⚓ Shipwrecks Map

SMS Bremse

SMS Bremse: Brummer-class cruiser
Image: Unknown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).

Key facts

NameSMS BremseWikidata label
Ship typeminelaying cruiserWikidata P31 instance of
Cause of lossScuttledKeyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence
Nationality / flagGerman ReichWikidata P8047 country of registry
OperatorImperial German NavyWikidata P137 operator
ConflictScuttling of the German Fleet in Scapa FlowWikidata P607 conflict
Sea / oceanNorth Atlantic OceanNatural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon
Nearest coastScotlandofficial dataset
Position58.9175, -3.1213Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0)
Historic MPAScapa Flow (HMPA10)Historic Environment Scotland
Designated2025-10-28Historic Environment Scotland

About the wreck

SMS Bremse was a Brummer-class minelaying light cruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). She was laid down by AG Vulcan Stettin on 27 April 1915 and launched on 11 March 1916 at Stettin, Germany, the second of the two-ship class after her sister, SMS Brummer. She served during the First World War, operating most of the time in company with her sister. The two ships took part in an ambush on a convoy in the North Sea, where they sank two destroyers in a surprise attack, before hunting down and sinking nine merchantmen, after which they returned to port unscathed.

The Kaiserliche Marine considered sending the two ships to attack convoys in the Atlantic Ocean, but the difficulties associated with refueling at sea convinced the Germans to abandon the plan. Bremse was one of the ships interned at Scapa Flow under the terms of the armistice in November 1918. On 21 June 1919, the commander of the interned fleet, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, ordered the scuttling of the fleet. She was salvaged in 1929 by teams working for Ernest Cox, though they had to contend with large quantities of oil and the risks of fires and explosions.

Diving & visiting

This site lies within a Historic Marine Protected Area designated under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. Check the HES designation record for what activities are permitted before diving.

Though the Admiralty arranged for some of the ships to be salvaged, most were left at the bottom of the sound until entrepreneur Ernest Cox bought the salvage rights and began to raise the remaining ships in the early 1920s. Bremse presented particular challenges. She had come to rest perched precariously on a rock, which sloped away dramatically, causing fears that she might slip off and sink in deeper water. Cox's salvage team sealed her bulkheads and divided the hull into watertight compartments.

Location

  • Recorded position: 58.9175, -3.1213 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
  • Sea / ocean: North Atlantic Ocean
  • Nearest coast: Scotland

Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.

OpenStreetMap

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article SMS Bremse (revision 1375909225), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Salvage”; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.

Contains Historic Environment Scotland data © Historic Environment Scotland – Scottish Charity No. SC045925 2026, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).

Nearby wrecks

Other wrecks of the Scuttling of the German Fleet in Scapa Flow

All 15 wrecks of the Scuttling of the German Fleet in Scapa Flow →

Browse more: UK & Ireland wrecks · wrecks off Scotland · North Atlantic Ocean

Further reading