There are many ways to scuttle a warship. Here are three of them: explosive charges, torpedoes and nuclear blasts. Spoiler: Loose lips sink ships but C-4 sinks them much better. Even better than nuclear blasts, but not as cool as torpedoes.
Explosives
The video above shows the last few seconds of the USS Oriskany — an Essex-class aircraft carrier completed after World War II, which saw action in the Korean and Vietnam wars. After being stripped from any toxic waste, the Oriskany was towed 39km south of Pensacola, Florida, where it was sunk with C-4 explosive charges.
The engineers thought it was going to take five hours for it to sink. It only took 37 minutes.
This is the USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, also sunk by explosive charges:
And the USS Arthur W Radford:
Torpedo detonation
Nuclear blasts
Not many ships have been sunk by nuclear blasts. The most notable one is US Navy carrier USS Saratoga:
This footage shows the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga after two nuclear tests in 1946 at Bikini Atoll. USS Saratoga (CV-3), a 33,000-ton aircraft carrier, was converted from the battle cruiser Saratoga (CC-3) while under construction at Camden, New Jersey. She served in the Pacific Theatre of World War II and earned 8 battle stars.
In mid-1946, USS Saratoga (CV-3) was a target for nuclear weapon tests during Operation Crossroads. She survived the first test with slightly damage, but was sunk by the second test. “Sara Maru” still lies beneath the waters of Bikini atoll, where she is occasionally visited by divers.
This was the blast: