Sms V81 [final Location]: Sinclair's Bay, North Sea
Destroyer (20th Century)
Site Name Sms V81 [final Location]: Sinclair's Bay, North Sea
Classification Destroyer (20th Century)
Alternative Name(s) U81; Gutter Sound; Mill Bay; Scapa Flow; Auckengill; Duncansby Head; Sinclair Bay; Freswick; V 81
Canmore ID 101973
Site Number ND35NE 8007
NGR ND 36868 57338
NGR Description ND c. 37 56
Datum WGS84 - Lat/Long
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/101973
- Council Highland
- Parish Maritime - Highland
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Maritime
- Former County Not Applicable
ND35NE 8007 c. 37 56
N58 29 W3 5
NLO: Sinclair's Bay [name centred ND 37 56]
Ness Head [name: ND 384 664]
Freswick Bay [name centred ND 384 765]
Auckengill [name: ND 370 643]
Wick [name: ND 362 508]
Stromness [name: HY 253 090]
Scapa Flow [name centred HY 36 00].
Formerly entered as ND36SE 8001 at cited locations ND 3694 6197 [N58 30 W3 5] and ND c. 38 66 [N58 35 W3 4].
Possibly on map sheet or ND35SW.
For previous location (in Gutter Sound, Scapa Flow), see ND39NW 8066.
(Name cited as U81).
L Zanelli 1970.
Quality of fix = PA
Horizontal Datum = OGB
Circumstances of Loss Details
-----------------------------
The German destroyer V81 was built in 1916. It was scuttled at Scapa Flow in 1919 and later raised, but foundered in Sinclairs Bay.
Surveying Details
-----------------------------
20 September 1937. The vessel sank at approximately 58 30 00N, 003 05 00W. It was later sold for scrap.
19 March 1986. The site was not found during ship sonar search. It is presumed to have been raised for scrap.
Report by HMS BEAGLE.
24 April 1995 The wreck is reported to have been found 1/4 mile from the grid ref ND 38 66.
Report by the Retriever of Wreck, 24 April 1995.
Hydrographic Office, 1995.
(Classified as destroyer: date of [final] loss cited as February 1920). SMS V 81: this vessel csuttled at Scapa, was raused, [and foundered] in Sinclair Bay at Auckengill. (20 September 1937?)
Registration: German. 1188 tons [unspecified]. Length: 81m. Beam: 7m.
(Location of loss cited as N58 33.67 W3 3.5).
I G Whittaker 1998.
This German (HSF) destroyer of the V67 class (itself a development of the S53 class) was built by AG Vulcan at Hamburg and launched on 27 May 1916, being completed the same year. Her major dimensions were as follows:
924 tons; length: 269 ft (82m); beam: 27ft 6ins (8.4m); draught 11ft 6ins (3.5m). Her armament comprised three 4.1in (104mm) guns, 24 mines and six 20-inch (508mm) torpedo tubes, her complement was between 85 and 100, and oil-fired geared steam turbines gave her a speed of between 34 and 36.5 kts. Her war service has apparently not been recorded in detail.
The ship was interned and scuttled in Gutter Sound (near the mouth of Mill Bay, at ND c. 311 959] at Scapa Flow as a unit of no. 3 Flotilla of the High Seas Fleet, but was raised by Cox and Danks, only to sink while on tow to Rosyth, possibly on 20 September 1937 and apparently in Sinclair's Bay.
The location of her foundering is not accurately recorded and all the locations suggested appear tentative. Sinclair's Bay is an extensive area of mixed seabed deposit shelving roughly NE-wards to a depth of between 50 and 60m.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 12 September 2002.
H M Le Fleming 1961; D Van Der Vat 1986; R and B Larn 1998; S C George 1999.
HO chart no. 1942 (1982).
[No detailed location cited]. Divers from Caithness Diving Club and Nottingham University are seeking to confirm the identity of the supposed wreck of the SMS V81 by comparison with her sister ship SMS V83 in Scapa Flow.
An entry (dated 13 February 1920) in the Caithness Constabulary Shore Occurrence Book (held in North Highland Archive, Wick) records a German warship under tow as coming ashore in the area where the wreck now lies.
The V81 is reported as having been beached [in Scapa], but was refloated in 1921 and towed South. She broke her tow and ran aground 'just North of Sinclair [Sinclair's] Bay', being supposedly refloated and taken away for scrap in 1937.
The remains lie in shallow water, and are covered by kelp.
Source: BBC News items dated 26 June and 20 July 2006.
MS/2739.
