Ahoy - Mac's Web Log - The Sinking of British Battleship, HMS Royal Oak, at Scapa Flow, by German Submarine, U-47 The Sinking of British Battleship, HMS Royal Oak, at Scapa Flow, by German Submarine, U-47 This Marshall Islands stamp depicts Gunter Prien sinking Royal Oak, after he penetrated Scapa Flow Over two World Wars, Scapa Flow in the Orkneys, was the main Fleet Anchorage in the British Isles for the Royal Navy, During WW1, the German Submarine UB-116 commanded by Oberleutnant Hans Joachim Emsmann had, in October 1918, attempted to penetrate this British Base, but had come to grief on a mine, and was lost with all hands. Just after going to war against Britain in September 1939, the German U-Boat Commander, Admiral Donitz, was keen to upset both the Royal Navy, and her First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, by breaching the defences of Scapa Flow and sinking a major Naval Vessel.

In September 1939, U-14 had carried out a patrol in that area and brought back valuable information about the approaches to this major Fleet Base. In addition, the Luftwaffe, on the 26th. of September, had managed to obtain excellent photographs of this seemingly impregnable anchorage. At least the British believed it was inviolable; but not so, thought Donitz. The defences of Britain's major naval base were still not complete 6 weeks after the commencement of hostilities with Germany. Donitz studied the reconnaissance photographs, and decided that a 50 foot gap existed between the blockships which had been sunk in the northern end of the most eastern entrance in Kirk Sound, and he thought that a surfaced Submarine could penetrate this narrow access at the time of slack water. But, a night attack would be mandatory. On Sunday the 1st. of October 1939, Donitz sent for one of his best submarine Captains, Kapitanleutnant (equivalent to our Lieutenant Commander) Gunter Prien, and offered him the mission of taking his U-Boat, U-47, into Scapa Flow to sink a major British warship.

Prien had been born at Leipzig in Saxony in 1909 , and left school at 14, to become a cabin boy at sea. He rose to be a Merchant Marine officer, but come the depression, he was out of a job. Somewhat embittered by being unemployed in his early twenties, Prien joined the Nazi Party in 1932, and in the following year joined the Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. He was quickly seen as Officer material, became a Cadet, joined the Submarine service and by 1938 had risen to command level. When WW2 broke out, Prien was in command of U-Boat 47, and had recently been married. It was made quite clear to Prien, that he could refuse this task without damaging his bright career, but Prien after studying the plans overnight, decided to accept this formidible challenge. On the 8th. of October 1939, Prien took U-47 through the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal and cleared her into the North Sea. Whilst enroute to Scapa Flow he took particular care to avoid any vessels that might betray his whereabouts.

At 2331 (11.31 PM) on the 13th of October (obviously not a superstitious sailor) Prien commenced his run into the British Naval stronghold. Because of the strong currents obtaining in this area, he chose the slack water period (the time in between the tide changing from ebbing to flowing or vice versa, when there is no actual water movement) and navigated his boat on the surface, between vessels sunk in the channels by the British, designed to stop such a passage by a U-Boat or any other enemy craft. At one stage of Prien's approach, he was so close to the shore that a passing car's headlights illuminated his crawling submarine, but he continiued undetected.

Just after midnight on the 13/14th of October, he noted in his War Diary at 0027 (2.27 AM) " WIR SINDIN SCAPA FLOW!!" (WE are in Scapa Flow!!) For the Royal Navy it was fortunate that the major units of the Home Fleet had not yet returned to Scapa Flow after chasing a strong German Naval Force, led by the Battlecruiser Gneisenau, which had sortied into the North Sea. Inside the anchorage, Prien looked for any likely targets and sighted two large ships to his north. At 0058 (58 minutes past midnight) he fired a spread of 3 torpedoes, and after 3.5 minutes, one explosion was heard. Prien was pleasantly suprised when it did not appear to attract any attention from the British. He swung his boat, and then fired the stern tube, but without any success. His crew rapidly reloaded the torpedo tubes and at 0122 (1.22 AM) another 3 fish were fired.

3 minutes later, explosions were heard, and the 31,000 ton Battleship, HMS Royal Oak sank in 13 minutes, leaving only 375 survivors. She took 24 Officers and 809 Sailors with her to a watery grave. Amongst her survivors was the only Australian on board. Lieutenant Commander F.N. Cook RAN. Royal Oak was the second largest ship sunk in the war by a German U-Boat. Notwithstanding the swift incoming currents, Prien was able to pilot his U-47 away from the hunting British Destroyers, and he slipped out of Scapa Flow to head for home. The British wrongly announced that they had sunk the offending U-Boat. On the 14th. of October, the BBC announced : "This is the BBC Home Service. Here is the news bulletin. As it was reported late this morning, the Secretary of the Admiralty regrets to announce that HMS Royal Oak has been sunk, it is believed by U-Boat action.

Fifteen survivors have been landed....." Prien had achieved a magnificent coup, he took his boat back to Wilhelshaven, arriving there on the 17th of October at 1144, (11:44 AM ) The entire crew were flown to Berlin to be personally greeted by Hitler, and Prien was awarded The Knight's Cross, and Hitler entertained the crew to lunch. Prien in his U-Boat career, sank 31 ships for a total of 194,103 tons, and was involved in 10 patrols, spending 237 days at sea on this duty. He went missing on the 7th of March 1941, in the North Atlantic, near the Rockall Banks, it is not certain how he or U-47 died, but for many years it was believed that HMS Wolverine was responsible for sinking this U-Boat. Later intelligence suggests that Wolverine actually attacked a different German Submarine. The loss of U-47 may have been caused by mines, by its own circling torpedoes, or by an attack by HMS Camellia and HMS Arbutus, both Royal Navy corvettes.

By whatever means he was killed, Gunter Prien, who had lived by the Sword, had now died by the Sword. Germany had lost one of her U-Boat aces. Appendix 1 is an extract from Gunter Prien's Log of U-47, covering his penetration of Scapa Flow, and sinking of the British Battleship HMS Royal Oak, in September 1939. Appendix 1 Extract from Log of U-47, 15th Sept. - 21st Oct. 1939. Time Position, Wind, etc. Incidents 8/10/39 1100 Heligoland Bight. Wind SE 1. Cloudy Left port (Kiel) on special operations, Operational Order North Sea No. 16, through Kiel Canal, Heligoland Bight, and Channel 1. Exact positions cannot be given as under special orders all secret documents were destroyed before carrying out of order 9/10/39 South of Dogger Bank. Wind SSE 4-5. Overcast, very dark night. Lying submerged. After dark, surfaced and proceeded on our way. Met rather a lot of fishing vessels.

