SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm

The last König class dreadnought built for the German Imperial Navy lies inverted on the sandy floor of Gutter Sound, scuttled alongside the entire High Seas Fleet on 21 June 1919. At 146 metres long with a 28-metre beam, Kronprinz Wilhelm is the most accessible of Scapa Flow's three remaining battleships: the hull rises to 12 metres, well within recreational limits. The defining feature lies deeper — five 30.5cm casemate guns protrude from the port bow section at 25-35 metres, the most visible main armament of any Scapa wreck. Every hollow and overhang shelters conger eels, European lobster, edible crab, and thick colonies of dead man's fingers coral and plumose anemones. Unlike sister ship SMS Markgraf, Kronprinz Wilhelm requires no technical certification and allows multi level dive planning across the full hull.