SMS Greif was a converted freighter serving as a merchant raider

Merchant raider

Merchant raiders are ships which disguise themselves as non-combatant merchant vessels, whilst actually being armed and intending to attack enemy commerce. Germany used several merchant raiders early in World War I, and again early in World War II...

 with Imperial Germany.

Originally named Guben, she was a (4962 GRT) steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

-hulled

Hull (watercraft)

A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...

 steamship owned by the German-Australian Line (DADG), Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

. Greif was converted for military service at Kaiserliche Werft Kiel

Kaiserliche Werft Kiel

Kaiserliche Werft Kiel was a German shipbuilding company founded in 1867, first as Königliche Werft Kiel but renamed in 1871 with the proclamation of the German Empire...

, in 1915. Greif was commissioned 23 January 1916 and sailed from the Elbe

Elbe

The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...

 port of Cuxhaven on 27 February 1916 under the command of Fregattenkapitän Rudolf Tietze (born 13 September 1874). The Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 had learned of Greifs sailing and was waiting in the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

.

Greif was disguised as the Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 Rena bound for Tønsberg

Tønsberg

is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, southern Norway, located around north-east of Sandefjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tønsberg....

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 when intercepted by the 15,620-ton armed merchant cruiser Alcantara

SS Alcantara (1913)

SS Alcantara was an ocean liner that went into service just weeks before the start of World War I, was converted to an armed merchant cruiser in 1914, and was sunk by the German armed merchant cruiser SMS Greif on 29 February 1916 in the North Sea....

 on the morning of 29 February. Alcantara closed to 2000 yards and slowed to lower a boarding cutter when Greif hoisted the German battle ensign, increased speed, and opened fire. Alcantara returned fire with six 6-inch (15-cm) guns and two 3-pounders. Range was never more than 3000 yards. Alcantara took a torpedo amidships on the port side, and one of Alcantaras shells exploded the ready ammunition for Greifs after gun. Both ships lost speed. Greifs crew abandoned ship 40 minutes after opening fire. Alcantara sank first. The light cruiser Comus

HMS Comus (1914)

HMS Comus was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was part of the Caroline group of the C-class of cruisers.She was laid down on 13 November 1913, launched 16 December 1914 and commissioned into the navy on 15 May 1915. She was assigned to the Grand Fleet upon completion, and then went...

 and destroyer Munster then arrived to sink the stationary Greif and rescue 210 German survivors.