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HMS Royal Oak (08)

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For other ships of this name, see HMS Royal Oak.

HMS Royal Oak was a Revenge-class battleship of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1914 and sunk at anchor in Scapa Flow by the German submarine U-47 early in World War II. The Royal Oak was the first capital ship of the Royal Navy to be lost in the Second World War, and only its second warship to be sunk by submarine in the conflict. The loss of life was heavy; of the Royal Oak's complement of 1,243 men, 833 were killed that night or would die later of their wounds.

The numerical superiority enjoyed by the British navy and its allies meant that the loss of the obsolete veteran of World War I made very little difference to their material advantage, but the effect on morale on both sides was enormous. The U-boat commander, Günther Prien, became an immediate celebrity and war hero on his return to Germany and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the first Kriegsmarine officer to be so honoured. To the British, the raid demonstrated that the Germans were capable of bringing the naval war right to their homeland, and resulted in rapidly-arranged changes to dockland security.

Now lying upside-down in 30 m of water with its hull 5 m beneath the surface, the Royal Oak is a designated war grave. An annual ceremony marks the loss of the ship; and throughout the year, unauthorised divers are prohibited from approaching the wreck.

Construction

The Revenge class to which the Royal Oak belonged was ordered in the 1913-14 estimates to be a cheaper—but smaller and slower—coal-fuelled derivative of the earlier Queen Elizabeth super-dreadnoughts.[1] Coal-fired propulsion, lower-powered, and seemingly a technological step backwards, was 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. High-quality coal, on the other hand, was in plentiful supply, and homeland supplies could be guaranteed.[2]

The Royal Oak was laid down at Devonport Dockyard on 15 January 1914, the fourth of her class. 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having secured new oil supplies with a contract agreed with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, First Sea Lord Jackie Fisher rescinded the decision to rely on coal in October 1914.[2] While the Royal Oak remained on the construction slipway, her design was amended to employ eighteen oil-fired Yarrow boilers supplying four Parsons steam turbines each driving a single screw. The battleship was launched on 17 November of that year, and after a period of fitting-out, she was commissioned on 1 May 1916 at a final cost of £2,468,269.[3] Named after the oak tree in which Charles II hid following his defeat at the 1651 Battle of Worcester, she was the eleventh Royal Navy vessel to bear the name, replacing a pre-dreadnought scrapped in 1914.

Career

World War I

By the time the Royal Oak had commissioned and was assigned to the 4th Battleship Squadron, the First World War had been under way for almost two years. Within a month, the ship was dispatched, along with most of the British Grand Fleet, to engage the German High Seas Fleet in the 1916 Battle of Jutland. After a period of gunnery practice, the Royal Oak left Scapa Flow on the evening of 30 May[4] in the company of the battleships Superb, Canada and Admiral Jellicoe's flagship Iron Duke.[5] In the ensuing indecisive battle, the Royal Oak fired a total of thirty-eight 15-inch and eighty-four 6-inch shells,[6] claiming three hits on the battlecruiser Derfflinger, putting one of its turrets out of action, and a hit on the cruiser Wiesbaden. She avoided damage herself, despite being straddled by fire on one occasion.[7]

Following the battle, the Royal Oak was reassigned to the First Battleship Squadron. At the end of the First World War she returned to Scapa Flow, and was present in Pentland Firth in November 1918 to receive the surrendering German High Seas Fleet when it was despatched to British waters.

Between the wars

For most of the inter-war period the Royal Oak was assigned to the Mediterranean, based in Grand Harbour, Malta. In early 1928, this period of duty saw the notorious incident the contemporary press dubbed the "Royal Oak Mutiny".[8] What had begun as a simple contretemps between Rear-Admiral Bernard Collard and the Royal Oak's two senior officers Captain Kenneth Dewar and Commander Henry Daniel over the ship's wardroom dance descended into a bitter personal feud that spanned several months.[9][10] Dewar and Daniel accused Collard of overstepping his authority and openly humiliating and insulting them before their officers and men; Collard accusing the men of not following orders and of 'writing subversive documents'. The very public feud and subsequent courts-martial of Dewar and Daniel attracted considerable attention from the press, who described the episode—with some hyperbole—as a "mutiny".[11] The affair reached such proportions as to raise the concerns of the King, who summoned First Lord of the Admiralty William Bridgeman for an explanation.[11] Both Dewar and Daniel were severely reprimanded at their courts-martial, Daniel resigning almost immediately from the Royal Navy. Collard himself was censured in the press and Parliament, and on being denounced by First Lord Bridgeman as "unfitted to hold further high command", was forcibly retired from service.[9]

