Posted on 10/15/2008 7:02:54 AM PDT by PotatoHeadMick
A war veteran who survived a terrifying U-boat attack that killed more than 800 has had his dying wish granted as his ashes were laid to rest in the sunken ship.
Royal Navy divers placed the wooden casket containing the remains of Flight Sergeant Fernleigh Judge in the hull of HMS Royal Oak, which lies 90ft beneath the waves of Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.
The 29,000-tonne dreadnought went down after being struck by a salvo of torpedoes which scored three perfect hits on the night of October 14, 1939.
It was the first battleship to be lost in the Second World War.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
October 14, 1939?.......To the day....RIP..............
RIP in the sea.
Wow, look at that sonar image. Incredible detail. I had no idea sonar was that advanced. Makes one wonder what classified sonar capabilities are...
My Johnny’s gone, what shall I do?
Johnny’s gone to Hilo
My Johnny’s gone and I’ll go too
Johnny’s gone to Hilo
Hilo-you Hilo my Johnny’s gone
What shall I do?
Johnny’s gone to Hilo
My Johnny’s gone to old Rio
Johnny’s gone to Hilo
To see them Spanish girls I know
Johnny’s gone to Hilo
Hilo-you Hilo my Johnny’s gone
What shall I do?
Johnny’s gone to Hilo
My Johnny’s gone and left us all
Johnny’s gone to Hilo
My Johnny’s gone for evermore
Johnny’s gone to Hilo
Hilo-you Hilo my Johnny’s gone
What shall I do?
Johnny’s gone to Hilo
RIP, Flight Sergeant Fernleigh Judge. Bravo Zulu
....and that's just what they'll 'let' you see. };^)
to read later
I read a good book about this by Gerald Snyder titled “The Royal Oak Disaster”.
The standard drill when under air attack was to go below to put the armored deck above you. Nobody thought a sub could get in so when the explosions came, every who could rushed below decks “to escape the bombs” - and sealed their fate.
She capsized, which accounts for the high mortality rate.
Gunther Prien, the U-boat skipper, got his in March of 1941, along with the rest of the crew.
what a great friend and neighbor he had to do this for him.
Check this link out; there are five more images besides the one on the news article:
HMS Royal Oak - Sonar survey 2006
For over a decade Whitehall has been trying to prevent oil leaking from the ship's fuel tanks. To date, 884 cubic metres (194,452 gallons) of oil has been pumped out of the wreck; anywhere between 153,000 and 286,000 gallons are thought to be still trapped in her hull. All oil has been removed from Royal Oak's outer tanks using a method called hot tapping, fitting valves at strategic points. What remains lies in her inner tanks.Given Royal Oak's status as an official war grave, the importance of preserving Scapa Flow's environment, and the danger of explosions caused by munitions trapped in the upturned hull, tapping those inner tanks is an extremely delicate task. A pilot scheme using specialist gear in 2005 proved that oil from the inner tanks could be withdrawn. But before any large-scale tapping could begin, a detailed survey of Royal Oak was crucial.
The MOD called upon Adus, sonar and wreck survey experts from the University of St Andrews, to find out what state the wreck was in and how stable it was before tapping those inner tanks began in earnest. The Adus team used multi-beam sonars to scan the wreck; this data was then turned into 3D images by computer wizardry. 'The survey work used cutting-edge technology and visualisation techniques specifically developed for this task,' explained Craig English of the Salvage and Marine Operations team.
Thanks for posting that, one of the pictures (#4) quite clearly shows the massive damage done to her starboard side by the torpedoes, no wonder she went down so fast. I presume the damage to her bows was caused when she hit the sea bed.
I still have a copy of that book, but have not read it recently.
As I recall, among other problems contributing to casualties were armored hatches that slid or jammed shut, trapping the crew below the armored deck, and deadlights...These ( again trusting to fading memory ) covered the portholes in the ship's side above the armor belt, and while they weren't watertight, the also hindered escape via the portholes.
Also, as I recall, at first there was some doubt whether the ship was actually being attacked, or there had been an explosion in the forward paint locker.
RIP.
You are right on all counts - that’s my recollection also.
Thanks- sometimes I have to slap my head to jar my brain back in to gear- given enough time I can usually recall things I read years ago... I'm going to fetch the book from upstairs and read it again- for Fernleigh Judge.
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