 Meteor was laid down at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel in 1888 , and launched on 20 January 1890 . Fitting @-@ out work then commenced , and was completed by 19 May 1891 , when she was commissioned into the German fleet . Meteor served with the fleet only briefly ; this was due to her poor handling and excessive vibration at high speed . In 1893 , she was assigned as the dispatch vessel for the I Division of the Maneuver Squadron , which was composed of the four Sachsen @-@ class ironclads . 
