Author Topic: 70th anniversary of Royal Oak sinking (Read 10396 times)

dougie47 · « **on:** 13 Oct , 2009, 13:24 »

Gentlemen,

On the night of the 13th/14th October 1939, the German U-boat U 47 penetrated into the main Royal Navy anchorage at Scapa Flow and sank the British battleship HMS Royal Oak. The legendary attack is one of the most audacious and remarkable raids in submarine history.

More details can be found at -

http://www.u47.org/english/u47_sca.asp

Tonight is the 70th anniversary of the raid. Some of the survivors gathered in St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall to mark the anniversary -

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1435125

Above can be seen Kirk Sound, which is the passage through which U 47 passed (while remaining on the surface) to gain access into Scapa. The causeway which can be seen in the photo is one of the four Churchill Barriers that were build to prevent any further incursion by enemy vessels.

While the attack was carried out with great skill and daring, we must always remember that no fewer than 833 men

Rokket · « **Reply #1 on:** 15 Oct , 2009, 02:11 »

The photo is just right, it certainly sets the bittersweet tone. ovely that there is such a gathering and remembrance.

70 years...things from 100 years ago are "ancient" to us, a little bit familiar and a lot foreign. Not so far now for WWII to slide over into that category.

dougie47 · « **Reply #2 on:** 16 Oct , 2009, 13:18 »

Hi Wink,

Here are some more photos. This one is in St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, Orkney. The book includes all 833 names, with one page being turned every day-

The Royal Oak bell is also housed in the Cathedral. This display was unvieled by the battleship's Captain WG Benn on 14th October 1948 -

U 47 passed by several blockships which were supposed to block access to Kirk Sound. Although there are none visible in Kirk Sound, the remains of blockship Reginald is still visible beside one of the Churchill barriers. The Reginald was sunk in this channel in 1915.

Lastly, a photo of the remains of one of the seven torpedoes fired by U 47. This artifact remains in the Stromness Museum in Orkney.

Orkney is a lovely place and a treasure trove of naval history.

Cheers,

Dougie

Siara · « **Reply #3 on:** 16 Oct , 2009, 16:33 »

Thanks for that Dougie. Lovely pictures. Im impressed by the torpedo remains. Did that torpedo detonate?

NZSnowman · « **Reply #4 on:** 16 Oct , 2009, 17:18 »

I also thought the last picture was wonderful

What was the likelihood of found that

Great picture of the gearing anyway

dougie47 · « **Reply #5 on:** 17 Oct , 2009, 07:57 »

Hi gents,

Here are another few shots of the G7e torpedo -

U 47 fired 7 torpedoes, 4 of which hit the Royal Oak. The curator of the Stromness Museum could not advise which torpedo the artifact came from. But he kindly allowed me to take photos. What struck me was the weight of the piece - far heavier than it looks. There are four prop blades (two on each section); the two sections counter-rotate to alleviate torque.

Interestingly, one of the three which missed floated to the surface of Scapa Flow in the comparatively recent past. If my memory serves me well, it was detonated by Royal Navy personnel.

In the course of researching U 47 and her patrol history, I estimated that U 47 was responsible for a death toll in the region of 1,932 sailors. This appalling figure would have been even greater if the German torpedoes had functioned more reliably. Of the 87 torpedoes fired in the first 9 patrols, 56 missed or failed (I don't have the shooting reports for the 10th patrol as the boat was lost on this patrol). U 47 fired upon several troopships off Norway. Thank goodness the torpedoes did not strike these troopships as the loss of life would have been terrible.

It was quite something to handle part of one of the torpedoes fired during the raid. But my enthusiasm was tempered very much by the thought of the destruction wrought by the torpedoes that evening.

Below are photos of another piece of history. This shows the message received by Scapa Flow on 3 Sep 39 upon the outbreak of war - "Commence hostilities with Germany".

This document resides at another museum, this time on the Orkney island of Hoy.

In the forecourt of the Hoy museum are several large artifacts from the German High Seas Fleet. The fleet was scuttled in Scapa Flow in 1919. See -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2497494

This is one of the 5.9 inch guns from the Karlsruehe -

A number of the warships are still in Scapa Flow.

Cheers,

Dougie

Rokket · « **Reply #6 on:** 17 Oct , 2009, 20:41 »

fantastic pix, love to see the museum

UrpoK · « **Reply #7 on:** 19 Oct , 2009, 13:12 »

Great pictures and serious facts!
I think real sub enthusiast have to remember the cost of the victories.

Timo

Rokket · « **Reply #8 on:** 20 Oct , 2009, 00:31 »

Good point. I remember an interview with the actor Jimmy Stewart, who was a bomber pilot in WWII. It always bothered him, every run, but it was his job and his part of ending the war.

Every bomb, whether from air or torpedo, is a huge - pardon any unintentional puns - impact. That ship has dozens to hundreds of lives, that target is a collectio of people.

The "civilized" WWI method of stopping ships and unloading the people and then sinking them is quite a different way of doing things!

Siara · « **Reply #9 on:** 20 Oct , 2009, 16:13 »

Quote from: rokket on 20 Oct , 2009, 00:31

The "civilized" WWI method of stopping ships and unloading the people and then sinking them is quite a different way of doing things!

That was the case, until the german U-Boot`s were attacked during the resque mission. After that incident all the survivors were left at high seas. U-Boots were to precious.

