The Blitz class was a pair of avisos built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the early 1880s.

They served in a variety of additional roles during the 1890s and 1900s, including as tenders, fishery protection vessels, and training ships.

They operated as dedicated tenders to the battle squadrons of the High Seas Fleet by the mid-1900s, filling that role through the start of World War I.

Blitz took part in Operation Albion in the Baltic Sea in late 1917 and Pfeil was later used as a training ship for U-boat crews.

The ships' hulls were constructed with transverse and longitudinal steel frames, and contained eleven watertight compartments.

In 1891 and 1892, the ships were rearmed with six 8.8 cm SK L/30 guns in single mounts; these were carried one on the bow, one on the stern, and two amidships on either broadside.

[3] Upon entering service, Blitz served as the flotilla leader for I Torpedo-boat Flotilla; at the time, Alfred von Tirpitz, the future architect of the High Seas Fleet, directed the operations of the navy's torpedo craft, and Blitz was involved in evaluations of torpedo boat capabilities in the early 1880s.

Pfeil initially served with the training squadron until late 1889, when she was deployed to German East Africa to help suppress the Abushiri revolt.

She helped to enforce a blockade of the colony and also took part in operations against rebel forces, sending men ashore and bombarding enemy troops.

They also frequently escorted members of the royal family, including Kaiser Wilhelm II, who cruised aboard his yacht Hohenzollern.

[11][9] Blitz and Pfeil continued to serve as tenders during World War I, though Blitz's activities during the war are unclear, as one historian reports her initially being used for coastal defense patrols,[3] though another source states that she remained a tender through 1917, when she was sent to participate in Operation Albion against Russian forces in the Baltic Sea; she was reportedly also slated to take part in Operation Schlußstein in August 1918, also directed against Russia, but the plan was cancelled.