View source for Scuttling

{{Short description|Act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull}}
{{About|scuttling ships|the 19th-century British youth gangs|scuttlers}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
[[File:Scuttled ships.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.590|The [[Monument to the Sunken Ships]], dedicated to ships destroyed during the [[Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855)|siege of Sevastopol]] during the [[Crimean War]], designed by [[Amandus Adamson]]]]

'''Scuttling''' is the act of deliberately [[sinking]] a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-12 |title=Definition of SCUTTLE |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scuttle |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=Merriam-Webster |language=en}}</ref>

Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of [[self destruct|self-destruction]] to prevent the ship from being captured by an enemy force; as a [[blockship]] to restrict navigation through a [[Channel (geography)|channel]] or within a [[harbor]]; to provide an [[artificial reef]] for divers and marine life; or to alter the flow of rivers.

== Notable historical examples ==

=== Skuldelev ships (around 1070) ===
The [[Skuldelev ships]], five [[Viking ship]]s, were sunk to prevent attacks from the sea on the Danish city of [[Roskilde]]. The scuttling blocked a major waterway, redirecting ships to a smaller one that required considerable local knowledge.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/dig_reports_01.shtml#six |publisher = BBC |website = Ancient history in-depth|title = Viking dig reports – Roskilde|date = 2014}}</ref>

=== Cog near Kampen (early 15th century) ===
In 2012, a [[Cog (ship)|cog]] preserved from the keel up to the decks in the silt was discovered alongside two smaller vessels in the river [[IJssel]] in the city of [[Kampen, Overijssel|Kampen]], in the [[Netherlands]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ruimtevoorderivierijsseldelta.nl/nl/excavation-recovery-and-conservation-of-a-15th-century-cog-from-the-river-ijssel-near-kampen-in-the/|title=Excavation, recovery and conservation of a 15th century Cog from the river IJssel near Kampen|date=September 2015|website=Ruimte voor de Rivier IJsseldelta|publisher=[[Rijkswaterstaat]]|access-date=14 September 2017|archive-date=6 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706203328/http://www.ruimtevoorderivierijsseldelta.nl/nl/excavation-recovery-and-conservation-of-a-15th-century-cog-from-the-river-ijssel-near-kampen-in-the/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The ship, dating from the early 15th century, was suspected to have been deliberately sunk into the river to influence its current.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.livescience.com/53734-dutch-shipwreck-hauled-from-water.html|title=Medieval Shipwreck Hauled from the Deep|last=Ghose|first=Tia|date=17 February 2016|website=[[Live Science]]|access-date=14 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medievalhistories.com/late-medieval-cog-from-kempen/|title=Late Medieval Cog from Kampen|date=21 February 2016|website=Medieval Histories|access-date=14 September 2017}}</ref>

===Hernán Cortés (1519)===
The [[Spain|Spanish]] [[conquistador]] [[Hernán Cortés]], who led the first expedition that resulted in the fall of the [[Aztec Empire]], ordered his men to strip and scuttle his fleet to prevent the secretly planned return to [[Cuba]] by those loyal to Cuban Governor [[Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar]]. Their success would have halted his inland march and [[Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire|conquest of the Aztec Empire]].

===HMS ''Sapphire'' (1696)===
[[HMS Sapphire (1675)|HMS ''Sapphire'']] was a 32-gun, [[fifth-rate]] sailing [[frigate]] of the Royal Navy in [[Newfoundland Colony]] to protect the English migratory fishery. The vessel was trapped in [[Bay Bulls, Newfoundland and Labrador|Bay Bulls]] harbour by four French naval vessels led by Jacques-François de Brouillan. To avoid its capture, the English scuttled the vessel on 11 September 1696.

===HMS ''Endeavour'' (1778)===
[[HMS Endeavour|HMS ''Endeavour'']] was Captain [[James Cook]]'s ship upon which he travelled to [[Australia]]. After being sold into private hands, she was finally scuttled in a blockade of [[Narragansett Bay]], Rhode Island in 1778.

