SMS Adler was the third and final Habicht class gunboat built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the early 1880s.

Over the next two years, she patrolled the islands to defend ethnic Germans in the area, and in late 1887, she carried the deposed king of Samoa Malietoa Laupepa into exile.

Next year, members of her crew and those of German vessels Eber and Olga fought in the First Battle of Vailele, where they were ambushed by a significantly larger Samoan force and suffered heavy casualties.

On 16 March 1889, Adler, Eber, and Olga were anchored in Apia, Samoa, along with three American warships and several other merchant vessels when a major hurricane struck the island.

To replace these older vessels, the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) ordered six Carola-class corvettes and three Habicht-class gunboats.

[6][7] On 15 January 1887, the gunboat Albatross arrived to relieve Adler in German New Guinea, allowing the latter to depart in early February for Sydney, Australia.

By the time she arrived, however, Samoans led by Malietoa Laupepa had begun significant attacks on Germans in the islands, which prompted the other ships to sail for Samoa.

The Germans decided to banish him to the colony of Kamerun in western Africa, and Adler took him and three other leaders of the attacks to Cooktown, where they were transferred to Albatross for the remainder of the journey.

The cruiser squadron departed in December, leaving Adler and the screw corvette Olga as the only vessels in the region, until the gunboat Eber arrived in Samoa in April 1888.

[8] Renewed unrest in Samoa in 1888 prompted the Germans to cancel a planned cruise to the Marshall Islands for Adler, and to concentrate Olga and Eber with her there.

In July, Adler was detached to replace her crew, and at that time, Korvettenkapitän (Corvette Captain) Ernst Fritze [de] arrived to take command of the ship.

Repeated, heavy attacks in November prompted all three ships to send landing parties ashore to defend Germans on the islands.

The victorious Samoans mutilated the corpses of the Germans, prompting public outrage in Germany demanding an immediate annexation of the island.

As the weather worsened, the Germans took precautions, including removing the yards, dropping additional anchors, and keeping the boilers lit in case the ships would need to move immediately.

[9] Most of the other ships in the harbor were similarly destroyed; only the British corvette HMS Calliope survived, as her captain had departed to avoid the storm.