The sinking of HMS Royal Oak

I'm a bit of WW2 novice and decided to read about the war in more detail for the first time that goes beyond basic school level knowledge.

I've reading about it chronologically so far. PBS America at 6:05pm starting in just over 10 minutes is The Sinking of the HMS Royal Oak, on October 14th 1939 by German U-47 at Scapa Flow.

835 people died, which is over half killed in the Titanic, horrific death toll for one ship. Apparantly its remains still lie at the bottom of the ocean and is left as a memorial.

Was this the first major attack on the British armed forces in the war by the Nazi's?

Have dove Scapa flow several times. Very eery crossing the Royal Oak site.. The museum has lots of memorabilia. The site is protected and as you get close you have to declare your intentions, as no one is allowed to dive on it.
It’s hats off to the U boat captain for his sheer balls though.

They sunk ships to block the entrances called block ships, he navigated around them.
 
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Hitlers circle of evil on Netflix is good. How Hess, Goerring, Goebbels, Himmler and Bormann gained high positions in the Nazi Party.
 
My Granda was friends with a couple of lads who went down with HMS Hood. Three survivors from the entire crew of over 1400.
A friend of mine who sadly is no more, his Dad was on The Hood.
You can’t get your head round the numbers involved in some of these events. Imagine if these things were happening now.
 
A friend of mine who sadly is no more, his Dad was on The Hood.
You can’t get your head round the numbers involved in some of these events. Imagine if these things were happening now.
I wonder if there was much actual reporting of this tragedy at the time, I know the ministry didn't go over the top or even report a lot of the stuff widely due to the effect on morale and propaganda etc ?
 
My Merchant Seaman Great Grandad was sunk in 1940 off the Orkneys by a U-boat. I only recently discovered that his ship was also Wear built, Laings I think. Poor buggers.

My grandad was a stoker in the merchant navy. I remember him saying when I was a kid that on one voyage the ship in front and one behind were both torpedoed but his wasn't.
 
My mams family were all in the merchant navy, i was really pissed my off when I was younger and my mam told my their pay stopped the minute the ship sank, iirc the death rate was higher in the merchant navy, she also told me some people spit at them and called them cowards because they were in civies and were travelling home from a trip.
 
Bloke on YouTube called Drachinfel does videos on ww2 ships, he has some excellent stuff.

iirc his uncle was onboard the Royal Oak and was one of the dead.
I watch his videos, very factual, but a little dry in his delivery. I recommend Mark Felton, he does some great content on very obscure events in WW2.
 
I watched a documentary on the Bismarck and it was fascinating stuff. At the time it was built the RAF was still using old slow biplanes nicknamed "string bags" but the Bismarck's guns were calibrated for fast planes so they weren't much good against string bags.
 
I'm a bit of WW2 novice and decided to read about the war in more detail for the first time that goes beyond basic school level knowledge.

I've reading about it chronologically so far. PBS America at 6:05pm starting in just over 10 minutes is The Sinking of the HMS Royal Oak, on October 14th 1939 by German U-47 at Scapa Flow.

835 people died, which is over half killed in the Titanic, horrific death toll for one ship. Apparantly its remains still lie at the bottom of the ocean and is left as a memorial.

Was this the first major attack on the British armed forces in the war by the Nazi's?

Get some of Beevor's books... Stalingrad, Berlin, Ardennes, D-Day and I think he has done a book on WWII recently too but I haven't read that
 
There are lots of great books on WW2, but if you want to start from the origns, read Beevors’ The Battle for Spain, about the Spanish civil war. Bit of a hard read because several different factions involved and can be difficult to get your head around some of it.
 
I watch his videos, very factual, but a little dry in his delivery. I recommend Mark Felton, he does some great content on very obscure events in WW2.

agreed. I really like his channel though. I’ve watched a few from Felton, as you say very obscure, you think you’ve read/heard there is until you watch his vids.

any more good ones you watch?

Indi Nidel(?) has some good stuff, week by week on both wars and in between wars.
 
agreed. I really like his channel though. I’ve watched a few from Felton, as you say very obscure, you think you’ve read/heard there is until you watch his vids.

any more good ones you watch?

Indi Nidel(?) has some good stuff, week by week on both wars and in between wars.
Theres an American guy who does some great content on WW1, basically does a day at a time and what events happened. Cannot remember the channel, but will look up.
 
Theres an American guy who does some great content on WW1, basically does a day at a time and what events happened. Cannot remember the channel, but will look up.

Thats Indi Nidel. Does a week at a time. He’s currently in the middle of doing ww2 iirc. I wait until there’s 5/6 then watch em as they are only ten minutes long. They have a few channels on the wars. His WW1 channel is great.
 
If you are a novice I would recommend The World at War from start to finish which is often shown on Yesterday. Its from 1974 but gives you an excellent overview from the rise of the Nazis to the Holocaust. Lots of interviews with people who were there and it is an excellent starter imo.

Greatest documentary ever made imo.
 
Met one of only 3 survivors from HMS Hood's sinking a few years ago. He was the only survivor left alive. Very humble bloke. Didn't have a clue what to say to him like. Ted Briggs was his name iirc.
 
I watched a documentary on the Bismarck and it was fascinating stuff. At the time it was built the RAF was still using old slow biplanes nicknamed "string bags" but the Bismarck's guns were calibrated for fast planes so they weren't much good against string bags.
Yes it’s ironic that one of those “string bags” fucked it up.
I believe they torpedoed it’s rudder and slowed it down.
 

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