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Sms Kaiserin: Bring Deeps, Scapa Flow, Orkney

Salvage Debris (20th Century), Battleship (20th Century)

Site Name Sms Kaiserin: Bring Deeps, Scapa Flow, Orkney

Classification Salvage Debris (20th Century), Battleship (20th Century)

Alternative Name(s) Holm Of Houton; Calf Of Cava; Kaiserin

Canmore ID 102306

Site Number HY30SW 8005

NGR HY 31098 00727

Datum WGS84 - Lat/Long

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/102306

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
Canmore Disclaimer. © Copyright and database right 2024.

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Administrative Areas

  • Council Orkney Islands
  • Parish Maritime - Orkney
  • Former Region Orkney Islands Area
  • Former District Maritime
  • Former County Not Applicable

Archaeology Notes

HY30SW 8005 3103 0074

N58 53.3333 W3 11.8

NLO: Bring Deeps [name centred HY 300 022]

Holm of Houton [name: HY 315 029]

Calf of Cava [name: HY 322 006]

Cava [name: ND 327 995]

Barrel of Butter [name: HY 352 009]

Point of Tuberry (Cava) [name: HY 334 993]

Stromness [name: HY 253 090]

Scapa Flow [name centred HY 36 00].

For other ships within this group, see:

HY30SW 8001 Kaiser (battleship)

HY30SW 8003 Prinzregent Luitpold (battleship)

HY30SW 8006 Karlsruhe (cruiser)

HY30SW 8013 Konig Albert (battleship)

HY30SE 8006 Baden (battleship: secondary location)

ND39NW 8041 Seydlitz (battlecruiser)

ND39NW 8045 Moltke (battlecruiser)

ND39NW 8049 Hindenburg (battlecruiser)

ND39NW 8050 Von der Tann (battlecruiser)

ND39NW 8051 Nurnberg (cruiser)

ND39NW 8106 Derfflinger (battlecruiser).

Formerly entered as Site no. 8847.

For general plans of High Seas Fleet (Internment Formation) wrecks in Scapa Flow, see Van der Vat 1986 (endpapers), Smith 1989, 4, Macdonald 1998, 19 and George 1999, 35.

Raised by Metal Industries, 1936.

P L Smith 1989.

Listed among 'German salvage sites'.

G Ridley 1992.

Horizontal Datum = OGB

Buoyage =

General water depth = 40

Circumstances of Loss Details

-----------------------------

The German battleship KAISERIN was scuttled.

Surveying Details

-----------------------------

1919. A dangerous wreck with the least depth of 16.45 metres, is reported at 58 53 20N, 003 11 48W.

3 November 1934. A purchase price has been accepted.

9 April 1935. Salvage operations are proposed to commence shortly.

24 May 1935. Salvage operations are continuing and a Temporary Notice to Mariner's 851 has been issued.

10 September 1935. Salvage operations are notified in Temporary Notice to Mariner's 1567.

28 May 1936. It is now recommended that the site be charted as a foul anchorage.

Report by King's Harbour Master, Invergordon.

19 December 1955. The obstruction at 58 53 24N, 003 11 18W has been removed by Metal Industries.

1979. The KAISERIN was raised 11 May 1936.

Source: Jutland to Junkyard, S C George.

16 October 1979. The site is now charted as foul ground.

Hydrographic Office, 1995.

Length: 564ft (172m)

Beam: 95ft 3ins (29.1m)

Displacement: 24,380 tons

Propulsion: steam turbines; 3 propellers; 30/35,000 shp; 21/23 kts

Armour: belt 13.75ins (350mm); turrets 11.75ins (300mm)

Armament: 10 x 30.5cm (12ins: 50 cal: twin turrets); 14 x 15cm (5.9ins: 45 cal: single mountings); 6 x 8.8cm (3.4ins: 45 cal: single mountings); 4 x 8.8cm AA (3.4ins: 45 cal: single mountings); 5 x 50cm (19.7ins) torpedo tubes

Complement: 1136/1218

This Dreadnought battleship was the third of the five-strong Kaiser class, and was built by Howaldt at Kiel, being laid down in July 1910 (also cited as launched 21 June 1909) and completed in August 1913. She fought in the Third Battle Squadron at the Battle of Jutland (May 1916).