During the Spanish Civil War, the Royal Oak was tasked with conducting 'neutrality patrols' of the Iberian Peninsula. On such a patrol and steaming some 30 nautical miles east of Gibraltar on 1937-02-02, she came under aerial attack by three aircraft of the Spanish Government forces. They dropped three bombs, which came within 3 cables of the bows, though caused no damage. The British chargé d'affaires protested the incident to the Spanish Government, which admitted its error and apologised for the attack.[12] 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. Five men were injured, including the Royal Oak's captain, T.B. Drew. On this occasion however the British elected not to protest the incident to the Republicans, deeming it "an Act of God".[13]

Second World War

In 1938, the Royal Oak returned to the Home Fleet and was made the flagship of the Second Battleship Squadron based in Portsmouth. In the late summer of 1939, she embarked on a short training cruise in the English Channel in preparation for another 30-month tour in the Mediterranean. As the Second World War loomed, she was despatched to Scapa Flow, and was at anchorage there when war was declared on 3 September.[14]

In October, the Royal Oak was ordered to join the search for the German battlecruiser Gneisenau, despatched by the Kriegsmarine into the North Sea as a diversion for the pocket battleships Deutschland and Admiral Graf Spee sent commerce raiding in the North Atlantic.[15] The search was ultimately fruitless; particularly for the Royal Oak, whose top speed of less than 20 knots was inadequate to keep up with the rest of the fleet. On 12 October, the Royal Oak returned to the defences of Scapa Flow in poor shape, battered by the North Atlantic storms: many of her Carley liferafts had been smashed[16] and several of the smaller calibre guns rendered inoperable.[15] The mission had underlined the obsolescence of the twenty-three year old veteran.[15] Concerned about the possibility of air attack on Scapa Flow, Admiral Charles Forbes then ordered the dispersal of most of the Home Fleet to safer ports; the Royal Oak however remaining behind, her anti-aircraft guns still deemed a useful addition to Scapa's air defences.[16]

Scapa Flow

Main article: Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow

Scapa Flow presented formidable defences to the attacker. The natural harbour was surrounded by a ring of islands separated by shallow channels subject to fast-racing tides. 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. Blockships were sunk at critical points, and floating booms deployed to block the three widest channels. 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.[17]

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.[17][18] Scapa Flow was however reactivated with the advent of the Second World War, becoming base to the British Home Fleet commanded by Admiral Charles Forbes.[17] 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.[19]

The raid by U-47

See also: Unterseeboot 47
Infiltration of Scapa Flow by U-47

Kriegsmarine Commander of Submarines Karl Dönitz had formulated a plan to attack Scapa Flow by submarine within days of the outbreak of war. Its goal would be twofold – first, 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. Dönitz hand-picked Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien for the task,[20] scheduling the raid for the night of 13/14 October, when the tides would be high and the night moonless.

Prien had been directed by Dönitz 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.[21] He 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.[22] Illuminated by a bright display of the aurora borealis,[23] the submarine threaded between the sunken blockships Seriano and Numidian, grounding itself temporarily on Seriano's anchor chain.[21] It was briefly caught in the headlights of a taxi onshore, but the driver raised no alarm.[24] On entering the harbour proper at 00:27 on 14 October, Prien entered a triumphant Wir sind in Scapa Flow!!![25] in the log and set a south-westerly course for several kilometres before reversing direction.[21] He had in fact been heading directly towards four warships, including the newly commissioned light cruiser Belfast, anchored 8 km away offshore of Flotta and Hoy,[26] but gave no indication that he had seen them.

