After the U-47 raid on Scapa Bay and the sinking of the Royal Oak, what steps did the Royal Navy take to prevent the German Navy from launching similar attacks at its other bases (in the UK and abroad)?
HMS Royal Oak sank
HMS Royal Oak. Royal Navy Avenger class battleships
The attack on the Scapa Flow anchorage combines the steely nerves of poker players with the precision of a surgeon that only an ace like Prien can successfully complete. For the British, it was the end of the careers of several outstanding officers, while for the Germans it was one of the greatest victories of their propaganda machine.
Located in the Orkney Islands in northern Scotland, Scarpa Bay is the most important anchorage for the Royal Navy (British Navy) and is considered an impregnable fortress, especially against submarine attacks. In fact, German submersibles tried to penetrate the base twice, both during World War I. The submarine U-18 did it, but his feat was useless, as he found the bay empty and the entire fleet was thrown into the sea. In 1918, von Eismann's U-116 attempted the feat again, but the British managed to sink it before she could cause any damage.
During the interwar period, the base ceased to be used and the last defensive mines were detonated in 1919. The last Royal Navy ship left the bay in 1920. It wasn't until the late 1930s, with the revival of German naval power, that Scarpa Bay was given useful new opportunities. However, not everyone thinks the base is impregnable. Admiral Sir Charles Forbes inspected the fortifications in 1938, and in his report he recommended the strengthening and protection of the unprotected gap at the entrance to the bay. His advice was ignored. In September 1939, when Churchill was appointed the first Lord of the Admiralty, Scarpa Bay officially became the base of the British fleet.
Admiral Dönitz had long wanted to break through the fortifications of Scarpa Bay and launch a coup d'état against the British fleet. A few days after the war began, the admiral's plan was to have a submarine penetrate the base and attack as many ships as possible. If successful, he would force the Royal Navy to assign ships to other safer bases, thereby weakening its maritime blockade of the North Sea.
Dönitz studied all the information intelligence had about Scarpa Bay and ordered aerial photographs showing where the possible infiltration was and, most importantly, most of the British fleet was in port. He also sent a submarine to report on the tides and currents in the area. After studying the data, he concluded that it should be propelled along the water surface at night and at high tide, when the current is weak. The route the submarine is going through is through Kirk Strait, an entrance to the east side of the bay. Navigating through this passage is difficult because it has to pass between shipwrecks, with a total depth of fifteen meters. The banks of the canal are also crowded with boats blocking the way, the entrance is only one hundred and seventy meters wide, and in some places there is only a passage of twenty meters deep. Navigation errors can lead to collisions or grounding the submarine. Once the plan and route are designed, all that's left is to choose the ideal skipper for the operation. Doenitz considers Prien to be the ideal candidate because he believes he has excellent skills and the guts to face such a task and has a chance of success.
The first meeting took place on October 1, which surprised Prien. The last thing he wanted to happen after dinner on Sunday was to be ordered to interrupt and report to the commander-in-chief. Prion was convinced that he and two other officers, Major Sobe and Lieutenant Werner, had also been asked to report to Donitz that they would be demoted for what they had done. The three men walked aboard the Weixel toward Dunitz's office, without a word. Prion was the last to be called. As he entered, he spotted two officers next to the commander. After the usual greetings and introductions, Dornitz invited Lieutenant Werner to speak, who began to talk about the Orkney Islands, while Prion looked at the map on the table marked "Scarpa Bay." A nervous Prion realized what was expected of him at that moment. Doenitz's statement made it clear that this would not be an easy task, as previous attempts had demonstrated. After consulting him, he was allowed to review the plan and report and make a decision within forty-eight hours. Almost immediately, however, Prion made his decision: he wanted to do it. After studying the plan, he realized it was entirely feasible. Dunitz received a positive answer during his second meeting with Dunitz on October 3
The task begins
On Sunday, October 8, 1939, U-47 departed cautiously from The Port of Kiel (Germany). Even the crew did not know the fate of the submarine. After a calm trip, U-boat surfaced on October 13 for its final approach. When Prion stepped onto the bridge, the scene in front of him was unexpected. Unlike the darkness he had hoped for, he encountered a particularly bright crescent moon and, above all, the spectacular Northern Lights illuminated everything. Despite the surprise, Prion decided to continue on the mission.
