Commissioned July 7, 1933 Launched 14 June 1932 Weight 1,900 tons Range 5.556 million m | Name Bremse Class and type Bremse Length 105 m Displacement 1.696 million kg | |
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Laid down 1931 by Reichsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven Builder Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven | ||
Bremse was built as an artillery training ship (Artillerieschulschiff ) of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine with a secondary function as a testbed for new marine diesel engines later installed in German panzerschiffs. During World War II, she operated as an escort ship until her sinking in September 1941.
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History
Bremse was commissioned on June 14, 1933 and attached to the artillery training school at Kiel, 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 scout cruiser Amphion; two additional dummy funnels were added.
Wartime career
During the Invasion of Poland in September 1939, Bremse escorted the auxiliary minelayers Tannenberg and Hansestadt Danzig and in October, she escorted troop transports in the Baltic. She then returned to the artillery school in Kiel until March 1940.
In April 1940, during Operation Weserübung, Bremse participated in the attack on Bergen. She was shelled by Norwegian coastal artillery and hit by two 21 cm rounds; she was subsequently repaired in Stavanger. Later, on November 1 Bremse was accidentally rammed by the steamer Donau off Bergen, suffering minor damage.
In June 1941, Bremse was sent back to Kiel for escort duty. On July 30 she was bombed by British Albacore torpedo bombers and Fulmar fighters from the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious 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 British cruisers HMS Nigeria and Aurora. Bremse was able to draw the cruisers away from the transports, so that they could escape, but she was sunk when rammed by Nigeria and cut in half. (Some sources give an alternative outcome, reporting that the Nigeria was damaged by a mine and Bremse sunk by gunfire.) 160 men, over half of her crew, died.