Scapa Flow

Scapa Flow is the top diving destination of the northern hemisphere  and home to the scuttled German High Seas Fleet. On the 21st June 1919 more than 70 ships, almost the entire German Navy, were scuttled under the orders of Admiral von Reuter.

Today the main 7 surviving wrecks lie between 20-45m below the surface of the sea an hours steam from the small port of Stromness.

Being almost fully enclosed by a ring of islands, there is a sheltered site in Scapa Flow in almost all-weather conditions with the diving season runing from March to November.

Markgraf

The Markgraf is the king of the battleships in Scapa Flow This mighty ship dwarfs other wrecks but has a rich variety of detail that rewards exploration. Although the deepest of the battleships, she is also the most intact and the wreck that brings divers back to explore, year after year.

Class and Type: König-class battleship
Depth: 22-43m

König

The namesake of her class, this mighty battleship lies upside down on the seabed.

Class and Type: König-class battleship
Depth: 22-40m

König

Kronprinz Wilhelm

The Kronprinz is the shallowest of the three battleships with the top of the hull in only 12 metres.  Most of the 12 inch guns are accessible and offer an amazing opportunity to see the main armament of a dreadnought battleship that were fired in anger at Jutland.

Class and Type: König-class battleship

Depth: 12-37m

Cöln

Cöln

The SMS Cöln is the most intact of the German Seven on the seabed of Scapa Flow and really brings alive what these ships would have looked like in their heyday.

Class and Type: Light Cruiser
Depth: 22-36m

Brummer

The SMS Brummer main role was as a mine layer so, despite being similar in many ways to the cruisers,  there are subtle differences that make her distinctive.

Class and Type: Mine Layer
Depth: 25-36m

Dresden

The Dresden settled on a sloping seabed giving her a dive profile that is perfect for the first dive of the week.

Class and Type: Cöln-class Light Cruiser
Depth: 22-38m

Dresden

Karlsruhe

The most broken up cruiser remaining in the Flow so consequently offers excellent exploration without the need for complicated wreck entry.

Class and Type: Königsberg-class light cruiser
Depth: 17-27m

The seabed of Scapa Flow is littered with an assortment of other wrecks. This page can only give you a taste of the main seven wrecks.

Sign up to a week on the Halton to explore more!

book your trip