As soon as the report was received at Scapa the flotilla leader Kempenfelt and 12 destroyers were sent out to assist and to keep the submarine under, if one were present. Tugs were also despatched. Meanwhile the collier Melita, which had arrived on the scene, proceeded to take the King Edward VII. in tow, assisted by the Kempenfelt; but the ship was very low in the water and unmanageable, and the tow parted. At 4 P.M., the battleship having by this time a heavy list, Captain Maclachlan decided to abandon her for the night, and the destroyers Musketeer, Marne, Fortune and Nessus were taken alongside her in a heavy sea with great skill; they embarked all hands without loss of life, although the destroyer Musketeer received considerable injury from projections on the side of the battleship. The destroyer Nessus and a tug stood by the King Edward VII. until 8.10 P.M. when she turned over and sank. The Africa, also of the 3rd Battle Squadron, en route from Belfast to Scapa, passed safely through the mined area a few hours before the King Edward VII. was mined—a very fortunate escape!
Steps were at once taken to divert traffic from passing between Cape Wrath and the Pentland Firth, and a large force of mine-sweepers was detached to ascertain the limits of the mine-field and to sweep clear a passage along the coast. The mine-sweepers were based, some on Loch Eribol, an anchorage between Strathie Point and Cape Wrath, and some on Scapa, but continuous bad weather interfered with the sweeping operations to such an extent that, between January 7th and January 21st, no sweeping was possible except close in shore in sheltered water. On January 14th a German mine drifted ashore in Dunnet Bay, near Thurso, and any doubt as to the cause of the loss of the King Edward VII. was thereby removed.
On January 7th the battleship Albemarle left Scapa for Archangel, and, on the 9th, Submarine D 7 left Blyth to operate in the Skagerrak; she returned on the 16th, having met with no success.
On January 12th a very heavy north-westerly gale was experienced at Scapa. The oiler Prudentia drifted across the bows of the Iron Duke during the night and sank, and one ammunition-ship, one store-carrier, a tug and three trawlers went ashore. The wind registered 80 miles an hour at the shore observatory during this gale. The Iron Duke was undamaged.
Between January 20th and 22nd three ships of the 10th Cruiser Squadron on patrol suffered considerable damage from the heavy seas. The month of January, as a whole, was indeed conspicuous for the exceptionally bad weather prevailing in northern latitudes and over the whole North Sea. Great injury was done to all the anti-submarine obstructions at Scapa, many of them being entirely destroyed. In order to make the base temporarily as secure as possible from submarine attack, the Fleet was directed to make and lay improvised net obstructions.
On January 24 the destroyer Talisman reported that a torpedo had been fired at her off Blyth. The Botha and 10 destroyers were sent out from Rosyth to locate and destroy the submarine, but they saw nothing of her.
On January 25th the Ebro, of the 10th Cruiser Squadron, picked up a dismasted Norwegian sailing-ship and towed her to Lerwick, arriving on the 28th.
On January 26th the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron, with six destroyers, and the 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadron, with five destroyers, left Rosyth for operations in the Skagerrak. The 1st Light Cruiser Squadron and destroyers, during daylight on the 27th, swept through the Skagerrak to the Skaw, the 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadron being in support. The ships then moved to the northward; at daylight on the 28th, the whole force, joined by the 4th Light Cruiser Squadron and three destroyers from Scapa, spread on a line 210° from Udsire Lighthouse and again swept into the Skagerrak. The squadrons then returned to their respective bases. During the operations the remainder of the Battle Cruiser Fleet was at short notice for steam. No suspicious vessels were sighted outside territorial waters, but Commodore Le Mesurier, of the 4th Light Cruiser Squadron, reported a stream of small vessels passing along the Norwegian coast inside territorial waters.
On January 28th the senior officer of the mine-sweepers reported that he had swept a clear channel along the north coast of Scotland from Cape Wrath to Scapa, between the coast and the Whiten Bank mine-field laid by the Moewe. This channel was instituted for warships only for use in daylight. Mercantile auxiliaries were directed to steer to the northward from Cape Wrath, thence to make Noup Head, on the north-west coast of the Orkneys, passing afterwards down the west coast to Scapa; all other vessels were ordered to pass through the Fair Island Channel to their destination.
During the month of January gunnery practices were carried out, both in the Moray Firth and in the Pentland Firth.