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Scapa Flow is a large bay in the Orkney Islands, approximately 15 miles by 8 miles wide, and its extensive sheltered waters were selected as a suitable base in both World Wars from which the British fleet could patrol the North Sea. After the surrender of the German fleet at the end of WW1 and its internment in Scapa Flow, the German ships duly arrived but were quickly scuttled by German crew in order that they could not be used by the British Navy. Later, when WW2 began, the strong tides and the navigational hazards of Scapa Flow were considered sufficient defence and so little work had been done since WW1 to reinforce Scapa Flow's defences. During that war, the British fleet was again stationed there and early in the conflict a submarine, captained by Gunther Prien, secretly manoeuvered between the old blockships into Scapa Flow and torpedoed and sank HMS Royal Oak in October 1939 with the loss of 833 lives. It was then that Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the building of the Churchill Barriers to stop any repetition of the submarine attack.
After the war, a road was built on top of the causeways allowing the south isles of Lamb Holm, Glimps Holm, Burray and South Ronaldsay to become part of the main roadway system of Orkney. The wreck of the battleship Royal Oak can today still be seen leaking oil, and it's a fascinating sight to see this open-air museum of barriers and hulks of scuttled ships still peering from the waters as you cycle through the Orkneys. |
