For half a century, the Royal Navy had been powered by Welsh coal, and Britain had its own almost limitless supplies. The transition from coal to oil in the pre-Great War navy had enormous consequences. Scapa Flow is a favourite spot for divers who want to explore the many warships littering the seabed, although some wrecks, as war graves, are off limits. The scale of the heavy machinery needed for such an operation is awe-inspiring.Įarly diving equipment on display. You’ll then walk through the old pump house, where oil was pumped from giant storage silos to waiting ships. This gave the navy quick access both to the Atlantic and to cut off the North Sea in the event of the German High Seas Fleet trying to break out of its Baltic base. But in the Edwardian era, after discussion within the Admiralty as to the best place to locate the Grand Fleet in the event of war with Germany, Admiral John Fisher opted to go for Scapa Flow. And the site was first used by the navy in the Napoleonic Wars. The Vikings anchored their longships in Scapa Flow a thousand years ago. These were opened only when Royal Navy vessels needed to enter or leave the Great Harbour.Ī large display looks back over several centuries of Orkney’s links with the sea. Specific to Scapa Flow are samples of the giant steel nets that were used as boom defences in an attempt to prevent enemy submarines from getting into the vicinity. A visit begins with a display of items relating in general to life at sea. The museum itself is located in a new building next to the fleets’ former pumphouse. Orkney’s links with the sea date back a thousand years, when the Vikings anchored their longships on the islands. Her largely intact bridge structure is a must see.Inside the refurbished museum. She lies on her starboard side with her port rail at about 20 metres. Built at Stettin, and launched in 1915, she was manoeuvrable and fast, at over 28 knots. (Max depth 34m) This mine laying cruiser displaced 4300 tons and had an overall length of 140 metres. Badly broken in places by salvaging she still makes for a great dive outside and with care inside.
She now lies close to the island of Cava upside-down with a list to port. She was built at Wilhelmshaven in 1913-1914. (Max depth 42m) The König was the flagship of the Third Battle Squadron at Jutland and was the name-ship of her class. Lying upside down to her starboard side, the hull starts in about 16 metres and her main guns can be seen at the seabed in 38meters. The Kiel Canal had to be widened to get her to open sea. (Max depth 38m) Another Konig Class, displacing 25,400 tons, she was launched in Kiel in 1914. SMS Kronprinz Willhelm with its 12” guns SMS Kronprinz Willhelm The Markgraf now lies upside down on her port side. Heavily armoured and armed with 12-inch main guns. With a length of 177 metres, she displaced 25,400 tons. (Max depth 45m) A Konig Class Dreadnaught, launched in 1913. Other Scapa Flow dives can be read about here – North Isles and Other Orkney Dives Scapa Flow – The Big Seven SMS Markgraf Maximum depths to the seabed is around 44m. The stricken cruisers on their sides, their superstructures slowly falling to the seabed after nearly 100 years underwater.Īll of the WWI German wrecks lie approximately 50 minutes from the port of Stromness. Their legacy is some of the best scuba diving in the world, the behemoths of the battleships rising from 45m to 22m, guns pointing into the green, seemingly on eternal patrol. The remains of the German fleet still lie in the flow, heavily protected from any sort of salvage or interference by divers. Scapa Flow is one of the jewels in the crown of UK scuba diving. Post war salvage raised most of the ships for scrap, but seven remain submerged forever in the waters of Scapa Flow. In the end 51 ships went to the bottom of Scapa Flow, others were run aground to prevent them sinking. This was carried out swiftly while the British guarding ships were out on exercise and could not stop them. Admiral von Reuter mistakenly believed war was about to break out, so on the 19th June 1919 he gave the order for the fleet to be scuttled. At the signing of the armistice the German fleet was interred with skeleton crews at Scapa until its fate could be decided. Used in both world wars as protection for the British Fleet, the islands became home to tens of thousands of service personnel.
Scapa Flow is a huge natural harbour formed within the Orkney Islands with over 140 square miles of comparatively calm water within its bounds. Iconic image of SMS Baden sinking during the scuttling of the German Fleet.
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