On the reverse course, a lookout on the bridge soon spotted a large capital ship lying approximately 4,000 m to the north, identified as a battleship of the Revenge class. A second ship was seen anchored behind it to the north, its structure largely hidden by the first, making only its bow visible to U-47. Prien mistakenly took it to be a battlecruiser of the Renown class, German intelligence later labelling it the Repulse.[21] It was in fact the World War I seaplane tender Pegasus.[27]

At 00:58 U-47 fired a salvo of three torpedoes from its bow tubes, two at the Royal Oak, and one at the Pegasus. Two failed to find a target, but a single torpedo managed to strike the bow of the Royal Oak at 01:04, shaking the ship and waking the crew.[28] Little visible damage was received, though the starboard anchor chain was severed, clattering noisily down. An announcement was made over the Royal Oak's tannoy system to check the magazine temperatures,[29] but many sailors returned to their bunks, seemingly unaware that the ship was under attack.[28][30]

Prien turned round his submarine and attempted another shot via his stern tube, but this too failed to strike. Reloading his bow tubes, he doubled back and fired a salvo of three torpedoes, all at the Royal Oak,[21] and this time he was successful: at 01:16 all three struck the battleship in quick succession at her amidships.[31][32]

A fireball ran through the ship, followed by an inrush of seawater. The ship immediately listed some 15°, sufficient to push the open starboard-side portholes[33] below the waterline. She soon rolled further onto her side to 45°, hanging there for several minutes before disappearing beneath the surface, 13 minutes after Prien's second strike. 833 men died with the ship, including the visiting Rear-Admiral Henry Blagrove, commander of the Second Battleship Division. The admiral's wooden gig, moored alongside, was dragged down with the Royal Oak.

Rescue efforts

Excerpts of signals between the Admiralty (ADMY) and
Admiral Commanding Orkney and Shetland (ACOS)
TIME FROM TO MESSAGE
02:00 ACOS ADMY ROYAL OAK SUNK IN SCAPA FLOW, SERIES OF EXPLOSIONS.
02:11 ACOS ADMY NO DETAILS YET AVAILABLE.
05:06 ADMY ACOS CAN IT BE DEFINITELY STATED THAT SINKING NOT DUE TO ENEMY AIRCRAFT?
06:20 ACOS ADMY YES.
07:04 ADMY ACOS NO REFERENCE TO ROYAL OAK TO BE MADE IN PLAIN LANGUAGE UNTIL FURTHER ORDERS. THIS INCLUDES LIST OF SURVIVORS.

The tender Daisy 2, skippered by John Gatt RNR, had been tied up for the night to the Royal Oak's port side. As the sinking battleship began to list to starboard, Gatt ordered the Daisy 2 to be cut loose, the vessel becoming briefly caught on the Royal Oak's rising anti-torpedo bulge and lifted from the sea before freeing herself.[34]

Many of the Royal Oak's crew who had managed to jump from the sinking ship were dressed in little more than their pyjamas 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 kilometre-long swim to the nearest shore, only a handful survived.

Gatt lit the lights of Daisy 2, and his crew managed to pull 386 men from the water, including the Royal Oak's commander, Captain William Benn. Their 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 the Pegasus. He was responsible for rescuing almost all the survivors, an act for which he would be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross,[35] the only military award made by the British in connection with the disaster.[36]

Aftermath

Initial British reactions were confused as to the cause of the sinking, suspecting either an on-board explosion or aerial attack. When 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. Divers sent down on the morning after the explosion discovered remnants of a German torpedo, confirming the means of attack. An Admiralty Board of Inquiry convened on Monday 16 October to establish the circumstances under which the anchorage had been penetrated. The next day First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill officially announced the loss of the Royal Oak to the House of Commons, conceding that the raid had been "a remarkable exploit of professional skill and daring".[37]

File:Scharnhorst-8.jpg
The crew of the Scharnhorst saluting U-47 on its return

The Nazi Propaganda Ministry was quick to capitalise on the successful raid, and radio broadcasts by the popular journalist Hans Fritzsche showed the triumph felt throughout Germany.[38] Prien and his crew reached their base at Wilhelmshaven at 11:44 on 17 October and were immediately greeted as heroes, learning that Hitler had awarded Prien the Iron Cross First Class, and the Iron Cross Second Class to the rest of the crew. He flew them on his private plane to meet him in Berlin, where Prien was further invested with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. This decoration, made for the first time to an German naval officer, became the customary decoration for successful U-Boat commanders. Dönitz was promoted from Commodore to Rear-Admiral.