===Siege of Yorktown (1781)===
The British sank one ship on 10 October 1781 to prevent it from being captured by the French fleet. Furthermore, the York River, while protected by the French Navy, also contained a few scuttled ships, which were meant to serve as a blockade should any British ships enter the river.

===HMS ''Bounty'' (1790)===
{{main|Mutiny on the Bounty}}

[[HMS Bounty|HMS ''Bounty'']], after her crew mutinied, was scuttled by the mutineers in Bounty Bay off [[Pitcairn Island]] on 23 January 1790.

===Chesapeake Bay Flotilla (1814)===
During the [[War of 1812]], Commodore [[Joshua Barney]], of the U.S. Navy, [[Chesapeake Bay Flotilla]], sank all nineteen of his fighting vessels, to prevent them from being captured by the British, as he and his men marched, inland, in the [[Battle of Bladensburg|unsuccessful defense of Washington D.C.]]

===Jan van Speijk (1831)===
During the [[Belgian Revolution|Belgian war of independence]], Dutch gunboat commander [[Jan van Speijk]] came under attack from a mob of Antwerp labourers. When they forced him and his crew to surrender, he ignited a barrel of gunpowder, thereby sinking his ship and killing himself and most of the crew. Van Speijk went on to become a national hero in the Netherlands.

===Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol (1854)===
[[File:No48p173 sauvetage sebastopol-e02-carene epave au fond de l eau.jpg|thumb|right|A sunken ship at Sevastopol, 1858]]

During the [[Crimean War]], in anticipation of the [[Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855)|siege of Sevastopol]], the Russians scuttled ships of the [[Black Sea Fleet]] to protect the harbour, to use their naval cannon as additional artillery, and to free up the ships' crews as marines. Those ships that were deliberately sunk included ''Grand Duke Constantine'', ''City of Paris'' (both with [[Ship of the line|120 guns]]), ''Brave'', ''Empress Maria'', and ''Chesme.''

===The Clotilda===
The [[Clotilda (slave ship)]] (often misspelled Clotilde) was the last known U.S. [[slave ship]] to bring captives from Africa to the United States, arriving at [[Mobile Bay]], in autumn 1859 or on July 9, 1860, with 110 African men, women, and children. The ship was a two-masted [[schooner]], 86 feet (26 m) long with a beam of 23 ft (7.0 m).
U.S. involvement in the [[Atlantic slave trade]] had been banned by Congress through the [[Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves]] enacted on March 2, 1807 (effective January 1, 1808), but the practice continued illegally, especially through slave traders based in New York in the 1850s and early 1860. In the case of the Clotilda, the voyage's sponsors were based in the South and planned to buy Africans in [[Kingdom of Whydah]], [[Dahomey]]. After the voyage, the ship was burned and scuttled in Mobile Bay in an attempt to destroy the evidence.

===USS ''Merrimack''/CSS ''Virginia'' (1861)===
[[File:USS Merrimack - NH 58880.jpg|thumb|right|''Merrimack'' alight on 20 April 1861]]

In April 1861, the [[United States Navy]] [[steamship|steam]] [[frigate]] {{USS|Merrimack|1855|6}} was among several ships [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] forces set afire or scuttled at the Gosport Navy Yard  (now [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]]) in [[Portsmouth, Virginia]], to keep them from falling into [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] hands at the outbreak of the [[American Civil War]]. The unsuccessful attempt at scuttling ''Merrimack'' enabled the [[Confederate States Navy]] to raise and rebuild her as the [[broadside ironclad]] [[CSS Virginia|CSS ''Virginia'']]. Shortly after her famous engagement with the U.S Navy [[Monitor (ship)|monitor]] {{USS|Monitor}} in the [[Battle of Hampton Roads]] in March 1862, the Confederates scuttled ''Virginia'' to keep her from being captured by Union forces.

