| Abstract: | Initially conceived as a contribution to a conference which was to have been based in Caithness and was to have included a visit to Orkney, this paper examines the scientific and technological background to some of the wartime remains associated with the defence of Scapa Flow, the Royal Navy’s principal fleet anchorage in home waters in World Wars I and II. Summarising the surviving evidence of selected aspects of vessel-related, marine and aerial science and engineering around Scapa Flow, it is prefaced by a short account of Tom Rolt’s own wartime career, and concludes with a comparative appreciation of his place in the pantheon of literary engineers. |
