Scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow
Scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow | |
---|---|
Orkney Islands, United Kingdom 58°54′N 3°11′W / 58.900°N 3.183°W | |
Result | Majority of German fleet sunk |
- 9 killed
- 16 wounded
Shortly after the end of the
The scuttling was carried out on 21 June 1919. Intervening British guard ships were able to beach some of the ships, but 52 of the 74 interned vessels sank. Many of the wrecks were salvaged over the next two decades and were towed away for scrapping. Those that remain are popular diving sites. The ships are a source of low-background steel.[2]
Background
The signing of the Armistice with Germany on 11 November 1918, at Compiègne, France, effectively ended the First World War. The Allied powers agreed that Germany's U-boat fleet should be surrendered without the possibility of return, but were unable to agree upon a course of action regarding the German surface fleet. The Americans suggested that the ships be interned in a neutral port until a final decision was reached, but the two countries that were approached – Norway and Spain – both refused. Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss suggested that the fleet be interned at Scapa Flow with a skeleton crew of German sailors, and guarded in the interim by the Grand Fleet.[3]
The terms were transmitted to Germany on 12 November 1918, instructing them to make the High Seas Fleet ready to sail by 18 November, or the Allies would occupy Heligoland.[3]
On the night of 15 November, Rear-Admiral
Surrender of the fleet
The first craft to be surrendered were the U-boats, which began to arrive at Harwich on 20 November 1918; 176 were eventually handed over. Hipper refused to lead the surface fleet to the surrender, delegating the task to Rear-Admiral Ludwig von Reuter.[3] The fleet was met by the light cruiser HMS Cardiff (D58) on the morning of 21 November, and was led to the rendezvous with over 370 ships of the Grand Fleet and other allied navies. There were 70 German ships in total; the battleship König and the light cruiser Dresden had engine trouble and had to be left behind. The destroyer V30 struck a mine while crossing, and sank.[3]
The German ships were escorted into the Firth of Forth, where they anchored. Beatty signalled them:
The German flag will be hauled down at sunset today and will not be hoisted again without permission.[3][4]
The fleet was then moved between 25 and 27 November to
In captivity
The naval historian Arthur Marder described the state of affairs on board the German ships during the internment as "one of complete demoralization". He identified four reasons that exacerbated the situation: lack of discipline, poor food, lack of recreation and slow postal service. The cumulative result of these problems created "indescribable filth in some of the ships".[8] On 29 November the Second-in-Command of the Grand Fleet, Admiral Sir Charles Madden, wrote to his brother-in-law and former superior Lord Jellicoe that, "All proposed orders are considered and counter-signed by the men's committee before they are executed and then they are carried out as convenient". When visiting an interned ship the German officers were reported to have been "dumb with shame".[9] Food was sent from Germany twice a month but was monotonous and not of good quality. Catching fish and seagulls provided a dietary supplement and some recreation. A large amount of brandy was also sent over. Recreation for the men was limited to their ships, as the British refused to allow any of the interned sailors to go ashore or visit any other German ships. British officers and men were only allowed to visit on official business.[10] Outgoing post to Germany was censored from the beginning, and later incoming post also. German seamen were granted 300 cigarettes a month or 75 cigars. There were German doctors in the interned fleet but no dentists, and the British refused to provide dental care.[11][12]
Command of the interned ships was exercised through Reuter, flying his flag in the battleship Friedrich der Grosse. He had a British drifter at his disposal for visiting ships and issuing written orders on urgent business, and his staff was occasionally allowed to visit other ships to arrange repatriation of officers and men.[13] Reuter, whose health was poor, requested that his flag be transferred to the light cruiser Emden on 25 March after he was repeatedly prevented from sleeping by the stomping on his cabin roof by a group of revolutionary sailors called the "Red Guard".[7][11] Over seven months the number of men in his command was continually reduced from the 20,000 men who had sailed the ships over in November. Four thousand returned to Germany on 3 December, 6,000 on 6 December and 5,000 on 12 December, leaving 4,815, of whom approximately 100 were repatriated a month.[14]
Negotiations over the fate of the ships were under way at the