===Stone Fleet (1861–1862) ===
{{main|Stone Fleet}}

In December 1861 and January 1862, [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] forces scuttled a number of former [[whaler]]s and other [[merchant ship]]s in an attempt to block access to Confederate ports during the [[American Civil War]]. Loaded with stone before being scuttled, the scuttled ships were known as the "[[Stone Fleet]]". Those scuttled in December 1861 sometimes are called the "First Stone Fleet", while those sunk in January 1862 sometimes are termed the "Second Stone Fleet".

===Peruvian fleet at El Callao (1881)===
{{main|Scuttling of the Peruvian fleet in El Callao}}

During the [[War of the Pacific]], as Chilean troops entered [[Lima]] and [[El Callao]], the Peruvian naval officer [[Germán Astete]] ordered the whole Peruvian fleet to be scuttled to prevent capture by Chile.

===USS ''Merrimac'' (1898)===
[[File:USS Merrimac wreck 1898.jpg|thumb|The wreck of USS ''Merrimac'']]
{{main|USS Merrimac (1894)}}

During the [[Spanish–American War]], a volunteer crew of [[United States Navy]] personnel attempted to scuttle the [[Collier (ship)|collier]] {{USS|Merrimac|1894|6}} in the entrance to the harbor at [[Santiago de Cuba]] in [[Cuba]] on the night of 2–3 June 1898 in an attempt to trap the [[Spanish Navy]] [[Squadron (naval)|squadron]] of [[Vice Admiral]] [[Manuel de la Cámara y Libermoore]] in port there. The attempt failed when she came under fire by Spanish ships and fortifications and sank without blocking the entrance.

===Port Arthur (1904–1905) ===

In 1904, during the [[Russo-Japanese War]], the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] made three attempts to block the entrance to the [[Imperial Russian Navy]] base at [[Port Arthur, China|Port Arthur]], [[Manchuria]], [[China]], by scuttling [[Troopship|transports]]. Although the Japanese scuttled five transports on 23 February, four on 27 March, and eight on 3 May, none of the attacks succeeded in blocking the entrance.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=S5xKAQAAMAAJ&dq=Asagao+May+1904&pg=PA253 |author = Anonymous |title = The Russo-Japanese War |publisher = Kinkodo Publishing |year = 1904 |pages = 83–86. 91–93, 251–256 }}</ref> The Russians also scuttled four [[Steamship|steamers]] at the entrance in March 1904 in an attempt to defend the harbor from Japanese intrusion.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87060190/1904-03-1/Fed-1/seq-1.pdf |author = Anonymous |title = Harbor Blocked |work = The Evening Bulletin |location = Maysville, Kentucky |date = 15 March 1905 |page = 1 }}</ref>

During the [[siege of Port Arthur]], the Russians scuttled the surviving ships of their [[Pacific Fleet (Russia)|Pacific Squadron]] that were trapped in port at Port Arthur in late 1904 and early January 1905 to prevent their capture intact by the Japanese.

=== SMS ''Dresden'' (1915) === 
In December 1914, {{SMS|Dresden|1907|6}} was the only German warship to escape destruction in the [[Battle of the Falkland Islands]]. She eluded her British pursuers for several more months, until she put into [[Robinson Crusoe Island|Más a Tierra]] in March 1915. Her engines were worn out and she had almost no coal left for her boilers. There, she was trapped by British cruisers, which violated Chilean neutrality and opened fire on the ship. ''Dresden''{{'}}s Executive Officer – the future Admiral [[Wilhelm Canaris]] – negotiated with the British and bought time for his crew to scuttle the ''Dresden''.

