Scuttling of the German Fleet at Scapa Flow (1919)

The scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow took place on 21 June 1919, when the crews of the German High Seas Fleet, interned in the Royal Navy’s anchorage in Orkney, deliberately sank their own ships on the orders of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter. In a few hours 52 of 74 warships went to the bottom. It was the greatest single loss of ships in naval history and an act of defiance just a week before Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles.

Background: the interned fleet

Under the terms of the Armistice of 11 November 1918, Germany had to hand over its most modern warships for internment while the peace terms were negotiated. On 21 November 1918 the German ships steamed into the Firth of Forth to surrender to the British Grand Fleet, and within days they were moved to Scapa Flow, a large natural harbour in Orkney.

The fleet that had fought the Royal Navy at Jutland in 1916 now lay at anchor with skeleton crews. The ships were disarmed, the sailors were not allowed ashore, and their mail and food came from Germany. Morale was poor and discipline weak after the revolution in Germany. Over the winter von Reuter sent most of the men home, until fewer than 2,000 remained.

The decision to scuttle

The Allies intended to divide the German ships among themselves under the peace treaty. Von Reuter, cut off from his government, depended largely on British newspapers for news. A copy of The Times reported that the armistice would expire at noon on 21 June 1919 and that Germany had not yet agreed to sign. He did not know that the deadline had been extended by two days.

He had already prepared his officers. Sea cocks and valves were made ready to be opened and watertight doors were left unsecured. On the morning of 21 June the British First Battle Squadron under Vice Admiral Sir Sydney Fremantle left Scapa Flow for exercises, leaving only a few small vessels on guard.

The scuttling

At about 10:30 am von Reuter sent a signal to the fleet that was the agreed order to scuttle. Within an hour the ships began to list. The battleship Friedrich der Grosse was the first to go down, at 12:16 pm. As the ships settled, German sailors took to boats and rafts, and the few British vessels present, together with the returning battle squadron, tried to stop them. British personnel opened fire in the confusion, and nine German sailors were killed. They are often called the last casualties of the First World War.

The British managed to beach or tow into shallow water a number of ships, including the battleship Baden. The battlecruiser Hindenburg was the last major ship to sink, at about 5 pm. Von Reuter and some 1,700 of his men were taken prisoner.

By the numbers

Consequences

The Allies were furious, and the British and French blamed each other for not preventing the sinking. As compensation, Germany was required to hand over several remaining light cruisers and large quantities of harbour equipment. In Germany, von Reuter was welcomed as a man who had saved the navy’s honour when he returned in 1920.

For the Royal Navy the result was not wholly unwelcome. The scuttling removed a difficult quarrel among the Allies over how to divide the ships, a dispute that might have strengthened the French and Italian navies relative to Britain.

The salvage

In the 1920s the ships on the seabed became a source of valuable steel. Between 1924 and 1931 the engineer Ernest Cox and his firm raised dozens of ships, including the battlecruisers Hindenburg and Moltke, using compressed air and pioneering techniques. Metal Industries continued the work through the 1930s, raising the battlecruiser Derfflinger in 1939.

Seven wrecks remain: the battleships Konig, Markgraf and Kronprinz Wilhelm and the light cruisers Brummer, Coln, Dresden and Karlsruhe. They are protected as scheduled monuments and attract divers from around the world.

Timeline

• 1918, 21 November: The High Seas Fleet surrenders for internment in the Firth of Forth.
• 1918, 25-27 November: The German ships arrive at Scapa Flow.
• 1919, 21 June, morning: The British battle squadron leaves for exercises.
• 1919, 21 June, about 10:30: Von Reuter signals the order to scuttle.
• 1919, 21 June, 12:16: Friedrich der Grosse is the first ship to sink.
• 1919, 28 June: Germany signs the Treaty of Versailles.
• 1924-1931: Ernest Cox raises many of the wrecks.
• 1939: Derfflinger is raised by Metal Industries.

Why it matters

The scuttling at Scapa Flow ended the story of the Imperial German Navy, whose construction had done so much to drive Anglo-German rivalry before 1914. It kept the ships out of Allied hands, inspired German nationalists who rejected the peace settlement, and left Orkney with one of the world’s best-known wreck sites.