Scapa Flow

Scapa Flow (skăp`ə), area of water, 15 mi (24 km) long and 8 mi (12.9 km) wide, in the Orkney Islands, off N Scotland. It is bounded by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay, and Hoy. Scapa Flow was Britain's main naval base in both world wars. Lyness, on Hoy, was the headquarters. The British vessel Vanguard exploded in Scapa Flow in July, 1917, and the German fleet was scuttled there in 1919. In Oct., 1939, a German submarine penetrated the area and sank the Royal Oak, causing the British fleet to withdraw until 1940. The Churchill Barrier was begun the same year to block the eastern entrance to Scapa Flow by sinking 250,000 tons of concrete in the sounds linking Mainland, Burray, South Ronaldsay, and two smaller eastern islands. The barrier now forms a causeway linking Mainland to South Ronaldsay. The naval base was closed in 1956.

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Scapa Flow

Sea basin, Orkney Islands, Scotland. Located off of Scotland's northern tip, the basin is about 15 mi (24 km) long and 8 mi (13 km) wide. Its extensive sheltered waters served as a major British naval base during World Wars I and II. The Germans scuttled their fleet there after World War I. The base was fortified in World War II following German attacks and the sinking of the battleship Royal Oak in 1939. The base closed in 1956.

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Scapa Flow

an extensive landlocked anchorage off the N coast of Scotland, in the Orkney Islands: major British naval base in both World Wars. Length: about 24 km (15 miles). Width: 13 km (8 miles)