SMS Bremse

One of the Brummer-class cruisers, probably on the way to Scapa Flow
History
German Empire
NameSMS Bremse
BuilderAG Vulcan Stettin, Stettin
Laid down27 April 1915
Launched11 March 1916
Commissioned1 July 1916
FateScuttled in Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919
General characteristics
Class and typeBrummer-class light cruiser
Displacement
Length140.4 m (460 ft 8 in)
Beam13.2 m (43 ft 4 in)
Draft6 m (19 ft 8 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range5,800 nmi (10,700 km; 6,700 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement
  • 16 officers
  • 293 enlisted men
Armament
Armor

SMS Bremse was a Brummer-class minelaying light cruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). She was laid down by AG Vulcan Stettin on 27 April 1915 and launched on 11 March 1916 at Stettin, Germany, the second of the two-ship class after her sister, SMS Brummer. She served during the First World War, operating most of the time in company with her sister. The two ships took part in an ambush on a convoy in the North Sea, where they sank two destroyers in a surprise attack, before hunting down and sinking nine merchantmen, after which they returned to port unscathed.

The Kaiserliche Marine considered sending the two ships to attack convoys in the Atlantic Ocean, but the difficulties associated with refueling at sea convinced the Germans to abandon the plan. Bremse was one of the ships interned at Scapa Flow under the terms of the armistice in November 1918. On 21 June 1919, the commander of the interned fleet, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, ordered the scuttling of the fleet. She was salvaged in 1929 by teams working for Ernest Cox, though they had to contend with large quantities of oil and the risks of fires and explosions. Having been brought back to the surface after a decade underwater, she was then scrapped.