'Spectacular dive' to see remains of WWI ship
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SPECTACULAR underwater photographs have revealed the incredible remains of a German warship lying just north of the East Sutherland coastline.
The sunken vessel is that of the German destroyer V81, which was at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.
But how and when it ended up off the far north east coast is still unclear.
A PC Innes reported a German warship getting into difficulty on Friday, February 13, 1920. But was it the V81?
Members of Caithness Diving Club are convinced the wreck is the V81, part of Germany's World War I High Seas Fleet, and first dived on it several years ago.
Marine archaeologists also previously verified it by comparing the remains with the V81's sister vessel, V83, which lies beneath Scapa Flow in Orkney.
It is believed the V81 was under tow to Rosyth for breaking when the towline parted and she drifted ashore and was wrecked.
Larger items on the wreck site include turbines, gearboxes and one of the ship's guns. The site is also littered with many smaller non-ferrous items well concreted into the wreckage.
This month members of the club dived on the kelp-covered wreck and took photographs of brass fittings, a turbine and what appears to be a gear box.
Fiona Houston, the club's diving officer, said: "The turbines are particularly amazing. It is a spectacular dive in winter with 15-20m visibility. In the summer the kelp grows too much and there is less to see. But it a truly amazing wreck."
The V81 was understood to have been salvaged from Scapa Flow – where the German Fleet was scuttled in 1919 – and was under tow to a breakers yard in Rosyth when strong winds caused it to founder off Caithness.
It was believed the warship was raised again in 1937, but what happened after is uncertain.
"The history of the V81 is blurred and unclear. The records do not confirm that the V81 was even in this area at the time of the sinking," said the diving club.
"However, the fact that it is the V81 is beyond doubt. The wreck lies close in against the cliff. She is so broken up that nothing remains of the hull or superstructure.
"All of the major machinery and plant are easily recognisable. This includes the turbines where hundreds of brass turbine blades can be seen. The area is littered with brass components, all securely melded with the sea bed and surrounding rock."