10/10/39 North of Dogger Bank. Wind SSE 7. Overcast. During day lay submerged; at night continued on course. 11/10/39 Devil's Hole. Wind ESE 7-8, Overcast During day lay submerged off Orkneys. Surfaced in the evening and came in to the coast in order to fix exact position of ship. From 2200 to 2230 the English are kind enough to switch on all the coastal lights so that I can obtain the most exact fix. The ship's position is correct to within 1.8 nautical miles, despite the fact that since leaving Channel 1 there was no possibility of obtaining an accurate fix, so that I had to steer by dead reckonings and soundings. 13/10/39 E. of Orkney Islands. Wind NNE 3-4, light clouds, very clear night, Northern Lights on entire horizon. At 0437 lying submerged in 90 meters of water. Rest period for crew. At 1600 general stand-to. After breakfast at 1700, preparations for attack on Scapa Flow.

Two torpedoes are placed in rapid loading position before tubes 1 and 2. Explosives brought out in case of necessity of scuttling. Crew's morale splendid. Surfaced at 1915. After warm supper for entire crew, set course for Holm Sound. Everything goes according to plan until 2307, when it is necessary to submerge on sighting a merchant ship just before Rose Ness. I cannot make out the ship in either of the periscopes, in spite of the very clear night and the bright lights. At 2331, surfaced again and entered Holm Sound. Following tide. On nearer approach, the sunken blockship in Skerry Sound is clearly visible, so that at first I believe myself to be already in Kirk Sound, and prepare for work. But the navigator, by means of dead reckoning, states that the preparations are premature, while I at the same time realize the mistake, for there is only one sunken ship in the straits. By altering course hard to starboard, the imminent danger is averted. A few minutes later, Kirk Sound is clearly visible. 13/10/39 contd. It is a very eerie sight.

On land everything is dark, high in the sky are the flickering Northern Lights, so that the bay, surrounded by English mountains, is directly lit up from above. The blockships lie in the sound, ghostly as the wings of a theatre. I am now repaid for having learnt the chart beforehand, for the penetration proceeds with unbelievable speed. In the meantime I had decided to pass the blockships on the Northern side. On a course of 270 I pass the two-masted schooner, which is lying on a bearing of 315 in front of the real boom, with 15 meters to spare. In the next minute the boat is turned by the current to starboard. At the same time I recognize the cable of the northern blockship at an angle of 45 degrees ahead. Port engine stopped, starboard engine slow ahead, and rudder hard to port, the boat slowly touches bottom. The stern still touches the cable, the boat becomes free, it is pulled round to port, and brought on to course again with difficult rapid maneuvering, but; we are in Scapa Flow. 14/10/39 0027 It is disgustingly light.

The whole bay is lit up. To the south of Cava there is nothing. I go farther in. To port, I recognize the Hoxa Sound coastguard, to which in the next few minutes the boat must present itself as a target. In that event all would be lost; at present South of Cava there is no shipping; so before staking everything on success, all possible precautions must be taken. 0055 Therefore, turn to port is made. We proceed north by the coast. Two battleships are lying there at anchor, and further inshore, destroyers. Cruisers not visible, therefore attack on the big fellows. Distance apart, 3000 meters. 0116 (time queried in pencil, 0058 suggested) Estimated depth, 7.5 meters. Impact firing. One torpedo fixed on the northern ship, two on the southern. After a good 3 1/2 minutes, a torpedo detonates on the northern ship; of the other two nothing is to be seen. 0121 (queried to 0102) (suggested time 0123, in pencil) About!

Torpedo fired from stern; in the bow two tubes are loaded; three torpedoes from the bow. After three tense minutes comes the detonation on the nearer ship. There is a loud explosion, roar, and rumbling. Then come columns of water, followed by columns of fire, and splinters fly through the air. The harbor springs to life. Destroyers are lit up, signaling starts on every side, and on land 200 meters away from me cars roar along the roads. A battleship has been sunk, a second damaged, and the other three torpedoes have gone to blazes. All the tubes are empty. I decide to withdraw, because: (1) With my periscopes I cannot conduct night attacks while submerged. (See experience on entering.) (2) On a bright night I cannot maneuver unobserved in a calm sea. (3) I must assume that I was observed by the driver of a car which stopped opposite us, turned around, and drove off towards Scapa at top speed. (4) Nor can I go further north, for there, well hidden from my sight, lie the destroyers which were previously dimly distinguishable. 0128 At high speed both engines we withdraw.

Everything is simple until we reach Skildaenoy Point. Then we have more trouble. It is now low tide, the current is against us. Engines at slow and dead slow, I attempt to get away. I must leave by the south through the narrows, because of the depth of the water. Things are again difficult. Course, 058, slow - 10 knots. I make no progress. At high speed I pass the southern blockship with nothing to spare. The helmsman does magnificently. High speed ahead both, finally 3/4 speed and full ahead all out. Free of the blockships - ahead a mole! Hard over and again about, and at 0215 we are once more outside. A pity that only one was destroyed. The torpedo misses I explain due to faults of course, speed, and drift. In tube 4, a misfire. The crew behaved splendidly throughout the operation. On the morning of 13/10, the lubricating oil was found to have 7-8% water in it. All hands worked feverishly to change the oil, i.e. to get rid of the water and to isolate the leaking point.

The torpedo crews loaded their tubes with remarkable speed. The boat was in such good form that I was able to switch on to charge in the harbor and pump up air. 0215 Set SE course for base. I still have 5 torpedoes for possible attacks on merchantmen. 0630 57° 58' N, 01° 03' W Lay submerged. The glow from Scapa is still visible for a long time. Apparently they are still 1935 ENE 3-4, light clouds, occasional rain, visibility bad towards land, otherwise good dropping depth charges. Off again, course 180°. This course was chosen in the hope that we might perhaps catch a ship inshore, and to avoid U-20. 15/10/39 0600 56° 20' N, 0° 40' W Submerged and lay at 72 meters. From 1000 onwards, depth charges were dropped from time to time in the distance. 32 depth charges were definitely counted. So I lie low, submerged, until dusk.

1823 Wind NE 5, sea 4, swell from E, cloudy, visibility good. Surfaced. On surfacing, Norwegian steamer "METEOR" lies ahead. W/T traffic from the steamer is reported in error from the W/T office; I therefore fire a salvo far ahead of the steamer which is already stopped. The steamer is destined for Newcastle on Tyne, with 238 passengers. Steamer immediately allowed to proceed. It is reported later by the W/T office that the steamer did not make any signals. 16/10/39 0702 54° 57' N, 2° 58' E, Wind NNW 2-3, visibility good. General course 180°. Submerged on the Dogger Bank. 3 drifting mines sighted, 54° 58' N, 2° 56' E. No measures taken, owing to the proximity of fishing vessels. Proceeded submerged throughout the day. 1856 54° 51' N, 3° 21' E, Wind NW 2, light clouds, visibility good.

Surfaced. Course 128°. Steered course of 128° into Channel 1. 17/10/39 0404 Channel 1 passed. From 0404 to 0447 chased fishing vessel escort ship no. 808; gave recognition signal eight times - no reply received. This fool did not react until V/S was used at a distance of 500-600 meters. With such guardships, an incident such as my operation could occur in our waters also. 1100 Entered port - Wilhelmshaven III. 1144 Tied up. 1530 Crew flown to Kiel and Berlin 20/10/39 1600 Crew returned. Sailed for Kiel. 2330 Met an armed fishing trawler at anchor with riding lights in the stretch between Elbe I and Elbe II. I pass him with darkened ship at a distance of 40 meters. Apparently he sees nothing, because no recognition signal is made. 21/10/39 0120 Tied up at Brunsbüttel Lock.

1300 Tied up at Holtenau Lock. Operation completed. Torpedo on seabed linked to sinking of Royal Oak in Scapa Flow - BBC News BBC News Torpedo on seabed linked to sinking of Royal Oak in Scapa Flow 2 March 2016 Image copyright Sula Diving Image caption The torpedo was found during a routine seabed survey A torpedo found on the seabed of Scapa Flow in Orkney "was likely" to have been among those fired at HMS Royal Oak in World War Two. The British battleship was sunk by German U-boat U47 on 14 October 1939. More than 800 men died in the attack. A seven metre (22ft) long object found during a routine seabed survey earlier this week has been confirmed as a German torpedo. Royal Navy divers have begun work to dispose of the weapon. Brian Archibald, Orkney Island Council's harbour master and head of marine services, said: "Now that we know that the torpedo is German, we believe it is highly likely that it was among those fired at HMS Royal Oak by the U-boat U47 in October 1939.

"Its location in Scapa Flow is in the vicinity of the area where, from historical accounts, U47 is thought to have carried out the attack." Image copyright Orkney Library and Archive Image caption The battleship HMS Royal Oak When the Royal Oak was torpedoed in the early hours of 14 October most of the 1,200 crew were asleep below deck. Under the command of Günther Prien, the submarine U47 had slipped undetected into Scapa Flow, an area of sheltered water. A first salvo of three torpedoes was fired from the U-boat. Two missed but the one that struck caused those on board Royal Oak such surprise that many assumed the impact was an internal problem and not an attack. A second salvo failed to find its target, before a third saw all three strike the battleship. Less than 15 minutes later, the battleship disappeared beneath the water, claiming the lives of 833 seamen, more than 100 of them "boy sailors" aged under 18. The torpedo was discovered on Saturday.

A remote-operated vehicle (ROV) has also captured video footage of the weapon, which is lying 32m (104ft) below the water's surface. Ships have been advised not to anchor in the area where it was found. Scapa Flow was used as a Royal Navy base in both world wars and is now popular with divers due to the British and German relics lying on the seabed. More than 50 German ships were deliberately sunk in the area at the end of World War One by their commanders to stop them being divided among the Allies. History of Scapa Flow : Scapa Flow Wrecks Home First Used by the Royal Navy It was during the Napoleonic wars of the early 1800s that the Admiralty first took an interest in Scapa Flow – using the area as a deep water anchorage for trading ships waiting to cross the North Sea to Baltic ports. With subsequent wars being waged against countries such as France and Spain, there was no need for a northern naval base until the early 20th Century and the outbreak of war against Germany.

WWI and The Battle of Jutland On 31 May 1916 the British Grand Fleet finally met the German High Seas Fleet in the Battle of Jutland. On paper the Germans could claim victory as they sank more ships. However, the German Fleet was smaller and many of their ships were seriously damaged. In the end Britain remained in control of the North Sea, where it enforced a naval blockade that would ultimately starve Germany into submission. The HMS Vanguard Disaster At 11.20pm on the 9 July 1917 the HMS Vanguard – a St Vincent class battleship – blew up at anchor off the island of Flotta in Scapa Flow. The anchorage was rocked by a huge explosion, which showered neighbouring ships with wreckage and human remains. HMS Vanguard had not been lost to enemy action – unstable cordite had overheated and caused the catastrophic explosion. Of the 845 men on board, only two survived. FIND OUT MORE > The Scuttling of the High Seas Fleet As part of the Armistice agreement, Germany had to surrender most of its fleet.

A total of 74 ships of the High Seas Fleet arrived in Scapa Flow for internment in November 1918. On 21 June 1919 and under the mistaken belief that peace talks had failed, the command was given to scuttle / sink the entire fleet. A total of 52 ships sank to the seafloor – it remains the greatest loss of shipping ever recorded in a single day. The Salvage Operation Only 7 of the 52 scuttled ships still rest on the seabed of Scapa Flow today. The majority were raised in what was one of the largest ever salvage operations in history. The early operations were pioneered by the engineering genius of Ernest Cox of Cox & Danks Ltd, and then later by Metal Industries Ltd. Ernest Cox had never raised a ship before, but many of his methods are still in use today. FIND OUT MORE > Sinking of the HMS Royal Oak The Royal Oak was a British Battleship. On the night of 13-14 October 1939, a German U-boat crept into Scapa Flow and sank the Royal Oak at anchor.

