HMS Royal Oak (08)

HMS Royal Oak was one of five Revenge-class battleships built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Launched in 1914 and completed in 1916, Royal Oak first saw combat at the Battle of Jutland as part of the Grand Fleet. 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.

A three-quarter view of a heavily-armoured battleship at anchor. There are two main turrets visible before the bridge, each housing a pair of 15-inch guns. 6-inch guns are housed in a row of individual sideways-facing sponsons. The flank of the ship has a conspicuous bulge at the waterline
Royal Oak at anchor in 1937
History
United Kingdom
Name:
Royal Oak
Builder:
Devonport Royal Dockyard
Cost:
£2,468,269
Laid down:
15 January 1914
Launched:
17 November 1914
Commissioned:
1 May 1916
Identification:
Pennant number: 08
Nickname(s):
The Mighty Oak
Fate:
Sunk by U-47, 14 October 1939
Status:
Protected war grave
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type:
Revenge-class battleship
Displacement:
29,970 long tons (30,450 t)
31,130 long tons (31,630 t) (Deep load)
Length:
620 ft 7 in (189.2 m)
Beam:
88 ft 6 in (27.0 m)
Draught:
33 ft 7 in (10.2 m) (Deep load)
Installed power:
40,000 shp (30,000 kW)
18 Yarrow boilers
Propulsion:
4 Shafts
2 steam turbine sets
Speed:
22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Range:
7,000 nmi (12,960 km; 8,060 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Crew:
909
Armament:
4 × twin 15-inch (381 mm) guns
14 × single 6-inch (152 mm) guns
2 × single 3-inch (76 mm) 20 cwt AA guns
4 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:
Waterline belt: 13 in (330 mm)
Deck: 1–4 in (25–102 mm)
Barbettes: 6–10 in (152–254 mm)
Gun turrets: 11–13 in (279–330 mm)
Conning tower: 3–11 in (76–279 mm)
Bulkheads: 6 in (152 mm)
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, 833 were killed that night or died later of their wounds. The loss of the outdated ship—the first of the five Royal Navy battleships and battlecruisers sunk in the Second World War—did little to affect the numerical superiority enjoyed by the British navy and its Allies, but the sinking had a considerable effect on wartime morale. The raid made an immediate celebrity and war hero out of the U-boat commander, Günther Prien, who became the first German submarine officer to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Before the sinking of Royal Oak, the Royal Navy had considered the naval base at Scapa Flow impregnable to submarine attack, and U-47's raid demonstrated that the German Navy was capable of bringing the war to British home waters. The shock resulted in rapid changes to dockland security and the construction of the Churchill Barriers around Scapa Flow.

The wreck of Royal Oak, a designated war grave, lies almost upside down in 100 feet (30 m) of water with her hull 16 feet (4.9 m) beneath the surface. In an annual ceremony to mark the loss of the ship, Royal Navy divers place a White Ensign underwater at her stern. Unauthorised divers are prohibited from approaching the wreck at any time under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.