The Karlsruhe is the shallowest of the High Seas
Fleet. She lies in 26 metres with a minimum depth of 12 metres. The
boat is quite badly broken in places, but is nonetheless a rattling
good dive. She lies on her starboard side with her stern section relatively
intact with capstans and mooring bollards still attached to a sloping
quarterdeck. Her mid section has been extensively salvaged, but this
means that parts of her structure are the more easily seen. Towards
her bows there are two 6 inch guns that straddle the sea bed having
collapsed from the main deck housing. Her bows are intact and quite
imposing. Anchor chains from the capstans lead out over the deck through
hawse pipes set in the damaged deck. An anchor chain runs out along
the sea bed. She has an excellent control tower.
This is an excellent dive not least because the salvage damage has
made some parts of the cruiser more obvious than in the more extant
ones. The stern is quite impressive. |
