A Kaiser class battleship built in 1911, Friedrich Der Grosse was scuttled along with the rest of the German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow 21 June 1919.She was subsequently raised by Cox & Danks but parts of her still remain on the seabed NW of the island of Cava in depths around 32m.

I have dived a number of the ‘salvage sites’ in the Flow over the years, but this was one I hadn’t been to before 2016. Very interesting dive, the main mast is the most obvious feature and the spotting top is pretty much intact apart from some of the range finding equipment. There also appears to be a small boiler lying near the base of the mast, possibly from a steam pinnace. There is a pronounced depression in the seabed round about, made when she first sunk, but a cursory look about the area did not reveal any further wreckage save for the odd spar sticking out of the sand and some lumps of coal.

The video shows the spotting top, lit from outside (and inside!) by Innes’s video lights. Very atmospheric.