Germany sank 52 warships in 1919. A century later, their steel became valuable

When the First World War finally ended, Germany’s powerful High Seas Fleet was not allowed to sail home. Instead, dozens of warships were sent to Scapa Flow in Scotland, where they remained under uneasy Allied supervision while the terms of peace were being decided. Then, on 21 June 1919, the German commander made a decision that stunned the British. Believing his fleet was about to be seized, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter ordered his crews to scuttle the ships rather than surrender them intact.As reported by NorthLink Ferries, within hours, 52 vessels had slipped beneath the water. Many were later raised and dismantled, but seven wrecks still remain. More than a century later, their story has taken an unexpected turn: steel from ships built before the nuclear age can be prized for its exceptionally low radioactive background, giving these remnants of a defeated fleet an unlikely role in modern science.Why 74 German warships ended up at Scapa Flow after WWIWhen the First World War ended, Germany's High Seas Fleet did not simply return home. Under the terms of the Armistice, the ships were interned at Scapa Flow, the large natural harbour in Orkney that had served as an important B...