Overview

A compact history charting the development of this natural harbor in the Orkney Islands, Britain's most important naval base 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.

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9781846033667

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Reviews

There are not too many places you can find any detail, or even a decent plan of Scapa Flow. This book fills a gap. Although this fortified site lacks an impressive battle history, largely due to the success of its defenses, this work will answer many questions for those who want to know what was there... The reader will find there is sufficient detail on the type and location of coastal artillery, air defenses, and the various types of naval defenses that protected the anchorage. Also, the covers the troop units assigned to the islands. There are two good maps showing the defenses in each World War and a number of illustrations of the various types of positions. This book will be of most interest to those that want a source of reference for Scapa Flow or just more information on the defenses of Great Britain. -JE Kaufmann, Site-O / siteo.net (January 2010)<br><br>. .. a well written, interesting book on a subject of importance that has been largely ignored. The defenses are presented as a unified whole, protecting against surface, submerged and aerial attack... This book is recommended to those with a wide range of interests, from coastal dfense to naval history, to the world wars in general. -Bolling Smith, Coast Defense Journal (March 2010)

...a well written, interesting book on a subject of importance that has been largely ignored. The defenses are presented as a unified whole, protecting against surface, submerged and aerial attack... This book is recommended to those with a wide range of interests, from coastal dfense to naval history, to the world wars in general. Bolling Smith, Coast Defense Journal (March 2010) There are not too many places you can find any detail, or even a decent plan of Scapa Flow. This book fills a gap. Although this fortified site lacks an impressive battle history, largely due to the success of its defenses, this work will answer many questions for those who want to know what was there... The reader will find there is sufficient detail on the type and location of coastal artillery, air defenses, and the various types of naval defenses that protected the anchorage. Also, the covers the troop units assigned to the islands. There are two good maps showing the defenses in each World War and a number of illustrations of the various types of positions. This book will be of most interest to those that want a source of reference for Scapa Flow or just more information on the defenses of Great Britain. JE Kaufmann, SiteO, siteo.net (January 2010)

.. .a well written, interesting book on a subject of importance that has been largely ignored. The defenses are presented as a unified whole, protecting against surface, submerged and aerial attack... This book is recommended to those with a wide range of interests, from coastal dfense to naval history, to the world wars in general. --Bolling Smith, Coast Defense Journal (March 2010) There are not too many places you can find any detail, or even a decent plan of Scapa Flow. This book fills a gap. Although this fortified site lacks an impressive battle history, largely due to the success of its defenses, this work will answer many questions for those who want to know what was there... The reader will find there is sufficient detail on the type and location of coastal artillery, air defenses, and the various types of naval defenses that protected the anchorage. Also, the covers the troop units assigned to the islands. There are two good maps showing the defenses in each World War and a number of illustrations of the various types of positions. This book will be of most interest to those that want a source of reference for Scapa Flow or just more information on the defenses of Great Britain. --JE Kaufmann, SiteO, siteo.net (January 2010) ...a well written, interesting book on a subject of importance that has been largely ignored. The defenses are presented as a unified whole, protecting against surface, submerged and aerial attack... This book is recommended to those with a wide range of interests, from coastal dfense to naval history, to the world wars in general. Bolling Smith, Coast Defense Journal (March 2010) There are not too many places you can find any detail, or even a decent plan of Scapa Flow. This book fills a gap. Although this fortified site lacks an impressive battle history, largely due to the success of its defenses, this work will answer many questions for those who want to know what was there... The reader will find there is sufficient detail on the type and location of coastal artillery, air defenses, and the various types of naval defenses that protected the anchorage. Also, the covers the troop units assigned to the islands. There are two good maps showing the defenses in each World War and a number of illustrations of the various types of positions. This book will be of most interest to those that want a source of reference for Scapa Flow or just more information on the defenses of Great Britain. JE Kaufmann, SiteO, siteo.net (January 2010) There are not too many places you can find any detail, or even a decent plan of Scapa Flow. This book fills a gap. Although this fortified site lacks an impressive battle history, largely due to the success of its defenses, this work will answer many questions for those who want to know what was there...The reader will find there is sufficient detail on the type and location of coastal artillery, air defenses, and the various types of naval defenses that protected the anchorage. Also, the covers the troop units assigned to the islands. There are two good maps showing the defenses in each World War and a number of illustrations of the various types of positions. This book will be of most interest to those that want a source of reference for Scapa Flow or just more information on the defenses of Great Britain. -JE Kaufmann, Site-O / siteo.net (January 2010) .. . a well written, interesting book on a subject of importance that has been largely ignored. The defenses are presented as a unified whole, protecting against surface, submerged and aerial attack... This book is recommended to those with a wide range of interests, from coastal dfense to naval history, to the world wars in general. -Bolling Smith, Coast Defense Journal (March 2010)

Author Information

Angus Konstam is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and has written widely on naval history, with well over a hundred books in print. He is a former Royal Navy officer, maritime archaeologist and museum curator, who has worked in the Royal Armouries, Tower of London, and Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. Now a full-time author and historian, he lives in Orkney. Peter Dennis was born in 1950. Inspired by contemporary magazines such as Look and Learn he studied illustration at Liverpool Art College. Peter has since contributed to hundreds of books, predominantly on historical subjects, including many Osprey titles. A keen wargamer and modelmaker, he is based in Nottinghamshire, UK.

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