Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands The Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Orkneys and Shetlands Command; they were charged with the administration of the Orkney and Shetland Islands and operating and defending the fleet base at Scapa Flow that was the main anchorage for both the Home Fleet and Grand Fleet at various times. The Orkney and Shetland command was usually only formed at the outbreak of war to provide for the defence and administration of the main base for the
History of the North Sea heightened in 1904 by the Dogger Bank incident. However, the British did not face a challenge to their dominance of the North Sea until World War I broke out in 1914. During the First World War the North Sea became the main theatre of the war for surface action. The Second World War also saw action in the North Sea, though it was restricted more to submarines and smaller vessels such as minesweepers, and torpedo boats and similar vessels. After the war, the North Sea lost much of its military significance because it is bordered only by NATO member-states. However,