Editing Plymouth Sound

{{For-multi|the local radio station of the same name|Plymouth Sound FM|the [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]]|Plymouth Sound, Shores and Cliffs}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name               = Plymouth Sound
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| image              = File:Plymouth Sound and Breakwater.jpg
| alt                = Image of the Breakwater and the Mewstone
| caption            = Image of the [[Plymouth Breakwater|Breakwater]] and the [[Great Mewstone|Mewstone]]
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| location           = 
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| coordinates        = {{coord|50|21|34.8|N|4|8|34.8|W|display=inline}}
| type               = [[Bay]]
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| part_of            = 
| inflow             = [[Hamoaze]]
| rivers             =*[[River Tamar]]
*[[River Lynher]]
*[[River Tiddy]]
*[[River Plym]]
*[[River Tavy]]
*[[River Inny, Cornwall|River Inny]]
*[[River Burn, Devon|River Burn]]
*[[River Wallabrooke]]
*[[River Lumburn]]
*[[River Walkham]]
| outflow            = [[English Channel]]
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| pushpin_map             = Devon 
| pushpin_label_position  = 
| pushpin_map_alt         = The location of Plymouth Sound in Devon
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'''Plymouth Sound''', or locally just '''The Sound''', is a deep [[inlet]] or [[Sound (geography)|sound]] in the [[English Channel]] near [[Plymouth]] in England.

== Description ==
Its southwest and southeast corners are [[Penlee Point, Rame|Penlee Point]] in [[Cornwall]] and [[Wembury Point]] in [[Devon]], a distance of about 3 [[nautical mile]]s (6&nbsp;km). Its northern limit is [[Plymouth Hoe]] giving a north–south distance of nearly 3 nautical miles (6&nbsp;km).

The Sound has three water entrances. The marine entrance is from the [[English Channel]] to the south, with a deep-water channel to the west of the [[Plymouth Breakwater]]. There are two freshwater inlets: one, from the northwest, is from the [[River Tamar]] via the [[Hamoaze]] and [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport Dockyard]], the largest naval dockyard in western Europe. The other, at northeast, is from the [[River Plym]] disgorging into its narrow [[estuary]], [[Cattewater]] harbour between [[Mount Batten]] and the [[The Citadel, Plymouth, England|Royal Citadel]].

In the centre of the Sound, midway between [[Bovisand]] Bay and [[Cawsand Bay]], is [[Plymouth Breakwater]], which creates a [[harbour]] protecting anchored ships from the frequent south-western storms. The [[breakwater (structure)|breakwater]] is around {{convert|1700|yd}} long, stands in around 11 metres / 36 feet of water and was built by [[John Rennie (engineer)|John Rennie]] and [[Joseph Whidbey]] starting in 1812. The breakwater has a {{convert|23|m|ft|adj=mid|-tall}} [[lighthouse]] on its western end and a {{convert|9|m|ft|adj=mid|-tall}} beacon with a spherical cage on top at the eastern end. It is said that the cage is a lifesaving device designed to keep wrecked sailors from drowning in the huge waves of a storm on the low-lying breakwater.

[[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 [[submarine]]s and small ships attacking the naval base.

== Usage ==
In addition to ships of the [[Royal Navy]], large commercial vessels, including ferries to France and Spain use the Sound from [[Millbay Docks]]. Fishing vessels use it from [[Sutton Harbour]] beside the old town of Plymouth, called the [[Barbican, Plymouth|Barbican]]. There are [[marina]]s at Sutton Harbour, Mount Wise in the Hamoaze and at [[Turnchapel]]. Waterborne traffic in the Sound is controlled by the [[King’s Harbour Master]] for Plymouth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/qhm-plymouth|title=Queen's Harbour Master Plymouth|website=[[Gov.uk]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/2029/made|title=The Dockyard Port of Plymouth Order 1999}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Plymouth sound from wembury.jpg|thumb|right|Plymouth Sound from [[Heybook Bay]]]]
[[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, [[Picklecombe Fort]], [[Cawsand Fort]], the [[Plymouth Breakwater#Plymouth Breakwater Fort|Breakwater Fort]], [[Fort Bovisand]], [[Staddon Fort]] and [[Stamford Fort]].

A [[harbour]] and [[reservoir]] were built at Bovisand before the [[fort]] existed to supply [[men-o-war]] anchored in the Sound with fresh water. Joseph Whidbey supervised the building of the Breakwater from [[Bovisand Lodge]], from which there is a view down the full length of the breakwater.