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. Prien found himself in demand for radio and newspaper interviews, and his 'autobiography' was produced the following year, titled Mein Weg nach Scapa Flow.[39] Ghost-written by an German journalist, some post-war historians have questioned certain of its claims relating to the events of October 1939.[40][41]

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. French was placed on the retired list,[42] 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.[43] 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. Constructed largely by Italian prisoners of war,[44] 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.[45] They now form a significant part of the transport infrastructure of the Orkneys, and carry the A961 road between the islands.

In the post-war years, a rumour circulated that the Royal Oak was sunk by a submarine named B-06, aided by a Swiss watchmaker named Alfred Wehring living in the Orkneys, who then escaped with the submarine back to Germany. This story originated as an article in the Berliner newspaper Der Kurier in December 1947; it is wholly fictitious and neither Wehring nor B-06 existed.[46]

Status as war grave

Despite the relatively shallow water in which she sunk, the vast majority of bodies could not be recovered from the Royal Oak. Marked by a buoy, 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.[47] In clear water conditions, the upturned hull can be seen reaching to within 5 m of the surface. The Royal Oak's loss is commemorated in an annual ceremony in which Royal Navy divers change the White Ensign at her stern. 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. The ship's bell was recovered in the 1970's and after being restored was added to the memorial at St Magnus.[48]

Environmental concerns

The Royal Oak sank with up to 3,000 tons of fuel oil aboard. The oil leaked from the corroded hull at an increased rate during the 1990's and concerns about the environmental impact led the Ministry of Defence to consider plans for extracting it. The Royal Oak's status as a war grave required that surveys and any proposed techniques for removing the oil be handled sensitively. Poorly-managed efforts could destabilise the wreck, resulting in a mass release of the remaining oil;[49] the ship moreover containing many tons of unexploded ordnance.[50]

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.[51] The high-resolution sonograms showed the 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[52] and a gaping hole on the starboard flank was the result of the triple strike from his second successful salvo.[50][53] 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.[50]

