Scrapped 1924
HMS Royal Oak was built at Devonport Dockyard; laid down on the 15th January 1914 and launched 17th November 1914. She was commissioned into the Royal navy on the 1st May 1916. She saw combat at The Battle of Jutland but was not damaged. Between the wars HMS Royal Oak was rebuilt with the removal of torpedo tubes and the addition of AA twin 4-inch guns replacing single mounted 4 inch AA guns.
She was torpedoed and sunk at Scapa Flow by U - 47 on the 14th October 1939.
Not only a battleship, and more than 800 lives, had been lost, but Scapa Flow – Orkney’s great secure anchorage that had been believed to be impenetrable – had been breached and a mortal blow struck against the pride of the Royal Navy. The blow to morale was huge; the suffering of hundreds of bereaved families adding a human dimension of tragedy that was unimaginable.
Built at a cost of £2.5 million, the 27,000 ton Royal Oak had been presumed unsinkable by submarine attack within Scapa Flow – but the unsinkable became the unthinkable as German U-boat commander Lt Gunther Prien evaded the flimsy defences in the submarine U47 and attacked at the heart of the British Navy.
The site is a designated war grave.
Displacement: 33,500 tons, weight increased after refit to 34,420 tons. Speed: 19 to 21.5 knots Range: 4,000 nautical miles. Compliment 1,040 to 1146. Armament: Eight 15 - inch Guns, twelve 6 - inch Guns, Eight 4 - inch AA Guns in pairs Sixteen 2 pounder in pairs. this was increased to 24. Four 21 inch Torpedo Tubes which were removed during modernization between the wars.