The precise location of this wreck was unknown at the start of salvage operations, but it was soon found by wire-sweeping in about 138ft (42m) depth of water, lying inverted but listing. Coal-dist explosions were a constant threat until the wreck was raised (not under proper control) by Metal Industries on 11 May 1936. The superstructure and turrets were blasted away closer to Lyness before the hull was towed to Rosyth. [It remains uncertain whether or not these were subsequently recovered].

Massive seabed craters still indicate the location of the main turrets and the conning towers, while the following features and fittings remain identifiable: the masts (which sheared off at deck level as the ship rolled over), two diesel engines (from deck-mounted boats) and small steam winches, and the mainmast searchlight platform. Lengths of wire hawser and pieces of armour plate, teak and pine litter the salvage site.

The cited location of this wreck falls about 0.65nm W of Calf of Cava light, in a charted depth of about 35m. No obstruction or remains are specifically indicated at this location and the nature of the seabed is not specified locally, but an area of foul ground is indicated. No record of a diver survey is apparently available, but the survival of portable artifacts, loose fittings and (possibly) detached structural components appears probable.

This ship may be considered as falling within the Bring Deeps group of heavy ships, which were scuttled within the area defined by Holm of Houton [name: HY 315 029], Calf of Cava [name: HY 322 006] and Green Head (Hoy) [name: ND 303 993].

Bring Deeps may be understood as a south-eastwards extension of Hoy Sound. It has a generally flat bottom at a charted depth of between 35 and 50m; the seabed type is defined sparingly but is apparently sandy. An area of spoil ground is noted around N58 53.9 W3 12.2 [HY 30 01], and may attest to the former presence of the High Seas Fleet.

Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 3 January 2003.

H M Le Fleming 1961; D Van der Vat 1986; P L Smith 1989; S C George 1999; [Jane] 2001.

HO Chart 35 (1980, revised 1991).

This vessel is considered a 'casualty' rather than a craft on account of its successful salvage, the available evidence being written rather than material. In the absence of diver survey, however, artifacts, fittings and, possibly, structural elements may survive on or in the seabed at the location of scuttling. Depressions in the seabed may also represent the locations of the turrets or superstructure.

Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 10 January 2003.

p. 46, pl. 15 underwater image of 'spotting tower' [conning tower]

pp. 46 survey results

Diver survey of the salvage site of this vessel recorded 'masts and the spotting tower'.

NMRS, MS/829/63

Activities

Multi Beam Sonar Scan (16 October 2006 - 20 October 2006)

Multibeam sonar survey on board MV Anglia Sovereign recorded the remains of the salvage sites of the German High Seas Fleet to the west of Cava. At the primary salvage site of Sms Kaiserin, sonar survey recorded (anomaly 12) a significant depression in the seabed at a depth of 35m.

Information from Bobby Forbes (Sula Diving) 2006.

Reference (19 April 2012)

UKHO Identifier : 001084

Feature Class : Obstn

Obstruction Category : Foul ground

State : LIVE

Classification : Unclassified

Position (Lat/long) : 58.88834,-3.19715

Horizontal Datum : ETRS 1989

WGS84 Position (Lat/long) : 58.88834,-3.19715

WGS84 Origin : Original

Previous Position : 58.88888,-3.19667

Position Method : Differential Global Positioning System

Position Quality : Surveyed

Position Accuracy : 3.0

Depth : 31.0

Depth Quality : Least depth known

Water Depth : 40

Water Level Effect : Always under water/submerged

Vertical Datum : Mean Low Water Springs

Name : KAISERIN

Type : BATTLESHIP

Flag : GERMAN

Length : 171.9

Beam : 29.0

Draught : 8.2

Tonnage : 24380

Tonnage Type : Displacement

Date Sunk : 21/06/1919

Contact Description : Notable debris

Original Sensor : Observed Sinking

Last Sensor : Acoustic Sensor

Original Detection Year : 1919

Last Detection Year : 2010

Original Source : Other

Last Source : Survey Vessel

Circumstances of Loss : **SCUTTLED.

