Career
Laid down:	15 January 1914
Launched:	17 November 1914
Commissioned:	1 May 1916
Nickname:	The Mighty Oak
Fate:	Sunk on 14 October 1939
General characteristics
Displacement:	29,150 tons standard 33,500 tons full load
Length:	620½ ft (189 m)
Beam:	88½ ft (27 m) as built 102 ft (31. Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 284 - Diocletian is proclaimed emperor by his soldiers Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 1 m) after bulging
Draught:	28½ ft (8. 7 m)
Propulsion:	4 shaft Parsons geared turbines 18 Yarrow boilers 40,000 shp (30 MW)
Speed:	20 knots (37 km/h)
Range:	4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km)
Complement:	1,009 to 1,146 (peacetime)
Armament:	4 × twin Mk I 15-inch/42 guns 12 × single Mk XII 6-inch (150 mm) guns 4 × 2 4-inch (102 mm) guns 2 × 8 2-pdr (900 g) anti-aircraft guns 4 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:	13 inch belt 6 inch upper belt 10 inch barbettes 13 inch turret faces 4¼ inch turret crowns

His Majesty's Ship Royal Oak (pennant number 08) was a Revenge-class battleship of the British Royal Navy, torpedoed in Scapa Flow by the German submarine U-47 on 14 October 1939. The BL 15 inch Mark I was the first British 15 inch (381 mm gun design and the most widely used and longest lasting of any British designs The 2-pounder gun, officially designated the QF 2-pounder ( QF denoting "quick firing" and universally known as the pom-pom, was a 1 The modern torpedo (historically called an automotive automobile locomotive or fish torpedo is a self-propelled explosive Projectile weapon launched above or below In the modern Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers (sometimes referred to as pendant Design The ships of the class were slower and smaller than the preceding ''Queen Elizabeth''-class battleships A battleship is a large heavily armored Warship with a main battery consisting of the largest Calibre of Guns Battleships were The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) Scapa Flow ( Old Norse: Skalpaflói) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands A submarine is a Watercraft that can operate independently below water as distinct from a Submersible that has only limited underwater capability Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Launched in 1914 and completed in 1916, Royal Oak first saw action at the Battle of Jutland. fix various bugs per WikipediaHow to fix bunched-up edit links --> In peacetime, she served in the Atlantic, Home and Mediterranean fleets, coming under accidental attack on more than one occasion. The Atlantic Fleet was a major fleet formation of the Royal Navy. The Home Fleet is the traditional name of the fleet of the Royal Navy that protects the United Kingdom 's territorial waters Mediterranean Fleet redirects here For the Mediterranean Fleets of other countries see Mediterranean Fleet (disambiguation. The ship became the centre of worldwide attention in 1928 when her senior officers were controversially court-martialled. A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a Military court. These military courts can determine Punishments for members of the Military subject 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. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

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. Scapa Flow ( Old Norse: Skalpaflói) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Battlecruisers were large Warships in the first half of the 20th century that were first introduced by the British Royal Navy. 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 obsolete veteran of the First World War made little difference to the naval balance of power, but the effect on wartime morale was considerable. The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The U-boat commander, Günther Prien, became the first Kriegsmarine officer awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and found himself an immediate celebrity and war hero on his return to Germany. Lieutenant Commander Günther Prien ( 16 January 1908 &ndash 7 March 1941) was one of the outstanding German U-boat aces The Kriegsmarine (English "War navy" was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945 during the Nazi regime superseding the The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross ( German language: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, often simply Ritterkreuz) was a grade of the Iron Cross A hero (from Greek grc ἥρως hērōs) in Greek mythology and Folklore, was originally a Demigod, the offspring of a mortal and 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. A war grave is a place where War dead are buried It may contain either a combatant or a civilian In an annual ceremony to mark the loss of the ship, Royal Navy divers place a White Ensign at her stern. The White Ensign is an Ensign flown on British Royal Navy ships and Shore establishments It consists of a red St George's Cross on Unauthorised divers are prohibited from approaching the wreck at any time.

Contents 1 Construction 2 Career 2.1 First World War 2.2 Between the wars 2.3 Spanish Civil War 2.4 Second World War 3 Loss 3.1 Scapa Flow 3.2 Special Operation P: the raid by U-47 3.3 Rescue efforts 4 Aftermath 5 Wreck 5.1 Status as war grave 5.2 Environmental concerns 6 Notes 7 Citations 8 References 9 External links

Construction

The Revenge class to which Royal Oak belonged was ordered in the 1913–14 Estimates to be a cheaper—but smaller and slower—coal-fired version of the earlier Queen Elizabeth-class super-dreadnoughts. In countries using the Westminster system the Estimates are a series of legislative proposals to parliament outlining how the government will spend its money Origins Following the success of the {{convert|135|in|mm|0|adj=on}} gun, the Admiralty decided to develop a {{convert|15|in|mm|0|adj=on}} gun to equip the battleships A battleship is a large heavily armored Warship with a main battery consisting of the largest Calibre of Guns Battleships were ^[1] The design, seemingly a technological step backwards, was partly a response to fears that a dependence upon fuel oil—all of which had to be imported—could leave the class crippled in the event of a successful maritime blockade. ^[2] High-quality coal, on the other hand, was in plentiful supply, and homeland supplies could be guaranteed. ^[2] Furthermore, in contrast to the "Fast Squadron" Queen Elizabeths, the Revenge class were intended to be the heaviest-gunned vessels in the line of battle proper. ^[3] Royal Oak and her sisters were the first major vessels for the Royal Navy whose design was supervised by the newly-appointed Director of Naval Construction, Sir Eustace Tennyson-D'Eyncourt. The Director of Naval Construction (DNC was a senior British civil servant post in the Admiralty, that part of the civil service that oversaw Sir Eustace Henry William Tennyson-d'Eyncourt 1st Baronet, BT, KCB, LL

Royal Oak was laid down at Devonport Dockyard on 15 January 1914, the fourth of her class. Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB Devonport ( HMS ''Drake'') is one of three UK operating bases for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year ^[a] Concerned over the performance limitations of coal, and having secured new oil supplies with a contract agreed with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, First Sea Lord Jackie Fisher rescinded the decision on coal in October 1914. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company ( APOC) was founded in 1908 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Iran. The First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service. Admiral of the Fleet John Arbuthnot "Jackie" Fisher 1st Baron Fisher of Kilverstone, GCB, OM, GCVO ( 25 January 1841 ^[2] While under construction, Royal Oak was redesigned to employ eighteen oil-fired Yarrow boilers supplying four Parsons steam turbines each driving a single screw. Yarrow (Shipbuilders Limited (YSL often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipyard now part of BVT Surface Fleet, a joint venture between BAE Systems Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British Engineering company based in Wallsend, North England, on the River Tyne. A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts Thermal energy from pressurized Steam, and converts it into useful mechanical work A propeller is essentially a type of fan which transmits power by converting Rotational motion into Thrust for propulsion of a vehicle such as an The battleship was launched on 17 November of that year, and after fitting-out, was commissioned on 1 May 1916 at a final cost of £2,468,269. Events 284 - Diocletian is proclaimed emperor by his soldiers Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The Pound Sterling ( symbol £; ISO code: GBP) subdivided into 100 pence (singular penny) is the Currency ^[4] Named after the oak tree in which Charles II hid following his defeat at the 1651 Battle of Worcester, she was the eighth Royal Navy vessel to bear the name, replacing a pre-dreadnought scrapped in 1914. The Royal Oak is the name given to the Oak tree within which King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Eight ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Royal Oak, after the Royal Oak in which Charles II hid himself during his flight from the country Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea going Battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905 While building she was temporarily assigned the pendant number 67. In the modern Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers (sometimes referred to as pendant ^[5]

Royal Oak was refitted between 1922 and 1924, when her anti-aircraft defences were upgraded by replacing the original 3-inch (76 mm) AA guns with 4-inch (100 mm) high-angle mounts. ^[6] Fire-control systems and rangefinders for main and secondary batteries were modernised, and underwater protection improved by 'bulging' the ship. Note the term " fire control " may also refer to means of stopping a fire such as sprinkler systems A fire-control system A rangefinder is a device that measures distance from the observer to a target for the purposes of Surveying, determining focus in Photography, or The anti-torpedo bulge (also known as an anti-torpedo blister) is a form of passive defence against naval torpedoes that featured in Warship construction ^[6][7] The watertight chambers, attached to either side of the hull, were designed to reduce the effect of torpedo blasts and improve stability, but at the same time widened the ship's beam by over 4 meters. ^[8]

A brief refit in the spring of 1927 saw the addition of two more 4-inch (100 mm) high-angle AA guns and the removal of the two 6-inch (150 mm) guns from the shelter deck. ^[6] The ship received a final refit between 1934 and 1936, when her deck armour was increased to 5 inches (12. 7 cm) over the magazines and to 3. See also firearms magazine for an explanation of the magazines used to load man-portable weapons 5 inches (8. 9 cm) over the engine rooms. In addition to a general modernisation of the ship's systems, a catapult for a spotter float plane was installed above X–turret, and anti-aircraft defences were strengthened by doubling up each of the 4-inch (100 mm) AA guns and adding a pair of octuple Mark VIII pompom guns to sponsons abreast the funnel. A floatplane is a type of Seaplane, with slender Pontoons (known as "floats" mounted under the fuselage only the floats of a floatplane normally come The 2-pounder gun, officially designated the QF 2-pounder ( QF denoting "quick firing" and universally known as the pom-pom, was a 1 Sponsons are projections from the sides of a Watercraft, for protection stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats etc ^[6][8] The mainmast was reconstructed as a tripod to support the weight of a radio-direction finding office and a second High-angle Control Station. The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical or near vertical Spar, or arrangement of Spars which supports the Sails Large ships have several masts A radio direction finder ( RDF) is a device for finding the direction to a Radio source HACS, an acronym of High Angle Control System, was a British Anti-aircraft Fire-control system employed by the Royal Navy from ^[6] The extra armour and equipment made Royal Oak one of the best equipped of the Revenge class, but the additional weight caused her to sit lower in the water, lowering her top speed by several knots. ^[6]

