Alternative Names Calf Of Cava
Site type CRUISER (20TH CENTURY)
Canmore ID 102314
Site Number HY30SW 8009
NGR HY 3362 0162
Latitude N 58 53.8333
Longitude W 3 9.1167
Council ORKNEY ISLANDS
Parish MARITIME - ORKNEY
Former Region ORKNEY ISLANDS AREA
Former District MARITIME
Former County MARITIME

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Archaeological Notes

HY30SW 8009 3362 0162
N58 53.8333 W3 9.1167

NLO: Holm of Houton [name: HY 315 029]
Calf of Cava [name: HY 322 006]
Cava [name: ND 327 995]
Barrel of Butter [name: HY 352 009]
Point of Tuberry (Cava) [name: HY 334 993]
Stromness [name: HY 253 090]
Scapa Flow [name centred HY 36 00].

For other ships within this group, see:
HY30SW 8002 Dresden (cruiser)
HY30SW 8004 Konig (battleship)
HY30SW 8007 Markgraf (battleship)
HY30SW 8008 Kronprinz Wilhelm (battleship)
HY30SW 8010 Koln (cruiser)
HY30SW 8011 Grosser Kurfurst (battleship)
HY30SW 8012 Friedrich der Grosse (battleship)
HY30SW 8014 Bayern (battleship)
HY30SE 8003 Frankfurt (cruiser: secondary location)
HY30SE 8004 Emden (cruiser: secondary location)
HY30SE 8005 Bremse (cruiser: secondary location).

Formerly entered as HY30SW 8855.

For sister ship SMS Bremse, see HY30SE 8005.

For general plans of High Seas Fleet (Internment Formation) wrecks in Scapa Flow, see Van der Vat 1986 (endpapers), Smith 1989, 4, Macdonald 1998, 19 and George 1999, 35.

Remains at Scapa Flow.
P L Smith 1989.

Horizontal Datum = OGB
General water depth = 35
Orientation of keel/wreck = SE/NW

Circumstances of Loss Details
-----------------------------
The German, minelaying cruiser BRUMMER was scuttled in Scapa Flow.

Surveying Details
-----------------------------
1919. A dangerous wreck, with a least depth of 21.9 metres, is reported at 58 53 50N, 003 09 07W. It is lying with its keel on an orientation of 135/315 degrees.

6 November 1962. The salvage rights have been sold for 200 pounds sterling to Messrs Nundy (Marine Metals) ltd.

28 September 1970. Salvage is to take place during the next 5 years.

21 October 1977. Salvage rights for period ending 31 December 1982 have been sold to Scapa Flow Salvage Ltd.

20 August 1979. The wreck is to be salvaged by Undersea Associates Ltd. Source; Lloyd's list, 15 August 1979.

20 November 1981. The lease of the salvage rights has been transferred to Clark Diving Services.

17 September 1985. The Ministry of Defence salvage leasing contract time has now expired. Ownership is to be transferred to Orkney Islands Council.

Hydrographic Office, 1995.

(Classified as cruiser: date of loss cited as 21 June 1919). [SMS] Brummer: this vessel was scuttled 1 mile NE of the Calf of Cava.
Registration: German. 4308 tons dispacement. Length: 138m. Beam: 13m.
(Location of loss cited as N58 53.83 W3 9.12).
I G Whittaker 1998.

In July 2000 a side scan sonar survey of the area of Scapa Flow in which the seven wrecks are situated was carried out in conjunction with a bathymetric and seabed classification survey using Echoplous equipment. In addition, detailed sonar images were obtained and geo-referenced so that exact co-ordinates of the extreme ends of each wreck structure could be obtained.
ADU, MS/5450.

Scheduled with SMS Dresden (HY30SW 8002), SMS Karlsruhe (HY30SW 8006) and SMS Koln (HY30SW 8010).
Information from Historic Scotland, scheduling document dated 23 March 2001.

