二次世界大戰資料庫 (WW2DB)

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseScapa Flow, a body of water sheltered by various islands of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, United Kingdom, was named the new main base of the British Grand Fleet in 1904 to face the growing German High Seas Fleet. It was not until 1914 when mines, coastal guns, and other defensive fortifications began to be set up in its approaches. It remained the main British naval base when the European War of WW2 began in 1939. The defensive structures were inadequate for the new war, however; anti-aircraft weaponry were obsolete, old block ships were falling apart, and anti-submarine nets were made of only single-stranded looped wires. As a result, German submarine U-47 under Günther Prien was able to penetrate into Scapa Flow to sink HMS Royal Oak on 14 Oct 1939, and Ju 88 bombers damaged HMS Iron Duke on 17 Oct 1939. New block ships, mines, anti-aircraft, and anti-ship guns were hurriedly constructed shortly after to remedy the shortcomings, while the new airfield RAF Grimsetter was completed in 1940 to bolster the defense of the general area. After yet another aerial attack by the Germans in Mar 1940, however, it was determined that the Home Fleet's main base should be relocated temporarily. For the remainder of the war, Scapa Flow remained a very busy naval base, with it serving as a staging point for Arctic Convoys to northern Russia, for example. The military base at Scapa Flow remained in use until 1956.