text: brummer - class cruiser the brummer class consisted of two light mine - laying cruisers built for the imperial german navy in world war i : sms brummer and sms bremse . when the war broke out , the germans had only two older mine - laying cruisers . although most german cruisers were fitted for mine - laying , a need for fast specialized ships existed . the imperial russian navy had ordered a set of steam turbines for the borodino - class battlecruiser navarin from the ag vulcan shipyard in stettin . this machinery was confiscated on the outbreak of war and used for these ships . both vessels were built by ag vulcan . the two ships laid a series of minefields during their career , though their most significant success came in october 1917 , when they attacked a british convoy to norway . they sank two escorting destroyers and nine of the twelve merchant ships from the convoy . they escaped back to germany without damage . the two ships were interned at scapa flow after the end of the war , and were subsequently scuttled by their crews on 21 june 1919 . brummer was sunk in deep water and was never raised , but bremse was brought up in 1929 and broken up for scrap in 1932 – 1933 . design and construction in 1914 , ag vulcan in stettin was building two sets of high - powered steam turbines for the russian navy for use in their new battlecruiser navarin , then under construction in russia . after the outbreak of world war i in august 1914 , which saw germany and russia on opposing sides , the german government seized the turbines . at that time , the kaiserliche marine possessed only two cruisers equipped for mine - laying operations , the cruisers nautilus and albatross . the kaiserliche marine ordered ag vulcan to split navarin 's propulsion system in half and to design a pair of cruiser hulls around the engines . the ships were to be fast mine - layers , capable of mining an area under cover of darkness and quickly returning to port before they could be intercepted . they were designed to resemble the british arethusa class cruisers to aid in their ability to operate off the british coast . design work on the ships was completed quickly in 1914 . brummer was laid down at the ag vulcan shipyard in stettin in early 1915 . work proceeded quickly , and the ship was launched on 11 december 1915 . after the completion of fitting - out work , the ship was commissioned into the high seas fleet on 2 april 1916 . bremse followed her sister the same year at ag vulcan . she was launched on 11 march 1916 and completed in less than four months ; the ship was commissioned into the fleet on 1 july 1916 . during construction , the shape of their bow and its resemblance to british cruisers was covered by sheet metal . general characteristics brummer and bremse were 135 meters ( 443 ft ) long at the waterline and 140 . 40 m ( 460 ft 8 in ) long overall . they had a beam of 13 . 20 m ( 43 ft 4 in ) and a draft of 6 m ( 19 ft 8 in ) forward and 5 . 88 m ( 19 ft 3 in ) aft . the ships had a designed displacement of 4 , 385 metric tons ( 4 , 316 long tons ) , and at full combat load , they displaced 5 , 856 t ( 5 , 764 long tons ) . their hulls were built with longitudinal steel frames . the hulls were divided into twenty - one watertight compartments and incorporated a double bottom that extended for forty - four percent of the length of the keel . brummer differed slightly , as she had a row of portholes amidships that her sister bremse did not have . brummer and bremse were fitted with masts similar to the british arethusa - class cruisers , and similarly to the british ships , the masts could be lowered and stored on the superstructure deck . their bow was also modeled on the arethusa - class ships to further disguise the vessels . the ships had a complement of 16 officers and 293 enlisted men . they carried several smaller vessels , including one picket boat , one barge , and two dinghies . the german navy regarded the ships as excellent sea boats , having gentle motion . the ships were highly maneuverable and had a tight turning radius , and only lost slight speed in a head sea . in hard turns , they lost up to sixty percent speed . they were very crank , however . machinery the two ships ' propulsion systems consisted of two turbines powered by two coal - fired marine double - ended boilers and four oil - fired öl - marine double - ended boilers . the turbines drove a pair of three - bladed screws , which were 3 . 