Material reported under RoW amnesty (2001):
A792 porthole: from seabed.
NMRS, MS/829/34.

Material reported under RoW amnesty (2001):
A1077 1 fire hose connector: from seabed
A2091 1 eggcup (plain and unadorned): in dumb waiter descending from galley
A2620 1 bridge steering column and wheel: from seabed
A2650 1 brass switch: from seabed
A2744 1 valve top: from seabed
A3034 1 lamp: from seabed
A3136 1 'sighting stand': from seabed
A3486 1 brass nut: from seabed.
NMRS, MS/829/35.

Material reported under RoW amnesty (2001):
A4512 Brass porthole hinged clip and threaded bar, and cylindrical copper rheostat with wood connection ends.
NMRS, MS/829/77.

Length over all: 460ft 6ins (140.4m)
Length water line: 442ft 10ins (135m)
Beam: 43ft 4ins (13.2m)
Draught: 19ft 8ins (6m)
Displacement (nominal): 4385t
Displacement (full load): 5856t
Armour: belt 40mm; deck 15mm; conning tower 100mm (all maxima)
Armament: 4 x 15cm (5.9in: 45 cal: single mounting); 2 x 8.8cm AA (3.5in; 45 cal: single mounting); 2 x 50cm (19.7ins) torpedo tubes; 360 mines
Propulsion: 6 x 3-drum superheated boilers (2 coal, 4 oil); 2 x steam turbines; direct drive to two shafts; 33,000 shp (also cited as 46,000) nominal; 34 kts maximum.
Fuel: 1000t oil; 500t coal
Complement: 480
Classified as a Minendampfer ('Minesteamer' or minelaying cruiser), this ship was designed in 1913 and built at Vulcan Shipyard, Stettin; she joined the fleet in autumn 1916. Brummer and her sister ship Bremse were designed to incorporate the propulsion machinery intended for the Russian battlecruiser Navarin which was under construction at the outbreak of war. They were lightly armoured and carried 360 mines, three times as many as any other German cruiser, but only half as many guns, all of them in single mountings on the centreline. They were intended for possible service as commerce raiders, but were never used in this role.
The ships were built fine for high speed and had an unusual gracefully-curved bow but were 'wet' in bad weather; they could to some extent simulate British cruisers of the 'Arethusa' class. They were built as wartime construction to an essentially 'utility' standard, incorporating only the minimum of non-ferrous metals. The hull incorporated three decks, oil being stored in bunkers in the bottom of the ship and coal along the sides, and they were not intended to accommodate their crews for long periods.
In October 1917, Brummer and Bremse achieved the near-total destruction of an escorted convoy from Bergen to Lerwick. Otherwise they only carried out occasional sorties off the German North Sea bases.
The wreck of the Brummer lies on its starboard side in between 37m (stern) and 34m (bow), and has been heavily salvaged amidships (in the vicinity of the boiler and engine rooms). The rudder lies flat on the seabed, and the identifiable features comprise the overhanging raked bow, the anchor capstans and three of the forward 5.9" guns, the conning tower, the kedge anchor in its stern hawse, and the empty port propeller shaft.
The wreck is frequently visited by recreational divers and is fully described in various diving guides. It lies 0.9nm NE of Calf of Cava light and is charted (Wk) with a clearance of 21.5m above a seabed in a general charted depth of about 35m (shelving to the SE). The nature of the seabed is not indicated locally but is evidently of varied composition with areas of rock nearby.
This ship may be considered as falling within the Cava Sound group of heavy ships and cruisers, which were scuttled within the area defined by Holm of Houton [name: HY 315 029], Calf of Cava [name: HY 322 006], Barrel of Butter [name: HY 352 009] and Point of Tuberry (Cava) [name: HY 334 993]. Cava Sound (which is not noted as such on the chart) may be understood as a relatively deep eastwards extension of Hoy Sound, leading into the broad expanse of Scapa Flow. It has a generally flat bottom at a charted depth of between 30 and 45m; the seabed type is defined sparingly but is apparently of sand and stones.
Apart from the specifically-indicated wrecks, an extensive area of foul ground and numerous obstructions and wrecks attest to the former presence of the High Seas Fleet. The former is situated around N58 53.85 W3 11 [HY 31 01], while the latter form a broad band extending from E to W between about N58 53.8 W3 8.4 [HY 34 01] and N58 53.9 W3 10.8 [HY 32 01].
(For sectional drawing of this class, see Smith 1989, 49. For block section and underwater artist's impression, see Macdonald 1998, 84 and 87 respectively).
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 8 January 2003.
H M Le Fleming 1961; D M Ferguson 1985; P L Smith 1989; R Macdonald 1998.
HO Chart 35 (1980, revised 1991).

p. 12 fig. 3 longitudinal section (also applies to SMS Bremse)
p. 19 fig. 10 Klein 2000 sonogram (corrected)
p. 20, fig. 11 Imagenex 858 sonar image
p. 37, fig. 28 images captured by GeoZui3D visualiser, using Reson multi-beam data
p. 39, pl. 8 hand-crafted mosaic showing plate separation near bow
p. 41 fig. 30 plan of stern (surveyed by A Wallbank and S Wasik, 7-8 August 2001)
p. 45 survey results
p. 45, pl. 14 illustration of bow (colour)
(unpaginated annexe) information from Dolphin Scuba Service
This ship shows more evidence of deterioration than any other surveyed, the bow portion being in an advanced state of collapse; parts of the starboard side have fallen to the seabed leaving the port side unsupported. This port side is in consequence beginning to collapse itself; the hull plates in this area have separated and are hanging suspended while unable to take any load. Separation is greatest at the bow, and extends for about 5m towards the stern. The starboard plates have fallen to the seabed and the foremost part of the deck has separated from the hull and now lies resting at an angle on the seabed. The remains of this section will probably fall to the seabed in the near future.
The area aft of this also displays extensive corrosion over an area about 17m long, and has collapsed into the hull itself. The stern is reported to have collapsed about four or five years ago [c. 1995/6]. A small portion of rib [frame] with hull plate attached was seen to have become detached from the hull, and had fallen to the seabed.
NMRS, MS/829/63

Plans and drawings of this vessel (also applicable to SMS Bremse) are held in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
NMRS, MS/1614.

(Discussed in connection with Scheduling of wrecks in Scapa Flow).
Source: 'Wrecks, divers and scheduling: the case of Scapa Flow, Orkney', article by O Owen in Nautical Archaeology, 2002.3.
MS/2745.

The forward gun of this wreck has fallen to the seabed.
Information from Mr R Forbes (Stromness), 26 October 2004.

Notes and Activities

5 July 2000 to 28 July 2000

SIDE SCAN SONAR SURVEY

Notes A side scan sonar survey of the area of Scapa Flow in which the seven wrecks are situated was carried out in conjunction with a bathymetric and seabed classification survey using Echoplous equipment. In addition, detailed sonar images were obtained and geo-referenced so that exact co-ordinates of the extreme ends of each wreck structure could be obtained.

Further details

5 July 2000 to 28 July 2000

DIVER INSPECTION

Notes A side scan sonar survey of the area of Scapa Flow in which the seven wrecks are situated was carried out in conjunction with a bathymetric and seabed classification survey using Echoplous equipment. In addition, detailed sonar images were obtained and geo-referenced so that exact co-ordinates of the extreme ends of each wreck structure could be obtained.

Further details

Books and References

Bennett, G (1983) Naval battles of the First World War, London
Page(s): 228-9

Ferguson, D M (1985) The wrecks of Scapa Flow Stromness
Page(s): 40, 44-5 fig. p. 45 Held at RCAHMS E.5.14.FER

Ferguson, D M (1988) Shipwrecks of Orkney, Shetland and Pentland Firth, Newton Abbot
Page(s): 86 Held at RCAHMS E.5.14.FER

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