The Unsinkable Bismarck
Note: This picture is innacuare as to the Prince of Whales firing on Prinz Eugen and many other ways. Its use here is only for your entertainment.
The pic took me 3 hours to make!!!(the picture that is)
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Her keel was laid in 1936 at Kiel, Germany. She would be just another battleship, but no one knew the major impact this warship would effect on the war. She was the Bismarck.
She was launched in February 14, 1939. She was fitted out and completed on August 24, 1940. As completed she was the largest and most advanced battleship in the world. The Bismarck displaced some 41,700 tons of water and that was empty. Fully loaded and fueled the monster could displace up to 52,600 tons. She was 823 feet long and 72 feet high from the waterline. Her crew numbered roughly 2400 men. The ship had everything from barbershops to tailors on board. The beast�s steam driven turbines had an operational radius of 8000 miles at cruising speed (around 16 knots), but she was easily capable of 30 to 31 knots.
The Bismarck�s primary armament consisted of eight 15-inch guns mounted on 4 turrets, 2 fore and 2 aft. Her secondary armament was comprised of a battery of twelve 5.9-inch guns mounted on 6 turrets, with 3 to a side. With plenty of surface armament she was had very potent capabilities. However, the German engineers that designed the ship were not about to let their pride and joy get sunk by air attack either. She was fitted with an anti-aircraft armament of sixteen 4.1-inch guns in 8 double mountings, sixteen 37mm, and thirty-six 20mm guns were placed around the ship. The secondary guns were well disposed and the tertiary guns (4.1" AA) were controlled by 6 high angle directors, unmatched anywhere. The main battery was amazing. The 8x 15 inch guns were hydraulically loaded and, in theory, could be aimed to within a few feet of a target in pitch black, dark night. This was possible because of the sophisticated radar carried by the Bismarck.
Most importantly though was the fact that the Bismarck had 12.75 inches of nickel-chrome-steel armor in a belt that made the ship immune to the British torpedoes of the year 1941. This was unknown to the Allies until the end of the war. Also for long-range observation the ship carried 6 Arado 196 float planes.
The main purpose for the construction of the Bismarck was so that the German Navy, or Kriegsmarine, would posses a ship with which to challenge the capital ships of the British Navy. The U-boats were moderately effective at this time, but if the Germans could surprise a large convoy it would be a major success. The convoys were now protected with destroyers to counter the U-boat threat. However, large as it was, the British navy only had a handful of battleships, battle-cruisers, and cruisers to go around. The Germans hoped to smuggle the battleship out of its port and into the North Atlantic. Without warning she would strike. Easily knocking out the destroyers and even cruisers her secondary armament could sink merchant ships faster than a wolf could kill chickens in a hen-house. Before the British could respond she would disappear back into the fog and slip away for another attack. This would be a major problem and could suspend the effectiveness of the convoys to England for some time.
It was not long until a plan was devised by the Germans to use these and several other large ships to strike soon. The ships departed from Gotenhafen, Germany on May 18, 1941. In charge of the operation and aboard the Bismarck Admiral Lutjens set off with the attending cruiser, Prinz Eugen. However, as many plans do this one fell apart fast. The two battle-cruisers that were supposed to assist in the operation, the Gneisenau and Scharnhorst had to cancel their involvement due to battle damage. By the 20th though both ships were well up the Skagerrat almost to the safety of German occupied Norway. Before they got there though they had a stroke of bad luck as the neutral Sweden�s cruiser Gotland spotted them. The same day word arrived of the Bismarck�s movement. The two ships dropped anchor at Kors Fjord near Bergen, Norway on May 22. It was here that British air-reconnaissance found and photographed both ships.
The British�s Admiral Tovey, the Homefleet�s CIC (commander in chief) figured that if the Germans where going to try and break out into the Atlantic they would take the Denmark Strait. Therefore, he ordered Britain�s largest battle-cruiser, the Hood, and the newly completed Prince of Whales to assist the two cruisers, Norfolk and Suffolk, already on patrol there. At this time the Hood (different picture) was the capital ship of the British navy fielding eight 15-inch guns on four turrets, like the Bismarck, and displacing 44,600 tons. The Prince of Whales was a newly completed battleship which had ten 14-inch guns.
