Schleswig War in 1864, the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, and the Franco-Prussian War in 1870–1871. They also served abroad on long-range cruises, generally to the Mediterranean Sea. Obsolete by the 1870s, the ships served in a variety of subsidiary roles before being scrapped in the 1880s and 1890s.
