National Museum of the U.S. Navy

Scuttling of the German Navy:  June 21, 1919

Learning that the German High Seas Fleet was to be turned over to the Allies, the Germans scuttled their own fleet at Scapa Flow, Scotland, on June 21, 1919.   Before the British became aware of what had transpired, the fleet was almost beyond salvage and the German Navy, for all inent, had ceased to exist.   As punishent, the Germans had to deliver almost everything left afloat in Germany, including cranes, tugs, and service craft.  

Image:  NH 49917:   German destroyers scuttled at Scapa Flow, June 1919.   U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.