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SMS Meteor (1914)

Coordinates: 55°56′N 6°43′E / 55.933°N 6.717°E / 55.933; 6.717
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For other ships with the same name, see SMS Meteor.

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
Displacement3,640 tonnes (3,580 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
Complement131[3]
Armament

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

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 374 mines. She was renamed Meteor and commissioned in May 1915 under the command of KK Wolfram von Knorr.[6]

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.[7]

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 maneuver into a firing position, and, suddenly opening fire, she quickly overwhelmed Ramsey, which sank. The opening salvos destroyed the bridge of the Ramsey, a torpedo struck Ramsey near the stern below the crew quarters. Most of the crew were still in their quarters and were killed during the explosion.[8]

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, on 9 August 1915 Meteor's captain decided to scuttle her to avoid capture. Meteor transferred the survivors of Ramsey and the crew of the Jason to a passing Norwegian vessel, while the Meteor's crew transferred to a passing Swedish merchant and returned to Germany to a hero's welcome. The Norwegian vessel rendezvoused with the British cruisers and turned over the Ramsey survivors, the British cruisers located the foundering Meteor and confirmed its sinking.[8]

Aftermath

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While Meteor career was short lived it was viewed as highly successful, laying minefields in critical shipping lanes out of reach of submarines, with minimal investment of resources. This proved the value of Frachtdampfer-Hilfskreuzer (Freighter-auxiliary cruisers) that could pose as conventional merchant vessels and whose large cargo holds could carry supplies for long voyages. This model would be the basis for later successful auxiliary cruisers such as Wolf and Möwe.[9]

Raiding career

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In two voyages Meteor sank five ships, her mines sunk another nineteen, and damaged 2 minesweepers, with a total tonnage in excess of 45,000 GRT.

Ships sunk by Meteor on her first raiding voyage[10]
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[11][12][13]
Date Ship Type Nationality Tonnage GRT Location
11.6.15 Arndale freighter British 3.583 Archangel
17.06.15 Nicolai Russian 154 Archangel
20.6.15 Twilight freighter British 3.100 Archangel
14.07.15 Urania freighter Russian/Finnish 1.934 Archangel
26.7.15 Madura freighter British 4.484 Archangel
06.07.15 African Monarch freighter British 4.003 Archangel
06.07.15 Lysaker freighter Norwegian 2.031 Archangel
24.6.15 Drumloist freighter British 3.118 Archangel
8.8.15 Benarthur sailing ship British 2.029 Archangel
31.08.15 Helga freighter Norwegian 949 Archangel
27.09.15 Vincent schooner American 1.904 Archangel
21.10.15 Cape Antibes freighter British 2.549 Archangel
18.11.15 Helen Martin schooner American 2.265 Archangel
Ships sunk by Meteor on her second raiding voyage[10]
Date Ship Type Nationality Tonnage GRT Fate
8.8.15 Jason sailing ship Danish 159 sunk
8.8.15 HMS Ramsey ABV British 1,621 sunk in action
Sunk by mines from Meteor on her second raiding voyage[13][14]
Date Ship Type Nationality Tonnage GRT Location
9.8.15 HMS Lynx destroyer British 1.072 Firth of Moray
12.8.15 Jacona freighter British 2.969 Firth of Moray
13.8.15 Princess Caroline passenger ship British 888 Firth of Moray
23.8.15 Commander Boyle steam trawler British 290 Firth of Moray
26.8.15 Jasper naval trawler British 221 Firth of Moray
15.2.16 Wilston freighter British 2.611 Firth of Moray
damaged by mines from Meteor on her second raiding voyage[14]
Date Ship Type Nationality Tonnage GRT Location
18.8.15 HMS Lilac sloop minesweeper British 1.200 Firth of Moray
4.9.15 HMS Dahlia sloop minesweeper British 1.200 Firth of Moray

Notes

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  1. ^ Schmalenbach p132
  2. ^ Schmalenbach p48
  3. ^ "WRECKSITE - METEOR CRUISER (AUXILIARY) (EX-PASSENGER/CARGO SHIP) 1903-1915". www.wrecksite.eu. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  4. ^ Schmalenbach p71
  5. ^ Walter p184
  6. ^ Schmalenbach p16
  7. ^ Halpern p33
  8. ^ a b Hawkins p121
  9. ^ Noppen p35
  10. ^ a b Schmalenbach p137
  11. ^ "WRECKSITE - METEOR CRUISER (AUXILIARY) (EX-PASSENGER/CARGO SHIP) 1903-1915". www.wrecksite.eu. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  12. ^ "U.S. Merchant Ships, Sailing Vessels, and Fishing Craft lost, captured, or damaged during World War I". usmm.org. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  13. ^ a b "BRITISH MERCHANT SHIPS and FISHING VESSELS LOST, DAMAGED and ATTACKED by DATE, August 1914-December 1915".
  14. ^ a b "THE PROJECT. SMS METEOR".

References

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

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