SMS Derfflinger SMS " Derfflinger " was a battlecruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine built just before the outbreak of World War I . She was the lead vessel of her class of three ships ; her sister ships were and . The s were larger and featured significant improvements over the previous German battlecruisers , in terms of armament , armor protection , and cruising range . The ship was named after Field Marshal Georg von Derfflinger who fought in the Thirty Years ' War . " Derfflinger " was part of the I Scouting Group for most of World War I , and was involved in several fleet actions during the war . She took part in the bombardments of English coastal towns , as well as the Battles of Dogger Bank and Jutland , where her stubborn resistance led to the British nicknaming her " Iron Dog " . The ship was partially responsible for the sinking of two British battlecruisers at Jutland ; " Derfflinger " and destroyed , and " Lützow " assisted her elder sister in the sinking of . " Derfflinger " was interned with the rest of the High Seas fleet at Scapa Flow following the armistice in November 1918 . Under the orders of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter , the interned ships were scuttled on 21 June 1919 ; " Derfflinger " sank at 14 : 45 . Construction . Built by Blohm & Voss at their yard in Hamburg , " Derfflinger " s keel was laid in January 1912 . She was to have been launched on 14 June 1913 , but the wooden sledges upon which the ship rested became jammed ; the ship moved only 30 – 40 centimeters . A second attempt was successful on 12 July 1913 . A crew composed of dockyard workers took the ship around the Skagen to Kiel . In late October , the vessel was assigned to the I Scouting Group , but damage to the ship ' s turbines during trials prevented her from joining the unit until 16 November . On completion she displaced nearly and was long . The ship had a crew of 44 officers and 1 , 068 enlisted men . " Derfflinger " was equipped with two sets of high - and low - pressure turbines powered by 14 coal - burning boilers that drove four propellers . She was capable of a top speed of , and could steam for at a cruising speed of . In early August 1915 , a derrick was mounted amidships , and tests with Hansa - Brandenburg W seaplane s were conducted . Mounting a main armament of eight 30 . 5 cm ( 12 in ) guns , " Derfflinger " was the largest and most powerful German battlecruiser at the time . The ship ' s armament was rounded out by twelve 15 cm ( 5 . 9 in ) guns in single casemate mounts and eight 8 . 8 cm ( 3 . 45 in ) guns , also placed in casemates , though four of these were removed in 1916 . An additional four 8 . 8 cm flak guns were installed amidships . Four submerged torpedo tubes were carried ; one was located in the bow , two on the broadside , and one in the stern . Service . Bombardment of Scarborough , Hartlepool , and Whitby . " Derfflinger " ' s first combat operation was a raid on the English coastal towns of Scarborough , Hartlepool , and Whitby . One raid had already been conducted by the battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group , on the town of Yarmouth in late 1914 . Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl , the commander of the High Seas Fleet , decided to conduct another raid on the English coast . His goal was to lure a portion of the Grand Fleet into combat where it could be isolated and destroyed . At 03 : 20 on 15 December , Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper , with his flag in , departed the Jade estuary . Following " Seydlitz " were " Derfflinger " , , , and , along with the light cruisers " Kolberg " , " Strassburg " , " Stralsund " , and " Graudenz " , and two squadrons of torpedo boats . The ships sailed north past the island of Heligoland , until they reached the Horns Reef lighthouse , at which point the ships turned west towards Scarborough . Twelve hours after Hipper left the Jade , the High Seas Fleet departed to provide distant cover . The main fleet consisted of 14 dreadnought s , eight pre - dreadnought s and a screening force of two armored cruiser s , seven light cruiser s , and 54 torpedo boats . Some four months earlier , on 26 August 1914 , the German light cruiser had run aground in the Gulf of Finland ; the wreck was captured by the Russian navy , which found code books used by the German navy , along with navigational charts for the North Sea . The Russians passed these documents to the Royal Navy , whose cryptographic unit — the so - called Room 40 — began decrypting German signals . On 14 December , they intercepted messages relating to the planned bombardment of Scarborough . However , the exact details of the plan were unknown , and the British assumed that the High Seas Fleet would remain safely in port , as in the previous bombardment . Vice Admiral David Beatty ' s four battlecruisers , supported by the 3rd Cruiser Squadron and the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron , along with the 2nd Battle Squadron ' s six dreadnoughts , were to ambush Hipper ' s battlecruisers . During the night of 15 December , the main body of the High Seas Fleet encountered British destroyers . Fearing the prospect of a nighttime torpedo attack , Admiral Ingenohl ordered the ships to retreat . Hipper was unaware of Ingenohl ' s reversal , and so he continued with the bombardment . Upon reaching the British coast , Hipper ' s battlecruisers split into two groups . " Derfflinger " and " Von der Tann " went south to shell Scarborough and Whitby while " Seydlitz " , " Moltke " , and " Blücher " went north to shell Hartlepool . By 09 : 45 on the 16th , the two groups had reassembled , and they began to retreat eastward . By this time , Beatty ' s battlecruisers were positioned to block Hipper ' s chosen withdrawal route , while other forces were en route to complete the encirclement . At 12 : 25 , the light cruisers of the II Scouting Group began to pass through the British forces searching for Hipper . One of the cruisers in the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron spotted " Stralsund " and signaled a report to Beatty . At 12 : 30 , Beatty turned his battlecruisers towards the German ships . Beatty presumed that the German cruisers were the advance screen for Hipper ' s ships , however those were some 50 km ( 31 mi ) ahead . The 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron , which had been screening for Beatty ' s ships , detached to pursue the German cruisers , but a misinterpreted signal from the British battlecruisers sent them back to their screening positions . This confusion allowed the German light cruisers to slip away and alerted Hipper to the location of the British battlecruisers . The German battlecruisers wheeled to the northeast of the British forces and escaped . Both the British and the Germans were disappointed that they failed to effectively engage their opponents . Admiral Ingenohl ' s reputation suffered greatly as a result of his timidity . " Moltke " s captain was furious ; he stated that Ingenohl had turned back " because he was afraid of 11 British destroyers which could have been eliminated . . . under the present leadership we will accomplish nothing . " The official German history criticized Ingenohl for failing to use his light forces to determine the size of the British fleet , stating : " he decided on a measure which not only seriously jeopardized his advance forces off the English coast but also deprived the German Fleet of a signal and certain victory . " Battle of Dogger Bank . In early January 1915 , the German naval command became aware that British ships were reconnoitering in the Dogger Bank area . Admiral Ingenohl was initially reluctant to attempt to destroy these forces , because the I Scouting Group was temporarily weakened while " Von der Tann " was in drydock for periodic maintenance . " Konteradmiral " Richard Eckermann , the Chief of Staff of the High Seas Fleet , insisted on the operation , and so Ingenohl relented and ordered Hipper to take his battlecruisers to the Dogger Bank . On 23 January , Hipper sortied , with " Seydlitz " in the lead , followed by " Moltke " , " Derfflinger " , and " Blücher " , along with the light cruisers " Graudenz " , " Rostock " , " Stralsund " , and " Kolberg " and 19 torpedo boats from V Flotilla and II and XVIII Half - Flotillas . " Graudenz " and " Stralsund " were assigned to the forward screen , while " Kolberg " and " Rostock " were assigned to the starboard and port , respectively . Each light cruiser had a half - flotilla of torpedo boats attached . Again , interception and decryption of German wireless signals played an important role . Although they were unaware of the exact plans , the cryptographers of Room 40 deduced that Hipper would be conducting an operation in the Dogger Bank area . To counter it , Beatty ' s 1st Battlecruiser Squadron , Rear Admiral Archibald Moore ' s 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron and Commodore William Goodenough ' s 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron were to rendezvous with Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt ' s Harwich Force at 08 : 00 on 24 January , approximately north of the Dogger Bank . At 08 : 14 , " Kolberg " spotted the light cruiser and several destroyers from the Harwich Force . " Aurora " challenged " Kolberg " with a search light , at which point " Kolberg " attacked " Aurora " and scored two hits . " Aurora " returned fire and scored two hits on " Kolberg " in retaliation . Hipper immediately turned his battlecruisers towards the gunfire , when , almost simultaneously , " Stralsund " spotted a large amount of smoke to the northwest of her position . This was identified as a number of large British warships steaming towards Hipper ' s ships . Hipper turned south to flee , but was limited to , which was the maximum speed of the older armored cruiser " Blücher " . The pursuing British