Unscuttling

On June 21, 1919, the German fleet lay at anchor in Scapa Flow. Its pride had long since been broken and it lay captive with only skeleton crews of Germans aboard. In accordance with a preconcerted plan, the Germans opened the sea cocks, let their High Seas Fleet sink to the bottom. There were some 74 ships at anchor at the time and many of them sank before the British could beach them.

Last week, the British Admiralty sold two battle cruisers, the Hindenburg and the Seydlitz, and 24 destroyers-sold them as they lie upon the bottom. They went "cheap" --from $1,250 to $7,500 each, depending less upon the size of the vessel than on the depth at which it lies. Cox & Danks, the buyers, have the business of "unscuttling" the ships and junking them. The vessels lie in from 60 to 160 ft. of water. It is one of the greatest salvaging problems which have ever been undertaken.

To raise the destroyers, which is the easier task, Cox & Danks bought a floating submarine dry-dock which formerly belonged to the Germans. This was remodeled to act as a double pontoon. By passing cables under the hull of a destroyer and attaching hooks, it was hoped that the destroyer could be lifted in two days. The first attempt was a failure. The cables snapped after the destroyer had been lifted seven feet; the lifting-gear was badly 'damaged.

On another destroyer a different method is being used. Cables are attached to the sunken vessel and to floating barges. When the tide goes out, the cables are tightened; the incoming tide then lifts the barges and the vessel together. The whole group is thereupon towed into shallower water until the sunken vessel grounds--and the process is repeated. Needless to say, this is slow work.

The procedure with the large battle cruisers will be somewhat different. The Hindenburg lies in 66 ft. of water, on an even keel, with its upper works projecting above water. Divers have examined it. Seaweed has completely mantled its lower surfaces. The interior is fairly well intact, even to champagne bottles in the wardroom. Barnacles and muscles encrust the sides; mud and sand have drifted in. The divers will be called upon to shut the seacocks, to close all the openings with metal patches and concrete plugs. Then a six-foot pipe will be sunk through the decks; pumps having a lifting capacity of 5,000 tons of water an hour will be lowered. If everything is plugged up, the ship will become buoyant and rise to the surface. There are many "ifs" in the process, however. The divers may have great trouble in discovering all the openings. Bulkheads may be weak or damaged, may give way when pressure is put on them. It will be a great task.

If the job is successful, the cruiser, when floated, will be relieved of its heavy upper parts and used as a pontoon for raising other ships.