=== Zeebrugge Raid (1918) ===
The [[Zeebrugge Raid]] involved three outdated British cruisers chosen to serve as  [[blockship]]s in the German-held Belgian [[port of Bruges-Zeebrugge]] from which German [[U-boat]] operations threatened British shipping. [[HMS Thetis (1890)|''Thetis'']], [[HMS Intrepid (1891)|''Intrepid'']] and [[HMS Iphigenia (1891)|''Iphigenia'']] were filled with concrete then sent to block a critical canal. Heavy defensive fire caused the ''Thetis'' to scuttle prematurely; the other two cruisers sank themselves successfully in the narrowest part of the canal. Within three days, however, the Germans had broken through the western bank of the canal to create a shallow detour for their submarines to move past the blockships at high tide.

===German fleet at Scapa Flow (1919)===
[[File:SMS Hindenburg scuttled.jpg|thumb|right|[[SMS Hindenburg|SMS ''Hindenburg'']] at Scapa Flow]]
{{main|Scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow}}

In 1919, over 50 warships of the [[German High Seas Fleet]] were scuttled by their crews at [[Scapa Flow]] in the north of [[Scotland]], following the deliverance of the fleet as part of the terms of the German surrender. Rear Admiral [[Ludwig von Reuter]] ordered the sinkings, denying the majority of the ships to the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]]. Von Reuter was made a prisoner-of-war in Britain but his act of defiance was celebrated in Germany. Though most of the fleet was subsequently salvaged by engineer [[Ernest Cox]], a number of warships (including three battleships) remain, making the area very popular amongst undersea diving enthusiasts.

===Washington Naval Treaty (1922)===
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{{main|Washington Naval Treaty}}

Under the terms of the [[Washington Naval Treaty]] of 1922, the great naval powers were required to limit the size of their battlefleets, resulting in the disposal of some older or incomplete [[capital ship]]s. During 1924 and 1925, the treaty resulted in the scuttling of the [[Royal Australian Navy]] [[battlecruiser]] {{HMAS|Australia|1911|6}} and the incomplete [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[battleship]] ''[[Japanese battleship Tosa|Tosa]]'', while four old Japanese battleships, the [[Royal Navy]] battleship {{HMS|Monarch|1911|6}}, and the incomplete [[United States Navy]] battleship {{USS|Washington|BB-47}} all were disposed of as [[Target ship|targets]].

===''Admiral Graf Spee'' (1939)===
Following the [[Battle of the River Plate]] the damaged German [[pocket battleship]] {{ship|German cruiser|Admiral Graf Spee||2}} sought refuge in the port of [[Montevideo]]. On 17 December 1939, with the [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] cruisers {{HMS|Ajax|22|6}}, {{HMS|Cumberland|57|6}}, and {{HMNZS|Achilles|70|6}} waiting in international waters outside the mouth of the [[Río de la Plata]], Captain [[Hans Langsdorff]] sailed ''Graf Spee'' just outside the harbour and scuttled the vessel to avoid risking the lives of his crew in what he expected would be a losing battle. Langsdorff shot himself three days later.

===''San Giorgio'' at Tobruk (1941)===
When British and Commonwealth land forces attacked [[Tobruk]] on 21 January 1941, the Italian cruiser [[Italian cruiser San Giorgio|''San Giorgio'']] turned its guns against the attacking force, repelling an attack by tanks. As British forces were entering Tobruk, ''San Giorgio'' was scuttled at 4:15 AM on 22 January. ''San Giorgio'' was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor for her actions in the defence of Tobruk. The ship was salvaged in 1952, but while being towed to Italy, her tow rope failed and she sank in heavy seas.

=== Blockade of Massawa (1941) ===
As the Allies advanced toward [[Eritrea]] during their [[East African Campaign (World War II)|East African Campaign]] in [[World War II]], [[Mario Bonetti]]—the Italian commander of the [[Red Sea Flotilla]] based at [[Massawa]]—realized that the British would overrun his harbor. In the first week of April 1941, he began to destroy the harbor's facilities and ruin its usefulness to the Allies. Bonetti ordered the sinking of two large [[Dry dock#Floating drydock|floating dry docks]] and supervised the calculated scuttling of eighteen large commercial ships in the mouths of the north Naval Harbor, the central Commercial Harbor and the main South Harbor. This blocked navigation in and out. He also had a large floating crane scuttled. These actions rendered the harbor useless by 8 April 1941, when Bonetti surrendered it to the British. Scuttled ships included the German steamers [[List of Empire ships (N)#Empire Nile|''Liebenfels'']], ''Frauenfels'', {{SS|Lichtenfels||2}}, ''Crefeld'', ''Gera'' and ''Oliva''. Also scuttled were the Italian steamers ''Adua'', ''Brenta'', ''Arabia'', ''Romolo Gessi'', ''Vesuvio'', ''XXIII Marzo'', ''Antonia C.'', ''Riva Ligure'', ''Clelia Campenella'', ''Prometeo'' and the Italian tanker ''Giove''. The largest scuttled vessel was the 11,760-ton ''Colombo'', an Italian steamer. Thirteen coastal steamers and small naval vessels were also scuttled.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Mediterranean and Middle East: The early successes against Italy (to May 1941) |last=Playfair |first=Ian Stanley Ord |authorlink=I. S. O. Playfair |publisher=H.M. Stationery Office |date=1954 |page=442}}</ref><ref name=Ellsberg>{{cite book |author-link = Edward Ellsberg |first = Edward |last = Ellsberg |title = [[Under the Red Sea Sun]] |year = 1946 |publisher = Dodd, Mead and Co. |location = New York }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Shipbuilding and Shipping Record |location=Westminster, London |title=Salvage in Massawa |page=705 |date=16 June 1949 |volume=73 }}</ref>

The British seized the harbor and initiated [[marine salvage]] operations under Commander [[Joseph Stenhouse]] to restore navigation in and out. Stenhouse was slowed by [[heat exhaustion]] but his team refloated the oil tanker ''Giove''; he died in September 1941 when the salvage tug ''Tai Koo'' bearing him as a passenger was sunk by a naval mine in the Red Sea.<ref>{{cite book |title=Ice Captain: : The life of J.R. Stenhouse |last=Haddelsey |first=Stephen |date=2008 |publisher=History Press |pages=207–210 |isbn=9780750943482}}</ref> His death left a civilian contractor to open a channel, but this crew made no progress. It was not until a year later that headway was made in the effort to return Massawa to military duties. U.S. Navy Commander [[Edward Ellsberg]] arrived in April 1942 with a salvage crew and a small collection of specialized tools and began methodically correcting the damage. His salvage efforts yielded significant results in just 5½ weeks. American divers sealed the hulls underwater, and air was pumped in to float the hulls. The divers defused a [[booby trap]] in ''Brenta'', which contained an armed [[naval mine]] sitting on three torpedo warheads in the [[Hold (ship)|hold]]. Another danger was ''[[Regia Marina]]'' minelayer ''Ostia'', which had been sunk by the [[Royal Air Force]] with several of its mines still racked. On 8 May 1942, SS ''Koritza'', an armed Greek steamer, had drydocked for cleaning and minor hull repairs. Massawa's first major surface fleet "customer" was {{HMS|Dido|37|6}}, which needed repairs to a heavily damaged stern in mid-August 1942, the beginning of a repair and maintenance period for the war-weary [[15th Cruiser Squadron]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Struggle for the Middle Sea: The Great Navies at War in the Mediterranean Theater, 1940-1945 |last=O'Hara |first=Vincent |date=2009 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |page=163 |isbn=9781612514086}}</ref> Many of the harbor's sunken ships were patched by Ellsberg's divers, refloated, repaired and taken into service.<ref>{{cite book |title=African Islands: Leading Edges of Empire and Globalization |pages=188–189 |date=2019 |editor1=Toyin Falola |editor2=R. Joseph Parrott |editor3=Danielle Porter Sanchez |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |isbn=9781580469548}}</ref> ''Ostia'' and ''Brenta'' were successfully salvaged, despite their armed mines. All of this occurred while the British civil contractor struggled and failed to refloat one ship.<ref name=Ellsberg/>

===''Bismarck'' (1941)===
In 1941, the battleship ''[[German battleship Bismarck|Bismarck]]'', heavily damaged by the Royal Navy, leaking fuel, [[Angle of list|listing]], unable to steer and with no effective weapons, but still afloat and with engines running, was scuttled by its crew to avoid capture. This was supported by survivors' reports in ''Pursuit: the Sinking of the Bismarck'', by [[Ludovic Kennedy]], 1974 and by a later examination of the wreck itself by Dr. [[Robert Ballard]] in 1989. A later, more advanced examination found torpedoes had penetrated the second deck, normally always above water and only possible on an already sinking ship, thus further supporting that scuttling had made the final torpedoing redundant.<ref>{{cite AV media |title= Battle of Hood and Bismarck |publisher = PBS |year = 2002 }}</ref>

===Coral Sea and Midway (1942)===
After the Battles of the [[Battle of the Coral Sea|Coral Sea]] and [[Battle of Midway|Midway]], the heavily damaged American [[aircraft carrier]] [[USS Lexington (CV-2)|''Lexington'']] and the Japanese carriers [[Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū|''Hiryū'']], [[Japanese aircraft carrier Sōryū|''Sōryū'']], [[Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi|''Akagi'']], and [[Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga|''Kaga'']] were all scuttled to prevent their preservation and use by their respective enemies.

===French fleet at Toulon (1942)===
{{main|Scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon{{!}}Scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon}}

In November 1942, in an operation codenamed ''[[Case Anton]]'', Nazi German forces occupied the so-called "[[Vichy France|Free Zone]]" in response to the Allied landing in North Africa. On 27 November they reached [[Toulon]], where the majority of the [[French Navy]] was anchored. To avoid capture by the Nazis (Operation Lila), the French admirals-in-command ([[Jean de Laborde|Laborde]] and [[André Marquis|Marquis]]) decided to [[Scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon|scuttle the 230,000 tonne fleet]], most notably, the battleships ''[[French battleship Dunkerque|Dunkerque]]'' and ''[[French battleship Strasbourg|Strasbourg]]''. Eighty percent of the fleet was utterly destroyed, all of the [[capital ship]]s proving impossible to repair.  Legally, the scuttling of the fleet was allowed under the terms of the [[Armistice with France (Second Compiègne)|1940 Armistice with Germany]].

===Danish fleet (1943)===
Anticipating a German seizure of all units of the Danish Navy as part of [[Operation Safari]], mostly in Copenhagen but also at other harbours and at sea in Danish waters, the Danish Admiralty had instructed its captains to resist, short of outright fighting, any German attempts to assume control over their vessels, by scuttling if escape to Sweden was not possible and suitable preparations were made.  Of the fifty-two vessels<ref>{{cite web |first = Søren |last = Nørby |url = http://www.milhist.dk/besattelsen/august29/safari_uk.htm |title = Operation Safari - August 29th 1943 |work = Danish Military History |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113214657/http://www.milhist.dk/besattelsen/august29/safari_uk.htm |archive-date=13 January 2014}}</ref> in the Danish Navy on 29 August, two were in Greenland, thirty-two were scuttled, four reached Sweden and fourteen were taken undamaged by the Germans. Nine Danish sailors lost their lives and ten were wounded. Subsequently, major parts of the Naval personnel were interned for a period.

===Allied landing in Normandy (1944)===
Old ships code-named "Corn cobs" were sunk to form a protective reef for the [[Mulberry harbour]]s at [[Arromanches]] and [[Omaha Beach]] for the [[Normandy landings]]. The sheltered waters created by these scuttled ships were called "Gooseberries" and protected the harbours so transport ships could unload without being hampered by waves.

