Scapa Flow Visitor Center
The Scapa Flow Visitor Center is a former military structure and now a military museum on the Orkney island of Hoy in Scotland .
In 2006 the structure was included in the Scottish List of Monuments in the highest category A. The facility was previously classified as a Scheduled Monument . However, this classification was lifted in favor of registration as a Listed Building .
History and description
During the First World War , a British navy base was established in Lyness on the sheltered harbor of Scapa Flow , where the facility is located . In both world wars, the facility was of great military importance and German submarines invaded the Scapa Flow. After the end of the First World War, the German deep sea fleet was interned there and finally sank itself in 1919 . In 1917 the system comprised four oil tanks, each holding 12,000 tons of diesel, and a pumping station for ship fueling. In 1936, twelve steel tanks of higher capacity were installed and in 1938 construction of underground facilities began on a nearby hill. On October 14, 1939, the battleship HMS Royal Oak , anchored in Scapa Flow, was sunk by U 47 . The wreck is now a protected resting place. In 1939 simple barracks were hastily built. Up to 12,000 military personnel were stationed at the naval base during World War II . From 1945 the staff was reduced to a basic crew and the facility was finally closed in 1956.
In 1977 the Orkney Island government acquired the complex and demolished most of the buildings. In 1990 the former pump house was restored and opened as a museum. The machinery installed there can only be seen in its execution in a few locations and is partly unique. The only surviving oil tank is of a type that is rarely found today. It has been converted into an exhibition space and contains, among other things, a searchlight, various weapons and a boat that secretly crossed from occupied Norway to Scapa Flow during the war .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
- ↑ a b Information about the Scapa Flow Visitor Center .
Web links
- Network presence of the museum
- Entry on Scapa Flow Visitor Center in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database
- Orkney Island Council information
Coordinates: 58 ° 50 ′ 1.6 ″ N , 3 ° 11 ′ 50.1 ″ W.