View of pier from South East with boats

Description View of pier from South East with boats

Date 31/5/1997

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number SC 653647

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 17593 CN

Scope and Content 'Golden Wharf', World War I and II Naval Base, Lyness, Hoy, Orkney Islands At Lyness on Hoy, close to the sounds which made up the main fleet anchorage, naval quarters, stores and an oil depot were established during World War I and were considerably developed in World War II to become the Base Headquarters, HMS Proserpine. The base came to include an extensive area for the repair of anti-submarine boom nets, 16 above-ground oil storage tanks and, beneath the nearby hill of Wee Fea, six very large underground fuel tanks which were capable of storing some 100,000 tons of oil. The quay at Lyness against which these vessels are moored is a World War II extension to an existing (World War I) quay. It forms the waterfront of a large landfill site which brought the quayside area well forward of the natural shoreline with excavated spoil from the tunnels for the underground tanks which were being dug in the nearby hillside. Completed in 1944, on account of the cost involved, it was nicknamed - and generally referred to as - the 'Golden Wharf'. 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/653647

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap