Scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow 1919
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 21 June 1919 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1919 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Interwar (1919–1938) | derived from year |
| Location | Scotland | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | World War I | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | German Empire, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 58.8900, -3.1800 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
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.
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; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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