Black Saturday - Want It All

Black Saturday

Friday the 13th of October, 1939, in the sixth week of the second world war. Most of the crew of the battleship, H.M.S Royal Oak, were looking forward to a full-night off watch.

It was pay day and two German U-boats had been sunk. Although unlucky for some, Friday the 13th passes quietly for the crew.

As the ship was in harbour, their only fear was of an air attack. Subsequently, with the exception of those on watch, many of the crew had turned in.

Saturday, 14th October, at 01.04 a.m., the first explosion rocked the Royal Oak. Leading Signalman Fossey noted the absence of cascading water up the side of the ship, suggesting this was not a torpedo hit.

The crew forwards of the bridge were woken up. As the ship was in harbour, they believed that there had been an internal explosion and little alarm was raised.

Two more explosions were felt moments later. With this, the Boysâ€™ messdeck and the Stokersâ€™ messdeck caught fire, killing the majority of boys and stokers.

At this stage, the ship was taking on water and the crew were desperately trying to find ways to escape the sinking ship. In darkness and with the ship listing, the crew struggled to make their way to the upper deck.

Witnessing the death of many of their comrades, a few managed to escape the doomed ship and found themselves severely burnt and bleeding, and swimming for their lives in the icy cold waters of the sea, now slick with oil. The nearest land was half a mile away.

Black Saturday recounts the horrors of those who fought for their lives in conditions that would push man to their limits. However, two boats were on the water. Skipper Gatt of the Daisy II responded and is possibly the reason so many of the men in the water survived.

In the hours and days following the sinking of the Royal Oak, increasing speculation about the cause of the destruction bounced between â€˜Sabotageâ€™ and a German torpedo attack. Outcomes of investigations were kept secret.

When Lieutenant Gunther Prien broadcast that his U-boat had been behind the sinking of the Royal Oak, some felt comforted, others internally hid their true thoughts.

However, his account, taken from the log from the U.47, differs in many ways from the recount provided by the survivors.

What happened to the Royal Oak?

Alexander McKee was selling aviation articles to flying magazines by the age of eighteen. During the Second World War he wrote for a succession of army newspapers and later became a writer/producer for the British Forces Network. Since 1956 he has been researching and writing books on all branches of naval, military and aviation history. He instigated the excavation of the Tudor ship Mary Rose in the seabed off Portsmouth, which he describes in King Henry VIIIâ€™s Mary Rose. In all he has written nineteen books.

Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.
Country USA
Manufacturer Lume Books
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2016-06-07
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Lume Books
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2016-06-07
Format	Kindle eBook