Scuttling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull. This can be achieved in several ways - valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an old or captured vessel, as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being captured by an enemy force, to block a channel or harbor, or to provide an artificial reef for divers and marine life.
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[edit] Notable historical examples
[edit] Hernán Cortés (1519)
The Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, who overthrew the Aztec empire, ordered his men to strip and scuttle their ships in order to eliminate any means of desertion.
[edit] HMS Sapphire (1696)
The HMS Sapphire was a 32-gun, fifth-rate sailing frigate of the Royal Navy in Newfoundland to protect the English migratory fishery. The vessel was trapped in Bay Bulls harbour by four French naval vessels led by Jacques-François de Brouillan. In order to avoid capture, the English scuttled the vessel on 11 September 1696.
[edit] German fleet at Scapa Flow (1919)
In 1919, the warships of the German High Seas Fleet were scuttled by their crews at Scapa Flow to prevent the ships falling into British hands. The seabed of Scapa Flow is still littered with the warships, making the area very popular amongst undersea diving enthusiasts.
[edit] Admiral Graf Spee (1939)
Following the Battle of the River Plate the damaged German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee sought refuge in the port of Montevideo. On 17 December 1939, with the British and Commonwealth cruisers Ajax, Achilles, and Cumberland waiting in international waters outside the mouth of the Río de la Plata, the Graf Spee sailed just outside the harbour and was scuttled by Captain Hans Langsdorff to avoid risking the lives of his crew in what he expected to be a losing battle. Capt. Langsdorff shot himself three days later.
[edit] The Bismarck (1941)
In 1941, the Bismarck, heavily damaged by the Royal Navy, leaking fuel and rendered mostly unmaneuverable, but her hull still sound and well afloat, was scuttled by her crew to avoid capture.
[edit] Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon (1942)
In November 1942, Nazi Germany occupied (Case Anton) the so-called "Free zone" in response to the Allied landing in North Africa. On 27 November, they reached Toulon, where the most of the French Navy was anchored. To avoid capture by the Nazis (Operation Lila), the French admirals-in-command (Laborde and Marquis) decided to scuttle the 230,000 tonne fleet, including some of the most advanced units of the time (most notably, the battleships Dunkerque and Strasbourg). 80% of the fleet was utterly destroyed, all of the capital ships proving impossible to repair. Legally, the scuttling of the fleet was allowed under the terms of the 1940 Armistice with Germany.
[edit] Allied Landing in Normandy (1944)
Old ships code-named "Corn cobs" were sunk to form a protective reef for the Mulberry harbours at Arromanches and Omaha Beach for the Normandy landings. The sheltered waters created by these scuttled ships were called "Gooseberries" and protected the harbors so transport ships could unload without being hampered by waves.
[edit] Modern times
Instead of scuttling, many vessels are sold for scrap today. However, ships (and other objects of similar size) are sometimes sunk in order to help the formation of artificial reefs, such as the former USS Oriskany in 2006. It is also common for military organizations to use old ships for target practice and in war games, or for various other experiments. As an example, the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS America was subjected to surface and underwater explosions in 2005 as part of classified research to help design the next generation of carriers (the CVN-21 class), before being sunk with demolition charges.
During the Falklands War, the Argentinian submarine ARA Santa Fe was attacked and damaged by British helicopters on 23 April 1982. The crew abandoned the submarine on South Georgia and were captured by British forces. The submarine was later scuttled by the British.
The Iranian converted minelayer Iran Ajr was caught laying naval mines in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war on 21 September 1987, in an effort to sink or damage U.S.-flagged Kuwaiti oil tankers in international waters. The ship was attacked by U.S. Army helicopter gunships flying from a U.S. Navy frigate, then boarded by U.S. Navy SEALs, who captured the surviving crew, confirmed the presence of mines, and then scuttled the ship five days later.
[edit] References
Jutland to Junkyard by S.C.George. Published by Paul Harris Publishing, Edinburgh, UK in 1981. ISBN 0-86228-029-X. Describes the salvaging of the scuttled High Seas Fleet.
| Life Cycle of a Navy Ship |
| Service Life |
| Ship naming and launching | Ship commissioning | Ship decommissioning |
After Decommissioning |
| Reserve fleet | Scrapping | Recycling | Scuttling or Weapons testing | Museum ship |
