Scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow
Encyclopedia
The scuttling of the German fleet took place at the Royal Navy
's base at Scapa Flow
, in Scotland, after the end of the First World War. The High Seas Fleet
had been interned there under the terms of the Armistice
whilst negotiations took place over the fate of the ships. Fearing that all of the ships would be seized and divided amongst the allied powers, the German commander, Admiral Ludwig von Reuter
, decided to scuttle
the fleet.
The scuttling was carried out on 21 June 1919. Intervening British guard ship
s were able to beach a number of the ships, but 52 of the 74 interned vessels sank. Many of the wrecks were salvaged
over the next few years and were towed away for scrapping
. The few that remain are popular diving sites.
on 11 November 1918, at Compiègne
, France, effectively ended the First World War. The Allied powers
had 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 had been 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.
The terms were transmitted to Germany on 12 November, instructing them to make the High Seas Fleet
ready to sail by 18 November, or the Allies would occupy Heligoland
. On the night of 15 November, Rear-Admiral Hugo Meurer
, the representative of Admiral Franz von Hipper
, met Admiral David Beatty
aboard Beatty's flagship
, HMS Queen Elizabeth
. Beatty presented Meurer with the terms, which were expanded at a second meeting the following day. The U-boats were to surrender to Rear-Admiral Reginald Tyrwhitt
at Harwich
, under the supervision of the Harwich Force
. The surface fleet was to sail to the Firth of Forth
and surrender to Beatty. They would then be led to Scapa Flow and interned, pending the outcome of the peace negotiations. Meurer asked for an extension to the deadline, aware that the sailors were still in a mutinous mood (which had earlier led to the Wilhelmshaven mutiny
), and that the officers might have difficulty in getting them to obey orders. Meurer eventually signed the terms after midnight.
The first craft to be surrendered were the U-boats, which began to arrive at Harwich on 20 November, with 176 eventually being handed over. Hipper refused to lead his fleet to the surrender, delegating the task to Rear-Admiral Ludwig von Reuter
. The German fleet was met by the light cruiser
Cardiff on the morning of 21 November, and 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.
The German ships were escorted into the Firth of Forth, where they anchored. Beatty signalled them:
The fleet was then moved between 25 and 27 November to Scapa Flow
; the destroyers to Gutter Sound
and the battleships and cruisers to the north and west of the island of Cava
. Eventually a total of 74 ships were interned there, the König and Dresden having arrived on 6 December accompanied by the destroyer V129, which replaced the sunken V30. The last ship to arrive was the battleship Baden
on 9 January. Initially the interned ships were guarded by the Battle Cruiser Force (later reduced to the Battle Cruiser Squadron
), commanded in succession by Vice-Admiral Pakenham
, Rear-Admiral Oliver
and Rear-Admiral Keyes. On 1 May Vice-Admiral Leveson and the Second Battle Squadron
of the Atlantic Fleet took over guard duties, and were succeeded on 18 May by Vice-Admiral Sir Sydney Fremantle
and the First Battle Squadron
.
The naval historian Arthur Marder
described the state of affairs in the German ships during the internment as "one of complete demoralization". He identified four reasons which exacerbated the situation: lack of discipline, standard of food, lack of recreation, and slow postal service. The cumulative result of these problems created "indescribable filth in some of the ships". 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". 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 even visit any other German ships. British officers and men were only allowed to visit on official business. 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 one.
Command of the interned ships was exercised through Rear-Admiral von 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. Von 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 sailors called the "Red Guard". 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. 4,000 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.
Negotiations over the fate of the ships were underway at the Paris Peace Conference
. The French and Italians each wanted a quarter of the ships. The British wanted them destroyed since they knew that any re-distribution would be detrimental to the proportional advantage in numbers they had compared to other navies. Under Article XXXI of the Armistice the Germans were not permitted to destroy their ships. Both Admirals Beatty and Madden had approved plans to seize the German ships in case scuttling was attempted; Admirals Keyes and Leveson had recommended that the ships be seized anyway and the crews interned ashore at Nigg Island
, but their suggestions were not taken up. Their concern was not without justification, for as early as January, von Reuter had mentioned the possibility of scuttling the fleet to his chief of staff. Having learned of the possible terms of the Treaty of Versailles
in May he began to prepare detailed plans to scuttle his ships. Admiral Erich Raeder
later wrote that von Reuter was informed that the fleet was to be scuttled at all costs. A further reduction of crews with the departure of two transports to Germany on 18 June meant that von Reuter was left with reliable men to carry out preparations. On that day he sent out orders, paragraph 11 of which stated: "It is my intention to sink the ships only if the enemy should attempt to obtain possession of them without the assent of our government. Should our government agree in the peace to terms to the surrender of the ships, then the ships will be handed over, to the lasting disgrace of those who have placed us in this position." His orders were sent to the interned ships on 18 June.
