Navy

Royal Navy Divers Detonate WWII Torpedo

Royal Navy bomb disposal experts have detonated a Second World War torpedo found during a routine seabed survey in Orkney.

The torpedo is likely to have been one of those fired at HMS Royal Oak as the battleship lay at anchor in Scapa Flow in 1939. The attack by the German U-boat U-47 sunk the Royal Oak with the loss of 833 lives.

The wreck of Royal Oak, a designated war grave, lies almost upside down in 100 feet (30 m) of water with her hull 16 feet (4.9 m) beneath the surface

Lying in around 35 metres of water, the torpedo was first spotted during a sonar survey. Video footage was then captured using an ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle).

A Royal Navy Explosives Ordnance Team from the Northern Diving Group (NDG) then viewed the site, with divers examining the torpedo on the seabed before a plan was drawn up for its safe disposal.

HMS Royal Oak in her heyday

The divers then attached explosives to the torpedo on the seabed before detonating them.

David Sawkins, Orkney Islands Council’s Deputy Harbour Master, said:

"The torpedo had been sitting on the seabed of Scapa Flow for almost 80 years.

"Although it posed minimal danger to shipping, our responsibility is to operate a safe harbour and, as it was likely to contain live explosives, the prudent course of action was to alert Royal Navy bomb disposal experts and arrange for its safe disposal.

"This was carried out with great professionalism by the Navy divers and we are grateful for their assistance and expertise. The hope now is that the rear section of the torpedo, including the propeller, will be recovered and after a full examination returned to go on display in Orkney later in the year. It would be a poignant reminder of the huge loss of life when the Royal Oak went down in October 1939."

The dive down to examine the torpedo was an especially poignant one for the NDG team. Each year, in an act of remembrance, members of the unit travel to Orkney in order to visit the wreck of HMS Royal Oak.

Naval divers return to the wreck of HMS Royal Oak each year to replace her White Ensign

Its Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Tony Hampshire, said:

"Northern Diving Group has the honour of diving and placing the White Ensign on the wreck of Royal Oak. It is a task which the Group has conducted for many years and one which we are proud to participate in.

"To think that this torpedo could have been one fired at HMS Royal Oak brings the tragedy home. Those who served with the ship were incredibly brave individuals."

Based at HM Naval Base Clyde, home of the UK Submarine Service, the Northern Diving Group consists of more than 40 Royal Navy clearance divers and support staff, split into two teams – NDU1 (Northern Diving Unit) and NDU2.

To aid civil authorities, NDU2 provides a high readiness Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team which covers an area that starts from the high-water mark in Liverpool and stretches out to sea clockwise around the British Isles to Hull, encompassing Northern Ireland, the Scottish Western Isles, Shetland and the Orkney Islands.

It also includes many sites exposed to multiple bombing raids during the Second World War both on land and at sea.

Today the team continues to find and safely dispose of items of historic ordnance that would otherwise pose a threat to the public and maritime trade.

Bomb disposal experts from Northern Diving Group

NDU1, meanwhile, also has an Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD) responsibility, which takes into account the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Unique to Northern Diving Group is the support and manning of the NATO Submarine Rescue System, which can be deployed at short notice from its home at HM Naval Base Clyde to attend submarine emergencies.

A tri-nation system, Northern Diving Group works closely with French and Norwegian counterparts.