After a sophisticated paint job that made the ship look like a smaller battle-cruiser or cruiser the two ships left dusk the 21st . On the 23rd they entered the strait which was very foggy. The poor visibility was so bad that at 1922 (7:22 PM) hours on the 23rd the Suffolk sighted and reported the positions of the two aggressor ships at a range of only 7 miles. The Norfolk came even closer, at 6 miles. The Bismarck fired her guns at the Norfolk letting go 5 shells which missed. The Hood (different pic) and Prince of Whales raced to the scene, but they were still 300 miles away.
Through the interception of radio signals emitted by the British cruisers on the scene, the Bismarck now knew that a task force including the Hood was on an interception course towards them.
At 0530 hours (5:30 AM) the Hood and Bismarck gained visual contact of one another. Moving closer, at 0552 hours, the Hood opened fire by firing a salvo at the lead German ship, Prinz Eugen. The range from Hood to Prinz Eugen was roughly 25000 yards. The Hood then turned 90 degrees so that the Prince of Wales, following right behind her, could bring her guns to bear. Two minutes later Bismarck (firing) and Prinz Eugen (different pic) both opened up at the Hood (different pic). The Prince of Wales fired at the Bismarck while the Hood concentrated on the Prinz Eugen by mistaking it for the Bismarck. The German gunnery was far superior though and the second salvo from the Prinz Eugen hit the Hood. The result was really serious as the 8-inch shell exploded on the upper deck setting some anti-aircraft ammunition on fire. The fire spread until the whole midship section was on fire and under a shroud of dense smoke. The battle looked bleak for the British, but the crews still loaded and fired the guns in an effort to inflict some measure of damage. About 6 minutes later a disaster occurred for the British.
The Hood was a post world war one ship. It had some powerful guns and its size was intimidating. It was comperable to the Bismarck in terms of firepower. Its fatal flaw though was that it had minimal armor for its time. This was probably a planned upgrade soon for the ship.
Nevertheless, at 0600 hours the fifth salvo from the Bismarck hit the Hood. The shells traveled at a high trajectory and this allowed one to penetrate the armor, go through the decks and explode in one of the Hood�s magazines. A tremendous explosion tore the Hood in half instantly. Within seconds the two halves sank, taking with them 95 officers and 1324 seamen. Of the 1420 men aboard only 3 survived. If you think back this was in the range of casualties that were suffered by the famous Titanic, only in seconds not hours.
As soon as the Hood sank, the two German ships (Bismarck firing at Prince of Wales) concentrated fire on the remaining Prince of Wales. At 18,000 yards the British battleship was hit almost instantly. A 15-inch shell exploded in the bridge completely destroying it, compliments the Bismarck. After sustaining 3 more 15-inch and several 8-inch shell hits the Prince of Wales retreated under the cover of the smoke. The Germans did not pursue.
The Prince of Whales had taken quite a beating. Among them were two shells that penetrated deep, but failed to explode. If these had exploded they could have severely crippled or completely destroyed the ship.
The loss of the Hood, on the outside, looked like an unscathed victory for the Germans, it almost was. The British public responded with disbelief that 1400 men could die instantly aboard their most powerful ship, horror that it actually happened, and outrage towards the Germans that had inflicted it. Upon the news� arrival from the Prince of Whales the British Naval Command was worried too. A capital ship destroyed, one maimed badly, and a German task force that could be anywhere in the North Atlantic waiting to strike any convoy that ventured to close. However, the Prince of Wales had scored two hits before falling back. The first hit was below the water line. It was so bad that it would be impossible to fix without stopping. The Bismarck (hit listing pic) listed slightly from this hit thus reducing maximum speed to 28 knots. The second was even worse. It cut the pipeline from the forward-port oil tanks, causing oil to leak into the sea and allowing water to contaminate the tanks. This would shorten the ship�s endurance significantly. Despite the damage the two ships continued on their southerly course. Until late that 24th of May when Admiral Lutjens dispatched the Prinz Eugen to raid shipping on her own.
