The grand scuttle

On June 21, 1919, the Scottish anchorage at Scapa Flow witnessed one of the most dramatic events in naval history. The German High Seas Fleet had sailed into British waters under the terms of the treaty ending World War I. Possibly misled by British newspaper reports, the German admiral in command decided to scuttle the fleet rather than let it fall into British hands. Although technically in British custody, the German officers developed an extraordinary plan to simultaneously sink the entire fleet. Before the British could intervene, sixteen capital ships and numerous smaller ones went to the bottom; the operation resulting in the last casualties and the last prisoners of World War I.