The Soden had an extremely shallow draft and a very high promenade deck that encompassed almost the entire length of the ship and on which a 3.7 cm revolver cannon was originally mounted at the bow and stern . It was constructed so that it could be dismantled into six pontoons and was shipped from Hamburg to Duala on February 28, 1890 , where it served the customs authorities. Presumably she carried the customs flag intended for the German colonies. Details from the service operations are not known. Possibly it served the protection force for Cameroon and the police force Cameroon as a troop transport in case of need .
Its fate after the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 is unclear . It may have been rendered unusable by the German authorities or the British or French occupying forces continued to use it. The final fate is unknown.
literature
Erich Gröner : The German warships 1815-1945 . Volume 7: Landing units (II), landing vehicles i (m). e (actual). Sense). (Part 2), landing ferries, landing support vehicles, transporters; Ships and boats of the army, ships and boats of the sea pilots / air force, colonial vehicles , Koblenz 1990, p. 216f. ISBN 3-7637-4807-5