Career

First World War

The First World War had been under way for almost two years when Royal Oak was commissioned. This article refers to an art institution in London For other meanings of Royal Academy see Royal Academy (disambiguation. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All She was assigned to the Third Division of the Fourth Battle Squadron of the British Grand Fleet, and within the month was ordered, along with most of the fleet, to engage the German High Seas Fleet in the Battle of Jutland. The British 4th Battle Squadron was a squadron consisting of Battleships The 4th Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet. The Grand Fleet was a Fleet of the British Royal Navy during the First World War. The High Seas Fleet (Hochseeflotte was the main battle fleet of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy during World War I. fix various bugs per WikipediaHow to fix bunched-up edit links --> Under the command of Captain Crawford Maclachlan,^[9] Royal Oak left Scapa Flow on the evening of 30 May in the company of the battleships Superb, Canada and Admiral Jellicoe's flagship Iron Duke. Events 1416 - The Council of Constance, called by the Emperor Sigismund a supporter of Antipope John XXIII burns Jerome of Prague following History HMS Canada was part of the Grand Fleet 's Fourth Battle Squadron and took part in the Battle Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO ( 5 December 1859 &ndash 20 November Three ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Iron Duke after the Duke of Wellington, nicknamed the "Iron Duke" ^[10][11] The next day's indecisive battle saw Royal Oak fire a total of thirty-eight 15-inch and eighty-four 6-inch (150 mm) shells,^[12] claiming three hits on the battlecruiser Derfflinger, putting one of its turrets out of action, and a hit on the cruiser Wiesbaden. Construction by Blohm und Voss at their yard in Hamburg, Derfflinger's keel was laid in January 1912 Specifications The keel was laid in 1913 at AG Vulcan in Stettin. She avoided damage herself, despite being straddled by shellfire on one occasion. ^[13]

Following the battle, Royal Oak was reassigned to the First Battle Squadron. The British 1st Battle Squadron was a squadron consisting of Battleships The 1st Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet On 5 November 1918—the final week of the First World War—she was anchored off Burntisland in the Firth of Forth accompanied by the aircraft carrier Campania (formerly a Blue Riband winner for the Cunard Line prior to its conversion for wartime use) and battlecruiser Glorious. Events 1499 - Publication of the Catholicon in Treguier ( Brittany) Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Burntisland is a town and former Royal burgh in Fife, Scotland on the Firth of Forth. The Firth of Forth ( Scottish Gaelic: Linne Foirthe) is the Estuary or Firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows An aircraft carrier is a Warship designed with For use of the related term "Blue Ribbon" see Blue ribbon (disambiguation. Battlecruisers were large Warships in the first half of the 20th century that were first introduced by the British Royal Navy. Genesis Glorious was built by Harland and Wolff, Belfast. The design was for a light Battlecruiser; while having guns she was actually A sudden Force 10 squall caused Campania to drag her anchor, collide with Royal Oak and then with the 22,000-ton Glorious. The Beaufort scale (ˈboʊfət is an Empirical measure for describing Wind speed based mainly on observed sea conditions Both Royal Oak and Glorious suffered only minor damage; Campania, however, was holed by her initial collision with Royal Oak. The ship's engine rooms flooded, and she settled by the stern and sank five hours later, though without loss of life. ^[14]

At the end of the First World War Royal Oak escorted several vessels of the surrendering German High Seas Fleet from the Firth of Forth to their internment in Scapa Flow,^[15] and was present at a ceremony in Pentland Firth to greet other ships as they followed. The Firth of Forth ( Scottish Gaelic: Linne Foirthe) is the Estuary or Firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows Scapa Flow ( Old Norse: Skalpaflói) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands The Pentland Firth ( Scottish Gaelic: An Caol Arcach, meaning the Orcadian Strait which is actually more of a Strait than a Firth, separates

Between the wars

The peacetime reorganisation of the Royal Navy assigned the Royal Oak to the Second Battleship Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet. Vice-Admiral Kenneth Gilbert Balmain Dewar, CBE, RN (21 September 1879 &ndash 8 September 1964 was an officer of the Royal Navy. The Atlantic Fleet was a major fleet formation of the Royal Navy. Modernised by the 1922–24 refit, she was transferred in 1926 to the Mediterranean Fleet, based in Gibraltar and Grand Harbour, Malta. Mediterranean Fleet redirects here For the Mediterranean Fleets of other countries see Mediterranean Fleet (disambiguation. Gibraltar (dʒɨˈbrɒltər is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar Grand Harbour (in Maltese: Il-Port il-Kbir is a Natural harbour on the island of Malta. Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta is a European Microstate, comprising an Archipelago of three islands In early 1928, this duty saw the notorious incident the contemporary press dubbed the "Royal Oak Mutiny". ^[16] What began as a simple disagreement between Rear-Admiral Bernard Collard and Royal Oak's two senior officers Captain Kenneth Dewar and Commander Henry Daniel over the band at the ship's wardroom dance,^[b] descended into a bitter personal feud that spanned several months. Vice-Admiral Kenneth Gilbert Balmain Dewar, CBE, RN (21 September 1879 &ndash 8 September 1964 was an officer of the Royal Navy. The wardroom is the officers Mess in a Warship. The term "wardroom" can also be used metonymically to refer to a ship's officer corps ^[17] Dewar and Daniel accused Collard of "vindictive fault-finding" and openly humiliating and insulting them before their crew; in return, Collard countercharged the two with failing to follow orders and treating him "worse than a midshipman". ^[18] When Dewar and Daniel wrote letters of complaint to Collard's superior, Vice-Admiral John Kelly, he immediately passed them on to the Commander-in-Chief Admiral Sir Roger Keyes. Admiral of the Fleet Roger John Brownlow Keyes 1st Baron Keyes, Bt GCB KCVO CMG DSO RN ( 4 October On realising that the relationship between the two and their flag admiral had irretrievably broken down, Keyes removed all three from their posts and sent them back to England, postponing a major naval exercise. ^[19] The press picked up on the story worldwide, describing the affair—with some hyperbole—as a "mutiny". ^[20] Public attention reached such proportions as to raise the concerns of the King, who summoned First Lord of the Admiralty William Bridgeman for an explanation. The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of the Board of Admiralty, which exercised command over the Royal Navy. William Clive Bridgeman 1st Viscount Bridgeman, PC, JP, DL, ( 31 December 1864 &ndash 14 August 1935) was a ^[20]

