Wreck of First World War German flagship found off the Falkland Islands

The wreck of a First World War German battlecruiser sunk by the Royal Navy in 1914 has been found off the coast of the Falkland Islands.

The SMS Scharnhorst has lain undiscovered in the South Atlantic for almost 105 years, since its sinking in one of the most important early naval battles of the First World War.

It was the flagship of Admiral Maximilian Graf von Spee’s East Asia Squadron, the Imperial German Navy’s only permanent overseas formation, which was wiped out at the Battle of the Falklands in 1914.

The date of the battle, December 8, is still commemorated as a public holiday in the islands.

“It is with mixed emotions that we announce the discovery of SMS Scharnhorst,” said Mensun Bound, the leader of the search that located the wreck.

“After a search that began five years ago, on the centenary of the battle, we are very proud to be able to shed further light on what was a defining point in the First World War, and therefore a landmark moment in modern history.”

Admiral von Spee’s East Asia Squadron had inflicted a heavy defeat on the Royal Navy at the Battle of Coronel off the coast of Chile in November 1914, sinking two British cruisers and resulting in the loss of 1,660 lives.

The Royal Navy responded by sending a large force to hunt down the East Asia Squadron. They met off the coast of the Falklands, where the Royal Navy sunk four of the German force’s eight ships. Two more were captured and scuttled.

A total of 1,871 German seamen lost their lives in the battle, including von Spee and both his sons. Of the 215 German survivors who were rescued, one turned out to be a cousin of one of the British commanders, Rear Admiral Archibald Stoddart.

Although two German ships escaped, the British victory was decisive and the East Asia Squadron was not reformed.

The wreck of the Scharnhorst was discovered by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust.

“The moment of discovery was extraordinary,” said Mr Bound, the leader of the search. “We are often chasing shadows on the seabed, but when the Scharnhorst first appeared in the data flow, there was no doubt that this was one of the German fleet... Suddenly she just came out of the gloom with great guns poking in every direction.

“As a Falkland Islander and a marine archaeologist, a discovery of this significance is an unforgettable, poignant moment in my life.”

Wilhelm Graf von Spee, a descendant of Admiral von Spee, described the discovery of the wreck as “bittersweet”.

“We take comfort from the knowledge that the final resting place of so many has been found, and can now be preserved, whilst also being reminded of the huge waste of life,” he said.