SMS Meteor was an auxiliary cruiser of the Imperial German Navy which operated against Allied shipping during World War I.

SMS Meteor
History
German Empire
NameMeteor
BuilderRamage & Ferguson, Leith
Launched1903
AcquiredAug 1914
Commissioned6 May 1915[1]
FateScuttled to avoid capture 9 August 1915
General characteristics
Displacement3,460 tonnes (3,410 long tons) (1,912 GRT)[2]
Length89.1 m (292.3 ft)
Beam11.3 m (37.1 ft)
Draught5.1 m (16.7 ft)
Propulsion1×3 cyl III Exp, 2 boilers, 2,400 hp (1,800 kW)
Speed14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Range9,000 nm at 9 kn
Complement?[3]
Armament

Early career

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Originally built as the British freighter Vienna in 1903 by Ramage & Ferguson, of Leith, for Curries shipping line. At the outbreak of war in August 1914 Vienna was at Hamburg 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. She was moved to the Kaiserliche Werft (KWW) in Wilhelmshaven, 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.[5]

Service history

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SMS Meteor on fire, shortly before she sank

On 29 May 1915 Meteor set out on her first mission, to lay mines in the White Sea 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.[6]

Her second mission, in August 1915, was to lay mines in the Moray Firth, 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.[7]

Retribution was swift, and several British cruisers in the area, which had received Ramsey's report, closed in on her. Notified by an Imperial German Navy airship, which was scouting in the area, Meteor's 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.[7]

Aftermath

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

Raiding career

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

Ships sunk by Meteor on her first raiding voyage[8]
Date Ship Type Nationality Tonnage GRT Fate
15.6.15 Verdandi freighter Swedish 950 sunk
16.6.15 Granit freighter Norwegian 662 sunk
16.6.15 Thorsten freighter Swedish 1.634 sunk
Sunk by mines from Meteor on her first raiding voyage[9]
Date Ship Type Nationality Tonnage GRT Location
11.6.15 Arndale freighter British 3.583 Archangel
20.6.15 Twilight freighter British 3.100 Archangel
24.6.15 Drumloist freighter British 3.118 Archangel
26.7.15 Madura freighter British 4.484 Archangel
8.8.15 Benarthur sailing ship British 2.029 Archangel
Ships sunk by Meteor on her second raiding voyage[8]
Date Ship Type Nationality Tonnage GRT Fate
8.8.15 Jason sailing ship Danish 159 sunk
8.8.15 Ramsey ABV British 1,621 sunk in action

Notes

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  1. ^ Schmalenbach p132
  2. ^ Schmalenbach p48
  3. ^ Schmalenbach p24
  4. ^ Schmalenbach p71
  5. ^ Schmalenbach p16
  6. ^ Halpern p33
  7. ^ a b Hawkins p121
  8. ^ a b Schmalenbach p137
  9. ^ "BRITISH MERCHANT SHIPS and FISHING VESSELS LOST, DAMAGED and ATTACKED by DATE, August 1914-December 1915".

References

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55°56′N 6°43′E / 55.933°N 6.717°E / 55.933; 6.717