Teaching Materials
What was the Scuttle?
- German ships had been interned in Scapa Flow as a guarantee of Germany’s good faith during the Peace Negotiations
- The destruction was ordered when mis-communication led the German commander to believe that his ships would be seized by the Allies
- The largest loss of tonnage in history: 470,000 tons in 5 hours. 54 out of 72 interned ships were sunk
Why was it important?
- It created two new industries for Orkney – the salvage industry and the dive industry
- What to do with the German navy became one of the thorniest issues between the Allies at Versailles. America distrusted continued British maritime dominance, the French wanted a part of the interned German Fleet as compensation for the huge losses suffered and the Italians and Japanese felt ignored.
- The loss of the High Seas Fleet and later more ships and resources as a direct result of the scuttle gave Germany the chance to build a new, even more powerful navy
Powerpoint Presentations
