Amazone was modelled on the French corvette Diligente, with a ship displacement of 370 tonnes and a length overall of . She had a complement of 145 men and was armed with twelve Swedish 18-pounders. The ship served as a training vessel for Prussian naval officers of the Navigation School in Danzig, therefore it came under the Ministry of Finance rather than the Ministry of War. Nevertheless, she flew the Prussian war flag.