The location assigned to this record is essentially tentative: Auckengill lies inland.
The report that this wreck was towed away in 1937 remains unverified.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 12 September 2006.
Reference (2011)
Whittaker ID : 715
Name : V 81
Latitude : 583340
Longitude : 30330
Registration : GERMAN
Type : DESTROYER
Tonnage : 1188
Length : 81
Beam : 7
Position : Position Approximate
Loss Month : 2
Loss Year : 1920
Comment : Scuttled at Scapa, raised fnded in Sinclair bay at Auckengill. (20/9/1937 ?)
Reference (19 April 2012)
UKHO Identifier : 000916
Feature Class : Wreck
State : LIVE
Classification : Unclassified
Position (Lat/long) : 58.50000,-3.08333
Horizontal Datum : ORDNANCE SURVEY OF GREAT BRITAIN (1936)
WGS84 Position (Lat/long) : 58.49963,-3.08489
WGS84 Origin : 3-D Cartesian Shift (BW)
Position Quality : Unreliable
Depth Quality : Depth unknown
Water Depth : 32
Vertical Datum : Lowest Astronomical Tide
Name : V 81
Type : DESTROYER
Flag : GERMAN
Length : 82.0
Beam : 7.3
Tonnage : 1188
Tonnage Type : Displacement
Date Sunk : ??/??/1922
Contact Description : Entire wreck
Original Sensor : Reported Sinking
Original Detection Year : 1922
Original Source : Other
Circumstances of Loss : **BULT IN 1916 IN GERMANY. SCUTTLED AT SCAPA FLOW IN 1919. WAS LATER RAISED BUT FOUNDERED IN SINCLAIRS BAY AFTER BREAKING LOOSE IN FOG WHILE UNDER TOW FOR ROSYTH. (SIBI).
Surveying Details : **H6248/37 20.9.37 SANK IN APPROX 583000N, 030500W. LATER SOLD FOR SCRAP.
**H2336/84 19.3.86 NOT FOUND DURING SHIP SONAR SEARCH. PRESUMED RAISED FOR SCRAP. (HMS BEAGLE, HI 246).
**24.4.95 REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN FOUND 1/4 MILE FROM GRID REF ND 38/66. (REVIEVER OF WRECK, TELECON 24.4.95). NCA YET.
Charting Comments : POSN FOR FILING ONLY
Date Last Amended : 31/01/2005
Project (April 2017)
This project was undertaken by ORCA Marine, University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) Archaeology Institute and SULA Diving on behalf of Historic Environment Scotland (HES). The final project report details the results of survey work undertaken on the salvage sites of the German High Seas Fleet located in Scapa Flow, Orkney. Previous marine archaeological surveys collected small amounts of data concerning the salvage sites indicating that this resource was far more substantial and intriguing than previously believed.
This project is based around the scuttling of the High Seas Fleet in 1919, and will feed into the centenary commemorations marking the event that resulted in the last loss of lives during the First World War. This project involved geophysical survey of all salvage sites of the High Seas Fleet using side scan sonar. Diver survey focused on battleship and battlecruiser wreck sites selected from a combination of geophysical survey and archival research work. Archival research studied and transcribed documents related to the High Seas Fleet salvage operations by Metal Industries Ltd held at Orkney Library Archives.
The scrap site assemblages include major components of ship superstructures. These wreck sites are at high risk from salvage activity and looting due to their deconstructed nature and lack of statutory protection. The surveys and evaluations established the identification, extent of survival, character and condition of the remains in support of Scotland’s Archaeology Strategy (HES 2015, http://archaeologystrategy.scot/). The aims of this strategy are to help deliver archaeology, to enhance the understanding of our past, to help care for, value and protect our historic environment, to encourage greater engagement with our past, and to provide opportunities for innovation and development of skills.
This project aimed to examine, document and create a baseline record of primary scrap sites created during the salvage of the High Seas Fleet. The sites focused on in the final project report are Friedrich der Grosse; Derfflinger; Hindenburg; Von der Tann; Grosser KurfÜrst; KÖnig Albert and Kaiserin. Secondary scrap sites were investigated as part of this project. A secondary site occurs in areas where salvaged ships were moored prior to towing to scrapping yards or where geological features and shallows on the seafloor prevented movement, for example at the islands of Hoy, Rysa Little and Cava. At these sites, blasting or cutting reduced the superstructure to ensure the ship was the correct draught for dry dock. In many instances, the superstructure never was salvaged and evidence of this activity remains on the seafloor.
ORCA Marine and University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute, 4th April 2017
