Iconic naval gun from SMS Bremse returns renewed to Scapa Flow Museum

Three months ago we bundled a rare naval gun from German High Seas Fleet Ship SMS Bremse - one of only five First World War German naval guns surviving in the UK - south for conservation.

It's now back with us at Scapa Flow Museum.

After decades outside in the Orkney climate, the gun - which was so iconic at Scapa Flow Museum, standing ominously at the approach to the Museum for many years - made a voyage across the Firth late last year on its way south for conservation.

It is one of only five remaining First World War German naval guns surviving in the UK - of which Scapa Flow Museum has three.

Now, after covering several hundred miles and battling through Orkney’s famously windy weather it has arrived back in the county - and Orkney Islands Council’s Museums team is excited to share it with you!

It is now installed at the newly re-developed Scapa Flow Museum, in the Romney Hut, where visitors will be able to admire its freshly conserved grandeur when the museum reopens to the public on 2 March.

It’s restoration wouldn’t have been possible without funding from OIC and the National Heritage Lottery Fund, and couldn’t be delivered without the expertise and exceptional care of Heddle Construction, Ian Clark Restoration, Allelys heavy haulage and Orkney Ferries.

View more photos of the Bremse and keep an eye out for future developments from the Museums team at the Orkney Arts, Museums and Heritage Facebook page.

Scapa Flow Museum is run by Orkney Islands Council and charts Orkney’s military involvement in the First and Second World Wars. It provides a safe home for a major collection of wartime artefacts, many of national and international importance.

Its recent refurbishment project valued at of £4.4 million, comprising an extension to the Museum and refurbishment of the historic pumphouse, has been supported by Orkney Islands Council, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic Environment Scotland, the Orkney LEADER 2014-2020 programme, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Museums Galleries Scotland and the Scottish Government’s European Regional Development Fund programme, managed by NatureScot through the Natural & Cultural Heritage Fund. (The Natural & Cultural Heritage Fund is part of the Scottish Government’s European Regional Development Fund programme, which finishes in 2023. NatureScot is also managing another element of the programme – the Green Infrastructure Fund. The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Regional Development Fund and the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit the Scottish Government website or follow @scotgovESIF.)