Hearts of Oak

The Human Tragedy of HMS Royal Oak

Dilip Sarkar

6 x 9, 128 pages, 100 illustrations, 9781848689442, $34.95, paperback, Amberley
June 19, 2010

Currently in stock.

Written with the cooperation of many of the survivors and families of the victims, Dilip Sarkar incorporates the latest research and interviews with survivors. The author, himself a deep wreck diver, has visited the naval wreck of the Royal Oak at Orkney on several expeditions.

HMS Royal Oak was a Revenge-class battleship of the British Royal Navy, infamously torpedoed at anchor by the German submarine U-47 on 14 October 1939. Royal Oak was anchored at Scapa Flow in Orkney, Scotland when she became the first of the five Royal Navy battleships and battle cruisers sunk in the Second World War. The loss of life was heavy: of Royal Oak's complement of 1,234 men and boys, 833 were killed that night or died later of their wounds.

The raid made an immediate celebrity and war hero out of the German U-boat commander, G�nther Prien, who became the first submarine officer to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. To the British, the raid demonstrated that the Germans were capable of bringing the naval war to their home waters, and the shock resulted in rapidly arranged changes to dockland security. Now lying upside-down in 30�m of water with her hull 5�m beneath the surface, Royal Oak is a designated war grave.

Also By This Author

Douglas Bader A Fighter Ace's Life

� 'At last, the definitive account of Bader's career by his most knowledgeable biographer' PROFESSOR PAUL MACKENZIE, author of Bader. � Over 90 historic photographs, many have never been reproduced be...

(hardback)

Duxford 1940 A Battle of Britain Base at War

The story of the Battle of Britain as experienced by the pilots who flew from Duxford air base in Cambridgeshire. Author has interviewed more Battle of Britain pilots than any other historian. Over 2...

(paperback)

Few, The The Story of the Battle of Britain in the Words of the Pilots

The history of the Battle of Britain in the words of the pilots from a unique archive of first hand accounts. The Battle of Britain started on 10 July 1940, ending 16 weeks later on 31 October 1940. ...

(hardback)

Few, The

GEORGE UNWIN, Battle of Britain fighter ace: �Dilip knows more about me and the pilots with whom I flew during the Battle of Britain than we do! If anyone ever needs to know anything about the RAF dur...

(paperback)

How the Spitfire Won the Battle of Britain

Historians have previously argued that it was the Hurricane not the Spitfire that won the Battle of Britain. Although the Spitfire won the hearts of the British population at large �stealing� the lime...

(hardback)

How the Spitfire Won the Battle of Britain

� Book received critical acclaim in hardback published in 2010: �An excellent book� SPITFIRE: THE JOURNAL OF THE SPITFIRE SOCIETY. � �Dilip Sarkar understands perfectly the mysteries of air tactics an...

(paperback)

Last of the Few 18 Battle of Britain Fighter Pilots Tell Their Extraordinary Stories

2,927 aircrew of RAF Fighter Command fought and won the Battle of Britain in 1940, 544 lost their lives in action. They flew to battle in Spitfires and Hurricanes, Defiants and Blenheims, although it ...

(paperback)

Spitfire A Fighter Plane at War

� Over 300 historic photographs and contemporary illustrations. � Author is a major authority on British fighter pilots of the Second World War. � Organized chronologically and illustrating every the...

(paperback)

Spitfire Ace of Aces The True Wartime Story of Johnnie Johnson

Johnnie Johnson is a character literally straight out of the pages of �Boys Own�. By the end of the Second World War the RAF Spitfire pilot was a household name in Britain, feted by Churchill and Eise...

(hardback)

Spitfire Manual

How to fly the legendary fighter plane in combat using the manuals and instructions supplied by the RAF during the Second World War. An amazing array of leaflets, books and manuals were issued by the...

(paperback)

Spitfire Voices Life as a Spitfire Pilot

Over 100 historic photographs most previously unpublished from veterans own personal collections. The firsthand combat experiences of Spitfire pilots from throughout the Second World War and in all t...

(hardback)