"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.

A historian examines what really happened when the British World War II battleship was torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Orkney. 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 during World War II. Within six weeks the Germans achieved their goal of breaching the defenses of Scapa Flow. Germany claimed the sinking for the submarine U-47, commanded by Lt. Gunther Prien. Prien and his crew instantly became folk heroes, exploited to extract the maximum glory from their deed. A few months later, Prien’s autobiography, Mein Weg Nach Scapa Flow, was published and sold an astonishing 750,000 copies. However, there are Royal Oak survivors, who, while accepting that their ship was torpedoed, say Prien and his crew could never have seen the inside of Scapa Flow because Prien’s story differs from the truth. Much has been written on what is now one of the greatest submarine exploits of all time. Yet nobody has managed to sift fact from falsehood and reconcile the apparently irreconcilable German and British stories. Author H. J. Weaver has interviewed Royal Oak survivors, members of U-47’s 1939 crew, Lt. Prien’s widow and members of the firm that published his autobiography. Weaver’s quest for the truth led through England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Orkney, Norway, West Berlin, Cologne, Freiburg, and even distant Amman. Every point of controversy he has patiently investigated until he was able to set down the documented, definitive account of the Royal Oak naval disaster in this book.

A strategically important natural harbor in the Orkney Islands, Scapa Flow served as Britain's main fleet anchorage during World Wars I and II. In 1914 and again in 1939, the British began building a comprehensive defensive network by fortifying the entrances to Scapa Flow, and then extended these defenses to cover most of Orkney. By 1940, it had become an island fortress, the largest integrated defensive network of its kind in Europe, manned by as many as 50,000 Commonwealth troops. Backed by newly commissioned artwork, naval historian Angus Konstam tells the story of this mighty naval fortress, many pieces of which can still be seen on the island today.

“Reminds us of the courage and immense sacrifices made by Orcadians, and tells of the efforts made by the British to protect their remote islanders. Superb.” —Books Monthly Orkney was a key strategic location during the Second World War. The vast anchorage of Scapa Flow was the main haven for the Royal Navy’s Home Fleet, making it a prime target for the Luftwaffe, and attempts to bomb the anchorage were made from the beginning of the war. In the early hours of 14 October 1940, a German submarine apparently penetrated Scapa Flow’s defenses and managed to sink the aging battleship HMS Royal Oak with the loss of 834 of her crew, including many boy sailors. The loss spurred changes to the defenses of Scapa Flow, which hugely impacted Orkney. Orcadians also made a huge contribution to the war effort through farming and in providing support to the thousands of sailors, soldiers and airmen who were based locally. Orcadians also raised considerable funds and gathered much-needed items, including scrap metal and even sphagnum moss for use in the treatment of wounds. Large numbers of Orcadians worked in the fishing industry and this was a staple supplier of food for the islands, as well as a key employer. The men aboard the trawlers were used to danger, but the war ramped this up even further as many became prey to German attacks from the air. Although isolated from the mainland, the people of Orkney made a very substantial contribution to the war effort and many paid the ultimate price, losing their lives in the service of their country. “Another beautiful volume for the series.” —On the Old Barbed Wire

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.

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.