In the meantime the signing of the Treaty of Versailles was scheduled for noon on 21 June. 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 the 19th, but only after he had been informed that the deadline for signing the treaty had been extended to 19:00 on 23 June and he neglected to officially inform Fremantle. News of the extension had been seen by Fremantle in a newspaper on the same day and he assumed it to be true. 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 morning, 21 June. 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. Fremantle later claimed that before he left Scapa he had unofficially informed von Reuter that the armistice was still in effect.
s and flood valves were opened and internal water pipes smashed. Portholes had already been loosened, watertight doors and condenser covers left open, and in some ships holes had been bored through bulkheads, all to facilitate the spread of water once scuttling had begun.
There was no noticeable effect until noon, when Friedrich der Grosse began to list heavily to starboard and all the ships hoisted the Imperial German Ensign at their mainmasts. The crews then began to abandon ship. The British naval forces left at Scapa Flow comprised three destroyers, one of which was under repair, seven trawlers
and a number of drifters
. Fremantle started receiving news of the scuttling at 12:20 and cancelled his squadron's exercise at 12:35, steaming at full speed back to Scapa Flow. He and a division of ships arrived at 14:30 in time to see only the large ships left afloat. He had radioed ahead to order all available craft to prevent the German ships sinking or beach them. The last German ship to sink was the battlecruiser
Hindenburg
at 17:00, by which time fifteen capital ships were sunk, and only Baden
had survived. Four light cruisers and thirty-two destroyers were sunk. Nine Germans were shot and killed and about sixteen wounded aboard their ships as the British tried to order them to stop the scuttling.
1,774 Germans were picked up during the afternoon and transported by battleships of the First Battle Squadron to Invergordon
. Fremantle had sent out a general order declaring that the Germans were to be treated as prisoners-of-war for having broken the armistice and they were destined for the prisoner-of-war camps at Nigg. Von Reuter and a number of his officers were brought onto the quarterdeck of HMS Revenge, where Fremantle gave a speech, translated by an interpreter while von Reuter and his men looked on "with expressionless faces":
The French were disappointed that the German fleet was gone, having hoped to take over at least some of the ships. The British Admiral Wemyss privately remarked:
German Admiral Reinhard Scheer
declared:
s, 5 of the 8 cruisers, and 32 of the 50 destroyers were sunk. 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. 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 Ernest Cox
became involved. He bought 26 destroyers from the Admiralty for £250, as well as the Seydlitz
and Hindenburg
. He began operations to re-float the destroyers using an old German dry dock he had purchased and subsequently modified. He was able to lift 24 of his 26 destroyers over the next year and a half, after which he began work on the larger vessels. He developed a new salvage technique whereby divers would patch the holes in the submerged hulls, and then pump air into them so they would rise to the surface, where they could then be towed to the breakers. Using this technique, he re-floated several of the ships. His methods were costly, however, and the final cost of raising the Hindenburg ran to some £30,000. Industrial action and a coal strike
in 1926 nearly brought operations to a halt, but Cox instead dug out the coal in the submerged Seydlitz, using it to power his machines until the end of the strike. Salvaging the Seydlitz also proved difficult, as the ship sank again during the first attempt to raise her, wrecking most of the salvage equipment. Undaunted, Cox tried again, ordering that when she was next raised, news cameras would be there to capture him witnessing the moment. The plan nearly backfired when the Seydlitz was accidentally refloated while Cox was holidaying in Switzerland. Cox told the workers to sink her again, then returned to Britain to be present as the Seydlitz was duly re-floated a second time. Cox's company eventually raised 26 destroyers, two battlecruisers and five battleships.
Cox sold his remaining interests to the Alloa Shipbuilding Company, and retired as the "man who bought a navy". The company later became Metal Industries, and went on to raise a further five cruisers, battlecruisers and battleships, before the outbreak of the Second World War brought operations to a halt. The remaining wrecks lie in deeper waters, in depths up to 47 metres (154.2 ft), and there has been no economic incentive to attempt to raise them since. Minor salvage is still carried out to recover small pieces of steel. This low-background steel
is used in the manufacture of radiation-sensitive devices, such as Geiger counter
s, as it is not contaminated with radioisotopes, it having been produced prior to any chance of nuclear contamination.
The seven wrecks that remain are scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979
. Divers are allowed to visit them but need a permit to do so. The last military witness to the scuttling of the fleet was Claude Choules
. Choules, who died on 5 May 2011 aged 110, was both Great Britain and the world's last known First World War combat veteran.