===Operation Deadlight (1945–1946)===
[[File:HMS Ferret surrendered Uboats.jpg|upright=0.764|thumb|Fifty-two surrendered German submarines await scuttling at [[Lisahally]] on 12&nbsp;June&nbsp;1945]] 
{{main|Operation Deadlight}}
Of the 156 German [[submarine]]s ("[[U-boat]]s") surrendered to the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] at the end of [[World War II]], 116 were scuttled by the [[Royal Navy]] in [[Operation Deadlight]]. Plans called for them to be scuttled in three areas in the [[North Atlantic Ocean]] west of [[Ireland]], but 56 of the submarines sank before reaching the designated areas due to their poor material condition. Most of the submarines were sunk by gunfire rather than with explosive charges. The first sinking took place on 17 November 1945 and the last on 11 February 1946.<ref name=Paterson161>{{cite book |title=Black Flag: The Surrender of Germany's U-Boat Forces 1945 |last=Paterson |first=Lawrence |year=2009 |publisher=Pen & Sword books |isbn=978-1-84832-037-6 |pages= 161–163}}</ref><ref name=Paterson174>{{harvp|Paterson|2009|p=174}}.</ref>

===Japanese submarines (1946)===
To prevent a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] inspection team from examining surrendered [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] submarines after World War II, the United States Navy conducted [[Operation Road's End]], in which it scuttled 24 of the submarines in the [[East China Sea]] off [[Fukue Island]] on 1 April 1946. Nine more Japanese submarines followed on 5 April, and another six went down by early May. In addition, U.S. Navy submarines sank four surrendered Japanese submarines as targets in the [[Pacific Ocean]] near [[Hawaii]] in May and June 1946, and the [[Royal Australian Navy]] sank six or seven (sources differ) surrendered Japanese submarines in the [[Seto Inland Sea]] on 8 May 1946 in [[Operation Bottom]].

== Contemporary era ==
[[File:Adelaide pre-scuttling.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A small warship tied up alongside at a wharf. Her communications and radar masts have been crudely downsized, she carries no weapons, and several large squares have been cut into the ship's hull.|{{HMAS|Adelaide|FFG 01|6}} prior to scuttling to be used as an artificial reef]]
Today, ships (and other objects of similar size) are sometimes sunk to help form [[artificial reef]]s, as was done with the former {{USS|Oriskany|CV-34|6}} in 2006. It is also common for [[military]] organizations to use old ships as [[target practice|targets]], in [[War exercise|war games]], or for various other experiments. As an example, the decommissioned [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|America|CV-66|6}} was subjected to surface and underwater explosions in 2005 as part of classified research to help design the next generation of carriers (the {{sclass|Gerald R. Ford|aircraft carrier|4}}), before being sunk with demolition charges.

Ships are increasingly being scuttled as a method of disposal. The economic benefit of scuttling a ship includes removal of ongoing operational expense to keep the vessel seaworthy. Controversy surrounds the practice. The [[Artificial reef#USS Oriskany|USS ''Oriskany'']] was scuttled with 700 pounds of [[Polychlorinated biphenyl|PCBs]] remaining on board as a component in cable insulation,<ref>{{cite news | url=http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/0/b8403da96273abfe85256fee0052d1a3!OpenDocument&TableRow=2.3#2. | title=PCBs Released from the ex-Oriskany Following Deployment as an Artificial Reef: Approach for Assessment of Human Health and Environmental Risks| first=Suhair| last=Shallal | access-date=15 March 2010}}</ref>  contravening the [[Stockholm Convention]] on safe disposal of [[persistent organic pollutant]]s, which has zero tolerance for PCB dumping in marine environments. The planned scuttling of the Australian frigate {{HMAS|Adelaide|FFG 01|6}} at [[Avoca Beach, New South Wales]] in March 2010 was placed on hold after [[resident action group]]s aired concerns about possible impact on the area's tides and that the removal of dangerous substances from the ship was not thorough enough.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/judge-fires-broadside-at-rush-to-sink-warship-20100329-r8en.html |title=Judge fires broadside at rush to sink warship |last=West |first=Andrew |date=30 March 2010 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=3 April 2010}}</ref> Further cleanup work on the hulk was ordered, and despite further attempts to delay, ''Adelaide'' was scuttled on 13 April 2011.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/environment/judge-orders-tough-new-rules-for-scuttling-20100915-15crw.html |title=Judge orders tough new rules for scuttling |last=Harvey |first=Ellie |author2=West, Andrew  |date=16 September 2010 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=20 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2011/04/13/3190277.htm |title=Dolphins delay scuttling of HMAS Adelaide |last=McMahon  |first=Jeanette |date=13 April 2011 |work=1223 ABC Newcastle |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=14 April 2011}}</ref>

Scuttled ships have been used as conveyance for dangerous materials. In the late 1960s, the [[United States Army]] scuttled SS ''Corporal Eric G. Gibson'' and SS ''Mormactern'' with [[VX (nerve agent)|VX nerve gas]] rockets aboard as part of [[Operation CHASE]] — "CHASE" being Pentagon shorthand for "Cut Holes and Sink 'Em." Other ships have been "chased" containing [[Sulfur mustard|mustard agents]], [[bomb]]s, [[land mine]]s, and [[radioactive waste]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-02761sy0oct30,0,3545637.story?page=4 | title=Special Report, Part 1: The Deadliness Below| first=John | last=Bull | access-date=18 June 2007 | newspaper=The Daily Press |location = Norfolk, Virginia }}</ref>

In Somalian waters, [[Piracy in Somalia|pirate ships]] captured are scuttled. Most nations have little interest in prosecuting the pirates, thus this is usually the only repercussion.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

In March 2022, Ukraine scuttled the [[Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaidachny]], a Krivak-class frigate, due to encroaching Russian offensive operations that threatened to capture the frigate.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/806837.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608053644/https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/806837.html | archive-date=8 June 2022 | title=Hetman Sahaidachny frigate, being under repair, flooded not to get to enemy – Reznikov }}</ref>

In February 2023, the [[Brazilian Navy]] scuttled the [[Ship commissioning|decommissioned]] [[Brazilian aircraft carrier São Paulo|aircraft carrier ''São Paulo'']] into the [[Atlantic Ocean]], following the rejections of [[injunction]]s from the [[Ministry of the Environment (Brazil)|Ministry of the Environment]] and the [[Federal Public Ministry]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 February 2023 |title=Brazil scuttles warship in Atlantic despite pollution concerns |work=RFI |url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20230204-brazil-scuttles-warship-in-atlantic-despite-pollution-concerns |access-date=4 February 2023}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
The term "scuttling" is also used in [[science fiction]] to describe intentionally destroying a [[spacecraft]]. For example, in [[The Expanse (novel series)|''The Expanse'']], this is done by intentionally overloading the ship's [[Fusion power|fusion reactor]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Corey |first=James S. A. |date=September 2021 |title=Leviathan Wakes |isbn=978-0-316-33342-9 |oclc=1259540286}}</ref>

In the 13th episode of [[Bob's Burgers (season 12)|''Bob's Burgers'' 12th season]], Teddy and the family attend a scuttling ceremony for the USS ''Gertrude Stein''<!--fictional ship-->, the ship Teddy worked on during his Navy service.

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book|last=George|first=S. C.|title=Jutland to Junkyard|year=1981|location=Edinburgh|publisher=Paul Harris Publishing|isbn=9780862280291}}

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[[Category:Nautical terminology]]
[[Category:Maritime history]]
[[Category:Ship disposal]]
[[Category:Scuttled vessels| ]]
[[Category:Artificial reefs]]