''Bremse'' was built as an artillery training ship () of the

Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

with a secondary function as a test bed for new marine diesel engines later installed in German . During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she operated as an escort ship until her sinking in September 1941.

History

''Bremse'' was commissioned on June 14, 1933, and attached to the artillery training school at

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, to replace older predecessors. In 1933 she underwent repairs and a complete refit; her mast was shortened to improve stability and her artillery director was removed. In 1939 the ship was used in the film '' Der letzte Apell'' as the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

scout cruiser A scout cruiser was a type of warship of the early 20th century, which were smaller, faster, more lightly armed and armoured than protected cruisers or light cruisers, but larger than contemporary destroyers. Intended for fleet scouting duties a ...

; two additional dummy

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...

s were added.

Wartime career

During the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

in September 1939, ''Bremse'' escorted the auxiliary minelayers and and in October, she escorted troop transports in the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

. She then returned to the artillery school in

until March 1940. In April 1940, during

Operation Weserübung Operation Weserübung ( , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was the invasion of Denmark and Norway by Nazi Germany during World War II. It was the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In the early morning of 9 April 1940 (, "Weser Day"), Ge ...

, ''Bremse'' participated in the attack on

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

. She was shelled by Norwegian

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

and hit by two 21 cm rounds; she was subsequently repaired in

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

. Later, on November 1 ''Bremse'' was accidentally rammed by the

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

off Bergen, suffering minor damage. In June 1941, ''Bremse'' was sent back to

for escort duty. On July 30 she was bombed by

Albacore The albacore (''Thunnus alalunga''), known also as the longfin tuna, is a species of tuna of the order Scombriformes. It is found in temperate and tropical waters across the globe in the epipelagic and mesopelagic zones. There are six distinct ...

torpedo bombers and

Fulmar The fulmars are tube-nosed seabirds in the family Procellariidae. The family includes two extant species, and two extinct fossil species from the Miocene. Fulmars superficially resemble gulls, but are readily distinguished by their flight on s ...

fighters from the aircraft carrier but escaped unharmed.

Sinking

On September 6, 1941, in Hammerfjord, while escorting the troop transports ''Trautenfels'' and ''Barcelona'', ''Bremse'' was intercepted and attacked by the

cruisers and . ''Bremse'' drew the cruisers away from the transports, so that they could escape, but ''Nigeria'' rammed her, cutting ''Bremse'' in half and sinking her. (Some sources give an alternative outcome, reporting that the ''Nigeria'' was damaged by a

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun M ...

and ''Bremse'' sunk by gunfire.) 160 men, over half of her crew, died.

References

Bremse at german-navy.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bremse Minelayers of the Reichsmarine Ships of the Reichsmarine Ships built in Wilhelmshaven 1932 ships Training ships of the Kriegsmarine Minelayers of the Kriegsmarine World War II auxiliary ships of Germany Maritime incidents in September 1941 World War II shipwrecks in the Arctic Ocean