From Jutland to Junkyard: The raising of the scuttled German High Seas Fleet from Scapa Flow - the greatest salvage operation of all time

by George, S. C.

  About 15 minutes after the action had opened, the British Fifth Battle Squadron managed to get within range of the enemy and opened fire on von der Tann at 19,000 yards. A 15-inch shell crashed into von der Tann on the water-line and 600 tons of water poured into her, but she was able to continue fighting. The German vessels in the rear were saved from destruction by the poor quality of British shells which burst without penetrating the enemy’s armour.

  After a brief pause the engagement was renewed and Queen Mary was attacked by Derfflinger and Seydlitz. An explosion caused by a salvo ripped her apart and she sank immediately with 57 officers and 1,209 men. Only eight of her crew were saved.

  ‘There seems to be something wrong with our damned ships,’ Beatty remarked. The main fault was the inadequate protection against the spread of fire from the gun-turrets.

  At about this time two opposing destroyer flotillas came to grips between the lines of battlecruisers. The German flotillas fled towards the van of their battlecruisers pursued by two British destroyers, one of which was crippled by enemy fire. Another British destroyer was also left helpless between the lines.

  The German battlecruisers were being sorely pressed when suddenly they sighted their battle fleet. Ten minutes previously Jellicoe had received a message that the High Seas Battle Fleet was coming north.

  The German Commander-in-Chief believed that, after all, he had fallen upon a detached part of the British fleet, and he was so preoccupied with this that he missed the easy targets presented by the battlecruisers, each in turn, as they wheeled round the same point on their new course.

  Beatty promptly re-engaged the enemy. Soon Seydlitz was holed again under water by a torpedo, but she was stoutly built and kept her place in the line. Hits were also registered on Grosser Kurfürst and Markgraf.

  Scheer, in his flagship Friedrich der Grosse, was still unaware that the Grand Fleet was at sea but thought that, as he had planned, a part of it was in his grasp. In the van, as he sailed north-west in pursuit, were the seven battleships: König, Grosser Kurfürst, Kronprinz, Markgraf, Kaiser, Kaiserin and Prinzregent Luitpold. They were screened by four destroyer flotillas. Hipper did not share his superior’s views, but his signalling was ineffective, so he had to resign himself to following the battleships, though he was still under heavy fire and his ships were badly mauled. Derfflinger in particular had suffered, while Seydlitz was down by the bows, kept afloat only by her watertight compartments.

  Another of Beatty’s signals was not seen in the Fifth Battle Squadron with the result that the two squadrons passed each other at high speed, one of them coming under the guns of the German battle fleet and receiving severe punishment. Firing became desultory as the British squadron drew out of range, and Beatty concentrated upon joining his Commander-in-Chief who was approaching from the north-west at the head of six lines of battleships headed by a cruiser squadron, his destroyer flotillas acting as a submarine screen.

  The two battle fleets rushed towards each other at 40 knots, and at 14,000 yards the British battlecruiser fleet opened fire. Scarcely had Admiral Hipper turned away when the Third Battlecruiser Squadron engaged his Second Scouting Group. Ships on both sides were badly punished. Beatty lost touch with the enemy for some minutes but was then able to report its position, and Jellicoe deployed his ships in a formation which gave them an overwhelming tactical advantage, for they enveloped the head of the enemy’s line in a way which let them give each other maximum support.

  Meanwhile the First Cruiser Squadron had been scouting ahead of the battle fleet and was engaged with German cruisers. As it now came between the opposing battle fleets, two British ships were sunk. The smoke began to roll away disclosing to Scheer Jellicoe’s trap, into which he was sailing. The signal had actually been hoisted for the Grand Fleet to close when Jellicoe had to cancel it because his line was not yet in position and the battlecruisers were not clear of his van. This forced him to deploy again and, to add to his misfortunes, Invincible, with over 1,000 officers and men, was torn apart by Derfflinger and König. Only five men were saved. Wiesbaden was disabled at the same time by British cruisers. Warrior and Defence, two armoured cruisers, came under heavy fire from Derfflinger and four other battleships when they approached to sink her. Defence blew up and Warrior was lucky to escape when the enemy’s fire was turned from her to Warspite whose steering gear was damaged by a shell from Kaiserin.