battlecruisers were steaming at , and quickly caught up to the German ships . At 09 : 52 , the battlecruiser opened fire on " Blücher " from a range of approximately 20 , 000 yards ( 18 , 300 m ) ; shortly thereafter , and began firing as well . At 10 : 09 , the British guns made their first hit on " Blücher " . Two minutes later , the German ships began returning fire , primarily concentrating on " Lion " , from a range of 18 , 000 yards ( 15 , 460 m ) . At 10 : 28 , " Lion " was struck on the waterline , which tore a hole in the side of the ship and flooded a coal bunker . At 10 : 30 , , the fourth ship in Beatty ' s line , came within range of " Blücher " and opened fire . By 10 : 35 , the range had closed to 17 , 500 yards ( 16 , 000 m ) , at which point the entire German line was within the effective range of the British ships . Beatty ordered his battlecruisers to engage their German counterparts . Confusion aboard " Tiger " led the captain to believe he was to fire on " Seydlitz " , which left " Moltke " able to fire without distraction . During this period of the battle , " Derfflinger " was hit once , but the shell did only minor damage . Two armor plates in the hull were forced inward and some of the protective coal bunkers were flooded . At 10 : 40 , one of " Lion " s shells struck " Seydlitz " causing nearly catastrophic damage that knocked out both of the rear turrets and killed 159 men . The executive officer ordered the flooding of both magazines to avoid a flash fire that would have destroyed the ship . By this time , the German battlecruisers had zeroed in on " Lion " , scoring repeated hits . At 11 : 01 , an shell from " Seydlitz " struck " Lion " and knocked out two of her dynamos . At 11 : 18 , two of " Derfflinger ' s " shells hit " Lion " , one of which struck the waterline and penetrated the belt , allowing seawater to enter the port feed tank . " Lion " had to turn off its engines due to seawater contamination and as a result fell out of the line . By this time , " Blücher " was severely damaged after having been pounded by heavy shells . The chase ended when there were several reports of U - boats ahead of the British ships ; Beatty quickly ordered evasive maneuvers , which allowed the German ships to increase the distance to their pursuers . At this time , " Lion " s last operational dynamo failed , which dropped her speed to . Beatty , in the stricken " Lion " , ordered the remaining battlecruisers to " Engage the enemy ' s rear , " but signal confusion caused the ships to solely target " Blücher " , allowing " Moltke " , " Seydlitz " , and " Derfflinger " to escape . " Blücher " was hit by over 70 shells from the British battlecruisers over the course of the battle . The severely damaged warship capsized and sank at approximately 13 : 10 . By the time Beatty regained control over his ships , after having boarded " Princess Royal " , the German ships had too great a lead for the British to catch them ; at 13 : 50 , he broke off the chase . Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft . " Derfflinger " also took part in the bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft on 24 – 25 April 1916 . Hipper was away on sick leave , so the German ships were under the command of Konteradmiral Friedrich Bödicker . " Derfflinger " , her newly commissioned sister ship , and the veterans " Moltke " , " Seydlitz " and " Von der Tann " left the Jade Estuary at 10 : 55 on 24 April . They were supported by a screening force of 6 light cruisers and two torpedo boat flotillas . The heavy units of the High Seas Fleet , under the command of Admiral Reinhard Scheer , sailed at 13 : 40 , with the objective to provide distant support for Bödicker ' s ships . The British Admiralty was made aware of the German sortie through the interception of German wireless signals , and deployed the Grand Fleet at 15 : 50 . By 14 : 00 , Bödicker ' s ships had reached a position off Norderney , at which point he turned his ships northward to avoid the Dutch observers on the island of Terschelling . At 15 : 38 , " Seydlitz " struck a naval mine , which tore a 50 - foot ( 15 m ) hole in her hull , just abaft of the starboard broadside torpedo tube , allowing 1 , 400 short tons ( 1 , 250 long tons ) of water to enter the ship . " Seydlitz " turned back , with the screen of light cruisers , at a speed of . The four remaining battlecruisers turned south immediately in the direction of Norderney to avoid further mine damage . By 16 : 00 , " Seydlitz " was clear of imminent danger , so the ship stopped to allow Bödicker to disembark . The torpedo boat brought Bödicker to " Lützow " . At 04 : 50 on 25 April , the German battlecruisers were approaching Lowestoft when the light cruisers and , which had been covering the southern flank , spotted the light cruisers and destroyers of Commodore Tyrwhitt ' s Harwich Force . Bödicker refused to be distracted by the British ships , and instead trained his ships ' guns on Lowestoft . At a range of approximately , the German battlecruisers destroyed two 6 in ( 15 cm ) shore batteries and inflicted other damage to the town , including the destruction of some 200 houses . At 05 : 20 , the German raiders turned north , towards Yarmouth , which they reached by 05 : 42 . The visibility was so poor that the German ships fired one salvo each , with the exception of " Derfflinger " , which fired fourteen rounds from her main battery . The German ships turned back south , and at 05 : 47 encountered for the second time the Harwich Force , which had by then been engaged by the six light cruisers of the screening force . Bödicker ' s ships opened fire from a range of 13 , 000 yards ( 12 , 000 m ) . Tyrwhitt immediately turned his ships around and fled south , but not before the cruiser sustained severe damage . Due to reports of British submarines and torpedo attacks , Bödicker broke off the chase and turned back east towards the High Seas Fleet . At this point , Scheer , who had been warned of the Grand Fleet ' s sortie from Scapa Flow , turned back towards Germany . Battle of Jutland . Almost immediately after the Lowestoft raid , Admiral Reinhard Scheer began planning another foray into the North Sea . He had initially intended to launch the operation in mid - May , but the mine damage to " Seydlitz " had proved difficult to repair — Scheer was unwilling to embark on a major raid without his battlecruiser forces at full strength . At noon on 28 May , the repairs to " Seydlitz " were finally completed , and the ship returned to the I Scouting Group . " Derfflinger " and the rest of Hipper ' s I Scouting Group battlecruisers lay anchored in the outer Jade roadstead on the night of 30 May 1916 . The following morning , at 02 : 00 CET , the ships steamed out towards the Skagerrak at a speed of . " Derfflinger " was the second ship in the line of five , ahead of " Seydlitz " , and to the rear of " Lützow " , the group flagship . The II Scouting Group , consisting of the light cruisers , Rear Admiral Bödicker ' s flagship , , , and , and 30 torpedo boats of the II , VI , and IX Flotillas , accompanied Hipper ' s battlecruisers . An hour and a half later , the High Seas Fleet under the command of Admiral Scheer left the Jade ; the force was composed of 16 dreadnoughts . The High Seas Fleet was accompanied by the IV Scouting Group , composed of the light cruisers , , , , and , and 31 torpedo boats of the I , III , V , and VII Flotillas , led by the light cruiser " Rostock " . The six pre - dreadnoughts of the II Battle Squadron had departed from the Elbe roads at 02 : 45 , and rendezvoused with the battle fleet at 05 : 00 . Shortly before 16 : 00 , Hipper ' s force encountered the six ships of Vice Admiral Beatty ' s 1st and 2nd battlecruiser squadrons . The German ships were the first to open fire , at a range of approximately 15 , 000 yards ( 14 , 000 m ) . When the British ships began returning fire , confusion amongst the British battlecruisers resulted in " Moltke " being engaged by both " New Zealand " and " Tiger " . The British rangefinders had misread the range to their German targets , and so the first salvos fired by the British ships fell a mile past the German battlecruisers . Due to errors in British communication , " Derfflinger " was unengaged during the first 10 minutes of the battle . " Derfflinger " s gunnery officer , " Korvettenkapitän " Georg von Hase later remarked " By some mistake we were being left out . I laughed grimly and now I began to engage our enemy with complete calm , as at gun practice , and with continually increasing accuracy . " At 17 : 03 , the British battlecruiser exploded after 15 minutes of gunfire from " Von der Tann " . Shortly thereafter the second half of Beatty ' s force , the four s of the 5th Battle Squadron , came into range and began firing at " Von der Tann " and " Moltke " . Following severe damage inflicted by " Lützow " on " Lion " , " Derfflinger " lost sight of the British ship , and so at 17 : 16 transferred her fire to . " Seydlitz " was also engaging " Queen Mary " , and under the combined fire of the two battlecruisers , " Queen Mary " was hit repeatedly in quick succession . Observers on " New Zealand " and , the ships behind and ahead , respectively , reported three shells from a salvo of four struck the ship at the same time . Two more hits followed , and a gigantic explosion erupted amidships ; a billowing cloud of black smoke poured from the burning ship , which had broken in two . The leading ships of the German High Seas fleet had by 18 : 00 come within effective range of the British battlecruisers and " Queen Elizabeth " - class battleships and had begun trading shots with them . Between 18 : 09 and 18 : 19 , " Derfflinger " was hit by a shell from either or . At 18 : 55 , " Derfflinger " was hit again ; this shell struck the bow and tore a hole that allowed some 300 tons of water to enter the ship . Shortly after 19 : 00 , the German cruiser had become