[2] Her wooden hull was given copper sheathing to protect the wood from biofouling and damage from marine parasites like shipworm.

The propulsion system was capable of generating 1,127 indicated horsepower (840 kW), for a top speed of 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph).

[2] Upon entering service, In 1869, Helgoland was assigned to a squadron sent to patrol the Levant in the eastern Mediterranean under the command of Rear Admiral Friedrich von Pöck.

The squadron also included the ironclad warships Erzherzog Ferdinand Max and Salamander, the gunboats Streiter, Reka, and Hum, and the screw schooner Kerka.

Isma'il Pasha of Egypt had given four ancient Egyptian columns as a gift to Kaiser Franz Joseph, and Bravo was to carry them to Austria-Hungary.

Severe storms during the voyage forced the ships to shelter at Cape Krio and the island of Gavdos; they then passed through Zakynthos before reaching Corfu on 7 September.

Over the following days, Franz Joseph visited a number of cities in Egypt and Syria, including Port Said, Jaffa, and Jerusalem.

Following the opening ceremonies for the Suez Canal, Helgoland escorted the Kaiser's entourage back across the Mediterranean, leaving Alexandria on 25 November and stopping in Corfu to take on coal.

By that time, the squadron had been altered slightly, and now consisted of Habsburg, the screw corvette Dandolo, Hum, Reka, and Kerka.

The latter stop had not been intended, but while sailing from Messina to Marseilles, Helgoland encountered a severe storm that destroyed her jibboom and damaged her rudder.

Her crew made repairs to the ship while in Cagliari, allowing her to continued on to Marseilles, eventually arriving on 16 November.

Severe storms on 14 December forced her again to take shelter, this time at the anchorage at Roquetas de Mar, along with fifty other ships that had been in the area.

The weather calmed the following morning, allowing Helgoland to proceed to Gibraltar; she arrived there in the early hours of 16 December.

The crew made repairs to Helgoland and replenished supplies before departing on 12 February, sailing north for Barbados.

The ship then got underway again on 26 April, continuing in her northward journey and arriving off the East coast of the United States by early May.

She reached her destination, New York City, on 8 May, and the Austro-Hungarians were greeted by Vice Admiral Stephen Clegg Rowan aboard his flagship, USS Frolic; Rowan was the commander of the New York Navy Yard, and he invited the officers of Helgoland to tour the shipyard.

While the ship was still there on 28 July, the captain received orders to sail for Cádiz, as revolutionary unrest threatened Austro-Hungarians and other foreign nationals in the city.

Helgoland stayed in the port for several days, and on 15 January, the commander and his staff were invited to meet Sultan Barghash bin Said.

Two days later, the ship received word that the French barque Benecia had run aground on a coral reef outside the port.

Helgoland left Zanzibar on 31 January and crossed over to Bagamoyo on the mainland, anchoring off the mouth of the Kingani River for three days.

She remained there for more than a month, making repairs to her boilers and water distiller, and her foremast was replaced, as it was found to have begun rotting.

Helgoland departed on 17 June, but had to return on the 22nd when it became apparent that the distiller was not working reliably to permit the ship to reach the British colony of Natal.

While sailing off the Azores on 17 November, the ship was struck by a severe cyclone, which damaged her rudder, leaving her unable to steer.