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Scapa Flow

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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"SCAPA FLOW, an expanse of sea, in the S. of the Orkneys, bounded by Pomona on the N., Burray and South Ronaldshay on the E. and S.E., and Hoy on the W. and S.W. The area contains seven small islands and is about 15 m. in extreme length (N. to S.), and about 8 m. in mean breadth. There are two chief exits - one, 7 m. in length and 2 m. in mean breadth, into the Atlantic Ocean by Hoy Sound, and the other, 3} m. in length by 2 m. in mean breadth, into the North Sea by Holm Sound. Scapa Flow contains several good anchorages, the best being Longhope in the island of Hoy. When the danger of a war with Germany came first to be apprehended, it was proposed to establish the chief British naval base, in the event of war, at Rosyth in the Firth of Forth, but it was afterwards decided that a larger base in a natural harbour farther N. would be required, and in 1912 it was proposed to construct defences both at Cromarty and at Scapa Flow. Permanent defences at Scapa were, however, abandoned in 1913, owing to the developments of submarine warfare, which rendered it very costly to protect the various entrances. Immediately on the outbreak of war, batteries were erected at Scapa and the Territorial Garrison Artillery of the Orkneys were mobilized to man them. Scapa Flow was preferred to the Cromarty Firth as his chief naval base by Admiral Jellicoe, but no preparations had been made and everything had to be improvised, guns being landed from the ships to strengthen the defences. The absence of preparations came to be felt more strongly with the rapid growth of the submarine menace, for the depth and number of the entrances made it a serious problem to establish adequate defences. By the middle of Oct. 1914, " U " boats were active in the neighbourhood of Scapa Flow, and on Oct. 16, an enemy submarine was reported to be in the Flow. The few capital ships which happened to be there put to sea, and it was recognized that the base would be unsafe until anti-submarine defences were installed. 'While the necessary operations were in progress, the fleet occupied temporary bases in Skye and Mull and in the defended harbour of Lough Swilly in Ireland, and the absence of the fleet was successfully concealed. By the end of 1914, the entrances of Scapa Flow had been adequately protected, facilities for carrying out all but the most serious repairs were installed, and Scapa Flow gradually assumed the aspect of a great naval station, which it retained to the end of the war. As a precaution against espionage, navigation in the adjacent waters was very severely regulated, and an ever-widening region of the mainland (ultimately extending as far S. as the Caledonian Canal) was proclaimed as a prohibited area. The German ships which were surrendered in Nov. 1918 were interned in Scapa Flow, where on June 21 1919, all the battleships and battle cruisers, with the exception of the battleship " Baden" and five light cruisers, were scuttled. Three light cruisers and some smaller vessels were beached.