The torpedoes fired from U47 struck the battleship with such ferocity that it healed over alarmingly and sank with frightening speed. Those men that managed to jump ship were faced with a swim through chilling waters thick with oil. Of the crew of over 1,200, 834 men were lost. FIND OUT MORE > Scapa Flow Historic Wreck Site Today Scapa Flow ranks as one of the top wreck diving destinations of the world. There is a common misconception that the wrecks are dark, deep and thus only the preserve of technical divers. In fact, many of the wrecks offer a fantastic introduction to wreck diving, while others offer a challenge to more advanced divers. Together with world-class facilities and the rugged beauty of the surrounding Orkney landscape, diving Scapa Flow is an unparalleled experience. FIND OUT MORE > History Beneath the Waves Scapa Flow is a body of water about 120 square miles in area and with an average depth of 30 to 40 metres. The Orkney Mainland and South Isles encircle Scapa Flow, making it a sheltered harbour with easy access to both the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

The name Scapa Flow comes from the Old Norse Skalpaflói, meaning ‘bay of the long isthmus’, which refers to the thin strip of land between Scapa Bay and the town of Kirkwall. Scapa Flow has been used as a harbour since Viking times, the name Skalpaflói being given to it by the Vikings. However, it wasn’t until the Napoleonic wars of the early 1800s that the Admiralty first took an interest in Scapa Flow. The Admiralty used the area as a deep water anchorage for trading ships waiting to cross the North Sea to Baltic ports. Two Martello Towers were built on either side of Longhope in order to defend these trading ships until a warship arrived to escort them to the Baltic Sea. Subsequent wars were waged against countries including France, Spain and the Netherlands – as such a northern naval base became unnecessary. However, by the early 20th century the Admiralty once again looked at Scapa Flow. This time it was to defend against a new enemy: Germany. Scapa Flow was ideally situated to provide a safe anchorage in the north with easy access to open waters.

If the Admiralty were to rely on the Firth of Forth further south, there was a real risk their ships could be trapped if a minefield was placed across its mouth. World War I At the outbreak of World War I defences were put in place to guard the Grand Fleet in its new home. Coast defence batteries were built and boom defences, including anti-submarine nets, were stretched over the entrances to prevent enemy vessels from penetrating Scapa Flow. Old merchant ships were also sunk as blockships to prevent access through the channels. It was from this well guarded naval base that the Grand Fleet sailed in May 1916 to engage in battle with the German High Seas Fleet at the Battle of Jutland. On 5 June in the aftermath of the battle, the Minister of War – Lord Kitchener – visited the Grand Fleet in Scapa Flow on his way to Russia for a goodwill visit. He never made it to Russia. She sank in twenty minutes with a loss of 737 men (Orcadian 2015: 21) including Lord Kitchener, only 12 of the company survived.

A greater loss of life would be suffered the following year when the battleship HMS Vanguard exploded at anchor in Scapa Flow with the loss of 843 men; only two of those on board survived. It is thought that spontaneous combustion of cordite triggered the devastating explosions. As part of the Armistice agreement at the end World War I, Germany had to surrender most of its fleet. A total of 74 ships of the German High Seas Fleet arrived in Scapa Flow for internment. On 21 June 1919, under the mistaken belief that peace talks had failed, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter gave the command to scuttle the entire fleet in the Flow. A total of 52 ships went to the seafloor and this remains the greatest loss of shipping ever recorded in a single day. The majority of the German ships were raised in one of the largest ever salvage operations in history. Only seven of the 52 ships remain in the Flow, although evidence of others can still be seen in some locations on the bottom of Scapa Flow. World War II World War II saw the Home Fleet return to Scapa Flow.

However, most of the World War I defences had long been dismantled and, despite some preparation for the outbreak of war, the anchorage was vulnerable to attack. This weakness became all too apparent on the night of 13/14 October 1939 when the battleship HMS Royal Oak was sunk at anchor, by torpedoes fired by U-47, and 834 men lost their lives. The German submarine had crept in through Kirk Sound, on the eastern side of Scapa Flow, through gaps opened after time and tide had moved the blockships which had sealed it in the previous world conflict. Work began immediately to strengthen the defences. The construction of the Churchill Barriers saw the vulnerable eastern channels closed forever. Italian prisoners-of-war who worked on their construction left behind a symbol of peace in the form of a small chapel made from converted Nissen huts and scrap, beautifully designed and painted by Domenico Chiocchetti. It remains an inspiration to all who visit it. Some of the most significant naval action of World War II began in Scapa Flow.

The hunt for the German battleship Bismarck began from here in 1941, as did aircraft carrier raids against its sister ship the Tirpitz. This was also the base for the Arctic Convoy escort ships that sailed to northern Russia with vital war supplies for the Soviet Union. Now warships are an unusual sight in Scapa Flow but the unsalvaged vessels of the German High Seas Fleet offer some of the greatest wreck diving the world has to offer. Downloadable Resources Historic photos from Scapa Flow - Click on the thumbnail images to enlarge. Navigate German U-47 sinks British battleship HMS Royal Oak | World History Project Oct 14 1939 German U-47 sinks British battleship HMS Royal Oak HMS Royal Oak (pennant number 08) was a Revenge-class battleship of the British Royal Navy, torpedoed at anchor by the German submarine U-47 on 14 October 1939. Launched in 1914 and completed in 1916, Royal Oak first saw action at the Battle of Jutland.

In peacetime, she served in the Atlantic, Home and Mediterranean fleets, coming under accidental attack on more than one occasion. The ship became the centre of worldwide attention in 1928 when her senior officers were controversially court-martialled. During a twenty-five year career, attempts to modernise Royal Oak could not address her fundamental lack of speed, and by the start of the Second World War, she was no longer suited to front-line duty. Royal Oak was anchored at Scapa Flow in Orkney, Scotland when she became the first of the five Royal Navy battleships and battlecruisers sunk in the Second World War. The loss of life was heavy: of Royal Oak's complement of 1,234 men, 833 were killed that night or died later of their wounds. The numerical superiority enjoyed by the British navy and its Allies meant that the loss of the veteran of the First World War made little difference to the naval balance of power, but the effect on wartime morale was considerable.

The raid made an immediate celebrity and war hero out of the U-boat commander, Günther Prien, and on his return to Germany he became the first Kriegsmarine submarine officer to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. To the British, the raid demonstrated that the Germans were capable of bringing the naval war to their home waters, and the shock resulted in rapidly arranged changes to dockland security. Now lying upside-down in 30 m of water with her hull 5 m beneath the surface, Royal Oak is a designated war grave. In an annual ceremony to mark the loss of the ship, Royal Navy divers place a White Ensign underwater at her stern. Unauthorised divers are prohibited from approaching the wreck at any time.

