Finally
Skapa Flow Lyrics

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14 finally • she got white gloves to her room service gear and she's smiling when she had too much beer • she's a roommaid a costumers service • she's a roommaid takes life for a circus • so finally not all hopes will last • finally we future our past • mary's so alone with her broken heart • it's so hard to do follow fashion and to be smart and to simulate passion • in this world of beauty and pain where we go on like fishes in the rain • so finally not all hopes will last • finally we future our past

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Skapa Flow's song "Finally" depict a character named Mary who works as a roommaid and provides customer service in a hotel. She is described as wearing white gloves and smiling even when she has had too much beer. The song then shifts to a reflection on Mary's loneliness and struggle to conform to societal expectations of following fashion, being smart, and simulating passion. The lyrics highlight the dichotomy between the world of beauty and pain that we navigate, likening our existence to fishes swimming in the rain. The repeated line "finally not all hopes will last, finally we future our past" suggests that despite the temporary nature of hope, we have the power to shape our own futures and learn from our past experiences.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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01Skapa Flow Special4:21

02The Art Of Oblivion4:08

11heaven On Earth3:21

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Comments from YouTube:

The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered

3y↑182

At 3:25 I say that Germany passed a naval bill in 1808. The bill was dated 1908. I apologize for the error.

Steve Mac

3y↑5

Godammit, not good enough. Where's me gun when I need it..... ^.^

Peter Bowman

3y↑2

Ha! Close enough for me

Cornbreadfed Kirkpatrick

3y↑2

Well, thank you most don't mention the mistakes in the works maybe later keep us well versed in history.

Andrew Eckert

3y↑15

Imagine Napoleon's surprise at the German's dreadnoughts...

Cornbreadfed Kirkpatrick

3y↑1

@Andrew Eckert, He would reply in french G D it

24 More Replies...

Ron Kluwe

3y↑20

My grandfather was a Chief Petty Officer in the Imperial German Navy during WWI and was part of the crew who scuttled his ship at Scapa Flow. One of his last duties was to remove the Imperial German Navy flag from the jackstaff at the stern of the ship prior to leaving the ship. We still have that flag and I feel honored to have such a piece of history. My grandfather was put into an internment camp and upon his release and repatriation to Germany was awarded an Iron Cross for his actions.

Kevin Barry

3y↑269

Interesting footnote, when NASA was wanting to go to the moon, they used steel from some of these sunken ships. The reason was The steel was of high quality and as it was manufactured before the first atomic bomb explosion it was not contaminated with radioactive elements. This was necessary due to the sensitivity of some instruments being manufactured

The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered

3y↑138

Yes, the High Seas fleet is the world's primary source of low-background steel.

Patsy Roberts

3y↑13

Thank you, I was not sure if I had read about that years ago, or not!

Malcolm Bacchus

3y↑9

I know it was used in the Voyager spacecraft. Is there anything which shows it was used in Apollo programme?

Malcolm Bacchus

3y↑14

@The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered Does it remain so? If so surely it must be re-recycled steel because there haven't been any savage operations for years. (I was up there for the Battle of Jutland centenary in 2016 having had relatives that took part in the battle (HMS Malaysia).)

Vespelian

3y↑12

I've often wondered about the vericty of that as surely new mined ore from the depths of the earth would be a much better bet.

62 More Replies...

IMBlakeley

3y↑72

I dived the remnants of the fleet in June 2005 with my daughter, the battle ships are still impressive when you see the size of the guns embedded into the bottom since they upturned when sinking.

Doug JB

3y↑2

Ohhhhh jealous.

Mr Tumshie

3y↑13

One of the most fascinating episodes you 've done in a while, which is no mean praise given the generally high standards of the channel. I first heard of this event as a wee boy here in Scotland and always meant to look into it but never seemed to find the time. I doubt reading about it in history books of the time would have been even half as interesting though so I'm glad I waited! Thank you.

Two Heart

3y↑47

More facts about WWI I didn't know but now I do thanks to The History Guy.

Bruno Ethier

3y↑20

Another point to know is that those ships steel is really precious in making radiation detrctors, since everything mined since 1945 have a little bit of radioactive isotopes from nuclear bombs, rendering them less precise. This also applies to any coal used to smelt new ore.
Those ships are therefore the best source of low-radiation iron.

richard cutts

3y↑2

They can make new low radiation steel, but the price is much higher than salvaging old wrecks. That's why some WW2 wrecks have disappeared in SE Asian waters.

Patrick Monaghan

1y↑1

I had the great privilege of diving the High Seas Fleet in 2017. This was a lifelong dream of mine ever since my professor and friend gave lecture on this during a Modern European History Class. I was in my early 20's then. Over thirty years later I was able to touch history. This was great episode! Thank you for posting this!!

Donald Dodson

3y↑3

Great bit of history left out of my history lessons. Thank you THG Team.

MrLoobu

3y↑18

I always wondered from the moment I heard this as factoid of the war how exactly it happened. Thanks for covering it.

Larry Manuel

3y↑18

I’d never heard about the German sailors and soldiers mutinying and the repercussions of the mutinies. Thanks. Well done!

Dean Nilvalli

3y↑1

It is taught as a major event in German schools.

Graeme Highlander

3y↑2

The last ride of the High Seas Fleet would have been suicide …the Grand Fleet was far far far stronger in 1918 and the problem with the fuses had been sorted, thereby it truly would have been suicidal and at the time of the proposed battle, the USN had joined the party (ok they had to be taught how to actually shoot on seas that were not like a mill pond lol) and for folks stateside the last Dreadnought still around can still be visited (USS Texas), the only ship surviving of the Grand Fleet is the HMS Caroline (a light cruiser, and she was at Jutland).
Also be aware that the High Seas fleet should really be the High Sea fleet …truly it was not meant to go to more than the North Sea, hence the poor accommodation on the German ships compared to the RN ships.
You may also to be interested that the Captain of the Markgraf is buried in Lyness. His ship along with two other König class still lie in the flow. The Großer Kurfürst being the only one raised (1938). There is also more than just the Capital ships left (well documented which ones, and they are not intact as parts have been salvaged both legally and illegally, they are all protected now, they are not War Graves! There are War Graves …two, and probably should be three… HMS Royal Oak being the most famous (and intact) HMS Vanguard (both of whom were at Jutland incidentally) and the arguably last U boat to be sunk in WWI UB116, it was sunk with all hands, there is not much left of it as it was salvaged (or attempted to be so) and the RN blew it to bits in the 70’s if memory serves, probably because it had live torpedos still onboard, there are many myths surrounding it and also the Vanguard (she blew up too …1917…up to folks if they believe or not), the sub was sunk by a shore controlled mine on Flotta, and even then it was more or less a futile effort as the Grand Fleet wasn’t in the Flow it was at that time in Roysth, German naval intel in WWI was not the best so to speak.
The Graves of the German sailors killed in the Grand Scuttle are in Lyness, as is the one that was murdered (his grave marker was changed to show his date of death as originally it showed the scuttle date), records as to the trial of said can be seen as can the press reports online. There are also the graves of the men who were not buried at sea from Jutland and whose families did not want them returned as such ( there are 38 from the HMS Barham (yes she was sunk in WWII) and the HMS Malaya). Obviously the Flow is connected to Lord Kitchener but that War Grave is not in the Flow, the Hampshire did leave the Flow that night (all be it Jellicoe did advise against it) but her resting place is of the West of the main island.
I would highly recommend anyone read Dr Innes McCartney’s excellent book called Scapa 1919 if interested in what still remains in the flow. There is also a salvaged Gun outside the museum that came of the SMS Bremse (she wasn’t at Jutland) however I think the deck gun of the B98 is also viewable (it was at Jutland), the Bremse was salvaged in the Flow and if memory serves was scrapped in Lyness (I think she proved a tad awkward) the B98 wasn’t she went aground I’m sure of one of the Northern Isles (Sanday) and bits of her they either didn’t want or just left are still lying on the beach, I think.

Sorry for long rant just a bit more background as there are so many myths that surround the High Seas Fleet and the Grand Fleet/Jutland much of which isn’t quite true ….
This vid was surprisingly accurate tho

Clyde Cessna

3y↑4

The Salvage of the High Seas Fleet by Mr Cox and sons is also an epic event and is worth reading up on. There is footage of the SMS Hindenburg being wowed under the Firth of Fourth Bridge in 1938/9. Salvos playing cricket on the hull of the SMS Seydlitz (if I remember). Check it out.

dpm1982

3y↑1

I feel like I should have a B.A. in history, if not an M.A. or even a Ph.D. from watching your videos. You are a very good educator and/or teacher.

acm#1985

3y↑3

Again, many thanks for this history lesson. This 15 Minutes teached me more of the end of the "Hochseeflotte" and the both military and political circumstances around it, as my complete school career was able to. I think the scuttling was the best way to end the situation, and I feel proud for the men involved.

Ryno Horn

I never heard about this before. As a Navy veteran of the U.S.A. I thank you for sharing this.

David Cox

3y↑1

Great video!! Your videos are informational and enjoyable to watch! Thank you sir and keep up the good work!

bcask61

Amazing history that I was only vaguely aware of. Thanks THG, always interesting.

Paul Hudson

Very interesting part of history. I was aware of the scuttling and salvage but didn’t know about the history around it. There’s a good book on the salvage of those ships called “Jutland to junkyard” covers the salvage efforts of the battleships which most were raised and floated upside down and towed to port for scrapping.

Chris Mccallion

3y↑1

May I suggest a follow up on this. The ardent efforts William Cox took to salvage the fleet and raised quite a chunk of them.

You're Right

3y↑2

Dived Scapa, three times.... my favourite dives site, so far. Amazing to see such huge ships on the sea bed. Highly recommend a visit.

Frank Gulla

Nicely done, sir. You do have a way with words and tell a great tale. Thank you.

Rab Muir

3y↑2

At the time of the scuttling there was a party of Orcadian childern out on a boat trip to look at the ships, some of the younger ones wondered what they had done wrong to cause the ships to start sinking. I spoke to a group of German divers and they still see this as a source of national pride and thanks for saying "The Orkney Islands" as an Orcadian we much prefer this to the slipshod term "Orkneys".

JJ Revab

No problem! Your work is wonderful, and we always look forward to the next video. You are allowed to be human, and make a mistake. Besides, it is great to think about Napoleon’s reaction to the dreadnoughts!

Kristoffer Mangila

There is still one remnant of the Hochseeflott still around. Its the admiral's barge from SMS Hindenburg, one of battlecruisers scuttled at Scapa Flow. Sold to private hands a few years after the scuttling by the Royal Navy, she gained fame during WW2 as one of the boats that participated in the Dunkirk evacuation (Operation Dynamo). Her name: Count Dracula.

Gerry Swift

3y↑1

What a wonderful story.Thanks so much from an amateur historian.

Barry Aulis

Another great video of history that deserves to be remembered.

Edwin Leslie

First time I learnt about this was when I read about (I think) Dunn who brought up these ships and took them to scrap yards in the Firth of Fourth. An amazing feat of engineering.

Glenn Loafmann

3y↑1

Once again, a moment of history not so much "forgotten" as overlooked altogether. Fascinating story, helping me develop a more complete picture and understanding of the situations and events of WWI. Thank you.

jared turner

Why couldn't you be my history teacher in high school. Love the work you do and put into the videos

navyreviewer

3y↑52

Foch in July 1919: "This (Versailles) isnt peace. This is a 20 years cease fire."
He off by a month and a half.

sfs2040

3y↑2

Ironically because he thought the treaty wasn't harsh enough.

John Lee

3y↑4

@sfs2040 It wasn't. Nor should it have been. It was the worst agreement possible: punitive enough to cause deep, deep resentment; not harsh enough to hamstring a rearmament. See V. D. Hanson.

The single worst mistake was treating a defeated and prostate foe as an existential enemy. Wilhelmine Germany was nothing of the kind. If they hadn't been myopic (helped along by Woodrow Wilson, Prize Idiot, Liar and All Around Insufferable Ass), they would've taken a lesson from Lincoln and Grant.

They should've realized the real threat was Russia and a nascent USSR, not a Germany which probably would've helped them to establish a just and lasting peace.

Hindsight's 20/20 and Foch was the single most prescient person in history.

Doug JB

@John Lee

Ironically (tragically) by the late 20s the western allies had come to regard Germany as a useful check-block on potential Soviet expansion into Europe, and so had even less inclination to monitor Germany’s compliance with the treaty. When Germany regained the Ruhr, those factories were able to switch to large scale military production very quickly.

Kelvin Herron

3y↑1

My maternal grandfather served aboard the battlecruiser Moltke. He was injured when the ship was torpedoed. He was sent to the front after recovering from his injuries. He said that they starving to death at the front near the end of the war. One day a horse and cart showed up and a guy dumped some turnips out on the ground. The turnips had worms in them. He said that they ate them anyways because it was better than starving. He never had a good thing to say about submarines for the rest of his life!

Brian Garrow

3y↑1

Speaking of the British Naval Treaty, I still enjoy watching the 1983 British television series, Reilly- Ace of Spies, which is based during the years surrounding WW1. Sam Neill and Norman Rodway star in this 1983 production based on a book by Robin Bruce Lockhart. It is a lovely period drama/adventure about a nominally British spy and his escapades during this amazing time period. I believe you can find it here on YouTube. Now that I have thoroughly interrupted your thought processes, you may continue to enjoying yourself here.

Mads Hansson

3y↑1

I would love to hear and see you make a clip about Battle of Dybbøl from 7. - 18. of april 1864 in the second Schleswig War and the battle of Als the 29. of june 1864 in the same War. That is history that deserves your attention 😊

john jephcote

My late father was based at Scapa in the RAF during the last German war but between the wars he saw, while crossing the Forth, the Bayern (I think) upside down being towed to a site for scrapping. A very good resumé!

matthew willis

3y↑2

Even though he was German, have you heard of Count Felix Luckner "The Sea Devil" is a great story of adventure. Not many people Know of this history. I always thought it would make a great movie. You could do a great job with this story. I very much enjoy your presentations.

Varrivale

3y↑1

Great video, it's a bit hard to believe that such incredibly expensive a modern weapons at the time remain at the bottom of the sea until today.

Nine Hundred Dollar Luxury Yacht

Your intro videos have become very impressive! Thanks for another bit of history.

Steve Mac

Excellent & informative video. They are always of the highest quality & well researched. Respect 👍

Ed Schermerhorn

3y↑10

Fascinating presentation showing how so many things weave together

Christopher Qua

51w

Great video, thanks for creating so much interesting content!

Irving Steinberg

3y↑7

SMS Derflingger, the old iron dog, was the last capital ship to be salvaged at Scapa in 1939 but spent WW2 upside down in her salvage cradle until 1946 when she could finally be moved and scrapped. Her upturned hulk showed up in German Luftwaffe recon photos of Scapa Flow in late 1939. One can only imagine if the sight of this once mighty German Imperial Battlecruiser, keel up, the last of a much more vast navy from the previous futile struggle, gave pause to the younger German generation now at war again.

Peter Gray

3y↑1

What made it ironic is that all of Germany's WW2 capital ships- both battleships and cruisers- were mostly retreaded WW1 designs. Germany was even more unprepared for a naval arms race in the 1930s, and simply reused existing naval blueprints in full or in part to jumpstart naval construction.

A N

@Peter Gray And what about the new development between the wars by the democratic Weimar Republic government coming up with the design of the Westentaschenkreuzer to obey Versaille treaty limitations? I am not sure, whether your statement is fully true. A lot of weapon development was secretly continued during this Weimar era tricking on the treaty, regardless of political party being at the government steering wheel.

Wheels-n-Tires

3y↑1

@A N @peter gray is correct... While there was some innovative ideas like the Deutschlands, the larger ships were all rehashes of previous designs. The Bismarcks were a quickie redesign of the WWI Baden/Bayern. Their dated designs, and lack of contemporary thinking are made more obvious by having separate secondary and high angle (AA) batteries...

A N

@Wheels-n-Tires As far as i know, only the arrangment of the batteries and the three shaft propeller system was similar or adopted, but that does not make a full battleship yet. What caused headaches for the designers was the initial idea to have them mainly fight in local coastal area like the North Sea, but the first mission was then convoy raids. Anyway, i am not a highest level expert on this.

Lawrence Lewis

I have a nice model of the Derflingger on a shelf right behind me as well as the Koenig, Goeben and Seydlitz. 1/250 scale, made of paper.

Mike Hadlow

Another fascinating video. Thanks History Guy!

Scott Chapple

3y↑2

Great Episode! Shifting gears a little, a request: History of the Edmund Fitzgerald up to and including the sinking? I have read a lot about it in the past, but I am sure there is more recent material. I haven't seen anything that pulls The Fitz together from a historical perspective, especially its beginnings, e.g. keel laying forward. Thank you, sir.

Quill Maurer

If THG were to do a video on that, it would include more than just the history of the Edmund Fitzgerald itself, but also the entire industry of Great Lakes freighters, their often shoddy design, the rise of the industries they served, Great Lakes storms, rescue efforts of the time, the impacts of the sinking on laws for Great Lakes freighters, and tons of other stuff. That's what makes these videos so impressive, they don't just focus on one specific event in history, but also all the history leading up to it and the impacts it had on history that followed - making an entire broad history lesson out of the one event.

Scott Chapple

@Quill Maurer I totally agree on that assessment. Still, the history leading up to the pre-events of the Fitz sinking would be a nice elaboration on the event itself. I think you could facilitate both. Also, to THG: Sorry for requesting this here, I just realized you mention requests be made via email. Wont' happen again! :)

Quill Maurer

3y↑1

@Scott Chapple I agree that it would be a quite interesting video - that's what I was saying, it would be about a lot more than the Edmund Fitzgerald, which would make it all the more fascinating.

David Evens

3y↑5

Given what happened as a result, it's sometime difficult to remember that when WWI was first called "The War To End All Wars," people actually meant it seriously. Given that it's hard to find a war since that doesn't have some connection to the horrible process that was carried out at Versailles, today it's rarely not said ironically.

navyreviewer

3y↑1

I dont think any professional diplomate was optimistic enough to call it the "the war to end all wars."
As to your second point I agree. Maybe we should start calling it "the war to start all wars." Morbid but apt.

Quill Maurer

Thinking of that viewpoint, I wonder if "end all wars" was part of the Germans' decision to scuttle the fleet. Weary of war, they wanted lasting peace, end to war, and battleships, under anyone's possession, would be counter to that goal. Sinking such weapons of war was in the post-war - all war - best interest.

David Humberger

3y↑2

Love this episode! Great way to start the day 😎❤️⚓️🚢

Andrew Haddow

A small aside as a child, I listened to a BBC Radio Scotland interview with an elderly lady from Orkney. As a schoolgirl, she has been part of a school party which was touring Scapa Flow on pleasure boat on the day of the sinking. When the ships started going down, she and other children started cheering, thinking that this had been put on for their benefit! Needless to say, the adults on the boat panicked and tried to get everyone below deck.

Rudder Steering

3y↑2

von Reuter had already had a "good war" with the scouting forces.....the success of the scuttle ended up giving him a very deserving footnote in naval history.

jmmahony

3y↑3

7:22 The name of the German port city "Kiel" is pronounced "keel", as in the current/former St Louis landmarks Kiel Opera House and Kiel Auditorium. In German, "ie" is pronounced like a long e, and ei is long i.

SLOW, OLD, and UGLY

what a story, thank you for being the real history channel

Mark Chippendale

3y↑96

The port and the mutiny are pronounced "keel" rather than "Kyle", for future reference! Good analysis anyway!!

Ned Ludd

3y↑1

It is often difficult to understand his pronunciation, especially of proper nouns. That could be corrected if he tried.

Thomas

3y↑7

Kiel also literally means keel, so it should be easy to remember.

tygrkhat40

3y↑13

The easiest way I found to remember how 'ie' and 'ei' in German are in the words Bier and Wein. Both are pronounced the same way as in English.

Ned Ludd

3y↑7

@Thomas Years ago I was traveling from Paris to Munich by train. I met a young American and we talked. He was looking forward to arriving at the sea. I asked him where he was going. He showed me his ticket Paris-Kehl. I guess the Paris agent misconstrued his request. He thought he was on the train to Kiel and found himself 100's of kilometers away.

Thomas

3y↑2

@Ned Ludd now the question is why the fuck you'd want to go to Kiel from paris instead of taking a train to literally anywhere else on the German coast or just getting out in Hamburg. And I say that as someone from Kiel :D

8 More Replies...

HolyPastrami

As some others probably pointed out, Kiel is pronounced like keel (Partly because the german word Kiel and the english word keel mean the same thing, though in this case, its actually named after the city of Kiel)

41 Hi Jinx

3y↑36

I can't help but think that if Bismarck were still around he would never have tried to challenge the British navy.

The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered

3y↑18

There is a strong argument there.

Robert Dawson

3y↑18

Bismark was a realist. The new Kaiser was not

TankerD18

3y↑2

Probably not, Wilhelm II went out of his way to distance himself from Bismarck at the start of his reign and pretty much did the opposite of what Bismarck thought was best. Wilhelm II envied the British Navy his entire life being the grandson of Queen Victoria and his push to try and make Germany a naval power and the subsequent naval arms race with Britain contributed to the outbreak of WWI. If the Kaiser's father had lived long enough to properly reign and Bismarck subsequently stayed at the forefront of German politics for longer, WWI might not have ever happened and Germany might still be a monarchy today. But that's not to say history couldn't have taken an even worse turn as well, because there were a lot more contributing factors to the madness of the front half of the 20th century than just an overly-ambitious Kaiser.

41 Hi Jinx

3y↑2

Wilhelm was disliked by his own generals especially Ludendorff. The Kaiser was a meddler who forbade his admirals from confronting the British fleet .He envied the British navy longing for a "place in the sun." He finally got his place the the sun in the Netherlands.

Comented onakeyboard

Actualy he apointed a General (von Caprivi) as Secretary of the Navy. Just to make sure that no one got dumb ideas.

6 More Replies...

columbus

3y↑23

My grandfather was on a RN ship at Scapa Flow when this happened.

Comented onakeyboard

3y↑1

My Grand Grand Father was on a U-Boat.

doccyclopz

3y↑1

@Comented onakeyboard let the pissing contest begin.

Comented onakeyboard

@doccyclopz OK i'll drink some Coffee in preparation 🧐

Sunny Jim

My grandfather was on the beach enjoying the show eating pickled welks (didn't have popcorn then).

unv

Dived on a few of these a few years ago. Read about gunter von preen and his u boat infiltration into the harbour. Amazing skills.

Tom Riley

3y↑1

Been lucky enough to dive on these ships - they're very impressive although most of the battleships are upside down. ironically scuttling them preserved alot of them that would otherwise have been broken up long ago. I'm not sure the Royal Navy minded having them scuttled in the long term - the german navy was gone, the french were after them as war prizes (which the RN would definitely not have liked), plus there was the risk of being saddled with "new" pre world war 1 designs which would then have really made it difficult to argue for the new G3 battlecruisers and battleships - as it was they were removed by treaties with the US but the RN may not even have ended up with the Nelsons. It's qutie possible that had the RN been "awarded" some of the German ships and some have gone into the French fleet that the RN would have ended up with an even more "world war 1" fleet at the beining of world war 2, no US help for another 2-3 years and any ex-German ships in the French navy would almost certainly have been reclaimed as part of any french surrender, which makes things alot more dicey.

Josh Klein

Great story, great telling. As usual

Maurice Davis

Always fascinating and enjoyable with HG enthusiasm!!! Scapa Flow, what a cool name!!!🙏👍😎

Steven Karnisky

I have been to Scapa Flow. A beautiful, but lonely place. Those sailors deserved better.

John Voorhees

3y↑2

Mr History Guy, do an episode about the cruiser USS OLIMPIA. "The oldest steel warship afloat". That's my ship, been on board many times in Philadelphia. Cheers 🍻

Michael Tillman

I enjoyed this one greatly! I would like to see an episode following the exiled Kaiser.

navyreviewer

3y↑1

He moved to the Neatherlands where he lived comfortably until his death June 4th, 1941. He died when the nazis were arguably at their peak, contemptuous of the "little Sargent" that achieved in 6 weeks what he couldnt in 4 years. Reward or punishment?

Michael Tillman

@navyreviewer Lmao

BHuang92

3y↑1

Fun Fact:
The sunken ships at Scapa Flow are still subjected to metal salvaging for the manufacturering of Gieger counters as the steel was made prior before nuclear testing and it is not contaminated by radiation fallout.

pobalopalous

3y↑1

ooh, i sent this in as a recommended topic for the 100th anniversary. i expected THG would do a spectacular video. not disappointed. well worth the wait !

Andy Womack

3y↑1

I have read abut this even and seen other YouTube so I though I'd visit the comments first.
Interesting discussion about the steel. I've heard the same for WW2 wrecks.
My thoughts -the scuttling of the High Seas Fleet was the best thing for all concerned, except the nine who died.

The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered

France had hoped to rebuild their fleet, but I think the UK in particular was happy to see them at the bottom of the harbor.

Eric Hutton

If time travel were real this is at the top of the list of historical events I'd like to see.

Crystal Littlepage

3y↑2

Sir Charles Algernon Parsons who invented a turbine engine and generator went to great lengths for getting his creation noticed by the Royal Navy.
Parsons installed a steam turbine power plant in his personal yacht the Turbinia, and raced it ahead of a Royal Navy review for Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee at Portsmouth. If I remember correctly he was almost jailed for the stunt but it got the Royal Navy to take notice of his invention and how useful it might be. Another interesting thing about ships of that era in Great Britain there was what was called the battle of the boilers, that a lot of the ships in the Royal Navy had various steam plants like Belleville, Niclausse, Yarrow and, various others .

Legohistorysam

There is a destroyer that I think you should do a video on. Her name is the USS Laffey DD 724 and another destroyer named USS Laffey DD459 are the greatest destroyers I think in history. USS Laffey DD459 was in the Battle of Guadalcanal. She was sunk in the battle. Then the second Laffy DD 724 Was in some major battles. But will let you Discover the history of these two ships for yourself.

John Whitley

I need to dig deeper!! I "had" the understanding the Scapa Flow scuttling was an already predetermined end. The short crews didn't agree, bla bla bla.... The reality was a mess, and no one really knew what to do, even with bringing in the Fleet... No game plan of any kind. Thanks again for your "real" history of what really happened. Clarified a piece of what I call "That Murky History" of the First War. Kudos 👍

Tony K

3y↑87

All those sunken ships and not even one pirate involved.

Dan O'Neill

3y↑9

The Mutiny is a lot like Pirates they clearly show BY FAR the best Leadership of ALL sides

Cornbreadfed Kirkpatrick

3y↑3

Arrgh, you right

Chen Fawn Meng

3y↑1

That is fantastic news!

flagmichael

3y↑2

With a location named Scapa Flow there simply must be pirates!

Kay Elle E

3y↑1

They wuz all pirates at heart ☠

3 More Replies...

redblinddog

Your commentary is almost right out of the current book I am reading: "Naval Policy Between the Wars, Volume 1.

Sam Eyers

I didn't know dreadnought was originally the name of a specific vessel. Thank you History Guy

Vespelian

3y↑1

Two of my great grandfathers served in that fleet at Jutland. One of them died. The High Seas Fleet achieved some significant things, managing to antagonise the British Empire into war against it, lose an arms race, running away at the Skagerac battle due to lack of numbers, causing a revolution toppling the regime that created it and committing suicide, which is quite a catalogue really.

Its only real contribution to Germany's war effort, was Operation Albion and the crushing of Russia out of the Great War, which was the most successful amphibious operation of the war.

J Z

3y↑14

Here’s an episode— “Behind the History Guy (Literally)” where you give the stories behind all the stuff on your wall.

Steve Kazenwadel

3y↑1

The salvage is a story in itself. There is some great Pathe newsreel footage on YouTube

Early Riser

great insight into a significant event

Android Texts

Awesome love how patriotic that act was

gary griffiths

3y↑33

How very 'ungerman' of the Kaiser's crews in refusing to sacrifice themselves in battle against what was by 1918 a vastly superior Allied Grand Fleet - it is often stated that this proposed end of war operation was also intended by the officer class to save the 'honour' of the German Navy. This consideration seems not to have much impressed those on the lower decks however! Contrast that with the situation in 1945 when Hitler's navy would fight to the bitter end for all the good it did them.

By the way I believe that salvaged steel from this sunken fleet is of special scientific value today because it was underwater long before the planet's atmosphere was trained with the aftereffects of nuclear explosions in the 1940's.

D'Hotness McAwesome

3y↑1

It's already used often for that reason. Good thinking though if you came to that independently.

Alexander Strickland

3y↑6

The steel was very important for making certain medical and industrial equipment.

That kind of salvage work for the preatomic steel still happens but is much less necessary than it was in the 50s-90s. We can produce new isotope free steel now.

columbus

3y↑2

They use it to make whole body monitors amongst other things.

Dennis Riblett

Because water stops atomic particles....

Markle2k

@Dennis Riblett The radionuclides cannot get into the steel that is recycled. Newly produced steel does, or did, get contaminated.

8 More Replies...

Patrick's Music

3y↑1

Sad that so many materials, hours of building, and other important factors sank to the bottom of the harbor with those great ships

David Smith

Yeah - not to mention the cost of repairs, after the Battle of Jutland.

Big Sarge

3y↑1

I always learn something, even about events I've studied!

Dannan Tavona

3y↑1

The German city is not KYLE, but rather KEEL. In German, it is the second vowel that tells you how to pronounce it. IE is said like EE, and EI is said like EYE. Thus, Kiel is pronounced KEEL, like the keel of a ship. This mistake happens twice about the 7:30 and 7:45 marks.

GP WASR 10/63

3y↑1

I am greatly astonished by the insanely high number of comments stating 'I never knew this" or somewhere along those lines.. Support and love from Michigan Brother Historian! 🖤👊🏼🤘🏼✌🏼🇺🇲

Lisa Cox

3y↑1

I'm still learning history after 45 years

korbell

3y↑4

THG:"battle of Jutland had been indecisive."

Admiral Beatty:" There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today!"

I have always considered the scuttling as a big FU. Where they may have been beaten but still had their dignity.

sfs2040

Beaty screwed the pooch but Jellico whooped Sheer pretty darn hard

Alec Blunden

3y↑1

If there was an indecisive element, it flowed from Beattys poor gunnery training and disregard of the ammunition handing procedures of the Royal Navy throughout the battlecruiser squadron. Is I dignity to commit mass Hari Kiri because the CO panicked? I wouldn't have thought so. But the German Navy has a long tradition of thinking scuttling is honourable.

Wilfred Darr

3y↑2

I had no idea the political part: very interesting! Great video, as usual.

Bill D. in Iowa

3y↑2

Thankyou for a fascinating lesson!

Irving Steinberg

Great topic and video. Bravo!

Philip Dove

The story of Cox and Danks co. salvaging most of the scuttled fleet is well worth telling but really needs more than 10 or 15 minutes. the guy who planned the salvage was a stereotype of Yankee virtues, except he was English.

Malcolm Brown

Whilst I find these episodes most entertaining and informative. One slight if you will mispronunciation in this episode is that of Kiel I've usually heard it pronounced in English as Keel.....

Spider Seven

I suspect some British officers knew what was going on and let it happen. In one book I read, a visiting American naval officer looking at the fleet from the window of an admiral's office saw what was happening and exclaimed to the admiral that the ships were sinking.

"Are they, now?" the admiral replied, not even looking up from his work.

2uksteve

For those wondering what happened to the German U-boats (which were actually surrendered rather than *interned*), there's a detailed account here: https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/1918-submarine-surrender/

HingerlAlois

3y↑18

The scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon in November 1942 might also be worth a video.

C B

Agreed. Good one!

Doug JB

3y↑2

Or the RN destroying the fleet at Mers el Kebir, or the US and RN silencing Jean Bart at Casablanca, or the entirely different treatment and later career of Richelieu.

Dedra Kuhn

Another great video from THG!

John Brhel

3y↑1

Thank you HG! I've been waiting to hear you say "Paragraph eleven, confirm" for years.

JavierCR25

3y↑2

This is exactly the type of vid that got me hooked on this channel

Crystal Littlepage

3y↑2

Another great episode as usual, I applaud you. I personally believe that the naval war in WWI would've been completely different, and less German ships would've been interred if Adm. Sir David Beatty had been in charge of the Grand fleet.
Sir John Jellicoe the commander at the time of the Battle of Jutland, doubted and second guessed himself to much. He was too conservative and wanted to avoid battle.
Beatty on the other hand was headstrong with iron nerve and would've fought his ships accordingly.