disabled by a shell from the battlecruiser ; the German battlecruisers made a 16 - point turn to the northeast and made for the crippled cruiser at high speed . At 19 : 15 , they spotted the British armored cruiser , which had joined the attack on " Wiesbaden " . Hipper initially hesitated , believing the ship was the German cruiser " Rostock " , but at 19 : 16 , " Kapitan zur See " Harder , " Lützow " s commanding officer , ordered his ships ' guns to fire . The other German battlecruisers and battleships joined in the melee ; " Defence " was struck by several heavy - caliber shells from the German ships . One salvo penetrated the ship ' s ammunition magazines and a massive explosion destroyed the cruiser . By 19 : 24 , the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron had formed up with Beatty ' s remaining battlecruisers ahead of the German line . The leading British ships spotted " Lützow " and " Derfflinger " and began firing on them . In the span of eight minutes , the battlecruiser scored eight hits on " Lützow " . In return , both " Lützow " and " Derfflinger " concentrated their fire on their antagonist , and at 19 : 31 , " Derfflinger " fired her final salvo at " Invincible " . Shortly thereafter the forward magazine detonated and the ship disappeared in a series of massive explosions . By 19 : 30 , the High Seas Fleet , which was by that point pursuing the British battlecruisers , had not yet encountered the Grand Fleet . Scheer had been considering retiring his forces before darkness exposed his ships to torpedo boat attack . He had not yet made a decision when his leading battleships encountered the main body of the Grand Fleet . This development made it impossible for Scheer to retreat , for doing so would have sacrificed the slower pre - dreadnought battleships of the II Battle Squadron . If he chose to use his dreadnoughts and battlecruisers to cover their retreat , he would have subjected his strongest ships to overwhelming British fire . Instead , Scheer ordered his ships to turn 16 points to starboard , which would bring the pre - dreadnoughts to the relative safety of the disengaged side of the German battle line . " Derfflinger " and the other battlecruisers followed the move , which put them astern of " König " . Hipper ' s badly battered ships gained a temporary moment of respite , and uncertainty over the exact location and course of Scheer ' s ships led Admiral Jellicoe to turn his ships eastward , towards what he thought was the likely path of the German retreat . The German fleet was instead sailing west , but Scheer ordered a second 16 - point turn , which reversed course and pointed his ships at the center of the British fleet . The German fleet came under intense fire from the British line , and Scheer sent " Derfflinger " , " Seydlitz " , " Moltke " , and " Von der Tann " at high speed towards the British fleet , in an attempt to disrupt their formation and gain time for his main force to retreat . By 20 : 17 , the German battlecruisers had closed to within of , at which point Scheer directed the ships to engage the lead ship of the British line . Three minutes later , the German battlecruisers turned in retreat , covered by a torpedo boat attack . A pause in the battle at dusk ( approximately from 20 : 20 to 21 : 10 ) allowed " Derfflinger " and the other German battlecruisers to cut away wreckage that interfered with the main guns , extinguish fires , repair the fire control and signal equipment , and prepare the searchlights for nighttime action . During this period , the German fleet reorganized into a well - ordered formation in reverse order , when the German light forces encountered the British screen shortly after 21 : 00 . The renewed gunfire gained Beatty ' s attention , so he turned his battlecruisers westward . At 21 : 09 , he sighted the German battlecruisers , and drew to within before opening fire at 21 : 20 . In the ensuing melee , " Derfflinger " was hit several times ; at 21 : 34 , a heavy shell struck her last operational gun turret and put it out of action . The German ships returned fire with every gun available , and at 21 : 32 hit both " Lion " and " Princess Royal " in the darkness . The maneuvering of the German battlecruisers forced the leading I Battle Squadron to turn westward to avoid collision . This brought the pre - dreadnoughts of the II Battle Squadron directly between the two lines of battlecruisers . In doing so , this prevented the British ships from pursuing their German counterparts when they turned southward . The British battlecruisers opened fire on the old battleships ; the German ships turned southwest to bring all of their guns to bear against the British ships . This engagement lasted only a few minutes before Admiral Mauve turned his ships 8 - points to starboard ; the British inexplicably did not pursue . Close to the end of the battle , at 03 : 55 , Hipper transmitted a report to Admiral Scheer informing him of the tremendous damage his ships had suffered . By that time , " Derfflinger " and " Von der Tann " had only two operational guns each , " Moltke " was flooded with 1 , 000 tons of water , " Lützow " had sunk , and " Seydlitz " was severely damaged . Hipper reported : " I Scouting Group was therefore no longer of any value for a serious engagement , and was consequently directed to return to harbor by the Commander - in - Chief , while he himself determined to await developments off Horns Reef with the battlefleet . " During the course of the battle , " Derfflinger " was hit 17 times by heavy caliber shells and nine times by secondary guns . She was in dock for repairs until 15 October . " Derfflinger " fired 385 shells from her main battery , another 235 rounds from her secondary guns , and one torpedo . Her crew suffered 157 men killed and another 26 men wounded ; this was the highest casualty rate on any ship not sunk during the battle . Because of her stalwart resistance at Jutland , the British nicknamed her " Iron Dog . " Later operations . During the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in November 1917 , " Derfflinger " sailed from port to assist the German light cruisers of the II Scouting Group , but by the time she and the other battlecruisers arrived on the scene , the British raiders had fled northward . In late 1917 , the High Seas Fleet began to conduct anti - convoy raids in the North Sea between Britain and Norway . In October and December , German cruisers and destroyers intercepted and destroyed two British convoys to Norway . This prompted Beatty , now the Commander in Chief of the Grand Fleet , to detach several battleships and battlecruisers to protect convoys in the North Sea . This presented to Admiral Scheer the opportunity for which he had been waiting the entire war : the chance to isolate and eliminate a portion of the Grand Fleet . At 05 : 00 on 23 April 1918 , the High Seas Fleet left harbor with the intention of intercepting one of the heavily escorted convoys . Wireless radio traffic was kept to a minimum to prevent the British from learning of the operation . By 14 : 10 , the convoy had still not yet been located , and so Scheer turned the High Seas Fleet back towards German waters . Fate . " Derfflinger " was to have taken part in what would have amounted to the " death ride " of the High Seas Fleet shortly before the end of World War I . The bulk of the High Seas Fleet was to have sortied from its base in Wilhelmshaven to engage the British Grand Fleet ; Scheer — by now the " Großadmiral " of the fleet — intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy , in order to retain a better bargaining position for Germany , whatever the cost to the fleet . While the fleet was consolidating in Wilhelmshaven , war - weary sailors began deserting " en masse . " As " Derfflinger " and " Von der Tann " passed through the locks that separated Wilhelmshaven ' s inner harbor and roadstead , some 300 men from both ships climbed over the side and disappeared ashore . On 24 October 1918 , the order was given to sail from Wilhelmshaven . Starting on the night of 29 October , sailors mutinied on several battleships ; three ships from the III Squadron refused to weigh anchors , and the battleships and reported acts of sabotage . The order to sail was rescinded in the face of this open revolt . The following month , the German Revolution toppled the monarchy and was quickly followed by the Armistice that ended the war . Following Germany ' s capitulation , the Allies demanded that the majority of the High Seas Fleet be interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow . On 21 November 1918 , under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter , the ships sailed from their base in Germany for the last time . The fleet rendezvoused with the light cruiser , before meeting a massive flotilla of some 370 British , American , and French warships for the voyage to Scapa Flow . Once the ships were interned , their breech locks were removed , which disabled their guns . The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the Versailles Treaty . It became apparent to Reuter that the British intended to seize the German ships on 21 June , which was the deadline by which Germany was to have signed the peace treaty . Unaware that the deadline had been extended to the 23rd , Reuter ordered his ships be sunk . On the morning of 21 June , the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers . With the majority of the British fleet away , Reuter transmitted the order to his ships at 11 : 20 . " Derfflinger " sank at 14 : 45 . The ship was raised in 1939 and was anchored , still capsized , off the island of Risa until 1946 . " Derfflinger " was then sent to Faslane Port , where she was broken up by 1948 . The ship ' s bell was delivered to the German Federal Navy on 30 August 1965 . Her bell is now on display outside the church of St Michael on the Outer Hebrides island of Eriskay . Notes . Footnotes Citations