View from North East with information plaque in foreground

Description View from North East with information plaque in foreground

Catalogue Number SC 642700

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 21685 CN

Scope and Content World War II Churchill Barrier No 1, Kirk or Holm Sound, Mainland-Lamb Holm, 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, seen here in this image, 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 of Churchill Barrier No 1 linking Mainland and Lamb Holm (in the distance) shows in the foreground a commemorative plaque mounted on a concrete block recording the fact that 'these barriers were constructed by Balfour Beatty between 1940 and 1944 with the aid of Italian Prisoners of War'. Kirk or Holm Sound, which this barrier traverses, is the deepest and fastest flowing of all the eastern channels into Scapa Flow, with foundations up to 18m in depth. Like all the barriers, those foundations are made up of rubble stone contained in mesh bags or bolsters and overlaid with 10-ton and 5-ton concrete blocks, the top layer being laid in what was described as 'pell-mell fashion' to break the force of the waves. Modern posts and rails mark the outer edge of the road across the barrier. 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/642700

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap