up the European battlefields of WWI and, interestingly, his inexperience raising ships proved advantageous. Unhindered by convention he proceeded to innovate and with the help of expert salvors began raising the smaller vessels, later applying lessons learned to the salvage of the larger battleships. For almost a decade the firm of
Cox and Danks worked through the sunken inventory, raising 33 of the ships, among them 26 destroyers and seven battle cruisers and battleships. The German strategy to intentionally capsize their vessels proved more help than hindrance. The salvage team took advantage of their upside down orientation by sealing holes and floating them by pumping compressed air into their hulls. The Great Depression slammed the price of scrap metal so Cox sold the operation in 1933,
having made little, if any, profit at the end. Another company raised six ships, leaving three battleships and four light cruisers at the bottom of Scapa Flow. Today, divers contribute an estimated £3.6 million yearly to the local economy exploring these German navy ships and others.
The Wider View I first dived the Scapa Flow wrecks in the summer of 2008, fulfilling a long-held boyhood ambition from the 1970s that was sparked by a diver who campaigning against plans to raise and scrap the remaining ships. But those early dives left me unsatisfied largely because of poor visibility. It was impossible to get a sense of the scale of some of these vessels shrouded in summer plankton blooms. We enjoyed the up close detail of vis around 15 to 20
Centre: SMS Markgraf, a battleship, is big and deep.
Previous pages: Teak decking at stern of
SMS Karlsruhe is especially photogenic
feet (4.5-6m) but the wider view remained elusive. Locals assured us that clear water
in the Flow was real enough but typically confined to the end of the Orkney dive season – around mid November – when weather was risky and the local charter boats ceased operation. Many divers understand this phenomenon: as winter approaches water temperature and sunlight levels drop, killing off plankton and improving visibility. Scapa Flow’s sheltered waters guard against most foul weather but cloud cover means these wrecks live in a semi-dark world no matter how clear the water; a challenge for underwater shooters.
The Pay-off We accepted the challenge! Our first dive was on the SMS Karlsruhe, one of the light cruisers.
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