Orkney And Scapa Flow At War 1939 45

Author : Craig Armstrong
Publisher : Pen and Sword Military
ISBN 13 : 1473899222
Total Pages : 171 pages
Book Rating : 4.23/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Orkney and Scapa Flow at War 1939–45 written by Craig Armstrong and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2020-12-30 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Reminds us of the courage and immense sacrifices made by Orcadians, and tells of the efforts made by the British to protect their remote islanders. Superb.” —Books Monthly Orkney was a key strategic location during the Second World War. The vast anchorage of Scapa Flow was the main haven for the Royal Navy’s Home Fleet, making it a prime target for the Luftwaffe, and attempts to bomb the anchorage were made from the beginning of the war. In the early hours of 14 October 1940, a German submarine apparently penetrated Scapa Flow’s defenses and managed to sink the aging battleship HMS Royal Oak with the loss of 834 of her crew, including many boy sailors. The loss spurred changes to the defenses of Scapa Flow, which hugely impacted Orkney. Orcadians also made a huge contribution to the war effort through farming and in providing support to the thousands of sailors, soldiers and airmen who were based locally. Orcadians also raised considerable funds and gathered much-needed items, including scrap metal and even sphagnum moss for use in the treatment of wounds. Large numbers of Orcadians worked in the fishing industry and this was a staple supplier of food for the islands, as well as a key employer. The men aboard the trawlers were used to danger, but the war ramped this up even further as many became prey to German attacks from the air. Although isolated from the mainland, the people of Orkney made a very substantial contribution to the war effort and many paid the ultimate price, losing their lives in the service of their country. “Another beautiful volume for the series.” —On the Old Barbed Wire

Author : Craig Armstrong
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781473899216
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.14/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Orkney and Scapa Flow at War 1939–45 written by Craig Armstrong and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Angus Konstam
Publisher : Osprey Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9781846033667
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.67/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Scapa Flow written by Angus Konstam and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 2009-07-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A strategically important natural harbor in the Orkney Islands, Scapa Flow served as Britain's main fleet anchorage during World Wars I and II. It held Jellicoe's Grand Fleet from 1914-18, and it was from here that it sailed out to do battle with the Germans at Jutland in 1916. In 1914 the British began building a comprehensive defensive network by fortifying the entrances to Scapa Flow and then extending these defenses to cover most of Orkney. These static defenses were augmented with boom nets, naval patrols and minefields, creating the largest fortified naval base in the world. With the outbreak of the Second World War, Scapa Flow again proved ideally situated to counter the German naval threat and served as the base for Britain's Home Fleet. Despite constant attacks from aircraft and U-boats, one of which managed to sink the British battleship Royal Oak, the defenses of Scapa Flow were again augmented and improved. By 1940, Orkney had become an island fortress, the largest integrated defensive network of its kind in Europe, manned by as many as 50,000 Commonwealth troops. Backed by newly commissioned artwork, naval historian Angus Konstam tells the story of this mighty naval fortress, many pieces of which can still be seen on the island today.

Author : James Miller
Publisher : Birlinn
ISBN 13 : 0857905627
Total Pages : 247 pages
Book Rating : 4.28/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Scapa written by James Miller and published by Birlinn. This book was released on 2012-09-28 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scapa Flow was one of the world's great naval bases and the scene of many of the major events of twentieth-century naval history. During both World Wars, the Royal Navy made Scapa the home for its capital ships, and thousands of servicemen and women were posted to Orkney. From here the Grand Fleet sailed for Jutland in 1916, from here the escorts for the Russian convoys set off, and it was in this beautiful, bleak anchorage that the German High Seas fleet committed the greatest act of suicide ever seen at sea – 'The Grand Scuttle' – before being later raised and scrapped in the most astonishing feat of maritime salvage in history. It was also in Scapa that the last photographs of Kitchener were taken as he boarded HMS Hampshire, shortly before she was sunk by mine off Marwick Head. Scapa is also the grave of many who fought for their country in both World Wars. In its silent waters lie the wrecks of the battleship Vanguard, blown apart by an explosion in 1917, and the Royal Oak, sunk by U-47 in a spectacular raid at the beginning of World War II . Here the first Luftwaffe raids on Britain occured, here too Italian prisoners-of-war built both the spectacular Churchill causeways and the exquisite chapel on the island of Lamb Holm. In this book, illustrated with over 130 archive photographs, James Miller traces the story of this remarkable place, weaving together history, eyewitness accounts and personal experience to capture the life and spirit of Scapa Flow when it was home to thousands of service personnel and the most powerful fleet in the world.

Author : Angus Konstam
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1849080828
Total Pages : 66 pages
Book Rating : 4.28/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Scapa Flow written by Angus Konstam and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-02-20 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A strategically important natural harbor in the Orkney Islands, Scapa Flow served as Britain's main fleet anchorage during World Wars I and II. In 1914 and again in 1939, the British began building a comprehensive defensive network by fortifying the entrances to Scapa Flow, and then extended these defenses to cover most of Orkney. By 1940, it had become an island fortress, the largest integrated defensive network of its kind in Europe, manned by as many as 50,000 Commonwealth troops. Backed by newly commissioned artwork, naval historian Angus Konstam tells the story of this mighty naval fortress, many pieces of which can still be seen on the island today.

Author : W.S. Hewison
Publisher : Birlinn Ltd
ISBN 13 : 1788852699
Total Pages : 394 pages
Book Rating : 4.92/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book This Great Harbour written by W.S. Hewison and published by Birlinn Ltd. This book was released on 2020-05-07 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Known by mariners since Viking times as a safe anchorage in notoriously savage waters, Scapa Flow is the seaway that runs between the Orkney mainland and the island of Hoy. As the northern base of the Royal Navy and Allied fleets in two world wars, it witnessed some of the most seminal events in modern naval history. It was from here that The Grand Fleet set off in 1916 to do battle at Jutland; it was from that Lord Kitchener sailed to his death aboard the Hampshire; it was here that the surrendered German fleet was scuttled in May 1919; and it was here that 800 sailors lost their lives in October 1939 when HMS Royal Oak was torpedoed by a German submarine. The late W.S. Hewison's book is the ultimate history of this remarkable place. In addition to the military story, he also tells about the impact war had on the native island community as their remote archipelago was transformed into the hub of Britain's naval war machine.

Author : Gregor Lamb
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780951344323
Total Pages : 162 pages
Book Rating : 4.23/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Sky Over Scapa 1939-1945 written by Gregor Lamb and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Philip Paris
Publisher : Black & White Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1845026144
Total Pages : 330 pages
Book Rating : 4.41/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Orkney's Italian Chapel written by Philip Paris and published by Black & White Publishing. This book was released on 2010-05-27 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Orkney's Italian Chapel was built by Italian POWs held on the island during the Second World War. In the sixty-five years since it was built it has become an enduring symbol of peace and hope around the world. The story of who built the chapel and how it came into existence and survived against all the odds is both fascinating and inspiring. Author Philip Paris's extensive research into the creation of the Italian Chapel has uncovered many new facts, and this comprehensive new book is the definitive account of the chapel and those who built it. It is a book that has waited to be written for sixty-five years.

Author : David Turner
Publisher : Birlinn Ltd
ISBN 13 : 1788852885
Total Pages : 214 pages
Book Rating : 4.83/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book The Last Dawn written by David Turner and published by Birlinn Ltd. This book was released on 2022-09-01 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 14 October 1939, HMS Royal Oak, one of the British navy's top battleships, was destroyed at the Royal Navy's main anchorage at Scapa Flow, Orkney. The audacious attack, by a German U-boat, was the first major blow against Britain of the Second World War. Over 800 lives were lost, including sailors as young as 14. This book is a revealing account of the tragedy. Told through declassified photographs and naval records, as well as statements from survivors, it is a dramatic and moving reassessment of one of the most shattering events in British naval history.

Author : H. J. Weaver
Publisher : Origin
ISBN 13 : 9781912476626
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.22/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Nightmare at Scapa Flow written by H. J. Weaver and published by Origin. This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published: Peppard Common, Oxfordshire: Cressrelles Pub., 1980.