Managing Potentially Polluting Wrecks in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The battleship HMS Royal Oak was at anchor in Scapa Flow in Orkney when, in the early hours of 14th October 1939, the German submarine U-47 entered the harbour and fired a salvo of torpedoes at Royal Oak’s port side. U-47 then repositioned itself at close range and fired a further three torpedoes at the starboard side of the ship. The weather had been fair, so all the ship’s hatches were open and consequently it took on water very quickly and sank in just 13 min with the loss of 833 of her crew.