Several of them were sent abroad, usually to the Mediterranean Sea on training cruises; during conflicts in Spain and the Ottoman Empire, these vessels were used to protect German nationals in those countries.

Following the dissolution of the Reichsflotte in 1852, the leaders of the Prussian Navy sought resources to expand its forces to defend Prussia's coastline, which was extended in 1853 with the acquisition of the area that would become the port of Wilhelmshaven.

In 1855, King Wilhelm IV signed what became known as the Fleet Foundation Plan of 1855, which authorized a total force of 42 sail- and oar-powered gunboats.

By 1859, increasing tensions with neighboring Denmark led the Prussian parliament to demand a more powerful force, and the navy responded with a larger program that included a total of 52 steam-powered gunboats to be built between 1860 and 1875.

[2] Meanwhile, Chief Constructor Carl Elbertzhagen had already begun collecting information on steam gunboats being built in Britain, France, Russia, and Brazil, to determine what characteristics the new Prussian vessels should have.

[6][7] The ships of the Camäleon class were frequently laid up during peacetime, as tight Prussian naval budgets in the 1860s prevented an active fleet policy.

During periods of inactivity, the ships were moved ashore, their copper plating was removed, and ventilation holes were cut into the hulls to prevent deterioration of the wood.

During the war, the four gunboats were assigned to coastal defense duties in the Baltic Sea, and Comet saw action at the Battle of Jasmund in March 1864, where she traded ineffectual fire with a Danish screw frigate at long range.

The Austro-Prussian force attacked the Danish squadron blockading the North Sea coast of the German states in the inconclusive Battle of Heligoland, though Blitz and Basilisk were too slow to take an active role in the engagement.

Cyclop, Delphin, Blitz, and the ironclad turret ship Arminius supported the Prussian Army's campaign against the Kingdom of Hanover.

At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, the ships of the class were again activated for coastal defense duties, either in the mouth of the Elbe or the Jade Bay in the North Sea or at the main Prussian naval base at Kiel in the Baltic.

[25] Throughout the 1870s, the remaining members of the class performed a variety of tasks, including conducting cartographic surveys, weapons testing with new self-propelled torpedoes, and fishery protection duties.

Drache was the last surviving member of the class in service, conducting survey work until September 1887, when she too was stricken from the register and sunk as a target ship.