External images
	"Syncopated discipline recital on the Royal Oak" The "Mutiny" court-martial was lampooned in the press, as exemplified by this Evening Standard cartoon by David Low

For their letters of complaint, Dewar and Daniel were controversially charged with writing subversive documents. The London Evening Standard is an English Tabloid regional local newspaper published and sold in London and surrounding areas of southeast David Low may refer to David Low (cartoonist David Low (professor (1786–1859 G ^[21] In a pair of highly publicised courts-martial, both were found guilty and severely reprimanded, upon which Daniel almost immediately resigned from the Navy. A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a Military court. These military courts can determine Punishments for members of the Military subject Collard himself was criticised for the excesses of his conduct by the press and in Parliament, and on being denounced by Bridgeman as "unfitted to hold further high command",^[22] was forcibly retired from service. ^[23] A consequence of the affair was an undertaking from the Admiralty to review the means by which naval officers might bring complaints against the conduct of their superiors. ^[22] Of the three, only Dewar escaped with his career,^[24] albeit a damaged one: he remained in the Royal Navy and was promoted to Rear-Admiral the following year, one day before his retirement. ^[25]

Spanish Civil War

During the Spanish Civil War, Royal Oak was tasked with conducting 'non-intervention patrols' of the Iberian Peninsula. The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted Coup d'état committed by parts of the army against the government of The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra On such a patrol and steaming some 30 nautical miles (56 km) east of Gibraltar on 2 February 1937, she came under aerial attack by three aircraft of the Republican forces. Gibraltar (dʒɨˈbrɒltər is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar Events 962 - Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Second Spanish Republic was the system of government in Spain between April 14 1931, when King Alfonso XIII left the country They dropped three bombs (two of which exploded) within 3 cables (555 m) of the starboard bow, though causing no damage. A cable length or cable's length is a Nautical unit of measure equal to one tenth of a Nautical mile or 100 Fathoms, or sometimes ^[26] The British chargé d'affaires protested the incident to the Republican Government, which admitted its error and apologised for the attack. In diplomacy chargé d’affaires ( French for “charged with (in charge of matters” is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic ^[27][28] Later that same month, while stationed offshore of Valencia on 23 February 1937 during an aerial bombardment by the Nationalists, she was accidentally struck by an anti-aircraft shell fired from a Republican position. Valencia ( Valencian: València, Valencia Spanish phonology --> is the capital of the Spanish autonomous Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[26] Five men were injured, including the Royal Oak's captain, T. B. Drew. ^[29] On this occasion however the British elected not to protest to the Republicans, deeming the incident "an Act of God". Act of God is a legal term for events outside of human control such as sudden Floods or other Natural disasters for which no one can be held responsible ^[30] In May 1937, she and HMS Forester escorted SS Habana, a liner carrying Basque child refugees, to England. HMS Forester was an F class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was launched by White in 1934 ^[31] In July, as the war in northern Spain flared up, the Royal Oak, along with the battleship HMS Resolution rescued the steamer Gordonia when Spanish nationalist warships attempted to capture her off Santander. The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain between Asturias (to the west and She was however unable on 14 July to prevent the seizure of the British freighter Molton when the latter was trying to enter Santander and was eventually captured by the Spanish rebel cruiser Almirante Cervera. Events 1223 - Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father Philip II of France. The merchantmen had been engaged in the evacuation of refugees. ^[32]

This same period saw Royal Oak star alongside fourteen other Royal Navy vessels in the 1937 British film melodrama Our Fighting Navy, the plot of which centres around a coup in the fictional South American republic of Bianco. Melodrama refers to theatre in which music is used to increase the spectator's emotional response or to suggest character types Royal Oak portrays a rebel battleship El Mirante, whose commander forces a British captain into choosing between his lover and his duty. The film was in general poorly received by critics, but gained some redemption through its dramatic scenes of naval action. ^[33]

Second World War

In 1938, Royal Oak returned to the Home Fleet and was made flagship of the Second Battleship Squadron based in Portsmouth. The Home Fleet is the traditional name of the fleet of the Royal Navy that protects the United Kingdom 's territorial waters flagship is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels a designation given on account of being either the largest fastest newest most heavily armed or for publicity purposes the most well Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB Portsmouth ( HMS ''Nelson'') is one of three operating bases for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and On 24 November 1938, she returned the body of the British-born Queen Maud of Norway to a state funeral in Oslo, accompanied by her husband King Haakon VII. Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Maud of Wales (Maud Charlotte Mary Victoria 26 November 1869 &ndash 20 November 1938) was Queen of Norway as spouse of King Haakon VII (Prince Carl of Denmark born Christian Frederik Carl Georg Valdemar Axel) (3 August 1872 in Charlottenlund 21 September 1957 in Oslo) ^[34] Paying off in December 1938, Royal Oak recommissioned the following June, and in the late summer of 1939 embarked on a short training cruise in the English Channel in preparation for another 30-month tour of the Mediterranean. To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation As hostilities loomed, she was instead despatched north to Scapa Flow, and was at anchor there when war was declared on 3 September. Scapa Flow ( Old Norse: Skalpaflói) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius ^[35]

In October, Royal Oak joined the search for the German battleship Gneisenau, which had been ordered into the North Sea as a diversion for the commerce-raiding pocket battleships Deutschland and Graf Spee. A battleship is a large heavily armored Warship with a main battery consisting of the largest Calibre of Guns Battleships were Construction She was laid down in February 1934 at Deutsche Werke Kiel. Commerce raiding is to destroy the logistics (supplies of an enemy on the open sea rather than engaging the combatants themselves or enforcing a Blockade against them Description German capital ships were restricted by the Treaty of Versailles to a displacement of 10000 tons for "armoured ships" Description Their size and characteristics were severely limited by the Treaty of Versailles, which limited Germany to ships of no more than 10000 tons displacement Description Admiral Graf Spee was a Deutschland class cruiser. ^[36] The search was ultimately fruitless, particularly for Royal Oak, whose top speed, by then less than 20 knots (37 km/h), was inadequate to keep up with the rest of the fleet. ^[36] On 12 October, Royal Oak returned to the defences of Scapa Flow in poor shape, battered by the North Atlantic storms: many of her Carley floats had been smashed and several of the smaller calibre guns rendered inoperable. Events 539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon. The Carley float (sometimes Carley raft) was a form of invertible Liferaft designed by American inventor Horace Carley (1838-1918 ^[36][37] The mission had underlined the obsolescence of the twenty-five year old warship. ^[36] Concerned that a recent overflight by German reconnaissance aircraft heralded an imminent air attack upon Scapa Flow, Admiral of the Home Fleet Charles Forbes ordered most of the fleet to disperse to safer ports. The Royal Oak however remained behind, her anti-aircraft guns still deemed a useful addition to Scapa's air defences. Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging hostile military Aircraft in defence of ground objectives, ground or naval forces ^[37]

Loss

Scapa Flow

Main article: Scapa Flow

Scapa Flow made a near-ideal anchorage. Scapa Flow ( Old Norse: Skalpaflói) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands Situated at the centre of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland, the natural harbour, large enough to contain the entire Grand Fleet,^[38] was surrounded by a ring of islands separated by shallow channels subject to fast-racing tides. Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north Characteristics A tide is a repeated cycle of sea level changes in the following stages Over several hours the water rises or advances up a beach in the flood The threat from U-boats had long been realised, and a series of countermeasures were installed during the early years of the First World War. ^[39] Blockships were sunk at critical points, and floating booms deployed to block the three widest channels. A blockship is a Ship deliberately sunk to prevent a River, channel, or Canal from being used Operated by tugboats to allow the passage of friendly shipping, it was considered possible—but highly unlikely—that a daring U-boat commander could attempt to race through undetected before the boom was closed. ^[39] Two submarines that had attempted infiltration during the war had met unfortunate fates: on 23 November 1914 U-18 was rammed twice before running aground with the capture of her crew,^[40][41] and UB-116 was detected by hydrophone and destroyed with the loss of all hands on 28 October 1918. Events 800 - Charlemagne arrives at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year A hydrophone (Greek "hydro" = "water" and "phone" = "sound" is a Microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening Events 306 - Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor. 312 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common ^[42][43]

Scapa Flow provided the main anchorage for the British Grand Fleet throughout most of the First World War, but in the interwar period this passed to the more conveniently located Rosyth in the Firth of Forth. The Grand Fleet was a Fleet of the British Royal Navy during the First World War. Rosyth (pronounced Ross-sythe ( Scottish Gaelic: Ros Saidhe or Ros Saoithe) is a town located on the Firth of Forth on Scotland 's The Firth of Forth ( Scottish Gaelic: Linne Foirthe) is the Estuary or Firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows ^[39][44] Scapa Flow was however reactivated with the advent of the Second World War, becoming base to the British Home Fleet. The Home Fleet is the traditional name of the fleet of the Royal Navy that protects the United Kingdom 's territorial waters ^[39] Its natural and man-made defences, while still strong, were recognised as in need of improvement, and in the early weeks of the war were in the process of being strengthened by the provision of additional blockships. ^[45]

