Download or read book Faces of HMS Royal Oak written by Dilip Sarkar and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2023-12-30 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 14 October each year, a White Ensign is placed on the stern of an upturned warship by Royal Navy divers. This act commemorates the 835 men of HMS Royal Oak who died in 1939 when the battleship was sunk at anchor in Scapa Flow by the German U-boat U-47. The sinking of the veteran First World War Revenge-class Royal Oak shocked not only the Admiralty, but the whole nation. Though Scapa Flow was far from being impregnable as a base for the Royal Navy’s Home Fleet, it was surrounded by a ring of islands separated by shallow channels subject to fast-racing tides. While it was recognized that it was not impervious to enemy submarines, measures had been put in place to minimize any such threat. Blockships had been sunk at potentially vulnerable points and anti-submarine booms deployed across the wider channels. The outbreak of war in September 1939 saw additional anti-submarine measures put in hand. Despite these increased precautions, German aerial reconnaissance had spotted weaknesses which were exploited on the night of 13/14 October 1939, by Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien in U-47. The German submarine was able to slip into Scapa Flow undetected and fire three torpedoes towards Royal Oak. Only one torpedo found its mark. A second salvo was fired and this time all three hit the battleship, igniting a magazine causing massive damage. Within thirteen minutes, HMS Royal Oak had turned over and sank. In Faces of HMS Royal Oak, Dilip Sarkar not only reveals the tragic and moving stories of many of those who died, but also some of the 399 who survived the sinking of the first Royal Navy battleship lost in the Second World War. Through their photographs, and in some cases words, the horrors of those fateful few minutes as Royal Oak rolled and slid into the cold, dark waters of Scapa Flow, are relived in startling clarity.
Download or read book Battleship HMS Royal Oak written by Witold Koszela and published by Topdrawings. This book was released on 2018-03-13 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Nightmare at Scapa Flow written by H.J. Weaver and published by Birlinn. This book was released on 2012-09-28 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The place where the German U-boat sank the British battleship Royal Oak was none other than the middle of Scapa Flow, Britain's greatest naval base! It sounds incredible..." - William L Shirer, journalist, 18 October 1939 Sinking the battleship HMS Royal Oak in the Royal Navy's home anchorage, with the loss of more than 800 of her crew, was Germany's first shattering blow against Britain in the 1939-45 war. Within six weeks the long-standing German dream of breaching the defences of Scapa Flow had been achieved. After years of misinformation, propaganda and conspiracy theories, this meticulously researched book reveals what really happened.
Download or read book U 47 in Scapa Flow written by Angus Konstam and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-10-20 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the outset of World War II, Scapa Flow was supposed to be the safe home base of the British Navy – nothing could penetrate the defences of this bastion. So how, in the dead of night, was Gunther Prien's U-47 able to slip through the line of protective warships to sink the mighty Royal Oak? This book provides the answer with an account of one of the most daring naval raids in history. Drawing on the latest underwater archaeological research, this study explains how Prien and his crew navigated the North Sea and Kirk Sound to land a devastating blow to the British. It reveals the level of disrepair that Scapa Flow had fallen into, and delves into the conspiracy theories surrounding the event, including an alleged cover-up by the then First Sea Lord, Winston Churchill.
Download or read book The Royal Oak Disaster written by Gerald S. Snyder and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Hearts of Oak written by Dilip Sarkar and published by Amberley Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'This book ... provides a completely new and unique perspective on the tragedy ... [of] the Royal Oak story.--the author has ... traced the families of various souls lost with the battleship that fateful night in 1939. Their photographs and stories are representative of all their shipmates. Interviews with survivors bring the dramatic events vivdly to life, emphasizing the human tragedy and experience of war.' (Back cover)
Download or read book Gunther Prien and U 47 the Bull of Scapa Flow written by Dougie Martindale and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2018-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the night of 13/14 October 1939, the Type VIIB U-boat U-47, on its second war patrol, penetrated the main Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow and sank the British battleship HMS Royal Oak. This legendary attack is remembered as one of the most audacious raids in the history of submarine warfare. Over the months that followed, U-47 went on to complete a total of ten war patrols. During these, Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien and his crew sank a total of 31 Allied ships and damaged eight more, making it one of the most successful U-boats of the Second World War. This book charts the full story of U-47, its commander and crew.