Notes

  1. ^ McKee. Black Saturday. pp. p12. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  2. ^ a b Watts, The Royal Navy: An Illustrated History. The Road to War, pp86-87
  3. ^ "More Royal Oak Rescues", Liverpool Daily Post, Oct 16th 1939
  4. ^ Admiralty, Ship's Log: HMS Royal Oak, May 1916, ADM53/58646, HMSO Stationery Office
  5. ^ "Dreadnoughts and Jutland". Royal Navy. Retrieved 2006-12-26.
  6. ^ Campbell. Jutland. pp. pp.346-358. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  7. ^ Campbell. Jutland. pp. pp.152-157. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  8. ^ "Admiral's Oaths". Time. 1928-04-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ a b Glenton, Robert (1991). The Royal Oak Affair: The Saga of Admiral Collard and Bandmaster Barnacle. Leo Cooper. ISBN 0-85052-266-8.
  10. ^ "Trial by Oaths". Time. 1928-04-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ a b "Royal Oak". Time. 1928-03-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Bombing Attack on HMS Royal Oak". Attacks on HM Ships August 1936–September 1937. HMSO Stationery Office. 1937. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ^ "Shell hurts five on ship". Washington Post. 1937-02-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ McKee. Black Saturday. pp. p17. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  15. ^ a b c McKee. Black Saturday. pp. pp23-24. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  16. ^ a b Weaver. Nightmare at Scapa Flow. pp. pp29-30. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  17. ^ a b c Admiralty (October 1939), Summary of defences of Scapa Flow, ADM1/11593, HMSO Stationery Office
  18. ^ "Scapa Flow". firstworldwar.com. 2002-12-22. Retrieved 2006-12-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Lord's Admissions". Time. 1939-11-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Dönitz, Ten Years and Twenty Days: "He, in my opinion, possessed all the personal qualities and the professional ability required. I handed over to him the whole file on the subject and left him free to accept the task or not."
  21. ^ a b c d e U-47: Log
  22. ^ Snyder. The Royal Oak Disaster. pp. p86. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  23. ^ Prien. Mein Weg nach Scapa Flow. pp. p152. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  24. ^ Weaver. Nightmare in Scapa Flow. pp. Chapter 3: The Car on the Shore.The taxi driver's name was Robbie Tullock.
  25. ^ German: "We are in Scapa Flow!"
  26. ^ Weaver. Nightmare at Scapa Flow. pp. p101. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  27. ^ Snyder. The Royal Oak Disaster. pp. p91. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  28. ^ a b Snyder. The Royal Oak Disaster. pp. p95. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  29. ^ Cordite, used for propelling the shells, was prone to explode if allowed to overheat.
  30. ^ McKee. Black Saturday. pp. p39. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  31. ^ McKee. Black Saturday. pp. p42. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  32. ^ Weaver. Nightmare at Scapa Flow. pp. p118. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  33. ^ The portholes were not, in fact, fully open, but were covered with light excluders, designed to provide ventilation while maintaining blackout. Crucially, they were not watertight.
  34. ^ Weaver. Nightmare at Scapa Flow. pp. Chapter 5: Daisy, Daisy.
  35. ^ "Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood". Supplement to London Gazette. 1940-01-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ McKee. Black Saturday. pp. Dedication.
  37. ^ "U-Boat Warfare". Hansard Parliamentary Debates, 1939-10-17.
  38. ^ "Two Broadcasts by Hans Fritzsche". Retrieved 2007-01-01.
  39. ^ German: My path to Scapa Flow
  40. ^ Weaver. Nightmare at Scapa Flow. pp. Chapter 10: The Neger in the Woodpile.
  41. ^ McKee. Black Saturday. pp. Chapter 13: Such Exaggerations and Inaccuracies...
  42. ^ Weaver. Nightmare at Scapa Flow. pp. p120. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  43. ^ Weaver. Nightmare at Scapa Flow. pp. p123. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  44. ^ "The Churchill Barriers". Undiscovered Scotland. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
  45. ^ "The Churchill Barriers". Burray. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
  46. ^ McKee. Black Saturday. pp. Chapter 14: The Watchmaker who never was.
  47. ^ "Wrecks designated as Military Remains". Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Retrieved 2006-12-27.
  48. ^ "Memorial to HMS Royal Oak". St Magnus Cathedral. Retrieved 2006-12-27.
  49. ^ "HMS Royal Oak plans delayed by a year". The Orcadian. 23–29 April 2001.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  50. ^ a b c "Technology gives new view of HMS Royal Oak". Defence News. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  51. ^ "HMS Royal Oak". ADUS. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  52. ^ "Image of sunken Royal Oak" (JPEG). Defence Internet. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  53. ^ Watson, Jeremy (2006-09-24). "Picture perfect: the fallen Oak". The Scotsman on Sunday. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

References

  • Campbell, N. (1998). Jutland. London: Conway Classics. ISBN 0-85177-750-3.
  • Dönitz, Karl (1959). Ten Years and Twenty Days (English translation). Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
  • Glenton, Robert (1991). The Royal Oak Affair: The Saga of Admiral Collard and Bandmaster Barnacle. Leo Cooper. ISBN 0-85052-266-8.
  • Kriegsmarine. Log of the U-47. (reproduced in Weaver).
  • Kriegsmarine. "Report on Sinking of Royal Oak". British Admiralty Naval Intelligence Division translation 24/T 16/45. Retrieved 2006-12-22. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  • McKee, Alexander (1959). Black Saturday: The Royal Oak tragedy at Scapa Flow. England: Cerberus. ISBN 1-84145-045-6.
  • Prien, Günther. Mein Weg nach Scapa Flow. Wingate-Baker. ISBN 0-09305-060-7. Translated into English by Georges Vatine as I sank the Royal Oak.
  • Snyder, Gerald. The Royal Oak Disaster. Presidio Press. ISBN 0-89141-063-5.
  • Watts, Anthony. The Royal Navy: An Illustrated History. ISBN 1-85409-324-X.
  • Weaver, H.J. (1980). Nightmare at Scapa Flow: The truth about the sinking of HMS Royal Oak. England: Cressrelles. ISBN 0-85956-025-2.
  • Admiralty (1939), Summary of defences of Scapa Flow and section 1 of report of board of enquiry into sinking of HMS Royal Oak, ADM1/11593, HMSO Stationery Office
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