SMS Markgraf.
SMS Markgraf was a König-class dreadnought battleship that fought at Jutland and was scuttled in Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919. She lies almost upside down in about 45 m, the deepest of the German wrecks, and has suffered the least salvage of the three battleships.
What's down there.
- Sheer bow rising straight from the seabed with anchor hawse pipe
- Casemate guns at seabed level
- Anchor chain draped around the hull
- Twin rudders about 3–3.5 m high and propeller shaft stubs
- Spotting top and control tower on the seabed
- Portholes of the officers' accommodation
- Dead man's fingers
- Plumose anemones
- Starfish
- Crab
- Lobster
- Scallops
- Varied fish
Deepest of the German wrecks: upturned hull from c. 22–25 m; seabed 43–45 m
Sheltered with generally little current; visibility typically 3–9 m and darker at depth. With the seabed at around 45 m this is a deep dive: the hull can be reached by experienced divers, but seeing the guns, rudders and bow properly is technical diving territory, best done on trimix or a rebreather.
How it got there.
Markgraf was built by AG Weser in Bremen, laid down in November 1911, launched on 4 June 1913 and commissioned on 1 October 1914. Like her sisters she was about 175 m long, displaced about 25,800 tonnes normally and 28,600 tonnes at full load, and carried ten 30.5 cm (12-inch) guns. At Jutland she was the third ship in the German line and was hit by five heavy shells, which killed 11 men. During Operation Albion in October 1917 she struck two mines in the Irben Strait and took on 260 tonnes of water. Interned at Scapa Flow, she was among the last ships to sink on 21 June 1919, going down at about 16:45; her captain, Walther Schumann, was shot and killed by British personnel during the scuttling. Lying in deep water, she was never raised. The wreck was sold to Metal Industries in 1936, salvage operations in 1976–1980 removed armour, the torpedo tubes, propellers, parts of the shafts and turbines, and the salvage rights passed to Clark Diving Services in 1981. In 2019 she was sold with König and Kronprinz Wilhelm to a company in the Middle East for £25,500. Her pre-1945 steel has been cited as a source of low-background steel for scientific instruments.
1 dive.
From the reconstructed log — the dates follow the pattern I dived, so read them as representative rather than exact.