Surveying Details : **H8464/19 DWP (1919), LEAST DEPTH 9FMS, SHOWN IN 585320N, 031148W ON SURVEY [C7953]. BR STD.

**H6924/34 3.11.34 PURCHASE PRICE ACCEPTED. (CP23616/34).

**H6229/23 13.7.23 INS ON NE 3729, & ON 2581, 2180. - NM 1523/23.

**H6924/34 9.4.35 PROPOSED TO COMMENCE OPERATIONS SHORTLY. (CP7152/35).

**H3348/35 24.5.35 SALVAGE OPS. - TNM 851.

**H3348/35 10.9.35 SALVAGE OPS. - TNM 1567.

**H1696/36 28.5.36 RECOMMEND POSN NOW BE CHARTED AS FOUL ANCHORAGE. (KHM INVERGORDON). TNM CANCELLED. INS AS FOUL ANCHORAGE. - NM 1031/36.

**H3229/55 19.12.55 OBSTN IN 585324N, 031118W REMOVED BY METAL INDUSTRIES. (CDR HUSBAND, POMONA, HN). NCA ON THIS NOTE NO OTHER MENTION OF WK IN THIS POSN HAVING BEEN SALVED.

**RAISED 11.5.36. (JUTLAND TO JUNKYARD, S.C. GEORGE).

**16.10.79 NOW CHARTED AS FOUL GROUND. NC 35.

POSITIONS BELOW THIS POINT ARE IN DEGREES, MINUTES AND DECIMALS OF A MINUTE

**7.10.10 EXAM'D IN 5853.3005N, 0311.8289W [WGD] USING DGPS. LEAST M/B DEPTH 31.64MTRS. (FATHOMS LTD, POST SDC BATHY REPROCESSING). INS FOUL 31MTRS. RETAIN LEGEND 'FOUL GROUND' CLOSE BY. BR STD.

Chart Symbol : F 31.0

Side Scan Sonar Survey (4 April 2017)

Side scan sonar data provided an overview of the final scuttled location and salvage area of the battleship Sms Kaiserin. The following anomalies were identified. All locations given to UTM 30 N (WGS84 datum).

(SS053) X: 488612; Y 6527645. Kaiserin mast and superstructure elements

(SS054) X: 488608; Y 6527632. Kaiserin mast and superstructure elements

(SS055) X: 488547; Y 6527656. Kaiserin mast and superstructure elements

Information from ORCA Marine, University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute and SULA Diving April 2017

Multi Beam Sonar Scan (January 2017 - November 2017)

Diver inspection (November 2017) and multibeam sonar survey in January 2017 recorded a deep seabed depression and debris associated with the scuttling and primary salvage of Sms Kaiserin at this location by Metal Industries Ltd in 1936. There are two distinct patches of wreckage present. The western section was characterized by two sections of what was probably the foremast, of the slim original type, and corroded searchlight remains. The eastern section contains similar type material, including a derrick arm.

I.McCartney 2019

Remote Operated Vehicle Survey (28 July 2017)

Ground truthing of three sonar contacts gathered during the phase 1 salvage sites project by remote operated vehicle (ROV) identified the following, associated probably with mast and superstructure elements. A contact to the north west (SS055) was identified as most likely from the forward structure. The remains included a long tubular structure, a heavy spool of wire possibly from the bridge, and the remains of a sansom post and a small mast or davit. To the south-east (contacts SS053 and SS054), a linear, tubular artefact protruding out of the seabed may be a boom or the ship's aft mast. Underneath it, lay a pile of twisted metal framework and a short distance away, two searchlight platforms with searchlight mounts, and smaller scattered items including a coal winch and wire. The remains of a searchlight with an intact front grill, lay partially buried in the seabed. A torpedo mast was identified lying some way off the forward wreckage to the west.

Information from ORCA Marine, University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute and SULA Diving January 2019

Diver Inspection (28 July 2018 - 28 September 2018)

Ground-truthing by remote video and dive inspection of two contacts from the phase 1 salvage sites project to the south east side of the site, provided more detail of the aft mast area where small fragments of coal and wood were scattered across the seabed. Two brass pipes were found and a section of ladder was also seen partially buried in the seabed.

Information from ORCA Marine, University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute and SULA Diving January 2019.

References

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