U-47 Strikes Britain: The Raid on Scapa Flow and the Sinking of HMS Royal Oak, 1939



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In 1939, German U-boat U-47, under the command of Günther Prien, embarked on a daring mission that would become legendary. Tasked with infiltrating the heavily guarded British naval base at Scapa Flow, the stealthy submarine’s mission would not just be a tactical victory, but would prove to Germany that it had to significantly expand its submarine program…

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29 thoughts on “U-47 Strikes Britain: The Raid on Scapa Flow and the Sinking of HMS Royal Oak, 1939”

  1. I read a book recently, 'The Book At War, Libraries And Readers In An Age Of Conflict' by Andrew Pettegree, which mentioned this incident. Pettegree's account:

    "A long-term sleeper agent in Kirkwall, Orkney, alerted German intelligence to the insufficiency of the anti-submarine nets at the naval base at Scapa Flow. This resulted in one of the most audacious feats of the first year of the war, when a U-boat made it's way into the anchorage and torpedoed the aircraft-carrier Oak Royal'
    .
    Andrew Pettegree is, apparently, Professor of Modern History at St. Andrews University. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I think if I was studying history at St Andrews I would be seriously concerned.

    Reply
  2. A truly incredible attack, one thing wrong though, the captain of the Royal Oak abandoned ship within second of the attack and tried to swim ashore. A boat launched from the stricken ship was launched and brought him back onboard under force, he was made to stay until she started to sink. The propaganda of the day said he was there onboard throughout.

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  3. In the early 90s I worked on a ship called the Hebridean Princess , we were visiting the the site of the final resting place of the Royal Oak . I came across one of our passengers standing alone looking upset/distressed so I approached him and asked if he was alright. He was a elderly gentleman who thanked me for my concern, turns out he was a member of the crew onboard U-47 and had come on that particular cruise to pay his respects to the crew of the Royal Oak . We ended up talking for quite some time about his experiences during the war including how he had been transferred in 1940 to a different U-boat then captured after that vessel was damaged and the crew abandoned ship, he spent the rest of the war as a pow . He didn’t know that U-47 had been lost along with all his old crew mates until after the war.

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  4. Great video! A couple of points: 1) It was on 13th October that U-47 crossed the North Sea, the attack occurring after 1am on the 14th. 2) The death toll on Royal Oak has varied over the years due to uncertainties, but now stands at 835, up from the 833 which had been the official figure for some time. It was accepted by the Royal Oak Association.

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  5. I visited the site of the sinking of the Royal Oak a number of years ago by boat.
    Many of the people on the boat were visibly moved, it is probably the saddest war grave I have been to.
    Most of the people that died were just kids.

    Reply

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