Britains Pearl Harbor - U-47's attack on the Battleship Royal Oak in Scapa Flow October 1939 | Wargamer Britains Pearl Harbor - U-47's attack on the Battleship Royal Oak in Scapa Flow October 1939 By John Dudek 11 Jun 2015 0 Just after midnight on the cold moonless night of 14 October 1939, Captain Gunter Prien stood on the conning tower of his Type VII-B submarine U-47 as it cruised along the surface of the calm waters of England's primary naval base and anchorage, Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands of northern Scotland. In spite of the lack of any moonlight, the night skies were aglow with the ethereal, unworldly light of the Aurora Borealis' Northern Lights. Prien silently cursed the unwanted illumination as his submarine closed in upon two large targets at anchor in the distance. He judged them to be British battleships given their silhouettes against the gently lighted sky line behind them.

As he probed the surrounding waters further, no other ships were seen at anchor and he was surprised to find the fleet out of port and at sea. He'd hoped to turn Scapa Flow into a torpedo shooting gallery of sinking and exploding British warships. However, he was also satisfied that no threats lurked in the darkness. Prien turned to port and proceeded north along the coast towards the two anchored warships sighted earlier. At 3,000 yards he fired his four forward torpedo tubes in a spread so as to hit both overlapping stationary targets. Only three of the four torpedoes launched properly as the fourth remained hopelessly jammed in its tube. Three and a half minutes later, a single torpedo explosion was seen striking the northernmost ship at its bow. Prien ordered his sub to come about, so as to fire its single stern torpedo tube at the now damaged battleship. As the stern tube fired, the forward torpedo tubes were reloaded.

The stern shot too was a miss “Verdamnt!!" Prien cursed bitterly with impotent rage “What sort of fool goes to war with bad torpedoes!!?" He remembered all the dockyard talk and rumors he'd heard about faulty German torpedoes, but until now he'd paid them no heed. Suddenly, his submarine stood outlined in the bright glare of a car's headlights from the nearby headland shore. Recognizing the German U-boat submarine in these restricted waters, the car turned around and drove quickly towards the town of Scapa. Prien knew he had little time and but one final chance of making telling hits upon the targets before patrolling British destroyers and other anti submarine craft arrived and quickly terminated his existence in the waters of this much storied British naval base. He grimaced as he prepared to fire his final salvo of torpedoes. Scapa Flow naval base held great significance to both Great Britain's Royal Navy and Germany's new Second World War Kriegsmarine. It was here that Kaiser Wilhelm's German High Seas Fleet of 74 battleships, cruisers and destroyers were interned immediately following the end of the First World War.

As part of the Armistice and the later Versailles Treaty ending the war, Germany had to turn over its entire navy to the victorious Allies and promise to build no new warships as part of the hated document's "War Guilt Clause." The shame and unfairness of this clause remained a painful bone in the throat of the German Navy long after the signing of the treaty. However, in one last glorious and supreme act of utter defiance, the German crews still aboard ship scuttled their warships to prevent the Allies from seizing them. While the British were able to eventually beach the German battleship BADEN along with two light cruisers and 18 destroyers, the remaining 52 warships were sunk in the murky waters of Scapa Flow. Nine German sailors were killed when British sailors fired upon them as they scuttled their ship. These were the last casualties of WWI. Germany never forgot the shame, degradation and insult to their nation's honor and it proved to be a catalyst for war to future dictator Adolf Hitler. One of Hitler's ardent followers who never forgot this insult to Germany's national honor was Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz.

He'd served in U-Boats during the First World War and was taken prisoner when his sub was sunk by British destroyers in the Mediterranean in 1918. Doenitz remained in the post war German Navy and served in a variety of functions before being promoted to commodore and Commander of Submarines in January 1939. Despite the many roles and responsibilities in Doenitz's new job, the idea of one audacious and gallant operation remained ever green in the back of his mind. It was the possibility of U-Boats infiltrating and attacking British warships in England's main naval base of Scapa Flow. During WWI, two U-boats had attempted to do so but were sunk. In spite of this, Doenitz remained adamant that such an operation could be successfully carried out with the right men and the proper moon and tidal conditions. Soon after the start of the Second World War, German long range reconnaissance aircraft had flown over Scapa Flow, taking extensive photographs of the base's defences and the block ships of deliberately sunken ships at its channel entrances. The reconnaissance photos detailed its weaknesses and strong points.

Even with this information in hand, any submarine attack would need in Doenitz's words, men with "...nerves of steel and the highest level of skill to carry out this boldest of bold enterprises." Not only would captain and crew have to overcome the bases anti-submarine defences, block ships, nets and booms at its entrances, they would also have to battle shallow uncharted waters and powerful, unpredictable currents that could carry a U-boat onto its rocky shore. Located in the Orkney Islands north of Scotland, Scapa Flow was the main fleet anchorage of the Royal Navy and had been seen by most as something of an impregnable fortress, particularly against submarine attack. Indeed, The Flow had not been used as a base between the wars, with the defensive mines being exploded in 1919; the last ship from the Home Fleet to lower its flag left the following year. However by the late 1930s and the re-emergence of German naval power, Scapa Flow was given a new lease of life. However, the idea that the base was impregnable was not shared by Admiral Sir Charles Forbes, who in 1938 had carried out an inspection of the defences.

There and then Forbes himself purchased a large concrete barge, one of 100 to serve as additional blockships, but his recommendations for securing the defensive loopholes that remained went unheeded. Nevertheless, the base was once again to become the home of the Home Fleet in September 1939, something that was confirmed with Churchill being appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. With the latest aerial intelligence and other information firmly in hand, Doenitz decided the only way into the naval base would be through the waters of Holm Sound and that could only happen at night and during the proper tidal conditions. He wrote: "Holm Sound is protected exclusively by two apparently sunken ships lying obliquely in the navigable water of Kirk Sound, together with one ship lying on the north side. South of these obstructions as far as Lamb Holm there is a gap, 170 metres wide, 7 metres in depth up to the shallow water. Also north of the sunken ships there is a small gap. The shore on both sides is practically uninhabited. I hold that a penetration at this point on the surface at the turn of the tide would be possible without further ceremony.

The main difficulty concerns navigation." The final sticking point was finding the proper captain and crew to carry out the mission, given all the risks entailed in getting in and out of Scapa Flow. Doenitz wrote: "On this [intelligence] I decided to allow an attempt to be made. My choice fell upon Lieutenant-Commander Prien, the captain of U-47. He, in my opinion, possessed all the personal qualities and the professional ability required. I handed over to him the whole file on the subject and left him free to accept the task or not, as he saw fit." Prien was given 48 hours to study the dossier file before making a final decision. He later wrote: "I felt a tremendous tension within me. Would it be possible to bring it off? My common sense calculated and questioned the chances, but by will had already decided that it could be brought off. At home, supper was already on the table. Absentmindedly I greeted my wife and child, for my thoughts were obsessed with the single idea of Scapa Flow." "What do you think of it, Prien?" Doenitz soon asked. Prien grinned as he nodded in the affirmative.

