''Brummer'' was a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's '' Kriegsmarine'' during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

designed in the mid 1930s primarily for anti-aircraft gunnery training, she was also fitted for mine laying, her intended duty in wartime. ''Brummer'' was also used to test high pressure steam turbine systems designed for the German

destroyers In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

. She took part in the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

, laying mines off the Polish coast. In January 1940 she was used as a

commerce raider Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than enga ...

in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

and later took part in the invasion of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

; as a command ship of a transport squadron. On 14 April she was torpedoed by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

submarine off

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

, losing the complete bow section.

Design

In the mid-1930s two artillery training ships were built to drill the gunnery personal of the Kriegsmarine. Although ''Brummer'' was primarily designed for anti-aircraft gunnery training, she was also fitted for mine laying, her intended primary duty during wartime. ''Brummer'' was also used as an experimental ship for the high pressure steam turbine systems designed for the German

. The propulsion system of ''Brummer'' showed no major design flaws, and the destroyers were fitted with an almost identical system. This design later proved to be unreliable when used in the destroyers.

Early history

After being commissioned in 1936 ''Brummer'' worked up in the

, and was then attached to the Naval Air Defense and Artillery School (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: ''Marineflugabwehr- und Küstenartillerieschule'') in Swinemünde in the spring of 1937. Between 1937 and 1938 ''Brummer'' made two visits to Odde,

Göteborg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a p ...

, and

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...

Wartime career

In September 1939, ''Brummer'' took part in the

, laying mines off the Polish coast. In January 1940 she was used as a

in the

. In April 1940, ''Brummer'' took part in ''Operation Weserübung'', the invasion of

; as a command ship of a transport squadron. On April 14 she was torpedoed by the

submarine off

, losing the complete bow section. The ship was held afloat for nine hours, finally capsizing in the early morning of the next day.

References

Brummer at german-navy.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brummer Minelayers of the Reichsmarine Ships built in Bremen (state) 1935 ships Training ships of the Kriegsmarine Minelayers of the Kriegsmarine Ships sunk by British submarines World War II shipwrecks in the North Sea Maritime incidents in April 1940