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U-47 goes to Scapa Flow

One of the most daring attacks.

The battleship HMS Royal Oak at anchor.

The Objective
The British naval base at Scapa Flow on the Orkneys was the main fleet anchorage of the British Isles. Needlessly to say that base usually held some very tempting targets for the U-boats. (During WWI the U-boat UB-116 under Oblt. Hans Joachim Emsmann attempted in October 1918 to slip into Scapa Flow, but the boat was lost with all hands to a mine). But of course the British knew this and had fortified the area heavily and Scapa Flow was regarded as very safe.

Preparations
Dönitz had always wanted to slip a U-boat into these waters and give the British a powerful punch that would really hurt them for years to come (it took 3-4 years to build a battleship and work it up). This sort of mission required skill, some luck and excellent intelligence.

On September 26, 1939 Luftwaffe, the German air force, managed to get excellent photographs of the base and U-14 brought valuable information about the Scapa Flow approaches from a patrol in September 1939. On Sunday Oct 1 Dönitz called in one of his most energetic and daring U-boat commanders, Günther Prien of U-47 offered him the mission of slipping into Scapa Flow. Dönitz made it clear that Prien was to take this voluntarily and he could say no without any damage to his career. Prien took the plans home for the night and studied them carefully before returning the next day and accepting the task.

The Attack
The first hint the crew of U-47 got that something very special was going on was when the stores that had been put on board were removed and replaced with supplies for much shorter mission than usual. U-47 then put out from Kiel on Oct 8, 1939, sailed through the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal into the North Sea, where they absolved south of Helgoland the usual dive trials. On the route to Scapa Flow U-47 avoided any vessels that might report his position.

U-47 leaves Kiel for Scapa Flow on Oct 8, 1939.
Note the old emblem which the famous Snorting Bull replaced on the way home.

Late in the evening (at 2331 hours) of 13 October Prien started his run into Scapa. The strong currents coming through the entrance channels forced Prien to time his attack very carefully and using slack water (period between high tide and low tide). He carefully took his boat on the surface between the vessels the British had sunk in the channels to prevent such an attack and at one time was so close to the shores that U-47 was illuminated by highlights of a passing car. Just after midnight on October 13/14 U-47 was inside Scapa Flow and the commander wrote at 0027 in the KTB (War diary) Wir sind in Scapa Flow!!! (We are in Scapa Flow!!!).

Once inside the harbour Prien started to scan the area looking for targets and after a while he spotted 2 large vessels to his north and fired at 0058 hours a spread of 3 torpedoes at the overlapping targets. After 3 and a half minute one explosion was heard but incredibly seemed to attract no attention from the British. Then the boat turned and fired the stern torpedo without success. Frantically Prien's crew re-loaded the tubes and then fired at 0122 hours 3 torpedoes . After run of 3 minutes explosions tore through the massive hull of the 31,100 ton battleship HMS Royal Oak which sank in 13 minutes taking with her 24 officers and 809 men. There were only 375 survivors. This was the second largest vessel sunk by a German U-boat in the war and one of only 2 British battleships lost (the other being HMS Barham sunk by Tiesenhausen's U-331).

U-47 returns
Despite heavy incoming currents U-47 managed to slip away from the now-awaken British destroyers and at 0215 hours slipped out of Scapa Flow and headed home (the British announced that they had sunk the offending U-boat).

The BBC announced on the Oct 14, 1939 :

... This is the BBC Home Service.
Here is the news bulletin. As it was reported late this morning, the Secretary of the Admiralty regrets to announce that HMS Royal Oak has been sunk, it is believed, by U-boat action. Fifteen survivors have been landed....

U-47 reached Wilhelmshaven on Oct 17, 1939 at 1144 hours, where they were given a heroes welcome and the entire crew was flown to Berlin to be personally greeted by Hitler. Kptlt. Günther Prien got there his Knights Cross and the whole crew was taken to lunch with Hitler.

Prien and the crew of U-47 dines with Hitler.

On the way back U-47's First Watch Officer (IWO), Engelbert Endrass, painted the snorting bull emblem on the conning tower of the boat, he got the image from a comic book the crew had with them. That emblem later became the official one for the 7th flotilla. Endrass himself became on U-46 and U-567 one of Germany's most celebrated aces.