  But Scheer was still in danger. To escape, his destroyers put up a smoke-screen. Under its cover the German fleet disappeared after sinking their crippled light cruiser Wiesbaden. It was now 18.40 hrs with only two hours of daylight left. Jellicoe worked his way between the German fleet and the coast. Reports of enemy submarines influenced him to change course, and scarcely had he re-formed his divisions when the German ships reappeared out of the mist. Scheer later claimed that this move was intentional, but it is probable that it was the result of a mistake.

  The battle fleets again re-engaged. The leading German ships were headed by König which received a hail of shell, and Markgraf was hit in the engine-room. The German fleet faced annihilation as the British ships took up their appointed positions. Hipper prepared to sacrifice his cruisers to save his battle fleet, and they were hurled forward in a mass attack, later termed by the Germans ‘a death ride’. Upon receiving the signal, ‘Charge the enemy; ram, ships are to attack regardless of consequences’, Derfflinger led Seydlitz, Moltke and von der Tann upon the enemy. Derfflinger had two turrets shattered and was hit repeatedly. All in von der Tann’s control turret were killed by a direct hit, and only one gun still fired. The other two were also badly damaged and received permission to withdraw. One German destroyer was sunk and several others badly damaged in this gallant action to cover the withdrawal. Their torpedoes were fired from a range of 7,000 yards and they then laid a smoke-screen. Six of their destroyers were put out of action, and another was sunk by a direct hit. The 28 torpedoes they fired all missed their targets, but they forced Jellicoe to turn his battleships and take avoiding action, and by doing so he increased his distance from the enemy and so missed the chance of a decisive victory.

  The three German battleships damaged were Markgraf, Grosser Kurfürst and König, but all their guns were serviceable and they were able to keep their place in the line. Grosser Kurfürst had shipped 800 tons of water and König 1,600 tons.

  Beatty’s signal to Jellicoe, which if acted upon promptly could have enabled him to cut off the whole of the enemy’s battle fleet, caused such loss of time in its ciphering, transmission and deciphering, that contact with the enemy was temporarily lost again.

  When Beatty next sighted the German battlecruisers and some battleships sailing south, he opened fire and was inflicting heavy punishment on the battered enemy battlecruisers, when they decided that they had suffered enough and sought cover behind their Second Battle Squadron. Derfflinger’s remaining turret was put out of action, and Seydlitz hit yet again, while three old battleships which had gone to their aid were also damaged. Once again Jellicoe knew nothing of the affair, and this time Lion’s wireless was also inoperable. Jellicoe was about to renew his engagement when Scheer realised his danger, turned hastily, and by 20.35 hrs had disappeared for the second time. Firing then died away and darkness fell.

  At 21.00 hrs Jellicoe ordered his fleet to take up night cruising stations, hoping to deny the enemy their own coast and to finish the fight on the following day. Scheer made his night preparations also, but the battered Lützow was steadily sinking, and finally had to be abandoned and sunk. Both fleets groped their way into the darkness. Shortly after 22.00 hrs the German light cruisers ran into the right wing of the British flotillas bringing up the rear of the Grand Fleet. The British won a slight advantage in the sharp engagement that followed, and now other sections of the two fleets came into conflict. Southampton was soon ablaze from stem to stern, yet even in this condition she sank Frauenlob with a torpedo. After a quarter of an hour of furious fighting, the Germans withdrew.
>
  Throughout the night there were encounters, as British destroyers threw themselves desperately in the path of an enemy who was as desperately trying to reach home. Two German destroyers rammed each other in the confusion; another was torpedoed and had to be sunk. British destroyers also suffered badly. Scheer was determined to break through at all costs and escape before daybreak. Then two British ships rammed each other and one had to be sunk. Fortune, Ardent and Turbulent were lost, and the armoured cruiser Black Prince, which strayed into the German battle fleet, was sunk at point-blank range.

  Steadily the German fleet approached safety, and throughout the night only inaccurate information of its movements reached Jellicoe. Before daybreak the German ships had passed through the British light forces and were steaming eastward.

  At about 13.45 hrs the Twelfth Flotilla sighted large ships steering south-east and they sank the battleship Pommern, but neither the British commander’s wireless messages nor his report reached Jellicoe.