U-47 was readied for sea and given a load of new G-7 electric wakeless torpedoes. Her sailing date was set as Friday the 13th of October. Upon receiving this departure date, it was immediately changed to the preceding Sunday to ward off any old superstitions. On the journey north to the Orkney Islands, maximum security conditions were practiced. U-47 lay on the bottom during daylight hours and surfaced to run only during the night. Strict radio silence was maintained. After nightfall on 13 October U-47 slowly entered the restricted waters of Kirk Sound, cautiously maneuvering around the sunken block ships and booms. In spite of all precautions, the U-boat ran aground in shallow shoal water and it took some time to break free. At 0027 Prien wrote in his log book "Wir sind in Scapa Flow!" (We are in Scapa Flow!) The scene was now set for one of the most dramatic incidents of the war. U-47 soon headed towards a pair of what appeared to be battleships in the distance.

HMS ROYAL OAK was one of five R (Revenge) class battleships built during the First World War. A veteran of the Battle of Jutland, she lived a much storied career both during war and peacetime. Although modernized a number of times during her 25 year lifetime, the ship fitters could not overcome and correct her lack of speed that all her newer sisters now possessed and she was relegated into secondary roles as a training and school ship for men and ship's boys. In October 1939 ROYAL OAK had a complement of 1,234 men and boys aboard when she anchored in Scapa Flow for the last time. The torpedo that struck the ship's bow at 0104 hours that morning shook the battleship and awoke its crew. Little visible damage was observed, though the starboard anchor chain was severed by the blast. The chain clattered loudly to the bottom of the harbor. It was first suspected that there had been an explosion in the ship's forward inflammable stores up forward. A submarine attack was never considered given the impregnability and imperviousness of Scapa Flow's defences.

Aside from an announcement made over ROYAL OAK'S public address system to check on the temperatures in the forward magazine, nothing further was done. Many if not most of her sailors returned wearily to their hammocks, completely unaware that the ship was under attack. At 0116 three more torpedoes slammed into the battleship amidships, blowing massive holes through her armor plate, flooding her engine room and causing immediate loss of power. In addition, a magazine explosion sent a rolling fireball of cordite throughout the ships lower passageways. Thirteen minutes after Prien's second full salvo of torpedoes were fired, ROYAL OAK rolled over and sank with 833 men and her admiral still aboard. Over a hundred of her dead were Boy Seamen under the age of 18 years. Naval Actions and losses 1939 Naval Actions and losses 1939 September 1, 1939 German Battleship Schleswig-Holstein opens fire on Polish coastal defences. Polish minesweeper Mewa damaged by german divebombers.

September 2, 1939 Polish Torpedo boat Mazur sunk by divebombers the first ship lost in the war. September 3, 1939 Passenger liner Athena sunk by U-30. Polish destroyer Wicher sunk 3 September in Hela port. Polish minelayer Gryf sunk 3 September in Hela port. Minesweeper Mewa sunk 3 or 14 September though later raised by the Germans. September 10, 1939 Submarine HMS Triton sinks submarine HMS Oxley off the coast of Norway. September 14, 1939 Polish minesweepers Jaskolka and Czapla sunk. North west of Ireland after a failed torpedo attempt U-39 sunk by Ark Royal's escorting destroyers HMS Faulknor, HMS Foxhound, and HMS Firedrake. British submarine HMS Sturgeon misses submarine HMS Swordfish with its torpedoes. September 17, 1939 British carrier HMS Courageous sunk in the Western approaches by U-29.

September 20, 1939 HMS Forester and Fortune sink U-27 west of the Hebrides.(Tarrant) September 22, 1939 Destroyers HMS Jersey and HMS Javelin collided both needing repairs. HMS Forester and Fortune sink U-27 west of the Hebrides. October 1 1939 German minesweeper M85 sunk by Polish pole mine. Merchant and Uboat losses September-October 1939 16 U-boats sunk U-12 sunk by mine English Channel. October 13, 1939 U-40 sunk by mine straits of Dover.(Tarrant) U-42 sunk by HMS Ilex and HMS Imogen off the south-west coast of Eire. October 14, 1939 U-45 sunk by HMS Inglefield, HMS Ivanhoe and HMS Intrepid off the coast of Eire. HMS Royal Oak sunk at Scapa Flow by U-47.

October 16, 1939 Bay of Biscay U-45 depth charged by French destroyer Cyclone.(Tarrant) October 18, 1939 Base ship HMS Iron Duke beached after being bombed at Scapa Flow by JU88s. October 24, 1939 U-16 sunk by depth charges English Channel. U-16 mined straits of Dover. (Tarrant) November 4, 1939 French ship Baoule reported sunk. November 10, 1939 HMS Rover reported lost with all hands. November 13, 1939 British steamer Ponzano reported torpedoed. November 14, 1939 Admiralty announces loss of HMS Blanche due to a German mine and trawler Cresswell to German U-boat shelling. The Norwegian tanker Arne Kjode is reported torpedoed. November 15, 1939 British steamer Woodtown reported mined. November 16, 1939 British ship Africa shell sunk by a German raider and British steamer Arlington Court torpedoed.

November 23, 1939 Armed merchant cruiser HMS Rawalpindi sunk by German battleship Scharnhorst. November 26, 1939 Polish liner Pilsudski sunk by U-boat. November 28, 1939 Two British steamers sunk by enemy action. November 29, 1939 U-35 sunk by HMS Icarus, Kashmir and Kingston north west of Bergen. December 4, 1939 U-36 sunk by submarine HMS Salmon south west of Stavanger. December 7, 1939 Jersey torpedoed and nearly sunk by the German destroyers Erich Giesse and Hans Lody. December 12, 1939 D class destroyer HMS Duchess lost. December 13, 1939 German cruisers Nurnberg and Leipzig torpedoed by British submarine Salmon. Nurnberg put out of action for 5 months. Battle of the River Plate December 13, 1939 Graf Spee damaged as are two allied cruisers. British warship forced to withdraw.

