Aftermath HMS Royal Oak (08)

günther prien in 1940

the british confused cause of sinking, suspecting either on-board explosion or aerial attack. once realised submarine attack explanation, steps rapidly made seal anchorage, u-47 had escaped , on way germany. bbc released news of sinking late morning on 14 october, , broadcasts received german listening services , u-47 itself. divers sent down on morning after explosion discovered remnants of german torpedo, confirming means of attack. on 17 october first lord of admiralty winston churchill officially announced loss of royal oak house of commons, first conceding raid had been remarkable exploit of professional skill , daring , declaring loss not materially affect naval balance of power. admiralty board of enquiry convened between 18 , 24 october establish circumstances under anchorage had been penetrated. in meantime, home fleet ordered remain @ safer ports until security issues @ scapa addressed. churchill obliged respond questions in house why royal oak had had aboard many boys, of whom lost lives. defended royal navy tradition of sending boys aged 15 17 sea, practice discontinued shortly after disaster, , under 18-year-olds served on active warships in exceptional circumstances.

headstones of crew of royal oak; majority remain on sunken warship

the nazi propaganda ministry quick capitalise on successful raid, , radio broadcasts popular journalist hans fritzsche displayed triumph felt throughout germany. prien , crew reached wilhelmshaven @ 11:44 on 17 october , greeted heroes, learning prien had been awarded iron cross first class, , each man of crew iron cross second class. hitler sent personal plane bring crew berlin, further invested prien knight s cross of iron cross. decoration, made first time german submarine officer, later became customary decoration successful u-boat commanders. dönitz rewarded promotion commodore rear-admiral , made flag officer of u-boats.

prien nicknamed bull of scapa flow , crew decorated u-47 s conning tower snorting bull mascot, later adopted emblem of 7th u-boat flotilla. found himself in demand radio , newspaper interviews, , autobiography published following year, titled mein weg nach scapa flow. ghost-written him german journalist, in post-war years of claims, , in particular relating events of october 1939, brought question.

churchill barrier 1, blocking kirk sound, prien s entry scapa flow

the british admiralty s official report disaster condemned defences @ scapa flow, , censured sir wilfred french, admiral commanding orkney , shetland, unprepared state. french placed on retired list, despite having warned previous summer of scapa flow s deficient anti-submarine defences, , volunteering bring small ship or submarine himself past blockships prove point. on churchill s orders, eastern approaches scapa flow sealed concrete causeways linking lamb holm, glimps holm, burray , south ronaldsay mainland. constructed largely italian prisoners of war, churchill barriers, became known, complete september 1944, though not opened officially until after ve day in may 1945. form part of transport infrastructure of orkney, carrying a961 road between islands.

in years followed, rumour circulated prien had been guided scapa 1 alfred wehring, german agent living in orkney in guise of swiss watchmaker named albert oertel. following attack, oertel escaped submarine b-06 germany. account of events originated article journalist curt riess in 16 may 1942 issue of american magazine saturday evening post , later embellished other authors, added details of own. post-war searches through german , orcadian archives have, however, failed find evidence existence of oertel, wehring or submarine named b-06, , story held wholly fictitious. orkneys chief librarian, in 1983 letter on matter historian nigel west, offered suggestion name albert oertel pun on well-known albert hotel in kirkwall.

survivors

in immediate aftermath of sinking, royal oak s survivors billeted in towns , villages of orkney. funeral parade dead took place @ lyness on hoy on 16 october; many of surviving crew, having lost own clothing on ship, attended in borrowed boiler suits , gym shoes. granted few days survivors leave navy, , assigned ships , roles elsewhere. kenneth toop, survived sinking while serving boy, first class on royal oak, served royal oak association s honorary secretary. annual ceremony of remembrance held survivors , descendants of crew @ naval war memorial, southsea, on anniversary of sinking. last remaining survivor of royal oak, arthur smith, had been 17-year old boy, first class when ship struck, died on 11 december 2016. had been on watch @ bridge , had jumped sinking ship, swimming in wrong direction until picked boat , transferred daisy 2.

prien did not survive war: , u-47 lost under unclear circumstances on 7 march 1941, possibly result of attack british destroyer hms wolverine. news of loss kept secret nazi government ten weeks. several u-47 crew royal oak mission did survive, having been transferred other vessels. of them subsequently met former enemies royal oak , forged friendships them.

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