Gunther Prien - Korvettenkapitan


Korvettenkapitan Gunther Prien

"This is the voice of the BBC inviting all our ships at sea to listen in to a little Yank Bennie Goodman music. Before we do that, we like to pass on a message from the Admiralty to Captain Gunther Prien and his crew on the German submarine U-47 somewhere in the North Sea. You can run, but you can't hide." With that, the sounds of big band music fill the early morning hours of 14 Oct 1939.

One hundred and fifty feet below the surface, a type VIIB German sub, races from Scampa Flow toward her home port in Germany. A wry grin crosses the face of the undisputed master of the wolf packs. He reaches over and turns the band music up and dances a few steps merrily.

The following day: "This is a BBC home service news bulletin. The secretary of the Admiralty regrets to announce that last night the battleship HMS Royal Oak was sunk. Fifteen more survivors have been recovered..."

A week later. "We have with us today, Dr. John Briskell, the Admiralties expert on U-boat warfare. Welcome Dr. Briskell." "Morning." "So what can you tell us of last weeks tragedy at Scampa Flow?" "To make a long story short, U-boats had tried to penetrate the port defenses before. Those U-boats are all reefs now. So this was a bold attack. I am certain it was the work of Gunther Prien." "Who?" "KapitanLeutnant Gunther Prien. His current boat is U-47. He's your stereotypical fanatical Nazi- blond hair, blue eyed, clean-cut, cocky sort." "So what makes you think it was him?" "Two things. First a motorist reported his headlamps illuminating a submarine in the bay with a skull & crossbones on her tower, which U-47 had. Second, we just received propaganda photos of Prein & crew treated to a breakfast with Hitler where he was awarded the Knights Cross for the attack. All very cocky stuff hey-what. Bad form." "Tell us about the attack Doctor." "Well, as is common knowledge, Scampa Flow harbor has sunken ships in the channel to deter submerged subs from entering. Plus, a boom is erected across the channel opened only for Allied vessels." "So how did he do it Doctor?" "Dastardly simply plan. Late at night he just followed an Admiralty vessel past the boom while traveling on the surface." "That is bold!" "Once in the harbor, the bastard simply let loose with her torpedoes against the sleeping docked vessels. As we all know, the Oak went down in 13 minutes taking hundreds with her. God rest their souls." "Terrible!" "And tragically, in the confusion, with Destroyers racing out the harbor, U-47 was able to escape." "For shame...oh...I hate to cut you short Doctor, but I've been given the break off signal." "That's okay." Thank you Doctor."

A little over a year later, 7 March 1941. "This is the voice of the BBC. Tonight a little good news. As you all know, once or twice a week a convoy has braved the U-boat wolfpacks in the Atlantic to supply our war effort. This is no easy task as it isn't unusual for ten ships of a fifty convoy to be sank. Well tonight we are pleased to report that the pride of the German U-boat fleet, U-47, has been sunk by the Destroyer HMS Wolverine. The Admiralty wishes to relay that although U-47 put 194,000 tons under the waves, our spirit is still high and the Royal Oak has been avenged...what's that?...even better? I have just been given an updated report. It would seem Wolverine did not sink U-47 after all. Initial reports were wrong and it seems HMS Wolverine in fact attacked another sub. It is now believed that U-47 sank herself with a defective circling torpedo. So why is this better news you ask? Well for all you german submariners out there listening in. Give thoughts dear boys when you push that button. You maybe firing at yourself. Bully!"

U-47

Type	VIIB
Laid down	27 Feb, 1937	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Commissioned	17 Dec, 1938	Oblt. Günther Prien
Commanders	12.38 - 03.41	Korvkpt. Günther Prien
Career	10 patrols	17 Dec, 1938 - 31 Aug, 1939 7. Flottille (front boat) 1 Sep, 1939 - 31 Dec, 1939 7. Flottille (front boat) 1 Jan, 1940 - 7 Mar, 1941 7. Flottille (front boat)
Successes	30 ships sunk for a total of 186.253 tons 8 ships damaged for a total of 63.282 tons
Fate	Missing since 7 March, 1941 in North Atlantic near the Rockall Banks in approximate position 60.00N/19.00W. 45 dead (all hands lost).

There is till today not certain confirmation, how U-47 was lost. For years was it believed that the British destroyer HMS Wolverine sank U-47 on 8 March, 1941 after depth charges attacks, but the Wolverine actually attacked Eckermann's U-A.

Possible reasons for the loss of U-47 include mines, by its own torpedoes or by an attack by British corvettes HMS Camellia and Arbutus.

On 14 Oct, 1939 the boat made its incredible raid on Scapa Flow sinking the British battleship HMS Royal Oak.