December 14, 1939 Destroyer HMS Kelly hit a mine needing extensive repairs German cruiser Leipzig torpedoed by British submarine HMS Ursula. Leipzig put out of action for a year. December 17, 1939 Sinking of the HMS Royal Oak : Scapa Flow Wrecks People Sinking of HMS Royal Oak "The place where the German U-boat sank the British battleship Royal Oak was none other than the middle of Scapa Flow, Britain's greatest naval base! It sounds incredible..." William L Shirer, journalist, 18 October 1939. In 1938, with the threat of war looming, surveys showed that Kirk Sound (part of Holm Sound) had a perfectly clear and deep passage running through it, 300 to 400 feet wide. This posed a real danger to British ships stationed in Scapa Flow. Indeed, a 2,000-ton vessel was said to have made it through in 1932 (Hewison, 1985, p.209-210).

In an attempt to block the channel more effectively the old merchant ship Seriano was sunk as a blockship on 15 March 1939. Nevertheless, navigable channels remained through both Kirk Sound and Skerry Sound (Hewison, 1985, p.210). The survey vessel Scott even reported this as a navigable channel in May 1939, 400 feet wide with a depth of two fathoms at low water. In spite of this it was concluded that the sounds would be too hazardous for a vessel passing through on the surface. Admiral Sir William French, commanding Orkney and Shetland, refuted this judgement. He travelled through Kirk Sound and Skerry Sound in a picket boat in June 1939 and determined that a submarine or destroyer could make it through at slack water (Hewison, 1985, p.211). Costs slowed the sinking of more blockships until the outbreak of war when SS Cape Ortegal was sunk in Skerry Sound.

SS Lake Neuchatel was destined to be a blockship in Kirk Sound, but was still afloat on the night of 13/14 October 1939 (Hewison, 1985, p.212). The attack Konteradmiral Döenitz, Commander of the Submarines, said on receipt of a survey to find Scapa Flow's weakness: "I hold that a penetration at this point [Kirk Sound] on the surface at the turn of the tide would be possible without further ceremony." Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien was to prove how inadequate the British defences were when he made one of the most daring attacks ever recorded (Wood, 2008, p.91). A sortie by units of the Kriegsmarine, or German Navy, including the battlecruiser Gneisenau, the cruiser Köln and nine destroyers, was staged to tempt units of the British Home Fleet out of Scapa Flow for attack by the Luftwaffe. Although many ships of the Home Fleet did respond, the Luftwaffe did not engage and this tactic left Prien with just a few ships in Scapa Flow as targets.

HMS Royal Oak had returned early from the Home Fleet sweep and took up its role as anti-aircraft defence for the Scapa Flow anchorage and the Radio Direction Finding station at Netherbutton. The German submarine U-47, under the command of Prien, approached Scapa Flow through the narrow approaches at Kirk Sound with surprising ease. It was high tide and a little after midnight on 14 October 1939. U-47 first sailed towards Lyness but, finding no ships in the area and encountering no resistance, then turned to the north where HMS Royal Oak, HMS Pegasus and possibly HMS Iron Duke were spotted (Wood, 2008, p.92). A total of 51 ships were in Scapa Flow at the time, 18 of which can be described as fighting ships (Weaver, 1980, p.39). When the first torpedo struck HMS Royal Oak at 12.58am, the dull thud confused the sailors – they thought the muffled explosions were an on-board problem, perhaps an explosion in the paint store. They certainly did not think it was a U-boat attack.

A second salvo failed to deliver a hit but the confusion surrounding the first hit gave Commander Prien an additional 20 minutes to return to his firing position, reload, and fire a third salvo. This third discharge landed direct hits amidships. Such was the ferocity of the explosions, the ship heeled over alarmingly and all the lights went out. It had been fine weather so all of the ship's hatches were open. Undoubtedly Royal Oak would have taken longer to sink and more lives would have been saved if the watertight hatches had been closed; but it is not normal procedure to have all hatches closed when in a supposedly safe harbour with no alerts. When the ship rolled its gun barrels shifted, pulling the ship faster beneath the surface. Water crashed through the open hatches and men asleep in their bunks were unable to get out in time. It took just minutes for the battleship to sink. Hundreds fought for their lives in the water, trying to swim for shore through thick fuel oil and in freezing temperatures. A total of 834 men lost their lives. Many of the men are buried in the Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery on Hoy (Wood, 2008, p.92).

Aftermath The sinking of HMS Royal Oak was a notable German propaganda coup. However, there is conjecture that she may not have been the only British ship struck by the German forces that night. Prien's account stated that he hit another ship – the battlecruiser HMS Repulse. This warship had, in fact, left that day with the rest of the fleet. However, it is possible that U-47 hit the British Atlantic Fleet's Flagship, HMS Iron Duke. On 17 October a Luftwaffe squadron attacked HMS Iron Duke as she lay beached at Lyness. When the attack commenced it is claimed that the ship was already listing heavily and had a large hole in the bow. Metal Industries were engaged in pumping out the vessel and patching the hull. The British Admiralty never confirmed that HMS Iron Duke had been hit but it has been argued that it was deemed too sensitive to report that the Fleet's Flagship had also been torpedoed on the same night as Royal Oak was lost (Wood, 2008, p.93). Later it was discovered that Prien never subscribed to many of the claims attributed to him.

His ghost-written account was inevitably embellished by propaganda and it has taken some work to untangle his original account. In 1978 Karl Dönitz, who became head of the German navy during World War II, said that Prien’s identification of the HMS Repulse at anchor came from the German High Command: "Lt Prien arrived home safely, was told he had torpedoed Repulse, heard the evidence and didn’t like it. Except when cornered by questions he avoided positive identification of Repulse wherever possible." (Weaver, 1980, p.135). Despite conspiracy theories that HMS Royal Oak sank as a result of sabotage, involving a bomb in the explosives store, the damage to the ship has been confirmed as external. Moreover, the gaping torpedo holes reveal why she sank so quickly. The vessel's torpedo bulge, although modernised in 1934, had been fitted in 1922 and was designed to withstand torpedoes with 450 to 500 pounds of explosives (Rickard, 2007). By World War II torpedoes were more powerful and so ships like HMS Royal Oak could fall prey to a few well-placed torpedoes.

In a film recording of Prien discussing his actions he says: "Inside of Scapa Flow, the harbour of the English sea force, it was absolutely dead calm in there. The entire bay was alight because of bright northern lights. We then cruised in the bay for approximately one and a half hour, chose our targets, fired our torpedoes. In the next moment there was a bang and the next moment the Royal Oak blew up. The view was indescribable. And we sneaked out, in a similar fashion as we got in, close past the enemy guards, and they did not see us. You can imagine the excitement and happiness we all felt, about the fact that we managed to fulfil our task and achieve such a huge victory for Germany." The realisation that U-47 had entered Scapa Flow through Kirk Sound prompted the immediate sinking of further blockships. By 1940 the Churchill Barriers were under construction and, when completed, they permanently blocked the eastern entrances to Scapa Flow.

