37 – Transfer to Scapa Flow
A total of 70 ships surrendered in the Forth on 21st November 1918:
| 5 battlecruisers: | Seydlitz, Derrflinger, Hindenburg, Möltke and Von der Tann. |
| 9 battleships: | Friedrich der Grosse, König Albert, Kaiser, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kaiserin, Bayern, Markgraf, Prinzregent Luitpold and Grosser Kürfurst. |
| 7 light cruisers: | Karlsrühe, Cöln, Brummer, Bremse, Emden, Frankfurt and Nürnberg. |
| 49 destroyers | No. 1 flotilla: G40, G86, G39, G38, S32 (5 in total) V30 struck a mine on the way across. No. 2 flotilla: G101, G102, G103, V100, B109, B110, B111, B112, G104 (9 in total) No. 3 flotilla: S53, S54, S55, G91, V70, V73, V81, V82 (8 in total) No. 6 flotilla: V43, V44, V45, V46, S49, S50, V125, V126, V127, V128, S131, S132 (12 in total) No. 7 flotilla: S56, S65, V78, V83, G92, S136, S137, S138, H145, G89 (10 in total) No. 7 (Half) flotilla: S36, S51, S52, S60, V80 (5 in total) |
Note: The German destroyers were designated by a letter to indicate the builder
| B | Blohm und Voss, Hamburg |
| G | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| H | Howaldtswerke, Kiel |
| S | Schichau, Danzig |
| V | A G Vulcan, Hamburg |
The ships were inspected in the Forth on Friday 22nd November to ensure that their condition complied with the terms of the armistice.
The transfer to Scapa Flow for internment took place in batches over the following five days.
Saturday 23rd November: 20 British destroyers escorted 20 German destroyers.
Sunday 24th November: a further 20 German destroyers escorted by 20 British destroyers.
Monday 25th November: 5 German battlecruisers and the remaining 9 German destroyers escorted by the 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron.
Tuesday 26th November: 5 German battleships and 4 German light cruisers escorted by 5 ships of the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron.
Wednesday 27th November: 4 German battleships and 3 German light cruisers escorted by 4 ships of the 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron and 4 of the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron.
Once in Scapa Flow, the German ships were anchored around the islands of Fara and Cava.
Three more ships arrived on Tuesday 6th December.
The battleship König, was unable to take part in the surrender in the Forth, because she had leaking condenser tubes.
The light cruiser Dresden was leaking badly. She had been partially scuttled during the sailors’ revolt in October, and had to be refloated so could not join the main body of the fleet at the surrender on November 21st.
The destroyer V129 was sent to replace V30 which had struck a mine on the way to Rendezvous “X”.
On 10th January 1919 the battleship Baden was sent in place of the unfinished battlecruiser Mackensen.
There were now 74 ships interned in Scapa Flow as required by the Armistice.
German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow – painting by Frank Watson Wood
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