Bremen-class light cruisers

Lovely drawings DG_Alpha. Keep em coming

Thanks everyone for the kind words. We are getting closer to the end, this time with a complete series for the next ship in the class:

SMS München
Named after the well-known and famous capital city of Bavaria, she was laid down as cruiser “M” at AG Weser in 1903. The launch was on April 30th, 1904 at the presence of both Prinz Ludwig of Bavaria and Hofrat Freiherr von Borscht, first mayor of Munich. After fitting out, München was commissioned on January 10th, 1905.
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She was assigned to the Torpedo Insepction served as a torpedo target ship and testbed for wireless telegraphy, replacing the old cruiser SMS Nymphe. After an overhaul in the first half of 1907, München was host to the Kaiser himself while he observed the presentation of the new submarine U1. After a short stint the III. Scouting Squadron in 1908, the rest of the peace years were uneventful for München, except in 1910, when she collided with torpedo boat S122. By that year, her appearance had changed slightly, with modified masts and searchlight platforms.
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With the outbreak of the war, the cruiser was assigned to the IV. Scouting Group. While transferring to Kiel on August 28th, 1914, she and her sister Danzig became late participants in the First Battle of Heligoland Bight, but did not see any direct action.

During the Battle of Jutland München was first tasked with escorting the III. Battle Squadron together with S54. Later, she and Stettin encountered the British 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron. München fired 63 shots, which all missed, but she was hit twice in return, one shell hitting her third funnel and damaging her boilers.

When the battle intensified during the night, the cruisers of the IV. Scouting Group encountered HMS Southampton and HMS Dublin. The result were two badly damaged British cruisers, while in turn the German cruiser Frauenlob was hit and sunk by a torpedo. München barely evaded the sinking wreck, and hat also received a hit to her second funnel as well as numerous splinter damage and a (temporary) ruined steering.

What followed were two friendly fire incidents, first she and Stettin opened fire on torpedo boats G11, V1 and V11, mistaking them for the enemy and the second time a few hours later, when the battleships of the II. Squadron opened fire on British submarines. The massive barrages threatened the nearby friendly cruisers until a cease-fire order was given. The last battle action for München was firing on imaginary submarines in the morning of May 1st, 1916. During the battle the cruiser had fired 161 shots and had been hit five times in return. Eight of her crew had lost their lives and another twenty had been wounded. Repairs would last until June 30th.
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In October, the German fleet tried once again to lure out the British fleet with a bombardment of Sunderland. While en route, München was hit by a torpedo fired from the British submarine E38, which caused the entire operation to be aborted. München took heavy damage from the torpedo, taking 500t of water and losing her steam water. First being towed by torpedo boat V73 and later by her sister Berlin, she was back operation on the next day. However, after reaching home, it was decided that her battle damage had been too great: The cruiser was retired from active duty and used as a barracks ship for patrol ship crew.

After the war, München was stricken in November of 1919 from the list of warships handed over to the British as war prize “Q” in 1920 and subsequently scrapped.

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MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

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Great work, DG Alpha.

Another masterpiece.

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Fantastic work as ever.

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Once again thanks to vereyone! Here is the next one, only one more to go!

SMS Danzig
The last ship of the Bremen-class was named after the city located in West Prussia on the Baltic coast, today located in Poland and called Gdansk. She was ordered as Ersatz Alexandrine, a replacement for an old corvette of 1895. In an interesting coincidence, SMS Alexandrine was later scrapped in Danzig after being stricken. SMS Danzig was laid down in 1904 and was launched on September 23rd, 1905. She was christened by the current mayor of Danzig, Dr Ehlers. She joined the German Navy on December 1st, 1907 with most of her crew coming from the old cruiser SMS Arcona.

In appearance she and her predecessor Leipzig were much closer to the succeeding Königsberg-class: The mast was already integrated into the bridge, the funnels much straighter and the ramming bow less prominent. In terms of weapons, nothing had changed.

After commissioning, Danzig served in the High Seas Fleet's Scouting forces.

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In 1910 was transferred from the Scouting Forces to the Inspection of Ship Artillery, where she served as a training ship. During her years as training ships there were several collisions with other ships, for example the torpedo boat S76 in October of 1910. In July of 1914 Danzig was assigned as a guard ship for the harbour of Kiel.

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With the outbreak of the War, Danzig was assigned to the II. Scouting Group and returned to the North Sea, but shortly afterwards she was moved to the IV. Scouting Group and would return to the Baltic. While awaiting transfer through the Kiel Channel together with her sister München, the First Battle of the Heligoland Bight happened. The two cruisers were called in as possible reinforcements, but Danzig did not participate in any combat actions, because she was busy rescuing survivors from the light cruiser Ariadne.

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In May of 1915, the IV. Scouting Group, consisting of Danzig, München, Stettin, Stuttgart and 21 torpedo boats, participated in the Battle of Libau, where they bombarded Russian land forces. München briefly encountered Russian ships, but both sides did not press for an encounter, unsure of each other's strength. Danzig returned to the North Sea fleet.

After hitting a mine on May 15th, the cruiser spent several months in dry dock for repairs, with most of her crew manning the cruiser Frauenlob. Danzig returned to service on November 13th, once again in the Baltic Sea, but on November 25th, she again hit a mine, receiving heavy damage to shafts and rudder. In both cases she was towed back by her sister Berlin. During the repairs, which lasted for six months, the crew was once again transferred to Frauenlob.

In 1916 Danzig was overhauled, served again in the II. Scouting Group and as guard ship. In 1917, back in the Baltic, she first served as target ship, but in autumn, she participated in the Battle of Moon Sound and the occupation of the Oesel Island. During the battle, once again part of the II Scouting group, she was commanded by Prinz Adalbert, son of the Kaiser. Tasked with screening the main battle fleet, Danzig's only contribution to the battle was an interception order against Russian destroyers, together with cruisers Königsberg and Nürnberg.

After that, she was transferred to the reserve and used as target ship. Danzig survived the war and was stricken on November 9th, 1919 and given to Great Britain as prize “R” on September 15th, 1920 and scrapped over the following years.

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