In the meantime the signing of the Treaty of Versailles was scheduled for noon on 21 June 1919.[20] The First Battle Squadron prepared to board the German ships in force to check for signs that the fleet was preparing to scuttle. On 13 June Admiral Madden requested in person at the Admiralty a daily political appreciation from 17 June onwards so as to be prepared to take action, but as Madden related to Beatty shortly afterwards, "they had no reliable indication of the German attitude towards the peace terms". Admiral Fremantle submitted to Madden on 16 June a scheme for seizing the German ships at midnight of 21/22 June, after the treaty was meant to be signed. Madden approved the plan on 19 June, but only after he was informed that the deadline for signing the treaty was extended to 19:00 on 23 June and he neglected to officially inform Fremantle.[21] News of the extension was seen by Fremantle in a newspaper on the same day and he assumed it to be true.[21] He had been under orders from Madden for some time to exercise his battleships against torpedo attacks, which required good weather in order to recover the torpedoes. The weather on the night of 20 June was favourable so Fremantle ordered the First Battle Squadron to sea at 09:00 the next day, 21 June.[21] The operation to seize the German ships was postponed until the night of his squadron's return to Scapa Flow on 23 June, after the deadline to sign the treaty had expired.[22] Fremantle later claimed that before he left Scapa he had unofficially informed Reuter that the armistice was still in effect.[23]
Fleet is scuttled
Around 10:00 a.m. on 21 June 1919, Reuter sent a
There was no noticeable effect until noon, when Friedrich der Grosse began to
During the afternoon, 1,774 Germans were picked up and transported by battleships of the First Battle Squadron to
Reactions
The French were disappointed that the German fleet was gone, having hoped to acquire at least some of the ships.[3] Admiral Wemyss privately remarked:
I look upon the sinking of the German fleet as a real blessing. It disposes, once and for all, the thorny question of the redistribution of these ships.[3]
Admiral Reinhard Scheer declared:
I rejoice. The stain of surrender has been wiped from the escutcheon of the German Fleet. The sinking of these ships has proved that the spirit of the fleet is not dead. This last act is true to the best traditions of the German Navy.[3]
Aftermath
Of the 74 German ships at Scapa Flow, 15 of the 16 capital ships, 5 of the 8 cruisers, and 32 of the 50 destroyers were sunk.[4] The remainder either remained afloat, or were towed to shallower waters and beached. The beached ships were later dispersed to the allied navies, but most of the sunken ships were initially left at the bottom of Scapa Flow, the cost of salvaging them being deemed to be not worth the potential returns, owing to the glut of scrap metal left after the end of the war, with plenty of obsolete warships having been broken up.[34] After complaints from locals that the wrecks were a hazard to navigation, a salvage company was formed in 1923, which raised four of the sunken destroyers.
At about this time, the entrepreneur
The remaining wrecks lie in deeper waters, in depths up to 47 metres (154 ft) and there has been no economic incentive to attempt to raise them since. They have changed ownership several times
The scrap from the raised ships was sold, with Nazi Germany using purchased scrap to construct the first ships and U-boats for the Kriegsmarine.
While the rebuilding of the German Army in the 1930s was based upon the combined myths of "invincibility on the battlefield" and the "
Centenary anniversary event
Two remembrance ceremonies took place on Friday 21 June 2019 to mark the 100th anniversary of the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet. The grandson, and three great-grandsons of von Reuter attended both services. The morning 'Reflection at Sea' service was held in the middle of the Flow at 11:00 am and was attended by dive charter vessels, the Orkney Ferries vessel Thorsvoe, Longhope Lifeboat and two ships from the Northern Lighthouse Board, Pharos and Polestar. The second ceremony was held at Lyness in the Royal Naval Cemetery by the graves of WWI German sailors.[43]
In popular culture
The circumstances of the event as well as computer generated 'scans' of the remaining scuttled ships on the seabed featured in an episode of the National Geographic documentary Drain the Oceans.[44]
Kris Drever's song "Scapa Flow 1919" explores the events from a German sailor's viewpoint.[45]
List of ships
Name | Type | Sunk/Beached | Fate[46] |
---|---|---|---|
Baden | Battleship | Beached | Transferred to British control, sunk as a target in 1921 |
Bayern | Battleship | Sunk 14:30 | Salvaged September 1934 |
Friedrich der Grosse | Battleship | Sunk 12:16 | Salvaged 1936 |
Grosser Kurfürst | Battleship | Sunk 13:30 | Salvaged April 1938 |
Kaiser | Battleship | Sunk 13:15 | Salvaged March 1929 |
Kaiserin | Battleship | Sunk 14:00 | Salvaged May 1936 |
König | Battleship | Sunk 14:00 | Unsalvaged |
König Albert | Battleship | Sunk 12:54 | Salvaged July 1934 |
Kronprinz Wilhelm |
Battleship | Sunk 13:15 | Unsalvaged |
Markgraf | Battleship | Sunk 16:45 | Unsalvaged |
Prinzregent Luitpold | Battleship | Sunk 13:15 | Salvaged March 1931 |
Derfflinger | Battlecruiser | Sunk 14:45 | Salvaged August 1939 |
Hindenburg | Battlecruiser | Sunk 17:00 | Salvaged July 1930 |
Moltke | Battlecruiser | Sunk 13:10 | Salvaged June 1927 |
Seydlitz | Battlecruiser | Sunk 13:50 | Salvaged November 1928 |
Von der Tann | Battlecruiser | Sunk 14:15 | Salvaged December 1930 |
