Sms S53: Gutter Sound, Scapa Flow, Orkney

Scotland's National Record of the Historic Environment records Sms S53: Gutter Sound, Scapa Flow, Orkney as Destroyer (20th Century)-(1919). The official map says its point is accurate as follows: NGR given to the nearest 1m. The record does not by itself mean that the public may enter the place.

SMS S53 was a German torpedo boat (Schnellboot) captured by the Royal Navy during World War I and later renamed HMS S53. It was scuttled in Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919 during the internment of the German High Seas Fleet, along with many other ships, as part of the post-war disarmament. No lives were lost, and its wreck now lies in Gutter Sound as a historical site of international significance, reflecting the events of the First World War and the subsequent scuttling of the fleet.