SMS Bremse (1884)

Bremse's sister ship Brummer
History
German Empire
Name	Bremse
Builder	AG Weser, Bremen
Laid down	1883
Launched	29 May 1884
Commissioned	22 December 1884
Decommissioned	29 August 1902
Stricken	10 March 1903
Fate	Sold, 1910
General characteristics
Class and type	Brummer-class gunboat
Displacement	Design: 867 t (853 long tons) Full load: 929 t (914 long tons)
Length	64.8 m (212 ft 7 in)
Beam	8.5 m (27 ft 11 in)
Draft	2.68 to 4.77 m (8 ft 10 in to 15 ft 8 in)
Installed power	2 × fire-tube boilers 2,081 PS (2,053 ihp)
Propulsion	2 × double-expansion steam engines 1 × screw propeller
Speed	15.2 knots (28.2 km/h; 17.5 mph)
Complement	3–5 officers 62–73 enlisted men
Armament	1 × 21 cm (8.3 in) gun 1 × 8.7 cm (3.4 in) gun 2 × 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon 1 × 35 cm (13.8 in) torpedo tube
Armor	Barbette: 200 mm (7.9 in) Deck: 25–40 mm (0.98–1.57 in)

SMS Bremse was the second and final member of the Brummer class of armored gunboats built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the 1880s. The ship was ordered to serve in Germany's coastal defense system alongside the Sachsen-class ironclads and Wespe-class gunboats. They were significantly less well armed and protected compared to the Wespes, but they were lighter and faster vessels. Bremse's primary armament was a single 21 cm (8.3 in) gun carried in her bow, and she had a top speed of about 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

Bremse saw relatively little activity through her career, spending most of her time in the reserve fleet. In 1891, 1893, and 1902, she was commissioned to serve as a fisheries protection vessel in the North Sea. In those years, she also visited Britain, and in 1893, she was present for a naval review in Kiel, Germany. She was struck from the naval register in 1903 and converted into a storage hulk. Later, she was modified to serve as a floating fuel oil storage tank. She was sold into civilian service in 1910; her ultimate fate is unknown.