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(Image: George Brown; abandoned anti-submarine net in Scapa Flow)
In the annals of modern British maritime history, few locations are better known than the great natural harbour of Scapa Flow in Scotland’s Orkney Islands. It was here, on June 21, 1919 while pending the outcome of the Treaty of Versailles, that Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter ordered the scuttling of 74 ships of the Imperial German Navy’s High Seas Fleet to stop them falling into British hands after Germany’s defeat in the Great War.
As World War Two loomed, Scapa Flow was again chosen as a major Royal Navy base due to its distance from Luftwaffe airfields. But its infrastructure had been neglected after the First World War, and its defences needed urgent attention. The rusting anti-submarine net shown here, and its heavy net anchor tripod, are among many derelict relics of those historic and turbulent years of the early 20th century to haunt the waters around the Flow. The 300-metre-long net now forms a reef in Calf Sound immediately off the tiny island of Flotta.
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(Image: George Brown; the anti-submarine net from Calf Sound)
Nearby, the wrecks of rusting blockships emerge from the sea. As war loomed, the UK government determined that Scapa Flow had become increasingly vulnerable to attacks by both plane and U-boat. Existing defences were inadequate and the hulks of blockships sunk in previous decades as barriers against German submarines had begun to collapse onto the seabed.
As a result, additional blockships were deliberately sunk, mines and booms were positioned strategically at the entrances to the natural harbour, and coastal defences and anti-aircraft batteries were also established on the surrounding hillsides.
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(Image: John Haslam; a sunken British blockship hulk in Scapa Flow)
Prime Minister Winston Churchill also ordered the construction of a series of causeways to stop German warships entering Scapa Flow though its eastern approaches. These so-called Churchill Barriers proved highly effective, and continue to block shipping to this day. The causeways now provide road access between Mainland, Burray and South Ronaldsay.
Flotta is now home to an oil terminal and giant petroleum tankers are a regular sight at anchor in the relatively calm waters of the Flow. In addition to the Scapa Flow Visitor Centre and Museum, the seven remaining wrecks of the Imperial German High Seas Fleet as well as several sunken blockships are known as being among the UK’s top recreational scuba dive locations.
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(Image: BillC; a road now runs along this Churchill Barrier)
Related: 10 Abandoned Wartime Structures Built for the Defence of Britain
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