| HMS ROYAL OAK (October 14, 1939)
The first British capital ship to be lost in the war, the 31,200 ton battleship was sunk at her moorings at the British Home Fleet Naval Base in Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, by the U-47, commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Gunther Prien. The Royal Oak went down with the loss of 833 men including 24 officers from her wartime crew of 1,234. Her commander, Rear Admiral H.F.C. Blagrove also died. At 1.16 am, three torpedoes were fired from the U-47, all three struck and within 15-minutes the battleship rolled over and sank. A total of 391 lives were saved from the stricken ship. Being anchored in the comparatively 'safe' waters of Scapa Flow, many doors, ventilators and hatches, were left open. If these had been closed at the time of the attack, the Royal Oak would have taken longer to sink, thus perhaps saving many more lives. The U-47 made its way back to Germany and a hero's welcome for the crew. Gunther Prien and the U-47 were lost while attacking convoy OB-293 on the night of March 7/8, 1941. The Royal Oak lies in 25 metres of water, 1000 metres from the shore. Every year, on the 14th of October, a White Ensign is placed on the hull by Royal Navy divers. (A gift of 7,500 pounds stirling was given by the Maharaja of Gondal for the benefit of the dependants of those killed)
__________________
On weald of Kent I watched once more
Again I heard that grumbling roar
Of fighter planes; yet none were near
And all around the sky was clear
Borne on the wind a whisper came
'Though men grow old, they stay the same'
And then I knew, unseen to eye
The ageless Few were sweeping by
|