History of U-47 U-47, a type VII submarine, was laid down in Kiel on 27 February 1937, launched on 29 October 1938 and commissioned on 17 December 1938 under command of Günther Prien. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross First Class by Adolf Hitler. He commanded U-47 through 10 patrols, sinking 30 ships in the process. The last radio message from U-47 was received on the morning of 7 March 1941 from the North Atlantic near the Rockall Banks. The sinking of U-47 has always been attributed to the British destroyer HMS Wolverine. What actually happened remains confusing, but accounts indicate that the destroyer kept up a sustained attack on an unknown U-boat resulting in its probable destruction. All that is definitely known is that U-47 failed to report back to headquarters after 7 March 1941. Click on the thumbnail images to enlarge.

Resources Scapa Flow's Wartime Heritage Discover the wartime heritage of Scapa Flow Introduction Scapa Flow is a natural harbour which has been used over many centuries, from the Viking fleet of King Haokon in the 13th Century, to the present day. It formed an important northern base for the British fleets in both world wars. World War I During the first World War, the British Grand Fleet used Scapa Flow as a northern base. After a German U-Boat managed to enter the Flow early in the war, merchant ships were sent as blockships in strategic places and anti-submarine nets were put in place. From this base, vessels from the fleet made sweeps in search of the enemy. In 1916, the British Grand Fleet left to fight in the Battle of Jutland. 24 battleships and 3 battlecruisers, plus destroyers and scouting cruisers set out under the command of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. They met the German High Seas Fleet in battle. There was much damage wrought, with many thousands of men losing their lives, but both sides believed they had won. However, after the battle, the Kaiser's fleet never went to sea again.

In June 1916, Lord Kitchener, the Minister of War, arrived in Scapa Flow to visit Admiral Jellicoe and hear his account of the Battle of Jutland, Kitchener left on board the Hampshire, and sailed up the west coast of Orkney. Near Birsay, the Hampshire struck a mine, and only 12 men out of 665 survived. On 1926, money was raised by public subscription to erect the Kitchener Memorial at Marwick Head near Birsay. After the armistice, seventy-four ships of the German High Seas Fleet were ordered into Scapa Flow to be interned. They arrived in November 1918, and stayed there for 10 months. During this time, they became a tourist attraction, with boat trips to see them. By June 1919, Rear Admiral von Reuter, the German Officer in command at Scapa Flow, knew that Germany would have to accept surrender terms. When the main part of the British Fleet left the flow for exercises he gave the order for the German fleet to be scuttled. Most of the scuttled fleet did not stay iwhere they had sunk.

Those that were beached were removed almost immediately. In the 1920s, the firm Cox & Douglas began salvage operations, lifting many of the ships. This salvage continued until the advent of the Second World War, and only eight scuttled ships now remain in the Flow. The first of the German Fleet to sink after the order to scuttle was issued was the Friedrich der Grosse - the flagship of the Jutland Fleet. This battleship sank beneath the surface at 12:16pm. The British managed to save a few of the German ships by towing them towards shore where they settled in the shallow water. At 5pm on 21 June 1919, the last ship, the Hindenberg, went under. By this time the surface of Scapa Flow was covered in oil and debris. The environmental damage caused by the scuttling was considerable. On June 21st 1919, a party of schoolchildren from the town of Stromness were being taken on a trip around Scapa Flow to view the German Fleet. Little did they know when they left home that day what they were to witness.

The following is a piece written by one of the children, James Taylor, one of the pupils who witnessed the scuttling: "On Saturday June 21st 1919, I rose very early, as it would never do to be late for a school treat which was to take the form of a cruise on the Flying Kestrel to visit the surrendered German Fleet. The though of sailing up to them made us boys almost sick with excitement! At long last we came face to face with the Fleet. Their decks were lined with German sailors who....did not seem too pleased to see us. Suddenly without any warning and almost simultaneously these huge vessels began to list over to port or starboard; some heeled over and plunged headlong, their sterns lifted high out of the water. Out of the vents rushed steam and oil and air with a dreadful roaring hiss. And as we watched, awestruck and silent, the sea became littered for miles round with boats and hammocks, lifebelts and chests....and among it all hundreds of men struggling for their lives.

As we drew away from this nightmare scene we watched the last great battleship slide down with keel upturned like some monstrous whale." The crew of a German destroyer abandon ship as the vessel sinks. Remains of a Blockship. The "Hampshire", of the British Grand Fleet. The "Kronprinz Wilhelm", of the German High Seas Fleet. World War II During World War II, the Home Fleet was based at Scapa Flow, from where it helped to protect the Arctic Convoys to Murmansk. In October, 1939, only a month after war had been declared, an assault on Scapa Flow was planned using the U-Boat U-47, commanded by Lieutenant Günther Prien. On the night of October 13th, the U-Boat managed to pass between the Orkney Mainland and Lamb Holm into Scapa Flow, between two northerly blockships. Just after midnight HMS Royal Oak was sighted in Scapa Bay. Torpedoes were fired, and a hole 30 feet in diameter was made in the hull, and she capsized. Of the crew of 1400 men, 833 lost their lives.

HMS Royal Oak is a protected war grave, and each year on the anniversary of the sinking, there are memorial services. Following this event, Scapa Flow became heavily defended with anti-aircraft batteries, minefields and further blockships. In 1940, Winston Churchill gave orders that the defences on the eastern side of Scapa Flow were to be improved by setting concrete blocks between islands to make causeways. These four causeways are known as the Churchill Barriers (picture, left) Italian POWs were used to build the barriers. They were unhappy, declaring this to be war work, and thus against the Geneva Convention, but were persuaded that the primary purpose of the barriers was to provide an easy means of communication by road for the people living in the south parishes. The Italian prisoners built a beautiful 'Italian Chapel' on Lamb Holm for their worship, which can still be visited today. The Scapa Flow Vistor Centre is housed in the former oil pumping station at the Lyness Naval Base on Hoy. Here are housed many exhibits from both World Wars. The Royal Oak

Question: Which British battleship was sunk by a German U-boat in Scapa Bay in October 1939?
Answer: H.M.S. ROYAL OAK