New Royal Oak find in Scapa Flow
The tragic story of the loss of HMS Royal Oak in the first weeks of the Second World War is well known in Orkney and Caithness, with some of the survivors being nursed back to health in Thurso.
However, mystery has surrounded the undersea location of one of the small vessels used by sailors attempting to escape the sinking battleship.
A team of archaeologists based in Orkney has finally confirmed the position of the missing HMS Royal Oak steam pinnace – a small boat often used on warships to connect with the shore.
The Royal Oak was a Royal Navy battleship which was moored in Scapa Bay as an anti-aircraft platform to help defend a vital radar station on the cliffs.
On the night of October 13, German submarine U-47 manoeuvred into Scapa Flow and finding the battleship at anchor, fired torpedoes which led to the sinking of the ship. Of the 1200 crew on-board, 834 died, with the few survivors struggling in the cold oil-covered water.
After being looked after in Thurso, most of the survivors went by train to Portsmouth to join other ships.
Research shows two 50-foot picket boats were on on board the battleship when she was torpedoed.
Documentary evidence indicates that around 100 crew members abandoned ship via her port side pinnace, which had a lifesaving capacity of 59.
The starboard side pinnace went down with the battleship and can be seen on the seabed a short distance from the wreck.
The small pinnace had not got up steam so boards were used to paddle the vessel away from the sinking battleship.
The pinnace began to rock due to being overloaded and the chief buffer tried to counter the movement by shouting instructions “Lean to starboard, lean to port.”
Some on deck were ordered below to make more room as more men tried to climb onboard.
A short while later the pinnace capsized throwing those on deck into the water and trapping those who had gone below.
Some crew scrambled onto the upturned hull but many were lost. The vessel then righted herself, capsized once more and then sank.
The location of the ship was not known until located last month.