HMS Royal Oak (08)

HMS Royal Oak (08) History

The HMS Royal Oak was one of five Vengeance-class battleships built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Completed in 1916, the ship was first used in the Battle of Jutland as part of the Grand Fleet. In peacetime, she served in the Atlantic, Homeland and Mediterranean fleets and was attacked by accident on more than one occasion. The Royal Oak captured the world's attention in 1928 when its top officers were tried by a controversial court martial, an event that caused considerable embarrassment to the world's largest navy at the time.

During her 25-year career, attempts to modernize the Royal Oak failed to make up for her fundamental lack of speed, and by the start of World War II, she was unfit for front-line service.

On 14 October 1939, the Royal Oak was torpedoed by the German submarine U-47 in Scapa Flow, Orkney, Scotland. Of the 1,234 men and boys in the Royal Oak team, 835 were killed or later from their injuries that night. The loss of the ageing ship - the first of five Royal Navy battleships and battlecruisers sunk in World War II - did not change the numerical superiority of the British Navy and its allies, but it had a major impact on combat morale influences. The raid made U-boat commander Gunther Prien an instant celebrity and war hero, and he became the first German U-boat officer to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Before the sinking of the Royal Oak, the Royal Navy thought the naval base at Scapa Flow would not be able to withstand an attack by U-boats, but the U-47 raid showed that the German Navy was capable of bringing war to British home waters. The shock prompted rapid changes in port security and the construction of Churchill barriers around Scapa Flow, with the added benefit of being covered by roads between the islands.

The wreck of the Royal Oak, a designated war grave, was nearly upside down in 100 feet (30 m) of water, with her hull 16 feet (4.9 m) below the surface. During an annual ceremony to commemorate the ship's disappearance, Royal Navy divers placed an underwater white ensign at her stern.

Under the Military Relics Protection Act 1986, unauthorized divers are not allowed to approach the wreck.

Specification

Base

Year of Service

1939

Origins

UK

Status

Lost in action

No longer on duty.

supplement

909

staff

SHIPBUILDER

Royal Devonport Dockyard - UK

Class information

Class

Vengeance Class

Class Size

8

ships

Class

HMS Vengeance (06); HMS Resolution (09); HMS Royal Oak (08); HMS Royal Sovereign (05); HMS Ramiris (07); HMS Resistance; /p]

Operators

UK

Characters

Sea Bombing

Maritime bombardment/attack of surface targets/areas primarily through ship-based ballistic weapons.

Land Assault

Littoral attacks against surface targets primarily through ship-based missiles/missile weapons.

Sea Patrol

Active patrolling of critical waterways and sea areas; also serves as a local deterrent against air and maritime threats.

Airspace Denial/Deterrence

Neutralization or deterrence of flying elements by airborne missile weapon ballistics.

Fleet Support

Provide support (fire or materiel) to major surface fleets in blue water environments.

Flagship/Capital Ship

Take on the role of fleet flagship or capital ship in old battleship design/terminology.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

620. 6 feet

189.16m

Ray

88.5 feet

26.97m

Draft

33.6 feet

10.24m

Shift

30,000 t

Power and Performance

Installed Power:

18 x Yarrow boilers power 2 x 40,000hp steam turbines on 4 x axes.

Surface Velocity

22. 0 nodes

(25.3 km/h)

Area

6,995nm

(8,050 miles | 12,955 kilometers)

ARMAMENT

8 x 15" (381mm) /42 caliber main guns in four twin-gunned turrets. 14 x BL 6" (152. 4mm) Mk XII secondary guns in single-gunned emplacements. 2 x QF 3" (76. 20mm) 20 cwt Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns in single-gunned emplacements. 4 x 47mm AA guns in single-gunned emplacements. 4 x 21 (533mm) torpedo tubes.

AIRCRAFT

None.