Michael Evans

3y↑2

Hmmmm.....so the debate, Jellicoe vs Beatty continues! In fairness to Jellicoe the truth of Churchill's remark that Jellicoe was the only man on either side who could have lost the war in an afternoon should be recognised. All he had to do was to avoid defeat in order to win, whereas the Germans HAD to actually win. Beatty was as brave as a lion (see what I did there?) but his impetuous nature was, on occasion, very risky. When he became Commander in Chief of the Grand Fleet himself he made virtually no changes to Jellicoes meticulously written instructions, which indicates that he too understood that, as CinC, his responsibilities were rather different to those he had held as Commander of just the Battlecruiser Fleet.

Crystal Littlepage

3y↑1

@Michael Evans being impetuous is not such a bad thing, but as admiral Ernest Trowbridge found out they refusing to fight even if you have the slightest chance could be a court-martial offense and be turned against you Trowbridge was never again entrusted with a command and was stuck to command the desk instead. Rear admiral Christopher Craddock said that he would not suffer the Fate that Trowbridge had so whenever he went after vice admiral von Spee at the Battle of Coronel in 1914 he went after a numerically and better trained Superior Force knowing that he would pay with his life. He went down with his ship the HMS Good Hope along with another cruiser the HMS Monmouth along with 1500 of sailors. People with impetuous natures sometimes get scathing remarks made of them because they knew better. But Beatty and Craddock believed that even if you lost your life in battle that could have been avoided the material losses that you could not replace on the Open Sea could actually work in your favor.He wasted ammunition that he could not replace and of course the coal that he used up trying to outrun Craddock so even though the admiral lost his life von Spee lost his life at the Battle of the Falkland Islands a month later. I'm not trying to start an argument Jellicoe was an able Commander but I still think he would have been better served if he had had a little bit more impetuousness in his character instead of being so conservative.

Michael Evans

3y↑1

@Crystal Littlepage
Heck, no argument.......just a lively discussion that's been going on for over 100 years! My point really is that Beatty as CinC Grand Fleet had different problems to consider than Beatty as Commander of the Battlecruiser Fleet. Jellicoe didn't want to avoid a fight, but he had to make sure he didn't lose once he was in one, (didn't John Wayne say something about being sure not to lose?) Jellicoe's deployment of the Grand Fleet at Jutland was masterful and tactically brilliant, and he did it despite the fact that he had almost no information as to the Germans whereabouts - information which it was Beatty's job to supply. The two men had immense respect for each other and the rivalry that existed between the two groups of supporters at the time was not reflected in the professional relationship between the men themselves. They were very different and, just my opinion, Jellicoe was undoubtedly the right man to command the Grand Fleet from the beginning of the war. There really was no other alternative thsn Beatty once Jellicoe was appointed to the Admiralty and he became the right man for the job.
As for Troubridge.....oh dear. He made a very serious error in not engaging Goeben.......Commodore Harwood proved that a numerically superior but qualitatively inferior force coulf, in fact, successfully take on a single large opponent when he engaged the Graf Spee. Troubridge relied too much on the advice of his Flag Captain and was court martialled. Cradock was given a hopeless task by the Admiralty and knew it. But he also knew that the ultimate disgrace for a naval officer was to be seen to run away. The sad fact was that by court martialling Troubridge the Admiralty more or less forced Cradock into attacking von Spee for fear of being thought a coward.

Crystal Littlepage

3y↑1

@Michael Evans point taken but even if Troubridge hadn't been court-martialed I still believe that Craddock would have attacked regardless because he was constitutionally incapable of refusing action. Craddock Once Said that he hoped his end would come by breaking his neck on the hunting field or dying in battle wish fulfilled. Not trying to take anything away from Jellicoe just saying that being impetuous is not such a bad thing. I would love to see the Craddock memorial in Yorkminster his hometown and the mural painted in his honor.

Michael Evans

3y↑2

@Crystal Littlepage Thumbs up for that! The Admiralty had sent Cradock to do a difficult job with completely inadequate resources and I think you're right......Cradock would have fought no matter what, but it surely played on his mind that Troubridge had suffered for not showing sufficient 'offensive spirit' as the navy called aggression back then. Its a great pity nobody survived to give us an idea of Cradock's thinking as the Battle of Coronel unfolded but he definitely belonged to the Nelson school that stated that 'no Captain could do very wrong if he laid his ship alongside that of an enemy.' Christopher Cradock deserves to be recognised far more than he is.

6 More Replies...

Barry Dysert

3y↑1

i have been wanting this. Thank you History Guy!:-) 🖖

Pygar2

Please report on the sinking of the Coast Guard vessel "Mesquite" in the Great Lakes!

NovejSpeed3

History Guy subject 💡 Maybe you could do a show about the 1956 Grand Canyon mid air collision between a United DC7 and TWA Constellation and it led to our modern day air traffic control system and created our Transition Altitude of 18,000ft! Just an idea.