Scapa Flow (Old Norse: Skalpaflói) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Mainland is the main Island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's Burghs Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island Graemsay is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. Graemsay lies in the western approaches to Scapa Flow, between Stromness ( Mainland Burray is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. It lies to the east of Scapa Flow and is one of the chain of islands which are linked by the causesways South Ronaldsay is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. Hoy (from Old Norse Háey meaning high island is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. At 140 square miles, with a sandy bottom, and relatively shallow (not deeper than 160 feet, and most of it about 70 feet deep), it is one of the great natural harbours/anchorages of the world, with sufficient space to hold a number of navies. Viking ships anchored in Scapa Flow more than 1000 years ago, but it is best known as the site of the United Kingdom's chief naval base during the First and Second World Wars. A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The base was closed in 1956. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Contents 1 World War I 2 World War II 3 Scapa Flow Visitor Centre 4 Scuba diving 5 Trivia 6 References 7 External links

World War I

Historically, the main British naval bases were located near the English Channel to better face England's old enemies of France, Spain, and the Netherlands. In 1904, in response to the build-up of the German Kaiserliche Marine's High Seas Fleet, it was decided that a northern base was needed, to control the entrances to the North Sea. The Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by the formation of the German Empire. The High Seas Fleet (Hochseeflotte was the main battle fleet of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy during World War I. The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. Originally, Rosyth was considered for the base, and then Invergordon at Cromarty Firth but construction in both places was delayed, leaving them largely unfortified by the time of the First World War. Rosyth Dockyard is a large naval dockyard in Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, which today primarily undertakes refitting of Royal Navy surface vessels Invergordon is a town and Port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. The Cromarty Firth ( Scottish Gaelic Caolas Chrombaidh kɯːɫ̪əs̪ xɾɔumbaj - literally Kyles/ Straits of Cromarty forms an arm of the North Sea Scapa Flow was used many times for exercises in the years leading up to the War, and, when the time came for the fleet to move to a northern station, Scapa Flow was chosen for the main base of the British Grand Fleet, even though it was also unfortified. The Grand Fleet was a Fleet of the British Royal Navy during the First World War. ^[1]

John Rushworth Jellicoe, admiral of the Grand Fleet, was constantly nervous about potential submarine or destoyer attacks on Scapa Flow, and the base was reinforced with minefields, artillery, and concrete barriers starting in 1914. Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO ( 5 December 1859 &ndash 20 November These fears were borne out when German U-boats twice attacked British ships in Scapa Flow, though the attacks themselves did no damage. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word, itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot ( undersea boat) and refers The first, by U-18, took place in November 1914; but the sub was rammed by a trawler searching for submarines while it was trying to enter Scapa Flow, causing the submarine to flee and then sink. The second attack, by UB-116, in October 1918, encountered the sophisticated defenses then in place at Scapa Flow, was detected by hydrophones and then destroyed by shore-triggered mines before it could enter the anchorage. A hydrophone (Greek "hydro" = "water" and "phone" = "sound" is a Microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening

Main article: Gutter Sound

Following the German defeat in the First World War, 74 ships of the Kaiserliche Marine's High Seas Fleet were interned in Gutter Sound at Scapa Flow pending a decision on their future in the peace Treaty of Versailles. Gutter Sound is an inlet of the vast anchorage of Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. A ship /ʃɪp/ is a large vessel that floats on water Ships are generally distinguished from Boats based on size The Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by the formation of the German Empire. The High Seas Fleet (Hochseeflotte was the main battle fleet of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy during World War I. Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people commonly in large groups without trial Gutter Sound is an inlet of the vast anchorage of Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. On 21 June 1919 Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, the German officer in command at Scapa Flow, after waiting for the bulk of the British fleet to leave on exercises, gave the order to scuttle the ships to prevent their falling into British hands. Events 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vézeronce. Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Rear admiral is a Naval Commissioned officer rank above that of a Commodore and Captain, and below that of a Vice Admiral. Ludwig von Reuter ( 9 February 1869 - 18 December 1943) was a German Admiral during World War I, who commanded Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull. Fifty-one ships sank without loss of life. However nine German sailors died when British forces opened fire as they attempted to scuttle their ship, reputedly the last casualties of the First World War.

World War II

Early in World War II, on 14 October 1939, U-47, under the command of Günther Prien, penetrated Scapa Flow and sank the old battleship HMS Royal Oak anchored in Scapa Bay. Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Lieutenant Commander Günther Prien ( 16 January 1908 &ndash 7 March 1941) was one of the outstanding German U-boat aces Construction The Revenge class to which Royal Oak belonged was ordered in the 1913&ndash14 Estimates Her second torpedo attack blew a 30-foot (9 m) hole in the Royal Oak and as a result she flooded and quickly capsized. Of the 1,400-man crew, 833 were lost. The wreck is now a protected war grave. A war grave is a place where War dead are buried It may contain either a combatant or a civilian After the attack, Winston Churchill ordered the construction of a series of causeways to block the eastern approaches to Scapa Flow; they were built by Italian prisoners of war held in Orkney. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest These "Churchill Barriers" now provide road access from the Mainland to Burray and South Ronaldsay, although they block maritime traffic. The Churchill Barriers are a series of four Causeways in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, with a total length of 2

Three days after this submarine attack, four Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88 bombers raided Scapa Flow in one of the first bombing attacks on Britain during the war. ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The attack badly damaged the elderly base ship, the former battleship HMS Iron Duke, but one bomber was shot down by an anti-aircraft battery on Hoy.

Scapa Flow Visitor Centre

The visitor centre is situated on the island of Hoy and is situated in the former naval fuel pumping station and a converted storage tank. Hoy (from Old Norse Háey meaning high island is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. The exhibits include a large three dimensional representation of the island and of the ships as they were prior to scuttling. The island is accessible by local ferry several times daily. The centre has catering facilities for day trippers.

Scuba diving

The wreckage of the German fleet has become increasingly popular as a venue for recreational Scuba divers. Scuba diving is swimming underwater, or taking part in another activity while using a Scuba set. Divers must first obtain a permit from the Island Harbour Authorities, which is available through diving shops and centres. The wrecks are mostly located at depths of 35 to 50 metres. Divers are not permitted to enter inside the wrecks, or to retrieve artifacts located within 100 metres of any wreck. However time and tide has washed broken pieces of ships' pottery and glass bottles into shallow waters and onto beaches. The underwater visibility is not sufficient to view all the length of a wreck at once, however, current technology is now allowing 3D images of them to be seen ^[2]
The wrecks of the Royal Oak and the dreadnought Vanguard, which exploded at anchor during the First World War (1917), are considered war graves. 3D computer graphics (in contrast to 2D computer graphics) are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer A war grave is a place where War dead are buried It may contain either a combatant or a civilian Only Royal Navy divers are permitted to visit them.

Trivia

• Although "scarper", a slang word meaning to run away, originally derives from an Italian word scappare, meaning "to escape",^[3], it became much more popular after the First World War, when Cockney rhyming slang started to use the rhyme "Scapa Flow"—"go". Slang is the use of highly informal Words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's Dialect or Language. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Rhyming slang is a form of Slang in which a word is replaced either by another word or phrase that rhymes with it or by the first word of such a phrase in which

• The Scotch whisky Scapa, distilled in Kirkwall, is named after this area. Scotch whisky is Whisky made in Scotland. In Britain the term whisky is usually taken to mean Scotch unless otherwise specified Scapa is a Scotch whisky distillery situated on the The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland on the shore of Scapa Flow near Kirkwall is the largest town and capital of the Orkney Islands, off the coast of northern mainland Scotland.

• British Band British Sea Power mention Scapa Flow in their song Carrion, on the album the Decline of British Sea Power

• There is a traditional Scottish folk band based in Germany named Scapa Flow

References

External links

• Listing of German and scuttled ships.
• Scapa Flow website by North Walls Community School.
• Scuttling of the High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow.
• About the shipwrecks at Scapa Flow.
• u47.org Site about the U-boat U-47, which sank the Royal Oak
• Orkney Wireless Museum.
• German based Scottish folk band

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