A total of 52 ships went to the seafloor and this remains the greatest loss of shipping ever recorded in a single day.
On 21 June 1919, under the mistaken belief that peace talks had failed, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter gave the command to scuttle the entire fleet in the Flow. A total of 74 ships of the German High Seas Fleet arrived in Scapa Flow for internment. It is thought that spontaneous combustion of cordite triggered the devastating explosions.Īs part of the Armistice agreement at the end World War I, Germany had to surrender most of its fleet. She sank in twenty minutes with a loss of 737 men (Orcadian 2015: 21) including Lord Kitchener, only 12 of the company survived.Ī greater loss of life would be suffered the following year when the battleship HMS Vanguard exploded at anchor in Scapa Flow with the loss of 843 men only two of those on board survived. On 5 June in the aftermath of the battle, the Minister of War – Lord Kitchener – visited the Grand Fleet in Scapa Flow on his way to Russia for a goodwill visit. It was from this well guarded naval base that the Grand Fleet sailed in May 1916 to engage in battle with the German High Seas Fleet at the Battle of Jutland. Old merchant ships were also sunk as blockships to prevent access through the channels. Coast defence batteries were built and boom defences, including anti-submarine nets, were stretched over the entrances to prevent enemy vessels from penetrating Scapa Flow. If the Admiralty were to rely on the Firth of Forth further south, there was a real risk their ships could be trapped if a minefield was placed across its mouth.Īt the outbreak of World War I defences were put in place to guard the Grand Fleet in its new home. Scapa Flow was ideally situated to provide a safe anchorage in the north with easy access to open waters. This time it was to defend against a new enemy: Germany. However, by the early 20th century the Admiralty once again looked at Scapa Flow. Subsequent wars were waged against countries including France, Spain and the Netherlands – as such a northern naval base became unnecessary. Two Martello Towers were built on either side of Longhope in order to defend these trading ships until a warship arrived to escort them to the Baltic Sea. The Admiralty used the area as a deep water anchorage for trading ships waiting to cross the North Sea to Baltic ports. However, it wasn’t until the Napoleonic wars of the early 1800s that the Admiralty first took an interest in Scapa Flow. Scapa Flow has been used as a harbour since Viking times, the name Skalpaflói being given to it by the Vikings. The name Scapa Flow comes from the Old Norse Skalpaflói, meaning ‘bay of the long isthmus’, which refers to the thin strip of land between Scapa Bay and the town of Kirkwall. The Orkney Mainland and South Isles encircle Scapa Flow, making it a sheltered harbour with easy access to both the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean.
Scapa Flow is a body of water about 120 square miles in area and with an average depth of 30 to 40 metres.
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