The Bismarck was unleashed onto the Atlantic after a lengthy eight month training period in the Baltic. On May 23, 1941, British ships attempted to intercept the mighty Bismarck and the heavy cruiser KMS Prinz Eugen on their way to Bergen. The two Royal Navy vessels, the HMS Prince of Wales and the HMS Hood were quick to respond though the German guns closed in quicker. As a result, the Hood suffered a catastrophic fire leading to an explosion thanks to the shells landed on her by the Prinz Eugen. The Prince of Wales suffers a direct hit to her bridge from the guns of the Bismarck. With the odds in Germany's favor, the British vessels were called off.
Seeing very little standing in their way, the Bismarck proceeded to enter the Atlantic playground until it was noticed that her lower structure took a hit and the system was leaking fuel. In an attempt to rectify the problem before the damage got out of hand, the captain of the Bismarck changed course for Brest and the fate of the Bismarck was sealed.
Despite eluding contact with British forces, several attacks were launched against the Bismarck when it was spotted, though these would lead to very little in the way of damage, allowing the Bismarck to live another day. Day in and day out, the Bismarck swam the waters towards safety until a transmission from her was intercepted by British forces, in effect allowing enemy forces to circle in on her position. On the night of May 26th, Fairey Swordfish torpedo aircraft struck the mighty ship again and delivered two direct hits, damaging the her steering.
The crippled vessel continued on despite the damage though her speed was severely limited and she couldn't turn whatsoever. At dawn the next day, the HMS Rodney and HMS King George V appeared and opened fire on the crippled ship and in as little as 30 minutes, the KMS Bismarck was no longer returning fire. By now, the Bismarck was a shell of the ship she was when she had left port, managing only to score a single hit on the Rodney in the process. A final torpedo from the HSM Dorsetshire finally sunk (no doubt aided by the German's own efforts to sink her than to be captured) the greatest battleship of the European Theater at 10:40 AM. Hitler's pride of the seas had finally been put in her place.
Differing reports of the account have surfaced leading most to believe in the notion that the sinking was attributed more to the German effort to sink their own ship. Research has backed this theory up to the extent that very little critical damage appears under the waterline of the vessel from torpedo damage though heavy damage to the superstructure is apparent. These findings would indicate that the Bismarck was in fact sunk by her owners than on any direct action of the Royal Navy - though one can imaging the ferocity of the shelling involved on their part. In any case, one can suppose the torpedo sinking of the greatest German battleship still remains a romantic scene than giving the Germans the last laugh.
The KMS Bismarck was crewed by nearly 2,200 personnel consisting of over 100 officers. The vessel was ordered in 1935, laid down in 1936, launched in 1939 and officially commissioned in 1940. Today, the Bismarck rests some 15,700 feet below the ocean's surface off the coast of Brest, France. The wreckage was discovered by Dr. Robert Ballard of Titanic fame in 1989. The battleship was the focus of the Hollywood motion picture Sink the Bismarck! in 1960.
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