While the rebuild of the German Army in the 1930s would be based upon the invencibility on the battlefield and the "stab in the back", the attitude of the Hoch See Flotte at Scapa Flow would became a symbol of defiance for the new recruits and officers of the Kriegsmarine.
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...
's base at Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
, in Scotland, after the end of the First World War. The High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
had been interned there under the terms of the Armistice
Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...
whilst negotiations took place over the fate of the ships. Fearing that all of the ships would be seized and divided amongst the allied powers, the German commander, Admiral Ludwig von Reuter
Ludwig von Reuter
Ludwig von Reuter was a German admiral during World War I, who commanded the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet when it was interned at Scapa Flow at the end of the war. On 21 June 1919 he ordered the scuttling of the fleet to prevent the British from seizing the ships.-Early life:Reuter was...
, decided to scuttle
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...
the fleet.
The scuttling was carried out on 21 June 1919. Intervening British guard ship
Guard ship
A guard ship is a warship stationed at some port or harbour to act as a guard, and in former times in the Royal Navy to receive the men impressed for service...
s were able to beach a number of the ships, but 52 of the 74 interned vessels sank. Many of the wrecks were salvaged
Marine salvage
Marine salvage is the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo, or other property from peril. Salvage encompasses rescue towing, refloating a sunken or grounded vessel, or patching or repairing a ship...
over the next few years and were towed away for scrapping
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
. The few that remain are popular diving sites.
Background
The signing of the ArmisticeArmistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...
on 11 November 1918, at Compiègne
Compiègne
Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...
, France, effectively ended the First World War. The Allied powers
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
had agreed that Germany's U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
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 had been reached, but the two countries that were approached – Norway and Spain – both refused. Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss
Rosslyn Wemyss, 1st Baron Wester Wemyss
Admiral of the Fleet Rosslyn Erskine Wemyss, 1st Baron Wester Wemyss GCB, CMG, MVO , known as Sir Rosslyn Wemyss between 1916 and 1919, was a British naval commander...
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.
The terms were transmitted to Germany on 12 November, instructing them to make the High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
ready to sail by 18 November, or the Allies would occupy Heligoland
Heligoland
Heligoland is a small German archipelago in the North Sea.Formerly Danish and British possessions, the islands are located in the Heligoland Bight in the south-eastern corner of the North Sea...
. On the night of 15 November, Rear-Admiral Hugo Meurer
Hugo Meurer
Hugo Meurer was a Vice-Admiral of the Kaiserliche Marine . Meurer was the German naval officer who handled the negotiations of the surrender of the German fleet in November 1918 at the end of World War I....
, the representative of Admiral Franz von Hipper
Franz von Hipper
Franz Ritter von Hipper was an admiral in the German Imperial Navy . Franz von Hipper joined the German Navy in 1881 as an officer cadet. He commanded several torpedo boat units and served as watch officer aboard several warships, as well as Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht Hohenzollern...
, met Admiral David Beatty
David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty
Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was an admiral in the Royal Navy...
aboard Beatty's flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
, HMS Queen Elizabeth
HMS Queen Elizabeth (1913)
HMS Queen Elizabeth was the lead ship of the Queen Elizabeth-class of dreadnought battleships, named in honour of Elizabeth I of England. She saw service in both World Wars...
. Beatty presented Meurer with the terms, which were expanded at a second meeting the following day. The U-boats were to surrender to Rear-Admiral Reginald Tyrwhitt
Reginald Tyrwhitt
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, 1st Baronet, GCB, DSO was a senior officer of the Royal Navy in World War I who commanded light forces stationed at Harwich on the east coast of England during the first part of the war.-Naval career:Tyrwhitt entered the Navy as a cadet in July, 1885...
at Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
, under the supervision of the Harwich Force
Harwich Force
The Harwich Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War, that went on to play a significant role in the war.-History:...
. The surface fleet was to sail to the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
and surrender to Beatty. They would then be led to Scapa Flow and interned, pending the outcome of the peace negotiations. Meurer asked for an extension to the deadline, aware that the sailors were still in a mutinous mood (which had earlier led to the Wilhelmshaven mutiny
Wilhelmshaven mutiny
The Kiel mutiny was a major revolt by sailors of the German High Seas Fleet on 3 November 1918. The revolt triggered the German revolution which was to sweep aside the monarchy within a few days. It ultimately led to the end of the First World War and to the establishment of the Weimar Republic.-...
), and that the officers might have difficulty in getting them to obey orders. Meurer eventually signed the terms after midnight.
Surrender of the fleet
Ludwig von Reuter
Ludwig von Reuter was a German admiral during World War I, who commanded the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet when it was interned at Scapa Flow at the end of the war. On 21 June 1919 he ordered the scuttling of the fleet to prevent the British from seizing the ships.-Early life:Reuter was...