20 m ( 10 ft 6 in ) in diameter . the engines were rated at 33 , 000 shaft horsepower ( 25 , 000 kw ) for a top speed of 28 knots ( 52 km / h ; 32 mph ) . on trials , brummer reached 42 , 797 shp ( 31 , 914 kw ) while bremse made 47 , 748 shp ( 35 , 606 kw ) ; they averaged a top speed of 30 . 2 knots ( 55 . 9 km / h ; 34 . 8 mph ) with a light load . the ships were capable of speeds up to 34 knots ( 63 km / h ; 39 mph ) , though only in short bursts . coal storage was 300 t ( 300 long tons ; 330 short tons ) as designed , though up to 600 t ( 590 long tons ; 660 short tons ) could be carried . fuel oil was initially 500 t ( 490 long tons ; 550 short tons ) , and could be similarly increased to 1 , 000 t ( 980 long tons ; 1 , 100 short tons ) . at a cruising speed of 12 kn ( 22 km / h ; 14 mph ) , the ships could steam for 5 , 800 nautical miles ( 10 , 700 km ; 6 , 700 mi ) . at a higher speed of 25 kn ( 46 km / h ; 29 mph ) , the range fell considerably , to 1 , 200 nmi ( 2 , 200 km ; 1 , 400 mi ) . electrical power was provided by two turbo generators and one diesel generator . steering was controlled by a single , large rudder . armament and armor the ships were armed with four 15 cm sk l / 45 guns in single pedestal mounts ; all four were placed on the centerline so all four guns could fire on the broadside . one was placed forward on the forecastle , a second was located between the first and second funnel and two were arranged in a superfiring pair aft . these guns fired a 45 . 3 - kilogram ( 100 lb ) shell at a muzzle velocity of 840 meters per second ( 2 , 800 ft / s ) . the guns had a maximum elevation of 30 degrees , which allowed them to engage targets out to 17 , 600 m ( 57 , 742 ft 9 in ) . they were supplied with 600 rounds of ammunition , for 150 shells per gun . brummer and bremse also carried two 8 . 8 cm ( 3 . 5 in ) l / 45 anti - aircraft guns mounted on the centerline astern of the funnels . these guns fired a 10 kg ( 22 lb ) shells at a muzzle velocity of 750 to 770 m / s ( 2 , 500 to 2 , 500 ft / s ) . the ships were also equipped with a pair of 50 cm ( 19 . 7 in ) torpedo tubes with four torpedoes in a swivel mount amidships . designed as mine - layers , they carried up to 450 mines , depending on the type . two rails ran down the main deck to the stern to allow the mines to be dropped behind the ship . the brummer - class cruisers ' armor was fabricated from krupp cemented steel . the ships were protected by a waterline armored belt that was 40 mm ( 1 . 6 in ) thick amidships ; the bow and stern were not armored . the deck was covered with 15 mm ( 0 . 59 in ) thick armor plate . gun shields 50 mm ( 2 . 0 in ) thick protected the 15 cm gun battery crews . the conning tower had 100 mm ( 3 . 9 in ) thick sides and a 20 mm ( 0 . 79 in ) thick roof . atop the conning tower was the bridge , which included a splinter - proof chart house . all three funnels were equipped with a steel glacis for splinter protection . service after their commissioning , brummer and bremse served with the high seas fleet , including on a sortie into the north sea in october 1916 . the ships laid a minefield off norderney in january 1917 and guarded minesweepers between march and may that year . in october 1917 , admiral reinhard scheer sent the two ships to attack a british convoy to norway to divert forces protecting convoys in the atlantic . scheer chose brummer and bremse because of their high speed and large radius of action . shortly after dawn on 17 october , the two cruisers attacked the convoy , which consisted of twelve merchant ships , two destroyers , and two armed trawlers . the german ships quickly sank the escorting destroyers and nine of the twelve cargo vessels . the british admiralty was not informed of the attack until brummer and bremse were safely steaming back to germany . along with the most modern units of the high seas fleet , brummer and bremse were included in the ships specified for internment at scapa flow by the victorious allied powers . the ships steamed out of germany on 21 november 1918 in single file , commanded by rear admiral ludwig von reuter . reuter believed that the british intended to seize the german ships on 21 june 1919 , and so he ordered the ships to be sunk at the next opportunity . on the morning of 21 june , the british fleet left scapa flow to conduct training maneuvers , and at 11 : 20 reuter transmitted the order to scuttle his ships . brummer sank at 13 : 05 ; she was never raised for scrapping and remains on the bottom of scapa flow . bremse sank at 14 : 30 and was ultimately raised on 27 november 1929 and broken up for scrap in 1932 – 1933 in lyness .