My husband, too, was pleased that his grandfather’s experience was so well researched and commemorated.Īfter the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, the German Navy was ordered to surrender its entire fleet of ships at Scapa Flow. In the Orkneys, the scuttling of the German fleet was a huge event (as it was around the world, although now mostly forgotten) but rarely does someone show up at the museum whose grandfather was a participant! The curator leaped from behind the counter and plied him with questions. “Was he watching from the shore?” the curator asked. “My grandfather was there,” my husband remarked to the curator. When we arrived at the tiny museum in Stromness, the town where the mainland ferry docks on the Orkneys, to our surprise we found a huge display of artifacts and information about the sinking of the German fleet after the First World War ended. Read about my trip here: Bonny Scotland.īut we also discovered another fascinating aspect of our shared family history. Three branches of my family were Scottish, including one from the Orkney Islands. On our recent trip to Scotland, I searched for my own genealogical roots. My husband’s grandfather was serving on one of those ships!
The German submarine meanwhile ran from the bay without being detected.I have a personal connection with one of the oddest events in wartime history, when the German navy deliberately sank its own fleet at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The submarine will send torpedos on both ship who will sunk quicly taking with them into deaths more than 800 sailors. In October 1939, a German U-boat managed to slip between the English line and dams to enter the bay. Two more battleships will join Scapa Flow graveyard: The HMS Royal Oak and Pegasus. The incredible story of German submarine U-47 The König, the Markgraf, the Kronprinz Wilhelm, the Brummer, the Köln, the Karlsruhe and the Dresden. Their position and also the lack of profitability of the operation, have made Scapa Flow their graveyard for eternity. However, 7 vessels between 150 and 180 meters in length still laying down at a great depth. Another company takes over in 1936 and many other boats will be get out of the water. Innovative processes, despite repeated failures, allow the company to bail out 32 boats. The company Cox and Danks buys the right to exploit the wreckage and began to bail them out the water. The strategic importance of this bay for the English navy forced it to find a quick solution to remove these imposing wrecks that pose an immediate threat to navigation. The German contingent was captured and the story would have ended there. Almost all of the 74 German ships were sunk within hours, while the English officers panicked tried to save some of them. In June 1919, Vice Admiral Ludwig von Reuter decided to scuttle the fleet to avoid to”give” the fleet to the enemy. Under the terms of the Versailles Treaty, all German ships will be delivered to the allies. Scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa FlowĪfter a year of hardship and harassment imposed on seafarers and officers responsible for the maintenance of the fleet rats, scurvy, hunger, cold …, the ax falls. Indeed, the Allies feared the power of the fleet which was illustrated in numerous naval battles. A fleet of 74 ships of the German Imperial Fleet arrive at Scapa Flow accompanied by over 250 battleships. All German warships have to be interned in Allied ports until a final decision is taken by victorious. In November 1918, a few days after the Armistice, Germany discovers the harsh conditions imposed by the allies which include, in addition to the withdrawal of troops and heavy financial damage, complete delivery of its aviation and naval fleet.
This shelter was used as naval base for the Royal Navy during both world wars. Scapa Flow is a natural bay, sheltered from the wind, located in the Orkney Islands North of Scotland. Today divers from around the world come to Scapa Flow to explore the gigantic wrecks and to rediscover a piece of European history.Īrmistice and internment of the German fleet
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