The Northern Barrage was the name given to an extensive series of defensive minefields laid by the British during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in order to restrict German access to the Atlantic Ocean. The barrage stretched from the Orkney to the Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

 and on toward Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

. Mines were also laid in the Denmark Strait

Denmark Strait

The Denmark Strait or Greenland Strait |Sound]]) is an oceanic strait between Greenland and Iceland...

, north of Iceland.

Laying the barrage

In July 1939, before World War II had begun, the possibility of a Northern Barrage between the Orkney Islands

Orkney Islands

Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...

 and Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 (similar to that laid during World War I) had been investigated, however after the occupation of Norway

Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany

The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...

 by the Germans in April 1940 it was decided to position minefields between Orkney, the Faeroes and Iceland. Gaps would be left to allow passage of the fleet and convoys. In addition, mines were to be laid in the Denmark Strait, north of Iceland.

The 1st Minelaying Squadron, based at Kyle of Lochalsh

Kyle of Lochalsh

Kyle of Lochalsh is a village on the northwest coast of Scotland, 63 miles west of Inverness. It is located at the entrance to Loch Alsh, opposite the village of Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye...

, was formed in June 1940, but the allocated ships were not available for minelaying until October. Lack of escorts and support problems also restricted operations, but 10,300 mines were laid at the southern end of the Faeroes-Iceland section before the end of the year.

In 1941 work progressed on the with new fields laid north and south of the Faeroes as well as in the Denmark Strait. A refitting programme in U.S. ports was also implemented, but the work delayed by fog and gales. Intelligence reports in July indicated that U-boats were using the Faeroes-Iceland passage, so a series of deep anti-submarine fields were laid north-west of the Faeroes.

In 1942 the value of the Northern Barrage was beginning to be questioned, though new fields were laid south of Iceland, before starting new deep fields on the Faeroes Bank. Magnetic mines were also laid in the Denmark Strait to replace earlier losses.

The barrage is cancelled

The future of the Northern Barrage was discussed by the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 at meetings in January and July 1943. The barrage had proved difficult to maintain as an effective barrier, and had already required over 80,000 mines. The work had also diverted badly needed ships from fleet and convoy defence in order to provide escorts for the minelayers. The Northern Barrage was described by the Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet as "the least profitable voluntary major undertaking of the war". The programme was cancelled and apart from the laying of an additional field at the entrance to Denmark Strait, the only future minelays approved were a series of deep fields at the northern end of the Faeroes-Iceland gap. On completion of the programme the 1st Minelaying Squadron was disbanded. A total of 92,083 mines had been laid, representing 35% of all British minelaying efforts, but the passage of U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

s had hardly been affected, and only one submarine, U-647, was believed to have been sunk by it. The Northern Barrage had failed to justify its existence and had often been more dangerous to Allied forces than to the enemy. Afterwards more effort was deployed on offensive minelaying by submarines, motor launches, and aircraft, which proved far more effective.