Designed as for coastal bombardment, Hansa was classed as an armored corvette and armed with eight 21 cm (8.3 in) guns in a central battery.

She made a major overseas cruise to Central and South America from 1878 to 1880, during which time she protected German nationals in the region during the War of the Pacific between Peru, Bolivia, and Chile.

Development of a small armored corvette began in 1861, shortly after the first ironclad warships entered service in the British and French fleets.

The Prussians initially envisioned using the armored vessel to reduce coastal fortifications,[1] as the French ironclad floating batteries had done at the Battle of Kinburn in 1855.

[2] Work on the concept proceeded slowly, and the Prussians initially purchased as series of ironclads from British and French shipyards.

The design evolved over this period, eventually settling on a casemate ship similar to the British Edward Reed-designed HMS Pallas.

[4] Hansa was powered by a single horizontal three-cylinder single-expansion steam engine built by AG Vulcan in Stettin.

[4] Hansa was armed with a main battery of eight 21 cm RK L/19 hooped guns of 20.95-centimeter (8.25 in) caliber, each of which was provided with 110 rounds of ammunition.

[8] Work on the vessel was slowed, in part due to the lengthy process required to properly dry the wood used to construct her hull, but also because of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871.

Hansa joined the summer Training Squadron for 1875 on 3 June; the unit also included the ironclads Kronprinz, König Wilhelm, and Kaiser.

The ships remained in German waters and included a cruise to Rügen in early July with Crown Prince Frederick aboard one of the vessels.

The two ships acted to protect German nationals in Puerto Cabello, and also came to the aid of United States citizens in La Guaira.

While in the latter port, Hansa's engines broke down after weighing anchor; she only avoided colliding with other ships in the harbor by the crew's skillful seamanship and quickly transitioning to sail power.

Nymphe left the area on 28 January but Hansa remained off Venezuela until 20 February, by which time it had become apparent that the unrest was nearing its end.

She thereafter toured ports in the Greater Antilles, visited Greytown, Nicaragua, Colón in what was then still Colombia, and Saint Thomas in the Danish West Indies.

By that time, the War of the Pacific between Peru, Chile, and Bolivia had broken out, which threatened the security of Germans and other foreign nationals in the country.

By that time, the Peruvian government had seized the German steamer SS Luxor of the Kosmos Reederei company for carrying contraband, and processed the seizure through a prize court.

[c] Meanwhile, the German naval command commissioned the steam corvette Freya and the gunboat Hyäne to reinforce Hansa.

[13] Hansa cruised off the Peruvian and Chilean coast through June 1880,[11] and throughout this period, she repeatedly sent landing parties ashore in Callao, Lima, and Arica to protect Germans in those cities.

The steam corvette Bismarck arrived in the area on 26 May, the same day that Chile defeated Bolivia in the Battle of Tacna, knocking the latter out of the war.

In mid-August, the steam corvette Ariadne met Hansa in Coronel, Chile, where they officially transferred responsibility for the region on 11 August.

[19] The ship joined the Ironclad Squadron on 7 June 1887 for ceremonies marking the beginning of construction of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, after which she conducted shooting practice and training cruises.

She was then converted for use as a floating barracks for the II Torpedo Division in Kiel, which included installing central heating and electrical lights.