On the nights of 13 and 14 October 1939, the German U-boat U-47 penetrated the defences of the Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands and sank the elderly British battleship HMS Royal Oak. The attack was one of the most daring of the war and made a national hero of the boat’s commander, Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien. For the British the loss of their flagship from the First World War was one of the worst naval tragedies of the conflict, 834 men and boys going down with the ship.62
The attack was all the more audacious because Scapa Flow as the main harbour for the British Home Fleet was assumed to be impenetrable. It was defended by several underwater blockships (heavy vessels deliberately sunk to block access which were secured by huge chains to the shore) which the British believed made it impossible for enemy vessels to enter the base. However, Luftwaffe reconnaissance photographs taken at low altitude had revealed a way through, Prien also having to negotiate the strong tidal currents on the way in. Prien kept his U-boat on the surface throughout the entire attack using the cover of darkness but had to constantly ensure his vessel was not silhouetted against the skyline. Pushed by the currents into a blockship anchor chain, the U-boat crew had to skilfully manoeuvre their way around it to prevent the submarine being damaged.
Entering the southern end of the anchorage, the U-boat at one point had to reverse again back up the channel to avoid being detected. At first it looked as though most of the fleet was absent (it was anchored at Rosyth and Loch Ewe) but then Prien through his binoculars spotted the elderly battleship on the moonless night. So, at 01.00 on 14 October 1939, three torpedoes were fired at the British battleship: two missed but the third blew open the bow of the Royal Oak. The explosion rocked the vessel but in the confusion no orders were given to abandon ship, officers believing it was an internal explosion as Scapa Flow was impenetrable. Many men returned to their bunks oblivious of the grave danger they were in. However, U-47 pressed home the attack firing another three torpedoes in a final salvo, all of which exploded with devastating effect on the starboard side of the stationary battleship. A ball of flame engulfed the battleship killing some sailors instantly but imprisoning many more. The Royal Oak then listed to its side and sank quickly, most sailors drowning because they were trapped inside the warship.
On the night of 13/14 October 1939, the German U-boat U-47 sank the elderly British battleship HMS Royal Oak and made a national hero of the boat’s commander, Günther Prien.
Upon his victorious return, Hitler flew Prien and the entire crew of U-47 to Berlin on his personal aircraft. At the Reich Chancellery the next day, Hitler awarded him the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest military honour bestowed by the state. Nazi propaganda lionised Prien and his crew who all became national heroes, appearing in postcards, magazines and books, Prien also writing an autobiography about his exploits called Mein Weg nach Scapa Flow (My Way to Scapa Flow). German toy manufacturers were also quick to capitalise on the propaganda coup, in 1941 the company Franz Schmidt of Nuremberg bringing out a new children’s game called Mit Prien gegen England (With Prien to England).’
Mit Prien gegen England was a simple snakes and ladders type game, players having to move around the North Sea starting at the German port of Wilhelmshaven. The aim was to sink as many British ships as possible along the way while avoiding being bombed from the air or depth-charged while under the sea. It could be played by up to six people, the U-boat counters being made of metal. On the cover of the box was a striking picture of a U-boat emerging from the waves with a British merchant ship exploding in the background drawn by the artist Adolf Zeck. The cover also included a head-and-shoulders shot of a smiling Prien, his image appearing in a circle. The game board showed a picture of the Nord See (North Sea) bordered by Britain and Europe, the course being illustrated by pictures of British ships and merchant vessels going down in flames.
In 1941, the company Franz Schmidt of Nuremberg capitalised on the propaganda coup by bringing out Mit Prien Gegen England (With Prien to England) but by the time it appeared Prien had already been killed.
After sinking the Royal Oak, both Prien and his famous U-boat became known as ‘the Bull of Scapa Flow’, and in celebration a bull was painted on his conning tower. Prien remained as the commander of U-47, sinking a total of thirty merchant ships and participating in the early wolfpacks which devastated convoys in the first eighteen months of the war. However, his luck ran out in March 1941 when his U-boat was caught on the surface and depth-charged on their tenth operational patrol, so ironically, he never lived to see the board game modelled on his life. None of the crew survived and Prien’s death was kept secret until 24 May 1941 when a short statement appeared in the Wehrmachtbericht, the daily briefing from the German High Command. It read, ‘The U-boat under the command of Korvettenkapitän Günter Prien did not return from his last patrol against the enemy. The loss of the boat has to be assumed.’