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View of remains of anti-submarine boom from South West

SC 642685

Description View of remains of anti-submarine boom from South West

Catalogue Number SC 642685

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 21506 CN

Scope and Content Anti-submarine boom nets, Flotta and Calf of Flotta, Orkney Islands In both World Wars the main entrances into Scapa Flow were protected by a series of blockships and anti-submarine boom nets which were strung from shore to shore and were covered from landward by coast batteries. The four eastern channels into the Flow were especially vulnerable to seaborne attack, and after Kirk or Holm Sound had been penetrated by a German U-boat which sank HMS Royal Oak in October 1939, Churchill authorised the building of permanent barriers which bear his name. Begun in 1940, the Churchill Barriers broke the surfaces of the channels in 1943 and were finally opened as causeways for civilian use in 1945 at the end of the war. This view shows piles of anti-submarine boom nets which have evidently been gathered together in the post-war period and dumped here across the channel between Flotta and Calf of Flotta (left). Towards the left-hand (northern) end of the 'reef' is a type of hoisting apparatus known as sheer-legs. At the heart of the Orkney archipelago, Scapa Flow was the main fleet anchorage for the Royal Navy during both World Wars. Its vital importance led to the creation of one of the most concentrated defence networks in Britain. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/642685

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap

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