SMS ''Meteor'' was an

auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

of the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...

which operated against Allied shipping during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Early career

Originally built as the British freighter ''Vienna'' in 1903 by Ramage & Ferguson, of

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

, for Curries shipping line. At the outbreak of war in August 1914 ''Vienna'' was at

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and was seized as a prize there. To take advantage of her unmistakably British appearance, the Imperial German Navy decided to convert her into an auxiliary cruiser and

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

. She was moved to the Kaiserliche Werft (KWW) in

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

, where she was equipped with two 88 mm guns and two machine guns. She had minelaying equipment installed and a capacity for 347 mines. She was renamed ''Meteor'' and commissioned in May 1915 under the command of KK Wolfram von Knorr.

Service history

On 29 May 1915 ''Meteor'' set out on her first mission, to lay mines in the

White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...

and attack Allied merchant ships engaged in taking coal and other ''materiel'' to Russia. In this she had several successes, sinking three freighters and laying her mines, which accounted for another three ships. She returned unharmed in June 1915.Halpern p33 Her second mission, in August 1915, was to lay mines in the

Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; , or ) is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of the north of Scotland. It is the largest firth in Scotland, stretching from Duncans ...

, but this was less successful. In the course of this operation, while attempting to run the British blockade, ''Meteor'' was challenged by the British armed boarding vessel HMS ''Ramsey'', which stopped her for inspection. While stopping to be boarded, ''Meteor'' was able to manoeuvre into a firing position, and, suddenly opening fire, she quickly overwhelmed ''Ramsey'', which sank.Hawkins p121 Retribution was swift, and several British

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

s in the area, which had received ''Ramsey'' report, closed in on her. Notified by an Imperial German Navy

airship An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the ...

, which was scouting in the area, ''Meteor'' captain decided to scuttle her to avoid capture. This took place on 9 August 1915. Her crew, and the survivors from ''Ramsey'', were rescued by the approaching British cruisers.

Aftermath

Though ''Meteor'' had some success, this was short-lived, and she did not survive to repeat her exploits. Also, of the eight ships sunk by her, four were neutral

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n vessels, which did nothing for Germany's relations with her neighbours.

Raiding career

In two voyages ''Meteor'' sank five ships, and her mines another five, with a total tonnage in excess more of 17,000 GRT.

Notes

References

*Halpern, Paul (1994) ''A Naval History of World War I'' HB *Hawkins, Nigel (2002) ''The Starvation Blockades'' *Schmalenbach, Paul (1977) ''German Raiders'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Meteor (1914) World War I commerce raiders Auxiliary cruisers of the Imperial German Navy 1903 ships Ships built in Leith Maritime incidents in 1915 Scuttled vessels of Germany World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea