Operation Davy Jones' Locker (or Davey) was a U.S. military operation from 1946-1948. It involved the dumping at sea of captured German chemical weapons following the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

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Background

In the aftermath of the Nazi defeat in World War II the occupying allies found large amounts of stockpiled German chemical weapons. They quickly convened the Continental Committee on Dumping and came to agreement pertaining to the destruction and disposal of the chemical stockpile. The allies decided that each of the four nations would destroy the German weapons, on their occupied territory, in whatever manner was most convenient. A total of 296,103 tons of chemical weapons were found, divided amongst each of the four zones of occupied Germany. The name refers to Davy Jones' Locker

Davy Jones' Locker

Davy Jones's Locker is an idiom for the bottom of the sea: the state of death among drowned sailors. It is used as an euphemism for death at sea ....

, an idiom

Idiom

Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...

 for the sea bottom.

Operation

The United States undertook Operation Davy Jones' Locker between June 1946 and August 1948 and it involved the scuttling

Scuttling

Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull.This can be achieved in several ways—valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives...

 of eleven ships containing between 30,000 and 40,000 tons of captured German chemical weapons. Nine of the ships were scuttled in Skagerrak Strait in the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 while two more were sunk 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...

. The eleven ships were scuttled over the course of five separate dumpings in the region of Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

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