Special Operation P: the raid by U-47

Kriegsmarine Commander of Submarines Karl Dönitz devised a plan to attack Scapa Flow by submarine within days of the outbreak of war. Karl Dönitz (ˈdøːnɪts) (16 September 1891 &ndash 24 December 1980 was a German naval Commander who served ^[46] Its goal would be twofold: firstly, that displacing the Home Fleet from Scapa Flow would slacken the British North Sea blockade and grant Germany greater freedom to attack the Atlantic convoys; secondly, the blow would be a symbolic act of vengeance, striking at the same location where the German High Seas Fleet had surrendered and scuttled itself following Germany's defeat in the First World War. The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. The High Seas Fleet (Hochseeflotte was the main battle fleet of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy during World War I. Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull. Dönitz hand-picked Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien for the task,^[47][c] scheduling the raid for the night of 13/14 October 1939, when the tides would be high and the night moonless. Captain Lieutenant or Captain-Lieutenant is a military rank In particular the term Captain Lieutenant may refer to a rank in the Russian Navy, Lieutenant Commander Günther Prien ( 16 January 1908 &ndash 7 March 1941) was one of the outstanding German U-boat aces ^[46]

Dönitz directed Prien to enter Scapa Flow from its east via Kirk Sound, passing to the north of Lamb Holm, a small low-lying island between Burray and Mainland. Lamb Holm is a small uninhabited Island in Orkney, Scotland. It is linked to the Orkney Mainland and to Glimps Holm, Burray Burray is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. It lies to the east of Scapa Flow and is one of the chain of islands which are linked by the causesways The Mainland is the main Island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's Burghs Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island ^[48] Prien initially mistook the more southerly Skerry Sound for the chosen route and his sudden realisation that U-47 was heading for the shallow blocked passage forced him to order a rapid turn to the northeast. ^[49] On the surface, and illuminated by a bright display of the aurora borealis,^[50] the submarine threaded between the sunken blockships Seriano and Numidian, grounding itself temporarily on a cable strung from Seriano. A blockship is a Ship deliberately sunk to prevent a River, channel, or Canal from being used ^[48] It was briefly caught in the headlights of a taxi onshore, but the driver raised no alarm. ^[51][d] On entering the harbour proper at 00:27 on 14 October, Prien entered a triumphant Wir sind in Scapa Flow!!!^[e] in the log and set a south-westerly course for several kilometres before reversing direction. Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces ^[48] To his surprise, the anchorage appeared to be almost empty; unknown to him, Forbes' order to disperse the fleet had removed some of the biggest targets. U-47 had been heading directly towards four warships, including the newly commissioned light cruiser Belfast, anchored offshore of Flotta and Hoy 8 km distant, but Prien gave no indication that he had seen them. Early history The Town class cruisers were constrained to less than 10000 tons by the Washington Naval Treaty. Flotta is a small Island in Orkney, Scotland, lying in Scapa Flow. Hoy (from Old Norse Háey meaning high island is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. ^[52]

On the reverse course, a lookout on the bridge spotted Royal Oak lying approximately 4,000 m to the north, correctly identified as a battleship of the Revenge class. Design The ships of the class were slower and smaller than the preceding ''Queen Elizabeth''-class battleships Mostly hidden behind her was a second ship, only the bow of which was visible to U-47. Prien mistook it to be a battlecruiser of the Renown class, German intelligence later labelling it Repulse. Building Programme The following table shows the cost of the Renown class Service in World War I Repulse first saw action on 17 November 1917 at the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight. ^[48] It was in fact the World War I seaplane tender Pegasus. A seaplane tender (or seaplane carrier) is a Ship that provides facilities for operating Seaplanes These ships were the first Aircraft carriers Design Extensive changes to the design were made in converting the ship to a seaplane tender with propulsion machinery moved aft and a working deck occupying the forward half of ^[53]

At 00:58 U-47 fired a salvo of three torpedoes from its bow tubes, a fourth jamming in its tube. The modern torpedo (historically called an automotive automobile locomotive or fish torpedo is a self-propelled explosive Projectile weapon launched above or below Two failed to find a target, but a single torpedo struck the bow of Royal Oak at 01:04, shaking the ship and waking the crew. ^[54] Little visible damage was received, though the starboard anchor chain was severed, clattering noisily down through its slips. Initially, it was suspected that there had been an explosion in the ship's forward inflammable store, used to store materials such as kerosene. Mindful of the unexplained explosion that had destroyed HMS Vanguard in Scapa Flow in 1917,^[41][f] an announcement was made over the Royal Oak's tannoy system to check the magazine temperatures,^[g] but many sailors returned to their bunks, unaware that the ship was under attack. Tannoy Ltd is a British manufacturer of Loudspeakers and public-address (PA systems ^[54][55]

Prien turned his submarine and attempted another shot via his stern tube, but this too missed. Reloading his bow tubes, he doubled back and fired a salvo of three torpedoes, all at Royal Oak,^[48] and this time he was successful: at 01:16 all three struck the battleship in quick succession at her amidships. ^[56][57]

A series of explosions ran through the ship, followed by an inrush of seawater. The ship immediately listed some 15°, sufficient to push the open starboard-side portholes below the waterline. ^[h] She soon rolled further onto her side to 45°, hanging there for several minutes before disappearing beneath the surface at 01:29, 13 minutes after Prien's second strike. ^[58] 833 men died with the ship, including Rear-Admiral Henry Blagrove, commander of the Second Battleship Division. Rear-Admiral Henry Evelyn Charles Blagrove was the first British Royal Navy officer of Flag rank to be killed in the Second World War. The admiral's wooden gig, moored alongside, was dragged down with Royal Oak. The captain's gig is a Boat used on naval ships as the captain's private taxi

