Scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow
Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | Scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow | Historic Environment Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Cause of loss | Scuttled | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Sea / ocean | North Atlantic Ocean | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Scotland | official dataset |
| Position | 58.8842, -3.1797 | Historic Environment Scotland Historic MPAs, wreck position (OGL v3) |
| Historic MPA | Scapa Flow (HMPA10) | Historic Environment Scotland |
| Designated | 2025-10-28 | Historic Environment Scotland |
About the wreck
On 21 June 1919 the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet was scuttled by its sailors while held off the harbour of the British Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The fleet was interned there at the end of World War I under the terms of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 while negotiations took place over its fate. Fearing that either the British would seize the ships unilaterally or the German government at the time might reject the Treaty of Versailles and resume the war effort (in which case the ships could be used against Germany), Admiral Ludwig von Reuter decided to scuttle the fleet.
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 and a source of low-background steel.
Diving & visiting
This site lies within a Historic Marine Protected Area designated under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. Check the HES designation record for what activities are permitted before diving.
Location
- Recorded position: 58.8842, -3.1797 (Historic Environment Scotland Historic MPAs, wreck position (OGL v3); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: North Atlantic Ocean
- Nearest coast: Scotland
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow (revision 1377995591), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Contains Historic Environment Scotland data © Historic Environment Scotland – Scottish Charity No. SC045925 2026, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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Browse more: UK & Ireland wrecks · wrecks off Scotland · North Atlantic Ocean