Download or read book Last Dawn the HMS Royal Oak Tragedy at Scapa Flow written by David Turner and published by . This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Told through declassified photographs and naval records, as well as statements from survivors, this is a dramatic and moving reassessment of the biggest loss of boy sailors in a single Royal Navy event in World War II.
Download or read book The Last Dawn written by David Turner and published by Birlinn Ltd. This book was released on 2022-09-01 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 14 October 1939, HMS Royal Oak, one of the British navy's top battleships, was destroyed at the Royal Navy's main anchorage at Scapa Flow, Orkney. The audacious attack, by a German U-boat, was the first major blow against Britain of the Second World War. Over 800 lives were lost, including sailors as young as 14. This book is a revealing account of the tragedy. Told through declassified photographs and naval records, as well as statements from survivors, it is a dramatic and moving reassessment of one of the most shattering events in British naval history.
Download or read book Battleships at War written by Peter Charles Smith and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the wartime history of the battleship HMS Royal Sovereign, along with the story of her four sister ships HMS Revenge, HMS Resolution, HMS Royal Oak and HMS Ramillies. These ships were built and launched during World War I and although old and slow, and bitterly criticised by Churchill and others as being "Coffin Ships", the Royal Sovereign class battleships in fact played a valiant and doughty role in World War II. The Royal Oak was an early loss, thanks mainly to prewar Government parsimony, the other four ships played a full part, at Norway, bombarding the German invasion fleet in the Channel; escorting North Atlantic convoys; in the Mediterranean, in the Indian Ocean, the occupation of Madagascar and at Normandy and the South of France invasions. HMS Royal Sovereign herself, was handed over to the Soviet Union for several years and her service there is also detailed along with their final demise post-war. Many original eyewitness accounts and photographs enhance the book. AUTHOR: Peter C. Smith is well-known to aviation and maritime history readers. He has written over 67 previously published books. Amongst these are Skua, Destroyer Leader, Into the Minefields and Naval Warfare in the English Channel 1939 - 45, Midway: Dauntless Victory all published by Pen & Sword. He has spent many years researching for this book, culling obscure files and documents in archives around the world. SELLING POINTS: * Five historic warships in one volume ILLUSTRATIONS 30 mono in plates
Download or read book World War Ii Battleships of the United Kingdom written by Source Wikipedia and published by University-Press.org. This book was released on 2013-09 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 48. Chapters: HMS Howe, HMS Royal Oak, King George V class battleship, HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Ramillies, HMS King George V, HMS Warspite, Queen Elizabeth class battleship, HMS Duke of York, Nelson class battleship, HMS Anson, HMS Valiant, Revenge class battleship, HMS Rodney, HMS Nelson, HMS Barham, HMS Revenge, HMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Iron Duke, HMS Royal Sovereign, HMS Malaya, HMS Centurion, HMS Resolution. Excerpt: ) HMS Royal Oak (pennant number 08) was a Revenge-class battleship of the British Royal Navy. Launched in 1914 and completed in 1916, Royal Oak first saw action at the Battle of Jutland. In peacetime, she served in the Atlantic, Home and Mediterranean fleets, more than once coming under accidental attack. The ship drew worldwide attention in 1928 when her senior officers were controversially court-martialled. Attempts to modernise Royal Oak throughout her 25-year career could not fix her fundamental lack of speed, and by the start of the Second World War, she was no longer suited to front-line duty. On 14 October 1939, Royal Oak was anchored at Scapa Flow in Orkney, Scotland when she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-47. Of Royal Oak's complement of 1,234 men and boys, 833 were killed that night or died later of their wounds. The loss of the old ship - the first of the five Royal Navy battleships and battle cruisers sunk in the Second World War - little affected the numerical superiority enjoyed by the British navy and its Allies, but the effect on wartime morale was considerable. The raid made an immediate celebrity and war hero out of the U-boat commander, Gunther Prien, who became the first Kriegsmarine submarine officer to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. To the British, the raid demonstrated that the Germans were capable of bringing the naval war to their home waters, and the...