Rescue efforts

The tender Daisy 2, skippered by John Gatt RNR, had been tied up for the night to Royal Oak's port side. A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a Boat, or a larger ship used to service a Ship, generally by transporting people and/or supplies As the sinking battleship began to list to starboard, Gatt ordered Daisy 2 to be cut loose, the vessel becoming briefly caught on Royal Oak's rising anti-torpedo bulge and lifted from the sea before freeing herself. ^[60]

Many of Royal Oak's crew that had managed to jump from the sinking ship were dressed in little more than their nightclothes and were unprepared for the chilling water. A thick layer of fuel oil coated the surface, filling men's lungs and stomachs and hampering their efforts to swim. Of those who attempted the 800-metre swim to the nearest shore, only a handful survived. ^[61] Gatt lit the lights of Daisy 2, and he and his crew managed to pull 386 men from the water, including Royal Oak's commander, Captain William Benn. ^[62] The rescue efforts continued for another two and a half hours until nearly 4:00 am, when Gatt abandoned the search for more survivors and took those he had to Pegasus. Although aided by boats from Pegasus and the harbour,^[63] he was responsible for rescuing almost all the survivors, an act for which he would be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross,^[64] the only military award made by the British in connection with the disaster. The Distinguished Service Cross ( DSC) is the third level Military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993 ratings of the Royal Navy and formerly ^[65]

Aftermath

The British were initially confused as to the cause of the sinking, suspecting either an on-board explosion or aerial attack. ^[39] Once it was realised that a submarine attack was the most likely explanation, steps were rapidly made to seal the anchorage, but U-47 had already escaped and was on its way back to Germany. The BBC released news of the sinking by late morning on 14 October, and its broadcasts were received by the German listening services and by U-47 itself. Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces Divers sent down on the morning after the explosion discovered remnants of a German torpedo, confirming the means of attack. Surface supplied diving (also known as Hooka diving refers to divers using equipment supplied with Breathing gas using an umbilical cord On the 17 October First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill officially announced the loss of Royal Oak to the House of Commons, first conceding that the raid had been "a remarkable exploit of professional skill and daring", but then declaring that the loss would not materially affect the naval balance of power. Events 539 BC - King Cyrus The Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of the Board of Admiralty, which exercised command over the Royal Navy. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords ^[66] An Admiralty Board of Inquiry convened between 18 and 24 October to establish the circumstances under which the anchorage had been penetrated. In the meantime, the Home Fleet was ordered to remain at safer ports until security issues at Scapa could be addressed. ^[67]

The Nazi Propaganda Ministry was quick to capitalise on the successful raid,^[6][68] and radio broadcasts by the popular journalist Hans Fritzsche displayed the triumph felt throughout Germany. Hans George Fritzsche ( April 21, 1900 - September 27, 1953) was a senior Nazi official ending the war as Ministerialdirektor ^[69] Prien and his crew reached Wilhelmshaven at 11:44 on 17 October and were immediately greeted as heroes, learning that Prien had been awarded the Iron Cross First Class, and each man of the crew the Iron Cross Second Class. Wilhelmshaven (vɪlhɛlmsˈhaːfən is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. Events 539 BC - King Cyrus The Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost For other meanings please see Iron Cross (disambiguation The Iron Cross ( was a Military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia ^[70] Hitler sent his personal plane to bring the crew to Berlin, where he further invested Prien with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross ( German language: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, often simply Ritterkreuz) was a grade of the Iron Cross This decoration, made for the first time to a German naval officer, later became the customary decoration for successful U-Boat commanders. Dönitz was rewarded by promotion from Commodore to Rear-Admiral and was made Flag Officer of U-Boats. A flag officer is a commissioned officer who is senior enough to be entitled to fly a Flag to represent where he exercises command ^[70]

Prien was nick-named "The Bull of Scapa Flow" and his crew decorated U-47's conning tower with a snorting bull mascot, later adopted as the emblem of the 7th U-boat Flotilla. 7 Unterseebootsflottille (also known as Unterseebootsflottille Wegener) was the seventh operational U-boat combat unit in the German Kriegsmarine He found himself in demand for radio and newspaper interviews,^[70] and his 'autobiography' was published the following year, titled Mein Weg nach Scapa Flow. ^[i] Ghost-written by a German journalist, in the post-war years certain of its claims relating to the events of October 1939 were brought into question. A ghostwriter is a professional Writer who is paid to write books articles stories reports or other content which are officially credited to another person ^[71][72]

The British Admiralty's official report into the disaster condemned the defences at Scapa Flow, and censured Sir Wilfred French, Admiral Commanding Orkney and Shetland, for their unprepared state. Sir Wilfred Franklin French KCB, CMG ( 1880 - 6 December 1958) was an officer in the British Royal Navy. French was placed on the retired list,^[73] despite having warned the previous summer of Scapa Flow's deficient anti-submarine defences, and volunteering to bring a small ship or submarine himself past the blockships to prove his point. ^[74]

On Churchill's orders, the eastern approaches to Scapa Flow were sealed with concrete causeways linking Lamb Holm, Glimp Holm, Burray and South Ronaldsay to the Orkney Mainland. In modern usage a causeway is a road or railway elevated by a bank usually across a broad Body of water or Wetland. Constructed largely by Italian prisoners of war,^[75] the Churchill Barriers, as they became known, were essentially complete by September 1944, though they were not opened officially until just after VE Day in May 1945. The Churchill Barriers are a series of four Causeways in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, with a total length of 2 Victory in Europe Day ( V-E Day or VE Day) was May 7 and May 8, 1945, the dates when the World War II Allies ^[76] They now form part of the transport infrastructure of the Orkneys, carrying the A961 road between the islands. The A961 is a single-carriageway road on the eastern side of Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, connecting the town of Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland

In the years that followed, a rumour circulated that Prien had been guided into Scapa by one Alfred Wehring, a German agent living in Orkney in the guise of a Swiss watchmaker named Albert Oertel. ^[77] Following the attack, 'Oertel' escaped with a submarine "B-06" back to Germany. ^[78] This account of events originated as an article by the journalist Curt Riess in the 16 May 1942 issue of the American magazine Saturday Evening Post and was later embellished by other authors. Events 1204 - Baldwin IX Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Saturday Evening Post was a weekly Magazine published in the United States from August 4, 1821 to February 8, ^[77][79] Post-war searches through German and Orcadian archives have however failed to find any evidence for the existence of either Oertel, Wehring or a submarine named B-06, and the story is now held to be wholly fictitious. ^[80][81]

Wreck

Status as war grave

Despite the relatively shallow water in which she sank, the majority of bodies could not be recovered from Royal Oak. Marked by a buoy at 58°55′50″N, 2°59′00″W, the wreck has been designated a war grave and all diving or other unauthorised forms of exploration are prohibited under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. A war grave is a place where War dead are buried It may contain either a combatant or a civilian The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 (1986 c 35 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which provides protection for the wreckage of military aircraft ^[82] In clear water conditions, the upturned hull can be seen reaching to within 5 m of the surface. The brass letters that formed Royal Oak's name were removed as a keepsake by a recreational diver in the 1970s. They were returned almost twenty years later and are now displayed in the Scapa Flow visitors' centre in Lyness on Hoy. Lyness is a village on the east coast of the island of Hoy, Orkney. Hoy (from Old Norse Háey meaning high island is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. The Royal Oak's loss is commemorated in an annual ceremony in which Royal Navy divers place the White Ensign underwater at her stern. The White Ensign is an Ensign flown on British Royal Navy ships and Shore establishments It consists of a red St George's Cross on ^[83] A memorial at St Magnus' Cathedral in nearby Kirkwall displays a plaque dedicated to those who lost their lives; beneath which a book of remembrance lists their names. St Magnus Cathedral Kirkwall dominates the skyline of Kirkwall, the main town of Orkney, a group of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland Kirkwall is the largest town and capital of the Orkney Islands, off the coast of northern mainland Scotland. The ship's bell was recovered in the 1970s and after being restored was added to the memorial in St Magnus'. ^[84] A number of bodies, including some that could not be identified, were interred at the naval cemetery in Lyness. ^[85]

Environmental concerns

Royal Oak sank with up to 3,000 tons of fuel oil aboard. The oil leaked from the corroding hull at an increased rate during the 1990s and concerns about the environmental impact led the Ministry of Defence to consider plans for extracting it. The Ministry of Defence ( MoD) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters Royal Oak's status as a war grave required that surveys and any proposed techniques for removing the oil be handled sensitively: plans in the 1950s to raise and salvage the wreck had been dropped due to public opposition. ^[86] In addition to the ethical concerns, poorly-managed efforts could destabilise the wreck, resulting in a mass release of the remaining oil;^[87] the ship moreover containing many tons of unexploded ordnance. Unexploded ordnance (or UXO s/ UXB s sometimes acronymized as UO) are explosive Weapons ( Bombs Bullets shells ^[88]

External images
	Sonogram of Royal Oak High-resolution images showed the wreck in greater detail than had been seen before. [88]

The MOD commissioned the specialist Archaeological Dive Unit Survey team based jointly at St Andrews and Dundee universities to carry out a series of multi-beam sonar surveys to image the wreck and appraise its condition. The University of St Andrews is the oldest University in Scotland and third oldest in the English-speaking world, having been founded between The University of Dundee ( Gaelic: Oilthigh Dùn Deagh) is the older and arguably much more stuck-up and snobby of the two Universities in the city Side-scan sonar (also sometimes called side scan sonar, sidescan sonar, side looking sonar, side-looking sonar and bottom classification ^[89] The high-resolution sonograms showed Royal Oak to be lying almost upside down with her top works forced into the seabed. The tip of the bow had been blown off by Prien's first torpedo and a gaping hole on the starboard flank was the result of the triple strike from his second successful salvo. ^[88][90] Following several years of delays, the task of pumping off the remaining oil has begun and as of 2006, all double bottom tanks have been cleared. A test scheme to remove oil from the inner wing tanks was successful and the MOD plans to remove the bulk of remaining oil in the summer of 2007. ^[88]

Notes

Citations

References

External links

• hmsroyaloak.co.uk Website dedicated to the ship and its crew
• Maritimequest photo gallery
• Ship model plans: HMS battleship Royal Oak
• uboat.net: The Bull of Scapa Flow
• u47.org Detailed account of the attack
• Archive newsreel footage of Prien's return (German)
• http://www.adus.org.uk/royaloak.html

Coordinates: 58°55′33″N 2°58′33″W / 58.92583, -2.97583 (HMS Royal Oak)

A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system.

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