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 [[Marine park|National Marine Park]] in Britain off Plymouth Sound.<ref name=plymouthherald-20200107>{{cite news |url=https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/plymouth-mp-luke-pollard-promoted-3713595 |title=Plymouth MP Luke Pollard promoted to Shadow Environment Secretary |last=Rossiter |first=Keith |website=Plymouth Herald |date=7 January 2020 |access-date=27 February 2020}}</ref><ref name=plymouth->{{cite report |url=https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/PlymouthSoundNationalMarineParkDocument.pdf |title=Plymouth Sound National Marine Park – Creating The UK's First National Marine Park |publisher=Plymouth City Council |date=January 2019 |access-date=27 February 2020}}</ref>

=== Notable events ===
* The English Fleet assembled in 1355: by Edward of Woodstock, the [[Black Prince]], [[Duke of Cornwall]], departed to the [[Battle of Poitiers (1356)|Battle of Poitiers]]
* The ''[[Golden Hind|Pelican]]'' 15 November 1577: departed on [[Francis Drake|Sir Francis Drake]]'s [[Francis Drake#Circumnavigation (1577–1580)|circumnavigation]]
* The ''[[Mayflower]]'' 1620, bearing the [[Pilgrim Fathers]]
[[File:HMS Bellerophon and Napoleon.jpg|thumb|right|''Scene in Plymouth Sound in August 1815'' by [[John James Chalon|J. J. Chalon]], oil on canvas]]
* The ill-fated [[Cádiz expedition (1625)|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%<ref name="Photiou">{{cite book |last=Photiou |first=Philip | title= Plymouth's Forgotten War: The Great Rebellion, 1642-1646 |year= 2005 |pages=14–15 |isbn=0-7223-3669-1 }}</ref>
* The first recorded [[submarine]] fatality in history occurred in the Sound in June 1774, when a [[carpenter]] named [[John Day (carpenter)|John Day]] perished north of Drake's Island while testing a wooden diving chamber attached to the sloop ''Maria''.<ref name="Ecott">{{cite book |first=Tim |last=Ecott |title=Neutral Buoyancy: Adventures in a Liquid World |publisher=[[Atlantic Monthly Press]] |location=[[New York City|New York]] |year=2001 |isbn=0-87113-794-1 |lccn=2001018840 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/neutralbuoyancy00time_0 }}</ref>
* Following his surrender to Captain [[Frederick Lewis Maitland (Royal Navy rear-admiral)|Frederick Maitland]] of {{HMS|Bellerophon|1786|6}} off [[Rochefort, Charente-Maritime|Rochefort]] in 1815, [[Napoleon]] was taken to Plymouth Sound where he remained on board, 26 July – 4 August, while his future was decided.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/nelson/viewObject.cfm?ID=BHC2876|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110801230950/www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/nelson/viewObject.cfm?ID=BHC2876|archive-date=2011-08-01|title=Napoleon Bonaparte on Board the 'Bellerophon' in Plymouth Sound (BHC2876)|website=[[National Maritime Museum]]}}</ref> This event caused a local and national sensation as thousands took to the water; several paintings in London's [[National Maritime Museum]] document the event, such as the one shown here.
* On 27 December 1831, {{HMS|Beagle}} set off from anchorage in the Barn Pool, under [[Mount Edgcumbe Country Park|Mount Edgecumbe]] on the west side of Plymouth Sound, on her [[Second voyage of HMS Beagle|second survey voyage]], captained by [[Robert FitzRoy]] with [[Charles Darwin]] on board.<ref>FitzRoy, R. 1839. ''Narrative'', p. [http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?viewtype=text&itemID=F10.2&pageseq=65 42].<br />Keynes, R. D. ed. 2001. ''Charles Darwin's Beagle diary'', pp [http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?viewtype=text&itemID=F1925&pageseq=36 4–17]</ref>
* Departing on 27 August 1966 and arriving on 28 May 1967, [[Francis Chichester]] became the first person to sail [[single-handed sailing|single-handed]] around the world by the [[clipper route]].

The Sound has been the site of a number of aircraft crashes and [[shipwreck]]s:
* ''[[Die Fraumetta Catharina von Flensburg]]'', a 53-ton [[brigantine]], sank near Drake's Island in December 1786.
* [[P&O]] ship ''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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19391015-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident Short Sunderland I N9030 Plymouth Sound, Devon}}</ref> 
* A [[Short Sunderland]] flying boat crashed in March 1942 between the Breakwater Fort and the breakwater lighthouse killing five passengers.
* In February 1943, a [[Avro Lancaster|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 ''[[Glen Strathallan]]'' luxury steam yacht was scuttled near the Shagstone as a site for [[scuba diving]]. This ship's triple expansion [[steam engine]] is now on display in the [[Science Museum, London]].

== References ==
{{Portal|Devon|Cornwall}}
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{cite web |last1=Moseley |first1=Brian |title=Plymouth Breakwater |url=http://www.plymouthdata.info/Breakwater.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517174429/http://www.plymouthdata.info/Breakwater.htm |publisher=Plymouth Data: The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |year=2013 |archive-date=2013-05-17 |website=plymouthdata.info}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Landforms of Devon]]
[[Category:Geography of Plymouth, Devon]]
[[Category:Landforms of Cornwall]]
[[Category:Sounds of the United Kingdom]]