  At about 14.25 hrs four destroyers sighted the enemy. They sank the German destroyer V4, but did not report it. That virtually ended the battle, for Scheer ordered his whole fleet to return to harbour. Seydlitz, with 5,000 tons of water in her hold, ran aground near the Horns Reef lightship, but a salvage vessel from Wilhelmshaven got her away by mid-morning.

  On the British side bad communications, and on the German side poor tactics, contributed to a result which at the time seemed indecisive, though the British Grand Fleet was left in possession of the seas.

  British losses were: three battlecruisers, three cruisers and eight destroyers, and 6,274 officers and men killed or taken prisoner. German losses were: one battleship, one battlecruiser, four light cruisers and eight destroyers; 2,545 officers and men were killed; there were no prisoners. British ships amounting to 115,025 tons had been destroyed compared with German losses of 61,180 tons.

  Apart from cruiser squadrons and destroyers the British had 28 battleships and eight battlecruisers against Germany’s 22 battleships and five battlecruisers.

  On paper the advantage lay with the Germans who claimed the battle as a victory. But the German fleet ventured only once more out of harbour. That was on 19 August of the same year, but when Scheer was told that the British fleet was advancing to meet him, he returned to his base. In November 1918, when ordered to break the blockade, the crews mutinied and refused to weigh anchor. ‘Why go out and die,’ they asked, ‘when peace is at hand?’ Stokers drew the fires and refused to sail. At last Admiral von Hipper ordered the fleet to disperse to its harbours, and mutiny spread from ship to ship. By 7 November only the submarines were not flying the Red Flag. Kiel and Wilhelmshaven fell under the rule of a Soviet of Workers, Soldiers and Sailors, its president being an ex-stoker supported by a council of 21 with an inner council of five. When the war was lost to Germany, the fleet was in the hands of communist sailors who had to be persuaded to accept the authority of officers during the last inglorious voyage which the ships were to make under German crews.

  Under the terms of the armistice, Germany agreed to surrender to Great Britain: ten battleships, six battlecruisers, eight light cruisers, 50 destroyers and all her submarines. These were her newest ships. A few others were added to the French and Italian navies, and she was allowed to keep some of her old vessels.

  Of the surrendered capital ships, the number of hits received by them at Jutland were as follows:

  Kaiser 2 Derfflinger 20

  König 10 Seydlitz 24

  Grosser Kurfürst 8 Moltke 4

  Markgraf 5 von der Tann 4

  3

  Surrender

  ON 15 NOVEMBER 1918 Rear-Admiral Sinclair sailed out with a light cruiser squadron to meet Königsberg, which was bringing Rear-Admiral Meurer and four of his staff officers to discuss the procedure for the surrender of the German fleet at a conference aboard Queen Elizabeth. Königsberg was brought to anchorage in a white fog, her guns screened under canvas covers. An outlandish row of men in black hats on her deck were members of the Workmen’s and Soldiers’ Council who had decided to accompany the Rear-Admiral, though Admiral Sir David Beatty had flatly refused to meet their delegates. No guard of honour met the admiral when he stepped aboard, and arms were not presented.

  At 22.00 hrs the proceedings ended and the German officers left, watched by a dark, silent crowd of bluejackets. Meurer was a man of medium build. The blue cloak which fell to his heels rested on the end of his scabbard. Beneath his gold-peaked cap, his face with its short, trimmed grey beard looked small. The quartermaster shrilled his pipe. Meurer slightly inclined his head, then his chin fell to his breast as he passed down the side and into the darkness of the night.

  There was a story current in the fleet that a marine on duty peeping through a keyhole ‘saw one of the Huns seize something off the table and cram it into the pocket of his greatcoat, and a subsequent search of the greatcoat revealed a large lump of cheese’.

  On 16 November Chancellor Ebert of Germany communicated to all U-boat crews and shipyard labourers the contents of a letter he had received from the German Armistice Commission. It said that the Commission had received an assurance from Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss that crews of the submarines handed over to the British would be released immediately after the delivery of the boats at ports indicated by the British Admiralty. Failure to deliver them would result in the cancellation of the armistice, and crews were warned not to burden themselves with a crime which would cause a renewal of bloodshed. Each married man who helped to deliver a vessel would receive 500 marks, and each single man 300 marks. The lives of all men would be insured by the German government.