Meanwhile, Admiral Tovey, who had sailed from Scapa Flow late on the 22nd, with the battleship King George V, had been unable to join the battle because he was 600 miles away when the Bismarck was sighted on the 23rd. Under his command in his task-force was the battleship King George V, sister-ship to the damaged Prince of Wales. The Repulse, and the Victorious were there too and were dispatched about 100 miles north of the Bismarck so the Victorious could launch a torpedo attack on the German ship. At midnight the planes attacked gaining only one ineffective hit. Bismarck continued in a southern direction until 0330 hours when she made a turn towards France. At this time the Suffolk, who was in charge of shadowing the German ship with radar, lost radar contact. Suffolk had been running zigzag routes to avoid German U-boats that might be in the vicinity. At 0810 hours on the 25th the British launched aircraft from the carrier Victorious to search for the Bismarck, but without luck. It was then figured that the elusive German ship had turned west. Then a radio message from admiralty said that the German ship was to the North east 200 miles. The British raced the wrong way for 8 hours. Then the Fleet was notified by admiralty again with the report that in their opinion the Bismarck was racing for a Biscay port in France. This proved to be the correct evaluation of the pursuit. The fleet altered course and raced back, but it was too late. The Bismarck was easily 110 miles ahead of them and would cruise without event into France for repairs. To make matters worse, the British ships were running low on fuel and the Repulse had to break off for Newfoundland to refuel. Also the weather was deteriorating making it more difficult to find the Bismarck.
Earlier, on the 23rd, the British also dispatched Admiral Somerville�s Force H. This force comprised of the battle-cruiser Renown, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, and the light cruiser Sheffield. Also joining the search were the battleships Rodney and Ramillies who were previously escorting convoys. By now the Bismarck was being chased by half the British Fleet!
At about noon on the 26th a long range Catalina flying boat sighted Bismarck and registered her position as being 700 miles west of Brest, France. None of the pursuers would be able to get between her and the port of Brest except for the battle-cruiser Renown. She would be little or no match with only six 15-inch guns and only light armor. Consequently, aircraft were launched from the Ark Royal at 1420 hours in a last ditch effort to stop or slow Bismarck. In overcast weather the Swordfish (here seen flying over a destroyer) aircraft attacked with the assistance of radar. The ship attacked turned out to be the light cruiser Sheffield. Luckily no hits were scored. It was found out that the Sheffield had established contact with the Bismarck and was shadowing her. At 1910 hours 15 more aircraft were launched. 13 torpedoes were dropped. Of these only 2 hit. This first was into the side and cause no damage to the ship. The second, however, was a fatal and disastrous piece of fate. It impacted on the stern of the Bismarck and exploded wrecking the steering gear and jamming the rudder 15 degrees to port. The propellers were undamaged. Without luck the German ship tried to turn by using different speeds on the propellers. This failed and the Bismarck lay directed toward the west, back toward her pursuers. On the evening of the 26th the 4th destroyer flotilla, which had been dispatched from a nearby convoy took up positions around Bismarck. Through the night several torpedo attacks were made, but all failed. At 0830 the next morning Bismarck saw her fate sailing over the horizon. King George V and Rodney were closing with several other cruisers for the inevitable kill. At 0847 hours the King George V opened up with the Rodney only a minute behind her in attacking. At 0849 the Bismarck responded with accurate shots. The 4th salvo from Bismarck straddled Rodney. However, before another shot could be fired on the accurate coordinates, the Rodney straddled the Bismarck and the ensuing salvos knocked out Bismarck�s front two turrets along with the fire control director atop the bridge. The other two turrets fired sporadically until 1000 hours when all of the German guns were silenced. By this time the British had moved in to only 12,000 yards. By 1015 hours the Bismarck (hit and burning) was reduced to a flaming wreck. Yet, despite the seven hundred 15-inch and 16-inch shells being pumped into her the hull armor remained unpenetrated and the machinery was intact. Despite all the battering the Bismarck would not sink!
Being critically low on fuel, Admiral Tovey ordered his ships home and left the cruiser Dorsetshire to finish off Bismarck with torpedoes. The Dorsetshire fired 2 torpedoes into Bismarck�s starboard side and another into her port side. Finally, at 1040 hours the Monster heeled over to port, began sinking by stern, then over keel up and disappeared below the waves. Out of the 2430 crewmen, only 143 survived. (Dorsetshire picking up survivors).
Until the end of the war, the Dorsetshire�s torpedoes were considered as being responsible for the actual sinking of the Bismarck. Later, one of the two surviving officers from Bismarck, Lieutenant Commander Gerhard Junack, related as to how he ordered the scuttling of Bismarck and personally heard the explosion of the demolition charges deep inside the hull. Seeing as all the previous torpedoes had failed to blast a hole in the armor belt, it is doubtful that the Dorsetshire�s torpedoes actually sunk Bismarck.
As near as anyone can tell, the Germans came closest to building the "Unsinkable Ship".
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