It took four hours to finally approach Scapa Flow. Upon arrival, Prion entered Kirk Bay without delay, passing within a few meters of the blockade ship Thames, encountering unexpected currents. Following the predetermined route, Prion's submersible was less than 15 meters from the Numidian blockade ship. Soon after, an incident tested the nerves of the crew. The ship was suddenly entangled in the anchor cables of soriano's blocking ship. After a few seconds of painful stillness, U-47 managed to break free and continue sailing, so close to the shore that she was suddenly illuminated by a taxi passing by the nearby town of St. Mary's. The crew on the bridge were sure that they had been spotted, but seeing that the alarm did not sound, they continued their way and finally entered the dark anchorage.
The activity of the bay can be seen from the bridge a few meters away. The Northern Lights allow people to see sentries and parked trucks. With such excellent visibility, Prion wanted to be able to see his victims without any problems, but not any boats. U-47 sailed in a long circle along the bay for 30 minutes. The initial euphoria gave way to painful despair. The intelligence services failed. The fleet is not in port. A terrible mistake happened. On one last attempt to find the ship, Prion sailed northwest. As she approached the end of the bay, he noticed a large ship on the horizon. With his binoculars, Prion determined that it was a battleship, and behind it was another large ship. The first is the Royal Oak and the second is the 6900-ton seaplane carrier HMS Pegasus.
Getting closer, Lieutenant Enderas ordered three torpedoes to be fired. Of these, two did not hit the target, and only one hit the Royal Oak, causing an explosion that woke up the crew. But his captain blamed the explosion on internal causes, and she couldn't even imagine a submarine entering Scapa Bay. Without taking any precautions, the sailors returned to their bunks. Twelve minutes later, a confused but determined Prion ordered another torpedo fired at the Royal Oak, hitting three torpedoes outside the battleship's waterline. The explosion sparked huge flames, and a huge orange ball rose into the air, shaking it violently. Battleships began to line up. It was 1:28 a.m. On the morning of October 14. Despite more torpedoes, Prion decided to flee the port as quickly as possible. This time from the south entrance, he successfully passed between the Minich and Lamb Holm blockade ships. At 2:15, they were on the high seas. Later, Prion explained that he had seen signs that his ship was about to be spotted because the port was brightly lit and Prion felt that he was preparing to fight back, thus defending his hasty escape. In fact, the British did not find the submarine at any time.
Before U-47 returned to Wilhelmshaven on October 17, her actions were known throughout Germany. At the port, they were greeted by Admirals Doenitz and Raeder, who awarded Prion the Iron Cross, First Class, and his crew the Iron Cross, Second Class. But the elated Hitler wanted to personally congratulate the crew. That same afternoon, they flew to Berlin, where they were seen as heroes, flocked to the streets and cheered as they passed. At the Chancellery, Prieen was awarded the Knight's Cross by Hitler. The protagonist of Scarpaliu became a hero of the Third Reich, becoming the first soldier to receive this honor.
outcome
The German victory at Scapa Bay had little strategic value, but its propaganda value was immeasurable. The old battleship, the Royal Oak, was a veteran of World War I and was obsolete by the standards of the time. At a speed of only twenty knots, she could barely keep up with the rest of the British fleet, barely able to engage the Bismarck or Scharnhorst-class battleships of the German Navy. For the UK, the sinking of HMS Courageous, Hood or Ark Royal is even more disadvantageous from a strategic point of view. But for Germany, the ship and Scarpa Bay were linked to the defeat of the German Navy in World War I, further extending the victory, an attack that forever erased the ghost of the German Navy. The defeat of the German people.
The attack also showed that a weapon previously considered primitive and ineffective could defeat an expensive armored giant with a crew of 1200 at a minuscule cost and a small number of personnel. For the British, the attack marked the end of the careers of some of the most important figures in the Navy. After the attack, the defenses of Skapa Bay were strengthened by the sinking of the new blockade ships, which completely blocked the entrance passage. New barriers have been created to strengthen existing ones. While all measures to fortify the bay were not in place, as Dönitz predicted, the British navy was forced to disperse its vessels to other ports.
Source:
Black Saturday: The Royal Oak Tragedy of Scapa Flow, Alexander McKee, Cerberus Publishing Ltd, 2004
Scapa Flow Road, Günther Prien, New Republic Edition, 2005*