Description
This is a postcard for the S. M. S. Greif, which was considered an aviso (dispatch-boat). It was commissioned in 1887. Before the S. M. Y. Hohenzollern was built, Kaiser Wilhelm II often used the Greif. It was also intended for use as a small escort ship for battleships, to protect them from small torpedo boats or fast escorts. It also served, for a time, as the flagship of the 1st Battleship Squadron. It did not prove successful in its role as protector, since it handled poorly in heavy seas. It was removed from service well before WW I and saw no service in the war. The postcard shows the S. M. S. Greif in profile at anchor. It was never used or mailed.