  Early in the morning of 20 November Rear-Admiral Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt, flying his flag in the light cruiser Curaçao with the light cruisers Danae, Coventry, Centaur and Dragon in his wake, waited at a point 35 miles from the Essex coast to receive the surrender of the German submarines. To port and starboard escorting destroyers formed dim shapes in the darkness. By 06.30 hrs the stars were beginning to fade and 20 minutes later, as a rosy glow overspread the thin mist, visibility improved and ‘action stations’ was sounded. A few minutes after 07.00 hours, in the cold light of dawn, five British light cruisers escorted by destroyers and guarded by minesweepers received the surrender of 20 German submarines.

  The sun had barely risen when a British rigid airship of the Zeppelin type, the R26 from Harwich, sailed down the line at 800 feet followed by a silvery Blimp and three flying-boats. Dragon, a new, spick-and-span ship, led the course back, the U-boats dark, humped lines on the sea. Behind Dragon sailed the transports, then a destroyer with five U-boats in her wake, then more destroyers and more U-boats. Two hours elapsed before the last vessel passed the flagship.

  Off Harwich, the U-boats stopped their engines. Men stepped from their conning towers and stood silently on deck. Motor launches alongside the destroyers embarked the British crews who were to take over. The surrender was concluded in silence. There were no cheers, and there was no fraternising. The numbers on the U-boats had been painted out, and only one,

  Plan of the surrender of the German fleet on 21 November 1918. A copy of this diagram was presented to all senior officers and officials present. (Courtesy of S.A. Brooks and H. Burd.)

  U-107, flew the German Ensign. The White Ensign was promptly run up over it. Each British officer saluted as he stepped aboard. No other courtesy was paid. The German captains produced their papers; the British officers taking over produced their authorising papers; the German crews were sent forward. A German officer wept; another protested against having to carry on duty after surrender. The U-boats were taken by groups of five into Harwich harbour, the Germans standing on deck. No untoward incident had occurred other than the loss of one U-boat which had sunk on the voyage across the North Sea. Each submarine was in running order with periscope intact and torpedoes unloaded, as required by the terms of the armistice. By Saturday of the same week 96 U-boats had surrendered and their crews had returned to Germa
ny. By 20 November 129 submarines had been escorted into harbour. Eye-witnesses said that the officers looked glum, but that the men were bright and cheerful.

  The German High Seas Fleet surrendered on 21 November. A few minutes before 04.00 hrs the British First Battle Squadron led by Revenge, the flagship of Vice-Admiral Madden, began to move from the Firth of Forth towards their beaten enemies. Fog, which had been heavy, lifted, but clouds obscured the moon and stars. Ship followed ship. By daybreak the Grand Fleet, under Admiral Beatty in Queen Elizabeth, had taken up position in the open sea in two columns in single line ahead. Treachery was not expected, but all was ready to blow the German ships out of the water if any tricks were attempted.

  Units of France, America and the dominions of Australia, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand were present with the British Navy.

  At 08.30 hrs the German fleet was sighted by destroyers. An hour later the sun rose, and then there came into view a ‘sausage’ balloon towed by Cardiff, and through the murk behind there emerged the first of the German ships. At 09.40 hrs contact was made by the fleet.

  Between the lines of waiting Allied vessels came the great fleet headed by the battleship Friedrich der Grosse. Then came the other eight battleships: König Albert, Kaiser, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kaiserin, Bayern – which had never fired her guns in action, Markgraf – one of the most powerful battleships in the German navy until the arrival of Bayern with her 15-inch guns, Prinzregent Luitpold and Grosser Kurfürst. Behind them at intervals of three cables sailed five battlecruisers of the Kaiser class: Seydlitz – bearing scars received at the battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915 and flying the broad pennant of Commodore Taegert, Derfflinger – also badly battered at Dogger Bank, Hindenburg, Moltke and von der Tann – which had suffered heavily in the British naval raid on Cuxhaven. Next came eight light cruisers headed by Karlsruhe flying the broad pennant of Commodore Harder. Finally, led by the British destroyer Castor flying the pennant of Commodore Tweedie, came 49 destroyers of the latest type from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th and 17th flotillas. One destroyer, V30, had been sunk by a mine on the passage from Germany with the loss of two men dead and three injured. At an order from Admiral Beatty, the allied ships turned 16 points so that the German ships were sandwiched.