. The German fleet was met by the light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
Cardiff on the morning of 21 November, and 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
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
König
SMS König
SMS König"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" was the first of four König class dreadnought battleships of the German Imperial Navy during World War I. König was named in honor of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, who was the king of Prussia as well as the German Emperor...
and the light cruiser Dresden
SMS Dresden (1916)
SMS Dresden was the second and final ship of the of light cruisers to be completed and commissioned in the Kaiserliche Marine. The ship was laid down in 1916 and launched on 25 April 1917; she was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 28 March 1918...
had engine trouble and had to be left behind. The destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
V30 struck a mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
while crossing, and sank.
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.
The fleet was then moved between 25 and 27 November to Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
; the destroyers to Gutter Sound
Gutter Sound
Gutter Sound is an inlet of the vast anchorage of Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. Gutter Sound was the site of the mass-scuttling of the interned German Imperial High Seas Fleet in 1919.-Scuttling of the fleet:...
and the battleships and cruisers to the north and west of the island of Cava
Cava, Orkney
Cava is an uninhabited island in the Orkney archipelago in Scotland. It is in extent and rises to above sea level. The literal meaning of the name is 'calf island', a terminology often used to designate a small island near to a larger one...
. Eventually a total of 74 ships were interned there, the König and Dresden having arrived on 6 December accompanied by the destroyer V129, which replaced the sunken V30. The last ship to arrive was the battleship Baden
SMS Baden (1915)
SMS Baden "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" was a dreadnought battleship of the German Imperial Navy built during World War I...
on 9 January. Initially the interned ships were guarded by the Battle Cruiser Force (later reduced to the Battle Cruiser Squadron
Battlecruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)
The Battlecruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service from 1919 to the early part of the Second World War.- Formation :...
), commanded in succession by Vice-Admiral Pakenham
William Christopher Pakenham
Admiral Sir William Christopher Pakenham, KCB, KCMG, KCVO was a British observer with the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Russo-Japanese War, during World War I he commanded the 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadron during the Battle of Jutland, and from December 1916 was Commander-in-Chief of the Battle...
, Rear-Admiral Oliver
Henry Oliver
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Francis Oliver, GCB, KCMG, MVO was a British naval officer.-Naval career:...
and Rear-Admiral Keyes. On 1 May Vice-Admiral Leveson and the Second Battle Squadron
2nd Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)
The British Royal Navy 2nd Battle Squadron was a naval squadron consisting of battleships. The 2nd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted back to its original name, the Atlantic Fleet...
of the Atlantic Fleet took over guard duties, and were succeeded on 18 May by Vice-Admiral Sir Sydney Fremantle
Sydney Fremantle
Admiral Sir Sydney Robert Fremantle GCB, MVO was an officer of the Royal Navy, who served during the Victorian era and had risen to the rank of rear-admiral by the outbreak of the First World War...
and the First Battle Squadron
1st Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)
The British 1st Battle Squadron was a squadron of battleships, initially part of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, renamed the Grand Fleet during World War I...
.
In captivity
Arthur Marder
Arthur Jacob Marder was a highly regarded American historian specializing in British naval history in the period 1880 - 1945.-Early life and education:...
described the state of affairs in the German ships during the internment as "one of complete demoralization". He identified four reasons which exacerbated the situation: lack of discipline, standard of food, lack of recreation, and slow postal service. The cumulative result of these problems created "indescribable filth in some of the ships". 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
John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe
Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in World War I...
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". 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 even visit any other German ships. British officers and men were only allowed to visit on official business. 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 one.
Command of the interned ships was exercised through Rear-Admiral von Reuter, flying his flag in the battleship Friedrich der Grosse
SMS Friedrich der Grosse (1911)
SMS Friedrich der Grosse "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" was the second vessel of the of battleships of the German Imperial Navy. Friedrich der GrossesOr Große in German, with a "sharp S"; see ß...
. He had a British drifter
Naval drifter
A naval drifter is a boat built along the lines of a commercial fishing drifter but fitted out for naval purposes. The use of naval drifters is paralleled by the use of naval trawlers....
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. Von Reuter, whose health was poor, requested that his flag be transferred to the light cruiser Emden
SMS Emden (1915)
SMS Emden was a German light cruiser belonging to the Königsberg class, built during the First World War. Emden served in the German Imperial Navy until the end of the war, at which point she was ceded to France...
on 25 March after he was repeatedly prevented from sleeping by the stomping on his cabin roof by a group of sailors called the "Red Guard". 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. 4,000 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.
