SMS Brummer
SMS BRUMMER
THE HISTORY. The SMS Brummer was a mining cruiser. At the outbreak of World War I there were only three miners in the German Navy, so SMS Brummer and her sister ship SMS Bremse were built to reinforce this number.
In October 1917, the two ships intercepted a British convoy en route from Bergen, Norway to Lerwick, Shetland. They had been selected for this task because of their high speed, long range and resemblance to British cruisers. In preparation for the raid, his crews painted the ships dark gray to further camouflage them as British ships.
In the attack, the two ships sank the destroyers HMS Mary Rose and HMS Strongbow along with nine neutral Scandinavian ships accompanying the convoy.
The Germans said their shots never hit any crew member in the water and that the lifeboats were inadvertently hit. The attack killed 250 men. Four officers and 41 men were survived from HMS Strongbow and only two officers and eight men survived from HMS Mary Rose. Two trawlers in the convoy were undamaged and one of them rescued most of the survivors.
In the words of the English poet, Sir Henry John Newbolt:
"Throughout the attack, the Germans displayed a severity that is difficult to distinguish from outright cruelty. They did not give the crews of the neutral ships the opportunity to lower their boats and escape and treated them like armed enemies ... In the case of the destroyers, the behavior of the enemies was even worse, to their eternal discredit, they opened fire on the survivors of the Strongbow ”.
The SMS Brummer arrived at Scapa Flow for delivery in November 1918.
In October 1917, the two ships intercepted a British convoy en route from Bergen, Norway to Lerwick, Shetland. They had been selected for this task because of their high speed, long range and resemblance to British cruisers. In preparation for the raid, his crews painted the ships dark gray to further camouflage them as British ships.
In the attack, the two ships sank the destroyers HMS Mary Rose and HMS Strongbow along with nine neutral Scandinavian ships accompanying the convoy.
The Germans said their shots never hit any crew member in the water and that the lifeboats were inadvertently hit. The attack killed 250 men. Four officers and 41 men were survived from HMS Strongbow and only two officers and eight men survived from HMS Mary Rose. Two trawlers in the convoy were undamaged and one of them rescued most of the survivors.
In the words of the English poet, Sir Henry John Newbolt:
"Throughout the attack, the Germans displayed a severity that is difficult to distinguish from outright cruelty. They did not give the crews of the neutral ships the opportunity to lower their boats and escape and treated them like armed enemies ... In the case of the destroyers, the behavior of the enemies was even worse, to their eternal discredit, they opened fire on the survivors of the Strongbow ”.
The SMS Brummer arrived at Scapa Flow for delivery in November 1918.
THE IMMERSION. The Brummer is a firm favorite with divers visiting Scapa Flow. This mining cruiser rests on its starboard side on a flat, sandy bottom at -36 meters. The wreck rises to -22 meters at its shallowest point. Suitable for the recreational diver, very interesting -35 meter deep dives can be made without the need for an overly technical plan.
The entire wreck can be circumnavigated in one dive, but routes that were once easy to follow have become more complex in recent years due to a number of collapsed areas on the ship. With an experienced guide or a good understanding of the wreck, the SMS Brummer still has a lot to reveal. Much of the ship's arsenal remains and the bridge is one of Scapa Flow's iconic sights. Such features help to emphasize the scale and beauty of this class of historic warship.
The entire wreck can be circumnavigated in one dive, but routes that were once easy to follow have become more complex in recent years due to a number of collapsed areas on the ship. With an experienced guide or a good understanding of the wreck, the SMS Brummer still has a lot to reveal. Much of the ship's arsenal remains and the bridge is one of Scapa Flow's iconic sights. Such features help to emphasize the scale and beauty of this class of historic warship.