Scuttling
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| Life cycle of a Navy ship |
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| Service Life |
| Ship naming and launching Ship commissioning Ship decommissioning |
| After Decommissioning |
| Reserve fleet Scrapping Recycling Scuttling or Weapons testing Museum ship |
Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship. This is done by allowing water to flow into the hull of the ship, which can be achieved in several ways. Pumps or hatches can be used, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or explosives. Scuttling is usually performed to dispose of an old vessel, as an act of self destruction to prevent the vehicle from being captured by an enemy force, to block a channel or harbour, or to provide an artificial reef for divers and marine life.
Historical examples
Hérnan Cortés, 1519
Hernán Cortés, the famed explorer who is renowned for his aggressive campaigns against the Aztec people (especially killing large numbers of them), ordered his men to scuttle his ships, so as to motivate them to perform their tasks in the New World seriously (ie: collect treasure and earn 'glory' for Spain and Cortés, a task he saw as more attainable if his men didn't have an easy 'escape route' back to Spain). Cortes forced his men to strip and scuttle the galleons in order to eliminate any means of desertion.
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 September 11, 1696.
German fleet at Scapa Flow
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.The Bismarck
In 1941, the Bismarck, heavily damaged by the Royal Navy, leaking fuel and rendered mostly unmanoeuvrable, but her hull still sound and well afloat, was scuttled under fire by her crew to avoid capture.French fleet in Toulon
In November 1942, Nazi Germany occupied (Case Anton) the so-called "Free zone" in response to the Allied landing in North Africa. On the 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, comprising some of the most advanced units of the time (the Dunkerque and the flagship Strasbourg, notably). 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.Admiral Graf Spee
Following the Battle of the River Plate the 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 ship sailed just outside the harbour and was scuttled by the captain to avoid risking the crew in what he expected to be a losing battle. Captain Langsdorff shot himself dead three days later.Landing in Normandy, 1944
Old ships called 'block ships' or 'corn cobs' were sunk to form a protective reef for Mulberry Harbour at Arromanches for the Normandy landings. The scuttled ships were called Gooseberries and protected the harbor so transport ships could unload without being hampered by waves.Modern times
Instead of scuttling, many vessels are recycled today. However, some ships (and other objects of similar size) are sometimes sunk in order to help the formation of reefs. 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 former USS America aircraft carrier was destroyed and sunk in 2005 to help understand how vessels of such large size react to bombardment. The research will be used in the design of future ships.An Iranian ship caught laying mines in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war, which was a deliberate act against United States Carriers and Transport, became the focus of the most dramatic U.S. involvement in the war where the ship was bombed and boarded and its occupants captured. The next day the ship was scuttled.
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