Bremse | Cruiser | Sunk 14:30 | Salvaged November 1929 |
Brummer | Cruiser | Sunk 13:05 | Unsalvaged |
Cöln | Cruiser | Sunk 13:50 | Unsalvaged |
Dresden | Cruiser | Sunk 13:50 | Unsalvaged |
Emden | Cruiser | Beached | Transferred to French control, broken up in 1926 |
Frankfurt | Cruiser | Beached | Transferred to American control, sunk as a target in 1921 |
Karlsruhe | Cruiser | Sunk 15:50 | Unsalvaged |
Nürnberg | Cruiser | Beached | Transferred to British control, sunk as a target in 1922 |
S32 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged June 1925 |
S36 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged April 1925 |
G38 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged September 1924 |
G39 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged July 1925 |
G40 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged July 1925 |
V43 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to American control, sunk as a target in 1921 |
V44 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to British control, broken up in 1922 |
V45 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged 1922 |
V46 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to French control, broken up in 1924 |
S49 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged December 1924 |
S50 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged October 1924 |
S51 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to British control, broken up in 1922 |
S52 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged October 1924 |
S53 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged August 1924 |
S54 | Destroyer | Sunk | Partially salvaged |
S55 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged August 1924 |
S56 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged June 1925 |
S60 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to Japanese control, broken up in 1922 |
S65 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged May 1922 |
V70 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged August 1924 |
V73 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to British control, broken up in 1922 |
V78 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged September 1925 |
V80 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to Japanese control, broken up in 1922 |
V81 | Destroyer | Beached | Sunk on the way to the breakers |
V82 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to British control, broken up in 1922 |
V83 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged 1923 |
V86 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged July 1925 |
V89 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged December 1922 |
V91 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged September 1924 |
G92 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to British control, broken up in 1922 |
V100 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to French control, broken up in 1921 |
G101 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged April 1926 |
G102 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to American control, sunk as a target in 1921 |
G103 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged September 1925 |
G104 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged April 1926 |
B109 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged March 1926 |
B110 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged December 1925 |
B111 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged March 1926 |
B112 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged February 1926 |
V125 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to British control, broken up in 1922 |
V126 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to French control, broken up in 1925 |
V127 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to Japanese control, broken up in 1922 |
V128 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to British control, broken up in 1922 |
V129 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged August 1925 |
S131 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged August 1924 |
S132 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to American control, sunk in 1921 |
S136 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged April 1925 |
S137 | Destroyer | Beached | Transferred to British control, broken up in 1922 |
S138 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged May 1925 |
H145 | Destroyer | Sunk | Salvaged March 1925 |
See also
- Scuttling of the Peruvian fleet at El Callao – during the War of the Pacific, 1881
- Second World War, 1942
- Operation Deadlight
- Operation Regenbogen (U-boat)
References
- ^ ISBN 0275990737.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Massie. Castles of Steel. pp. 778–788.
- ^ a b van der Vat. Standard of Power. p. 135.
- ^ Marder. From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow. Vol. V. p. 270.
- ^ Massie. Castles of Steel. p. 783.
- ^ a b Marder. From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow. Vol. V. p. 273.
- ^ Marder. From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow. Vol. V. pp. 271–272.
- ^ Quoted in Marder. From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow. Vol. V. p. 271.