Download or read book HMS Royal Sovereign and Her Sister Ships written by Peter C. Smith and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2009-07-16 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the wartime history of the battleship HMS Royal Sovereign, along with the story of her four sister ships HMS Revenge, HMS Resolution, HMS Royal Oak and HMS Ramillies. These ships were built and launched during World War I and although old and slow, and bitterly criticised by Churchill and others as being "Coffin Ships", the Royal Sovereign class battleships in fact played a valiant and doughty role in World War II. The Royal Oak was an early loss, thanks mainly to pre-war Government parsimony, the other four ships played a full part, at Norway, bombarding the German invasion fleet in the Channel; escorting North Atlantic convoys; in the Mediterranean, in the Indian Ocean, the occupation of Madagascar and at Normandy and the South of France invasions. HMS Royal Sovereign herself, was handed over to the Soviet Union for several years and her service there is also detailed along with their final demise post-war. Many original eyewitness accounts and photographs enhance the book.
Download or read book The Sinking of HMS Royal Oak written by Dilip Sarkar and published by Amberley Publishing Limited. This book was released on 2012-09-15 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of the sinking of the HMS Royal Oak by a German submarine which cost the lives of 833 Royal Navy sailors.
Download or read book U Boat Attack Logs written by Daniel Morgan and published by Seaforth Publishing. This book was released on 2011-11-09 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Second World War over 250 Allied warships from a dozen navies were sent to the bottom by German U-boats. This ground-breaking study provides a detailed analysis of every sinking for which source material survives from both the Allied and the German sides, resulting in detailed treatment of the fate of 110 vessels, with the remainder summarised in an extensive appendix. Uniquely, each entry is built around a specialist translation of the relevant segment of the war diary (log) of the U-boat in question, taken directly from the surviving originals remarkably, this represents the first large-scale publication of the U-boat war diaries in any language. The book offers a wealth of new information, not only with respect to the circumstances of the sinkings from both the Allied and German perspectives, but also to the technical environment in which they lived as well as the fate of the crews. The entries include background details on the vessels concerned and the men involved, with a selection of rare and carefully chosen photos from archives and collections around the world. Each entry is itself a compelling narrative, but is backed with a list of sources consulted, including documents, published works and websites. A decade in the making, this is probably the most important book on the U-boat war to be published for many a year
Download or read book G nther Prien and U 47 The Bull of Scapa Flow From the Sinking of HMS Royal Oak to the Battle of the Atlantic written by Martindaleugie and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book U Boat Commander written by Gunther Prien and published by . This book was released on 2005-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Royal Oak was one of the mightiest battleships of the British Navy although, prior to the start of the Second World War, it had been scheduled for retirement. Nonetheless, when it was sent to the bottom of the sea on 14 October 1939 the shock was felt thoughout Britain. How could it be vulnerable to attack when it lay inside the great naval base of Skapa Flow, ringed by defences that were believed, by the Royal navy, to be impregnable? U-47, commanded by Gunther Prien, had found a way though the maze to the heart of the anchorage where the Royal Oak lay. Suddenly two torpedoes blew the mighty battleship apart and it capsized with the loss of over 800 men. In the mayhem that followed, Prien and his crew escaped unnoticed. Gunther Prien went on to become, until his death in May 1941, the leading U-boat commander and was awarded Germany's highest decoration, the Knight's Cross - with the Oakleaves being awarded posthumously. U-Boat Commander is Prien's own account of his early life, his training for U-boat command in the early years of Hitler's Third Reich up to the sinking of the Royal Oak.
Download or read book The British Battleship written by Norman Friedman and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2015-10-15 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Norman Friedman brings a new perspective to an ever-popular subject in The British Battleship: 1906–1946. With a unique ability to frame technologies within the context of politics, economics, and strategy, he offers unique insight into the development of the Royal Navy capital ships. With plans of the important classes commissioned from John Roberts and A D Baker III and a color section featuring the original Admiralty draughts, this book offers something to even the most knowledgeable enthusiast.
