Plymouth Sound
| Plymouth Sound | ||
|---|---|---|
Primary inflows Hamoaze | | |
| River sources | ||
| Primary outflows | English Channel | |
| Max. length | 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) | |
| Max. width | 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) | |
Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England.
Description
Its southwest and southeast corners are
The Sound has three water entrances. The marine entrance is from the
In the centre of the Sound, midway between
Drake's Island is 400 metres long and around 100 metres wide and situated at the north of the Sound. It was fortified to defend Drake's Channel, the only deep-water route to Devonport. The Bridge is a shallow reef that links Drake's Island and the Cornish mainland. At low water the depth of the Bridge can be less than one metre but at high water it can rise to 5 metres. In World War I this natural barrier was supplemented by other obstructions to prevent submarines and small ships attacking the naval base.
Usage
In addition to ships of the
History
Mount Batten, a former Royal Air Force flying boat and search and rescue base, is located at the northeast corner of the Sound. T. E. Lawrence was stationed here as Aircraftman Shaw.
Over the years, the Sound has been defended by Drake's Island,
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The Titanic was due to have docked here briefly on its return voyage to Britain, and the ship had a painting of Plymouth Sound on board.
As of 2019, there is a campaign to create the first National Marine Park in Britain off Plymouth Sound.[3][4]
Notable events
- The English Fleet assembled in 1355: by Edward of Woodstock, the Battle of Poitiers
- The Pelican 15 November 1577: departed on Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation
- The Pilgrim Fathers
- The ill-fated Cádiz expedition of 1625 and siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré of 1627. Returning servicemen brought disease and looting to Plymouth reducing its population by over 20%[5]
- The first recorded
- Following his surrender to Captain Frederick Maitland of HMS Bellerophon off Rochefort in 1815, Napoleon was taken to Plymouth Sound where he remained on board, 26 July – 4 August, while his future was decided.[7] This event caused a local and national sensation as thousands took to the water; several paintings in London's National Maritime Museumdocument the event, such as the one shown here.
- On 27 December 1831, HMS Beagle set off from anchorage in the Barn Pool, under Mount Edgecumbe on the west side of Plymouth Sound, on her second survey voyage, captained by Robert FitzRoy with Charles Darwin on board.[8]
- Departing on 27 August 1966 and arriving on 28 May 1967, Francis Chichester became the first person to sail single-handed around the world by the clipper route.
The Sound has been the site of a number of aircraft crashes and shipwrecks:
- Die Fraumetta Catharina von Flensburg, a 53-ton brigantine, sank near Drake's Island in December 1786.
- The P&Oship Nepaul sank on the Shagstone in December 1890.
- A Short Sunderland flying boat crashed while landing in bad weather on 15 October 1939, killing four of the eleven passengers and crew.[9]
- A Short Sunderland flying boat crashed in March 1942 between the Breakwater Fort and the breakwater lighthouse killing five passengers.
- In February 1943, a Lancaster bomber hit the cable of a barrage balloon and crashed without survivors on the return from a raid on the U-boat pens at Lorient.
- In 1970, the Science Museumin London.
References
- ^ "Queen's Harbour Master Plymouth". GOV.UK.
- ^ "The Dockyard Port of Plymouth Order 1999".
- ^ Rossiter, Keith (7 January 2020). "Plymouth MP Luke Pollard promoted to Shadow Environment Secretary". Plymouth Herald. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ Plymouth Sound National Marine Park - Creating The UK's First National Marine Park (PDF) (Report). Plymouth City Council. January 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ISBN 0-7223-3669-1.
- LCCN 2001018840.
- ^ "Napoleon Bonaparte on Board the 'Bellerophon' in Plymouth Sound (BHC2876)". NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM (NMM). Archived from the original on 1 August 2011.
- ^ FitzRoy, R. 1839. Narrative, p. 42.
Keynes, R. D. ed. 2001. Charles Darwin's Beagle diary, pp 4–17 - ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Short Sunderland I N9030 Plymouth Sound, Devon".
Bibliography
- Moseley, Brian (2013). "Plymouth Breakwater". www.plymouthdata.info. Plymouth Data: The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History. Archived from the original on 17 May 2013.