Book: Cox's Navy
 

I read the story of Cos's Navy many years ago in a book from the library (as one did in those olden days). It tells the fascinating story of the salvaging of the sunken German fleet scuttled in Scapa Flow in 1919.

Only the other day I noticed that a 2014 reprint was available from Book Deposity from whom I have bought other books. The 2014 version is a paperback reprint but only cost me $ Oz 22.00 including delivery from the UK.

Cox was a scrap merchant who with no previous experience had the drive and ingenuity to salvage most of the sunken German ships by the start of WW 2. I cannot imagine a similar operation today as the bureaucracy and regulation alone would make the salvage cost astronomical.

A good read!

Geoff (YM)

"Jutland to Junkyard" by SC George is another good book on the subject.

I understand from something I read years ago that the metal from these ships was of excellent quality and was reused for surgical equipment and domestic razors.
Rightly or wrong I think the same article said that the metal in scapa was not contaminated by radiation because it was pre atomic radiation and below the surface.
Comments please.

I bought an original hard back from a shop in Greenwich many years ago then lent it to a colleague who was going to dive up there. Never saw it again!

My family are from Orkney and I still have some artefacts from the ships they salvaged - allegedly!

Yes, the steel from the ships is - I believe - pre "fall-out" steel so is very important in medical research and indeed in the space programme. Again I believe that there is a company that dives on and recovers the steel.

SPF

Greetings Tommy and welcome to SH. Bon voyage