Negotiations over the fate of the ships were underway at the Paris Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
. The French and Italians each wanted a quarter of the ships. The British wanted them destroyed since they knew that any re-distribution would be detrimental to the proportional advantage in numbers they had compared to other navies. Under Article XXXI of the Armistice the Germans were not permitted to destroy their ships. Both Admirals Beatty and Madden had approved plans to seize the German ships in case scuttling was attempted; Admirals Keyes and Leveson had recommended that the ships be seized anyway and the crews interned ashore at Nigg Island
Nigg, Highland
Nigg is a village and parish on the north east shore of Nigg Bay in north east Ross-shire and is in the Scottish council area of Highland...
, but their suggestions were not taken up. Their concern was not without justification, for as early as January, von Reuter had mentioned the possibility of scuttling the fleet to his chief of staff. Having learned of the possible terms of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
in May he began to prepare detailed plans to scuttle his ships. Admiral Erich Raeder
Erich Raeder
Erich Johann Albert Raeder was a naval leader in Germany before and during World War II. Raeder attained the highest possible naval rank—that of Großadmiral — in 1939, becoming the first person to hold that rank since Alfred von Tirpitz...
later wrote that von Reuter was informed that the fleet was to be scuttled at all costs. A further reduction of crews with the departure of two transports to Germany on 18 June meant that von Reuter was left with reliable men to carry out preparations. On that day he sent out orders, paragraph 11 of which stated: "It is my intention to sink the ships only if the enemy should attempt to obtain possession of them without the assent of our government. Should our government agree in the peace to terms to the surrender of the ships, then the ships will be handed over, to the lasting disgrace of those who have placed us in this position." His orders were sent to the interned ships on 18 June.
In the meantime the signing of the Treaty of Versailles was scheduled for noon on 21 June. 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 the 19th, but only after he had been informed that the deadline for signing the treaty had been extended to 19:00 on 23 June and he neglected to officially inform Fremantle. News of the extension had been seen by Fremantle in a newspaper on the same day and he assumed it to be true. 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 morning, 21 June. 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. Fremantle later claimed that before he left Scapa he had unofficially informed von Reuter that the armistice was still in effect.
The fleet is scuttled
Around 10:00 AM on 21 June von Reuter sent a flag signal ordering the fleet to stand by for the signal to scuttle. At about 11:20 the flag signal was sent: "To all Commanding Officers and the Leader of the Torpedo Boats. Paragraph Eleven of to-day's date. Acknowledge. Chief of the Interned Squadron." The signal was repeated by semaphore and searchlights. Scuttling began immediately: seacockSeacock
A seacock is a valve on the hull of a boat, permitting water to flow into the boat, such as for cooling an engine or for a salt water faucet; or out of the boat, such as for a sink drain or a toilet....
s and flood valves were opened and internal water pipes smashed. Portholes had already been loosened, watertight doors and condenser covers left open, and in some ships holes had been bored through bulkheads, all to facilitate the spread of water once scuttling had begun.
There was no noticeable effect until noon, when Friedrich der Grosse began to list heavily to starboard and all the ships hoisted the Imperial German Ensign at their mainmasts. The crews then began to abandon ship. The British naval forces left at Scapa Flow comprised three destroyers, one of which was under repair, seven trawlers
Naval trawler
A naval trawler is a vessel built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes. Naval trawlers were widely used during the First and Second world wars. Fishing trawlers were particularly suited for many naval requirements because they were robust boats designed to work...
and a number of drifters
Naval drifter
A naval drifter is a boat built along the lines of a commercial fishing drifter but fitted out for naval purposes. The use of naval drifters is paralleled by the use of naval trawlers....
. Fremantle started receiving news of the scuttling at 12:20 and cancelled his squadron's exercise at 12:35, steaming at full speed back to Scapa Flow. He and a division of ships arrived at 14:30 in time to see only the large ships left afloat. He had radioed ahead to order all available craft to prevent the German ships sinking or beach them. The last German ship to sink was the battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
Hindenburg
SMS Hindenburg
SMS Hindenburg"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was a battlecruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine and the third ship of the . She was named in honor of Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, the victor of the Battle of Tannenberg and the Battle of the...
at 17:00, by which time fifteen capital ships were sunk, and only Baden
SMS Baden (1915)
SMS Baden "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" was a dreadnought battleship of the German Imperial Navy built during World War I...
had survived. Four light cruisers and thirty-two destroyers were sunk. Nine Germans were shot and killed and about sixteen wounded aboard their ships as the British tried to order them to stop the scuttling.
1,774 Germans were picked up during the afternoon and transported by battleships of the First Battle Squadron to Invergordon
Invergordon
Invergordon is a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland.-History:The town is well known for the Invergordon Mutiny of 1931. More recently it was also known for the repair of oil rigs which used to be lined up in the Cromarty Firth on which the town is situated...
. Fremantle had sent out a general order declaring that the Germans were to be treated as prisoners-of-war for having broken the armistice and they were destined for the prisoner-of-war camps at Nigg. Von Reuter and a number of his officers were brought onto the quarterdeck of HMS Revenge, where Fremantle gave a speech, translated by an interpreter while von Reuter and his men looked on "with expressionless faces":
Reactions
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.
German Admiral Reinhard Scheer
Reinhard Scheer
Reinhard Scheer was an Admiral in the German Kaiserliche Marine. Scheer joined the navy in 1879 as an officer cadet; he progressed through the ranks, commanding cruisers and battleships, as well as major staff positions on land. At the outbreak of World War I, Scheer was the commander of the II...
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.
Aftermath
Of the 74 German ships in Scapa Flow, 15 of the 16 capital shipCapital ship
The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they generally possess the heaviest firepower and armor and are traditionally much larger than other naval vessels...
s, 5 of the 8 cruisers, and 32 of the 50 destroyers were sunk. 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. 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 Ernest Cox
Ernest Cox
Ernest Frank Guelph Cox was an electrical and mechanical engineer and marine salvage expert from Wolverhampton. Between 1924 and 1931 his Cox & Danks Shipbreaking Co. successfully raised 35 of the German fleet that had been scuttled at Gutter Sound, Scapa Flow in 1919. He eventually sold the...
became involved. He bought 26 destroyers from the Admiralty for £250, as well as the Seydlitz
SMS Seydlitz
SMS Seydlitz"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was a 25,000-metric ton battlecruiserAdmiral Alfred von Tirpitz referred to the ship as a large cruiser in his annual budgets in an attempt to reduce opposition from the Reichstag; the ship was not referred...
and Hindenburg
SMS Hindenburg
SMS Hindenburg"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was a battlecruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine and the third ship of the . She was named in honor of Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, the victor of the Battle of Tannenberg and the Battle of the...
. He began operations to re-float the destroyers using an old German dry dock he had purchased and subsequently modified. He was able to lift 24 of his 26 destroyers over the next year and a half, after which he began work on the larger vessels. He developed a new salvage technique whereby divers would patch the holes in the submerged hulls, and then pump air into them so they would rise to the surface, where they could then be towed to the breakers. Using this technique, he re-floated several of the ships. His methods were costly, however, and the final cost of raising the Hindenburg ran to some £30,000. Industrial action and a coal strike
1926 United Kingdom general strike
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
in 1926 nearly brought operations to a halt, but Cox instead dug out the coal in the submerged Seydlitz, using it to power his machines until the end of the strike. Salvaging the Seydlitz also proved difficult, as the ship sank again during the first attempt to raise her, wrecking most of the salvage equipment. Undaunted, Cox tried again, ordering that when she was next raised, news cameras would be there to capture him witnessing the moment. The plan nearly backfired when the Seydlitz was accidentally refloated while Cox was holidaying in Switzerland. Cox told the workers to sink her again, then returned to Britain to be present as the Seydlitz was duly re-floated a second time. Cox's company eventually raised 26 destroyers, two battlecruisers and five battleships.
Cox sold his remaining interests to the Alloa Shipbuilding Company, and retired as the "man who bought a navy". The company later became Metal Industries, and went on to raise a further five cruisers, battlecruisers and battleships, before the outbreak of the Second World War brought operations to a halt. The remaining wrecks lie in deeper waters, in depths up to 47 metres (154.2 ft), and there has been no economic incentive to attempt to raise them since. Minor salvage is still carried out to recover small pieces of steel. This low-background steel
Low-background steel
Low-background steel is steel produced prior to the end of World War II. Following Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the nuclear weapons testing during the Cold War, world background radiation levels increased substantially...
is used in the manufacture of radiation-sensitive devices, such as Geiger counter
Geiger counter
A Geiger counter, also called a Geiger–Müller counter, is a type of particle detector that measures ionizing radiation. They detect the emission of nuclear radiation: alpha particles, beta particles or gamma rays. A Geiger counter detects radiation by ionization produced in a low-pressure gas in a...
s, as it is not contaminated with radioisotopes, it having been produced prior to any chance of nuclear contamination.
The seven wrecks that remain are scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979
Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979
The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 or AMAAA was a law passed by the British government, the latest in a series of Ancient Monument Acts legislating to protect the archaeological heritage of Great Britain. Northern Ireland has its own legislation.Section 61 defines sites that...
. Divers are allowed to visit them but need a permit to do so. The last military witness to the scuttling of the fleet was Claude Choules
Claude Choules
Claude Stanley Choules was the last World War I combat veteran, and was the last military witness to the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow. He was also the last veteran to have served in both world wars, and the last seaman from the First World War...
