We will be diving “The Big Seven” with 12 Technical CCR dives spread over 6 diving days. Some of the wrecks we will be visiting are: SMS Markgraf, SMS Kronprinz Willhelm, SMS König, SMS Brummer, SMS Dresden, SMS Cöln, SMS Karlsruhe, and more.

The name Scapa Flow comes from the Old Norse Skalpaflói, meaning ‘bay of the long isthmus’, which refers to the thin strip of land between Scapa Bay and the town of Kirkwall.

Scapa Flow has been used as a harbour since Viking times, the name Skalpaflói being given to it by the Vikings. However, it wasn’t until the Napoleonic wars of the early 1800s that the Admiralty first took an interest in Scapa Flow. The Admiralty used the area as a deep water anchorage for trading ships waiting to cross the North Sea to Baltic ports. Two Martello Towers were built on either side of Longhope in order to defend these trading ships until a warship arrived to escort them to the Baltic Sea.

Subsequent wars were waged against countries including France, Spain and the Netherlands – as such a northern naval base became unnecessary. However, by the early 20th century the Admiralty once again looked at Scapa Flow. This time it was to defend against a new enemy: Germany. Scapa Flow was ideally situated to provide a safe anchorage in the north with easy access to open waters. If the Admiralty were to rely on the Firth of Forth further south, there was a real risk their ships could be trapped if a minefield was placed across its mouth.

Al estallar la Primera Guerra Mundial, se establecieron defensas para proteger a la Gran Flota en su nuevo hogar. Se construyeron baterías de defensa costera y se extendieron defensas de auge, incluidas redes antisubmarinas, sobre las entradas para evitar que los barcos enemigos penetren en Scapa Flow. También se hundieron viejos barcos mercantes como blockships para impedir el acceso a través de los canales.

It was from this well guarded naval base that the Grand Fleet sailed in May 1916 to engage in battle with the German High Seas Fleet at the Battle of Jutland. On 5 June in the aftermath of the battle, the Minister of War – Lord Kitchener – visited the Grand Fleet in Scapa Flow on his way to Russia for a goodwill visit. He never made it to Russia. She sank in twenty minutes with a loss of 737 men (Orcadian 2015: 21) including Lord Kitchener, only 12 of the company survived.

Se sufriría una mayor pérdida de vidas al año siguiente cuando el acorazado HMS Vanguard explotó anclado en Scapa Flow con la pérdida de 843 hombres; sólo sobrevivieron dos de los que iban a bordo. Se cree que la combustión espontánea de cordita desencadenó las devastadoras explosiones. Como parte del acuerdo de Armisticio al final de la Primera Guerra Mundial, Alemania tuvo que entregar la mayor parte de su flota. Un total de 74 barcos de la flota alemana de alta mar llegaron a Scapa Flow para ser internados.

On 21 June 1919, under the mistaken belief that peace talks had failed, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter gave the command to scuttle the entire fleet in the Flow. A total of 52 ships went to the seafloor and this remains the greatest loss of shipping ever recorded in a single day. The majority of the German ships were raised in one of the largest ever salvage operations in history. Only seven of the 52 ships remain in the Flow, although evidence of others can still be seen in some locations on the bottom of Scapa Flow.