The end of the 'Greif' and a starboard broadside view of HMS 'Royal Sovereign'

Two sketches, one above the other, each inscribed lower right by the artist 'End of the Greif' and 'Roy Sov'. The German merchant ship 'Guben was taken over and modified in 1915 as their auxiliary cruiser 'Greif', and commissioned in January 1916 . In February, disguisd as the Norwegian 'Rena', including with the Norwegian flag painted on its sides, the ship was sent to support an operation to the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean, but on its way through the North Sea, was engaged by the British auxiliary cruisers 'Andes' and 'Alcantara' near Bergen on 29 February. 'Greif' was able to torpedo the 'Alcantara', which sank later, but was heavily damaged and finally sunk when the British cruiser 'Comus' and the destroyer 'Munster' joined the battle: at least 97 of the crew were lost. The sketch here shows her final plunge, still burning, and was probably used to prepare PAF2217, which shows the 'Comus' rescuing survivors.

The drawing below shows a starboard broadside view of the British 28,000-ton battleship 'Royal Sovereign', which was launched in April 1915 and completed in May 1916, but too late to taken part in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May. The drawing shows her as completed. Though she remained in the Grand Fleet for the rest of the war, she saw no active service, but had an interwar career and continued - though again seeing little action - through the Second World War. From May 1944 until returned and scrapped in 1949, she was lent to the Soviet Navy as the 'Arkhangelsk'.

Object Details

ID: PAE2696
Collection: Fine art
Type: Drawing
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Wyllie, William Lionel
Vessels: Greif [German]; Royal Sovereign 1915 [HMS]
Date made: 1916
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection
Measurements: 247 mm x 308 mm