Rokket · « **Reply #10 on:** 22 Oct , 2009, 01:31 »

Both "opportunities" (uboat sinking a ship, sinking a waiting uboat) were too tempting, too.

NZSnowman · « **Reply #11 on:** 12 May , 2010, 01:01 »

Ckeck out this views of the Royal Oak from http://www.adus-uk.com/index.html

dougie47 · « **Reply #12 on:** 12 May , 2010, 11:08 »

Hi Simon,

Those are some images, thanks for posting. I saw you mentioned "The Royal Oak Disaster" by G. Snyder on another thread. Did you get that book? I'd recommend it. The Royal Oak sinking has many controversial elements and this book solves many of the debatable issues.

Cheers,

Dougie

NZSnowman · « **Reply #13 on:** 12 May , 2010, 12:53 »

Yes, I pick this book up. I hadn't see this book before so it was a easy choose to buy.

Rokket · « **Reply #14 on:** 14 May , 2010, 03:19 »

great pix!

NZSnowman · « **Reply #15 on:** 17 Feb , 2011, 17:41 »

Quote from: dougie47 on 12 May , 2010, 11:08

Hi Simon,

Those are some images, thanks for posting. I saw you mentioned "The Royal Oak Disaster" by G. Snyder on another thread. Did you get that book? I'd recommend it. The Royal Oak sinking has many controversial elements and this book solves many is of the debatable issues.

Cheers,

Dougie

Hi Dougie

Finish the book this morning, overall I thought it was good, some parts were excellent, and other part had no meaning to me. These parts were the detail of survivors movement through the Oak. It was great that Snyder used all the correct names of the boat, but without an Oak deck layout, “B gun deck” had no meaning to me

It would had been very useful if he had included a layout plan of the Oak with the book.

Anyway, did you noticed in the image section of the book, the plan of the VIIB from the US Naval History Division. The plan says “Typ VIIB” but the drawing is of VIIC or VIIC/41 $:-\$

Simon

FoxbaT · « **Reply #16 on:** 17 Feb , 2011, 21:32 »

Thanks for posting this topic

In may, i am going to Scotland on my motorbike with some friends.
We are now busy planning the holiday, the plan is to start in Edinborough and from there upwards towards the top of Scotland, and from there to the west and downwards.
We have about 17 days for this trip.
Last week, i checked the site from the marine museum wich is based on the Orkney Islands, te see if it`s worth to take the ferry and check things out.
Could someone tell me how long it takes to get to Scapa Flow with the ferry?

Thanks,

Karel

Rokket · « **Reply #17 on:** 18 Feb , 2011, 04:06 »

have fun on the trip!

dougie47 · « **Reply #18 on:** 18 Feb , 2011, 07:01 »

Hi Karel,

The Orkneys are lovely, you'll have a good time with your friends. It can get windy in the winter but in May the islands can be really nice. The roads are quiet and a pleasure to drive / ride on. The islands are full of history, particularly naval history because of Scapa Flow.

You could try here for ferry info -

http://www.jogferry.co.uk/times.htm

Looks like only 40 minutes from John O'Groats to Burwick. Burwick is on the south of the island of South Ronaldsay. This would be ideal for you. You could ride over the Churchill Barriers north onto Burray then Glimps Holm then Lamb Holm then onto the mailand. When you ride over the Churchill Barriers you can still see some blockship remains.

The place you have to see is Stromness museum, which is on the mailand -

http://www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/STROMNESSMUSEUM/

Remains of one of the U 47 torpedoes are on display at Stromness. There are also artifacts from the scuttling of the High Seas Fleet.

Another place to see is the Scapa Museum on the island of Hoy -

http://www.hoyorkney.com/VisitHoy/scapa_flow_museum.html

There are some large artifacts of the High Seas Fleet here. The ferry is from Houton on the mainland to Lyness on the island of Hoy.

Simon, glad you liked the book. You are right about the schematic, I'd never really looked at it before. But it has what looks like Turm IV, which I don't recall seeing on any VIIB!

Cheers,

Dougie

NZSnowman · « **Reply #19 on:** 18 Feb , 2011, 11:29 »

Quote from: dougie47 on 18 Feb , 2011, 07:01

Simon, glad you liked the book. You are right about the schematic, I'd never really looked at it before. But it has what looks like Turm IV, which I don't recall seeing on any VIIB!

Cheers,

Dougie

If you look hard you can also see the 4 containers for the 5 man inflatable life rafts near the bow, and a schnorchel mast. But looking at the hand writing and the drawing it look like a original Greman document $:-\$

iceonaboy · « **Reply #20 on:** 15 Mar , 2011, 12:58 »

I dont know if anyone is interested, but the town I live, Oban, on the West coast of Scotland used to be a seaplane base during the war. Sunderlands and some other types patrolled from here looking for U boats and protecting convoys.

http://www.rafoban.co.uk/page1.htm

Rokket · « **Reply #21 on:** 16 Mar , 2011, 00:41 »

Lot of good info, thanks for the link

iceonaboy · « **Reply #22 on:** 16 Mar , 2011, 04:03 »

Hi Karel, I have never actually made the journey to Orkney , but Ive been to John O`groats and its not far to Orkney. Just a short ferry trip. Wrap up warm if youre going anytime other than high Summer!

Author Topic: 70th anniversary of Royal Oak sinking (Read 10396 times)

UrpoK