H.M.S. Royal Oak sank on 14th October 1939 having come under attack from torpedoes fired from U-47 in an audacious attack in the "safe haven" of Scapa Flow.
Royal Navy
On 14th October 1939, H.M.S. Royal Oak was at anchor at Scapa Flow, the supposed safe haven for British naval vessels. Having returned early from a Home Fleet sweep, it took up a role as anti-aircraft defence. And so, Royal Oak remained in situ as the Kriegsmarine made a daring sortie. Vessels including Gneisenau, Köln, and nine destroyers lured British vessels out of Scapa Flow.
An expected attack from the Luftwaffe did not follow but the move left only a handful of vessels in Scapa Flow as targets. Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien in U-47 would take full advantage.
A little after 0000hrs on 14th October 1939, in darkness and at high tide, the German submarine eased through the narrow approaches ar Kirk Sound. Encountering no resistance, Prien sailed north to find H.M.S. Royal Oak, H.M.S. Pegasus, and possibly H.M.S. Iron Duke.
At 1258hrs, the first torpedo struck H.M.S. Royal Oak. The muffled explosion caused great confusion on board. No one on the vessel expected a torpedo attack while in the safety of Scapa Flow. A second torpedo from U-47 missed its target but using the element of surprise gave Prien time – 20 minutes or so – to return to his firing position. From there, he unleashed a third salvo, scoring a direct hit amidships. The explosion caused the ship to list, the lights went out, and water began to rush through the ship’s watertight hatches. Crew members asleep in their beds were unable to get out in time. The ship sank in minutes leaving hundreds to fight for their lives in freezing water and thick oil spills.
Kapitänleutnant Prien spoke of the attack in a recorded film:
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.
Not only Prien but all of Germany viewed the sinking of H.M.S. Royal Oak as a great propaganda coup. A total of 834 crew members died as a result of the attack, many buried in a local cemetery and others lost at sea.