. Choules, who died on 5 May 2011 aged 110, was both Great Britain and the world's last known First World War combat veteran.
While the rebuild of the German Army in the 1930s would be based upon the invencibility on the battlefield and the "stab in the back", the attitude of the Hoch See Flotte at Scapa Flow would became a symbol of defiance for the new recruits and officers of the Kriegsmarine.
| Name | Type | Sunk/Beached | Seydlitz SMS Seydlitz SMS Seydlitz"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was a 25,000-metric ton battlecruiserAdmiral Alfred von Tirpitz referred to the ship as a large cruiser in his annual budgets in an attempt to reduce opposition from the Reichstag; the ship was not referred... | Battlecruiser | Sunk 13:50* | |Salvaged November 1929 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moltke | Battlecruiser | Sunk 13:10* | |Salvaged June 1927 |
| Von der Tann SMS Von der Tann SMS Von der Tann"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was the first battlecruiser built for the German Kaiserliche Marine, as well as Germany's first major turbine-powered warship. At the time of her construction, Von der Tann was the fastest dreadnought-type... |
Battlecruiser | Sunk 14:15* | |Salvaged December 1930 |
| Derfflinger SMS Derfflinger SMS Derfflinger"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was a battlecruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine built just before the outbreak of World War I. She was the lead vessel of her class of three ships; her sister ships were and... |
Battlecruiser | Sunk 14:45* | |Salvaged August 1939 |
| Hindenburg SMS Hindenburg SMS Hindenburg"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was a battlecruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine and the third ship of the . She was named in honor of Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, the victor of the Battle of Tannenberg and the Battle of the... |
Battlecruiser | Sunk 17:00* | |Salvaged July 1930 |
| Kaiser SMS Kaiser (1911) SMS Kaiser "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" was the lead ship of the of battleships of the German Imperial Navy. Kaiser was built by the Imperial Dockyard at Kiel, launched on 22 March 1911 and commissioned on 1 August 1912. The ship was equipped with ten guns in five twin turrets, and... |
Battleship | Sunk 13:15* | |Salvaged March 1929 |
| Prinzregent Luitpold SMS Prinzregent Luitpold SMS Prinzregent Luitpold "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" was the fifth and final vessel of the of battleships of the German Imperial Navy. Prinzregent Luitpolds keel was laid in October 1910 at the Germaniawerft dockyard in Kiel... |
Battleship | Sunk 13:15* | |Salvaged March 1929 |
| Kaiserin SMS Kaiserin SMS Kaiserin "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" was the third vessel of the of battleships of the German Imperial Navy. Kaiserins keel was laid in November 1910 at the Howaldtswerke dockyard in Kiel. She was launched on 11 November 1911 and was commissioned into the fleet on 15 May 1913... |
Battleship | Sunk 14:00* | |Salvaged May 1936 |
| Friedrich der Grosse SMS Friedrich der Grosse (1911) SMS Friedrich der Grosse "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" was the second vessel of the of battleships of the German Imperial Navy. Friedrich der GrossesOr Große in German, with a "sharp S"; see ß... |
Battleship | Sunk 12:16* | |Salvaged 1937 |
| König Albert SMS König Albert SMS König Albert "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" was the fourth vessel of the of battleships of the German Imperial Navy. König Alberts keel was laid on 17 July 1910 at the Schichau-Werke dockyard in Danzig. She was launched on 27 April 1912 and was commissioned into the fleet on 31... |
Battleship | Sunk 12:54* | |Salvaged July 1935 |
| König SMS König SMS König"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" was the first of four König class dreadnought battleships of the German Imperial Navy during World War I. König was named in honor of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, who was the king of Prussia as well as the German Emperor... |
Battleship | Sunk 14:00* | |Partially salvaged |
| Großer Kurfürst | Battleship | Sunk 13:30* | |Salvaged April 1938 |
| Kronprinz Wilhelm SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm SMS Kronprinz"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" was the last battleship of the four-ship of the German Imperial Navy. The battleship was laid down in November 1911 and launched on 21 February 1914. She was formally commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 8 November 1914, just over 4... |
Battleship | Sunk 13:15* | |Partially salvaged |
| Markgraf SMS Markgraf SMS Markgraf"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" was the third battleship of the four-ship . She served in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. The battleship was laid down in November 1911 and launched on 4 June 1913... |
Battleship | Sunk 16:45* | |Partially salvaged |
