Meteor 1915
Former transport ship Vienna |
Contruction Data
Laid down: |
Ramage & Ferguson Ld Leith, 1903 |
Launched: |
May 1903 |
Commissioned: |
06.05.1915 (as auxiliary cruiser) |
Fate: |
sunk by British cruisers on 09.08.1915 |
Costs: |
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Technical Data
Size: |
3640 t |
Length: |
89,1 m |
Beam: |
11,34 m |
Draft: |
5,1 m |
Armament: |
2 x 8,8 cm, 2 x 3,7 cm, 2 x 45 cm torpedo tubes |
Performance: |
2400 shp, 14 kn |
History
The British mail ship Vienna
was captured in Hamburg at the outbreak of World War I. Armed and renamed Meteor
, the ship was used as mine layer and auxiliary cruiser. In its first operation in May - June 1915, it laid mines off Archangels, camouflaged as a Russian freighter. In a second operation in August 1915, the Meteor
laid mines near the Firth of Moray. During this operation, the Meteor
was able to sink the small British auxiliary cruiser Ramsey
on 08.08.1915. One day later, the ship was detected by a British cruiser squadron and was scuttled by its own crew to prevent a battle. Operating in the White Sea and North Sea, the Meteor
sunk one frighter and the Ramsey
only.
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