- ^ Marder. From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow. Vol. V. p. 271.
- ^ a b c Massie. Castles of Steel. p. 785.
- ^ van der Vat. The Grand Scuttle. p. 138.
- ^ Marder. From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow. Vol. V. p. 272.
- ^ Massie. Castles of Steel. p. 784.
- ^ Marder. From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow. Vol. V. p. 274.
- ^ Reuter. Scapa Flow. p. 79.
- ^ Ruge. Scapa Flow 1919. pp. 130–133.
- ^ Raeder. My Life. p. 105.
- ^ a b c van der Vat. The Grand Scuttle. p. 167.
- ^ van der Vat. The Grand Scuttle. p. 168.
- ^ a b c van der Vat. The Grand Scuttle. p. 163.
- ^ van der Vat. The Grand Scuttle. p. 169.
- ^ Fremantle. My Naval Career. p. 276.
- ^ a b Marder. From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow. Vol. V. p. 280.
- ^ a b c Massie. Castles of Steel. p. 787.
- ^ a b van der Vat. The Grand Scuttle. pp. 164–5.
- ISBN 0-7054-0628-8
- ^ van der Vat. The Grand Scuttle. p. 171.
- ^ Marder. From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow. Vol. V. p. 281.
- ^ Marder. From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow. Vol. V. p. 282.
- ^ Massie. Castles of Steel. p. 788.
- ^ Marder. From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow. Vol. V. pp. 281–282.
- ^ Nicholas C. Jellicoe, The Last Days of the High Seas Fleet: From Mutiny to Scapa Flow (Pen and Sword, 2019), p. 313
- ^ a b c d e f g Fine. Lost on the Ocean Floor. pp. 130–138.
- ^ "Salvage Operations in Scapa Flow". Scapa Flow: Historic Wreck Site. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- ^ "Scapa Flow, wrecks of 3 battleships of German High Seas Fleet". Historic Environment Portal. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
- ^ "Scapa Flow, wrecks of 4 cruisers of German High Seas Fleet". Historic Environment Portal. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
- ^ Maritime and Coastguard Agency. "Protected Wrecks in the UK: Wrecks designated as Maritime Scheduled Ancient Monuments".
- ISBN 978-0-345-09721-7
- ^ Booth, Gary. "500 km by bike to demolish Albany". Navy News. Archived from the original on 3 February 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
- ^ Marek Pruszewicz (19 June 2015). "WW1: The letter that reveals a brutal day at Scapa Flow". BBC Magazine. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
- ^ "Sunken WW1 Scapa Flow warships sold for £85,000 on eBay". BBC News Online. 9 July 2019.
- ^ Rosemary E Lunn Scapa 100: Centenary Anniversary Event Xraymag, issue 93, September 2019, p.13
- ^ "WWI Wrecks: Draining the Ocean: Ultimate Battleship - S1". Radio Times. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ "New Single from Kris Drever - Scapa Flow 1919". www.folkradio.co.uk.
- ^ World War I Naval Combat. "List of Warships Scuttled at Scapa Flow".
Bibliography
- Butler, Daniel Allen (2006). Distant Victory: The Battle of Jutland and the Allied Triumph in the First World War. Greenwood. ISBN 0275990737.
- Fine, John Christopher (2004). Lost on the Ocean Floor: Diving the World's Ghost Ships. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 159114275X.
- Fremantle, Admiral Sir Sydney Robert (1949). My Naval Career: 1880–1928. Hutchinson.
- ISBN 0192151878.
- Maritime and Coastguard Agency (2007). "Wrecks designated as Maritime Scheduled Ancient Monuments". MCA Receiver of Wreck. mcga.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
- ISBN 0345408780.
- Raeder, Grand Admiral Erich (1960). My Life. Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute.
- Reuter, Ludwig von (1940). Scapa Flow: The Greatest Scuttling of All Time. London: Hurst & Blackett.
- von Ruge, Friedrich (1969). Scapa Flow 1919: Das Ende der deutschen Flotte (in German). East Berlin: Oldenburg.
- ISBN 0712665358.
- van der Vat, Dan (2007) [1987]. The Grand Scuttle: The Sinking of the German Fleet at Scapa Flow in 1919. Edinburgh: Birlinn Ltd. ISBN 9781843410386.
External links