| Baden SMS Baden (1915) SMS Baden "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" was a dreadnought battleship of the German Imperial Navy built during World War I... |
Battleship | Beached | |Transferred to British control, sunk as a target in 1921 |
| Bayern SMS Bayern (1915) SMS Bayern "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" was the lead ship of the class of battleships in the German Imperial Navy. The vessel was launched in February 1915 and entered service in July 1916, too late to take part in the Battle of Jutland... |
Battleship | Sunk 14:30* | |Salvaged September 1933 |
| Brummer SMS Brummer SMS Brummer was a minelaying light cruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine; she was the lead ship of her class. Her sister ship was . Brummer was laid down at AG Vulcan's shipyard in Stettin in 1915 and launched on 11 December 1915 and completed on 2 April 1916... |
Cruiser | Sunk 13:05* | |Partially salvaged |
| Bremse SMS Bremse SMS Bremse was a Brummer-class minelaying light cruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine. She was built by AG Vulcan Stettin in 1915 and launched on 11 March 1916 at Stettin, Germany, the second of the two-ship class after her sister, . She served during the First World War, operating for most of... |
Cruiser | Sunk 14:30* | |Salvaged November 1929 |
| Dresden SMS Dresden (1916) SMS Dresden was the second and final ship of the of light cruisers to be completed and commissioned in the Kaiserliche Marine. The ship was laid down in 1916 and launched on 25 April 1917; she was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 28 March 1918... |
Cruiser | Sunk 13:50* | |Partially salvaged |
| Köln | Cruiser | Sunk 13:50* | |Partially salvaged |
| Karlsruhe SMS Karlsruhe (1915) SMS Karlsruhe was a light cruiser of the Königsberg class, built for the German Imperial Navy during World War I. She was named after the earlier Karlsruhe, which had sunk in November 1914, from an accidental explosion.-Construction:... |
Cruiser | Sunk 15:50* | |Partially salvaged |
| Nürnberg SMS Nürnberg (1916) SMS Nürnberg was a Königsberg class light cruiser built during World War I by Germany for the Imperial Navy. The ship was named after the previous light cruiser Nürnberg, which had been sunk at the Battle of the Falkland Islands.-Construction:... |
Cruiser | Beached | |Transferred to British control, sunk as a target in 1922 |
| Emden SMS Emden (1915) SMS Emden was a German light cruiser belonging to the Königsberg class, built during the First World War. Emden served in the German Imperial Navy until the end of the war, at which point she was ceded to France... |
Cruiser | Beached | |Transferred to French control, broken up in 1926 |
| Frankfurt SMS Frankfurt SMS Frankfurt was a Wiesbaden class light cruiser of the German Imperial Navy. Construction of the ship started before World War I, but she was not completed until after hostilities began. She was laid down at the Kiel Navy dockyard in January 1913 and launched in 1915.-Dimensions and... |
Cruiser | Beached | |Transferred to American control, sunk as a target in 1921 |
| S32 | Destroyer | Sunk* | |Salvaged June 1925 |
| S36 SMS S36 SMS S36 was a Großes Torpedoboot 1913 class torpedo boat of the Deutschen Kaiserliche Marine during World War I, and the 12th ship of her class.-Construction:Built by Schichau-Werke in Elbing, she was launched in October 1914... |
Destroyer | Sunk* | |Salvaged April 1925 |
| G38 SMS G38 SMS G38 was a Großes Torpedoboot 1913 class torpedo boat of the Deutschen Kaiserliche Marine during World War I, and the 14th ship of her class.-Construction:Built by Germaniawerft in Kiel, Germany, she was launched in December 1914.-Service:... |
Destroyer | Sunk* | |Salvaged September 1924 |
| G39 SMS G39 SMS G39 was a Großes Torpedoboot 1913 class torpedo boat of the German Kaiserliche Marine during World War I, and the 15th ship of her class.-Construction:Built by Germaniawerft in Kiel, Germany, she was commissioned in August 1915... |
Destroyer | Sunk* | |Salvaged July 1925 |
| G40 SMS G40 SMS G40 was a Großes Torpedoboot 1913 class torpedo boat of the Deutschen Kaiserliche Marine during World War I, and the 16th ship of her class.-Construction:Built by Germaniawerft in Kiel, Germany, she was launched in February 1915.-Service:... |
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 SMS V45 SMS V45 was a Großes Torpedoboot 1913 class torpedo boat of the Deutschen Kaiserliche Marine during World War I, and the 21st ship of her class.-Construction:Built by AG Vulcan Stettin shipyard, Germany, she was launched in December 1914... |
Destroyer | Sunk* | |Salvaged 1922 |
| V46 SMS V46 SMS V46 was a Großes Torpedoboot 1913 class torpedo boat of the German Kaiserliche Marine during World War I, and the 22nd ship of her class.-Construction:Built by AG Vulcan Stettin shipyard, Germany, she was launched in December 1914... |
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 |
| 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 |
| V100 | Destroyer | Beached | |Transferred to French control, broken up in 1921 |