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{{Short description|1941 sinking of a German battleship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Last battle of the battleship ''Bismarck''}}
{{Italic title|string=Bismarck}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox military conflict
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = The last battle of the ''Bismarck''
| conflict = Last battle of the ''Bismarck''
| image = [[File:Battleship Bismarck burning and sinking 1941.jpg|300px]]
| image = Battleship Bismarck burning and sinking 1941.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = The Final Battle, 27 May 1941. Surrounded by shell splashes, ''Bismarck'' burns on the horizon.
| caption = Surrounded by shell splashes, ''Bismarck'' burns on the horizon
| partof = [[Battle of the Atlantic (1939–1945)|Battle of the Atlantic]]
| date = 26–27 May 1941
| partof = [[Operation Rheinübung]]
| place = Atlantic Ocean
| date = 26–27 May 1941
| place = [[Atlantic Ocean]], west of [[Brest, France|Brest]]
| result = British victory
| result = Allied victory
| combatant1 = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| combatant1 = {{flagcountry|United Kingdom}} <br> {{flagdeco|Poland|1928}} [[Polish government-in-exile|Poland]]
| combatant2 = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}
| combatant2 = {{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}}
| commander1 = {{flagicon|United Kingdom|naval}} [[John Tovey]]<br/> {{flagicon|United Kingdom|naval}} [[Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton]]
| commander2 = {{flagicon|Nazi Germany|naval}} [[Günther Lütjens]]{{KIA}}<br/>{{flagicon|Nazi Germany|naval}} [[Ernst Lindemann]]{{KIA}}
| commander1 = {{flagdeco|United Kingdom|naval}} [[John Tovey]] <br> {{flagdeco|United Kingdom|naval}} [[Frederic Wake-Walker]] <br> {{flagdeco|United Kingdom|naval}} [[Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton]]
| commander2 = {{flagdeco|Nazi Germany|naval}} [[Günther Lütjens]]{{KIA}} <br> {{flagdeco|Nazi Germany|naval}} [[Ernst Lindemann]]{{KIA}}
| strength1 = 1 aircraft carrier<br/>3 battleships<br/>3 cruisers<br/>6 destroyers
| strength1 = Aircraft carrier {{HMS|Ark Royal|91|2}} <br>
| strength2 = [[German battleship Bismarck|1 battleship]]
2 battleships
| casualties1 = 1 light cruiser lightly damaged<br/>3 casualties (all by friendly fire)
*{{HMS|King George V|41|2}}
| casualties2 = 1 battleship sunk <br/>2,200 dead<ref>''Bismarck''’s complement as Fleet Flagship was 2220 (2092 + 128 Fleet staff) (Chesnau, p.224). For ''Operation Rheinubung'' she embarked over 100 supernumeraries, including merchant seamen to act as prize crews, cadets in training, and a film unit (Kennedy, p.33). The number of these supernumeraries, and hence the exact number of casualties, is unknown.</ref><br/>110 captured
*{{HMS|Rodney|29|2}}
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Atlantic Campaign}}
2 heavy cruisers
*{{HMS|Dorsetshire|40|2}}
*{{HMS|Norfolk|78|2}}
8 destroyers
| strength2 = 1 battleship
*{{ship|German battleship|Bismarck||2}}
[[Luftwaffe]]
*I/Kampfgeschwader 28
| casualties1 = 49 killed <br> 5 wounded <br> {{HMS|Mashona||2}} scuttled <br> ''Rodney'' lightly damaged
| casualties2 = 2,200 killed{{Efn|''Bismarck''{{'}}s complement as Fleet Flagship was 2,220 (2092 + 128 Fleet staff) (Chesneau, p. 224). For ''Operation Rheinubung'' she embarked over 100 supernumeraries, including merchant seamen to act as prize crews, cadets in training, and a film unit (Kennedy, p. 33). The number of these supernumeraries, and hence the exact number of casualties, is unknown. <br> 4 floatplanes destroyed}} <br> 110 captured <br> ''Bismarck'' scuttled<ref name=Cameron50>"Who sank the Bismarck - The British or the Germans? We are convinced the answer is "Both!!" ''Bismarck'' unquestionably would have sunk due to progressive flooding hours after the battle ended [...] There is enough evidence to indicate that [CDR Oels] ordered the ship scuttled..." Cameron et al. 2002, p. 50</ref>
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Atlantic Campaign}}
}}
}}


The '''last battle of the German battleship ''Bismarck''''' took place in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately {{convert|300|nmi|mi km|lk=in|abbr=on}} west of [[Brest, France]], on 26–27 May 1941. Although it was a decisive action between [[capital ship]]s, it has no generally accepted name.
The '''last battle of the German battleship ''Bismarck''''' took place in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] approximately {{convert|300|nmi|lk=in}} west of [[Brest, France]], on 26–27 May 1941 between the {{ship|German battleship|Bismarck}} and naval and air elements of the British [[Royal Navy]]. Although it was a decisive action between [[capital ship]]s, it has no generally accepted name. It was the culmination of [[Operation Rheinübung]] where the attempt of two German ships to disrupt the Atlantic convoys to the United Kingdom failed with the scuttling of the ''Bismarck''.


The last battle consisted of four main phases. The first phase late on 26 May consisted of air strikes by [[torpedo bomber]]s from the British [[aircraft carrier]] {{HMS|Ark Royal|91|2}}, which disabled ''Bismarck''{{'}}s steering gear, jammed her rudders in a turning position and prevented her escape. The second phase was the shadowing and harassment of ''Bismarck'' during the night of 26/27 May by British and Polish [[destroyer]]s, with no serious damage to any ship. The third phase on the morning of 27 May was an attack by the British battleships {{HMS|King George V|41|2}} and {{HMS|Rodney|29|2}}, supported by the [[heavy cruiser]]s {{HMS|Norfolk|78|2}} and {{HMS|Dorsetshire|40|2}}. After about 100 minutes of fighting, ''Bismarck'' was sunk by the combined effects of shellfire, torpedo hits and deliberate scuttling.<ref name=Cameron50/><ref name="GC801" /> On the British side, ''Rodney'' was lightly damaged by near-misses and by the blast effects of her own guns.<ref>Kennedy, pp. 206, 283.</ref> British warships rescued 110 survivors from ''Bismarck'' before being obliged to withdraw because of an apparent [[U-boat]] sighting, leaving several hundred men to their fate. A U-boat and a German weathership rescued five more survivors. In the final phase, the withdrawing British ships were attacked the next day on 28 May by aircraft of the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'', resulting in the loss of the destroyer {{HMS|Mashona|F59|6}}.
The battle was a sequel to the [[Battle of the Denmark Strait]], fought on 24 May 1941, in which ''[[German battleship Bismarck|Bismarck]]'' and her escort the [[heavy cruiser]] {{Ship|German cruiser|Prinz Eugen||2}} had sunk the prestigious British [[battlecruiser]] {{HMS|Hood|51|6}} and damaged the battleship {{HMS|Prince of Wales|53|2}}, forcing her to withdraw. Following that battle ''Bismarck'' was pursued for more than two days by ships and aircraft of the [[Royal Navy]] and [[Royal Air Force]]. Eventually, on the evening of 26 May, her steering gear was crippled by a [[torpedo bomber]] attack, and on the following morning she was brought to battle and sunk.


==Overview==
== Background ==
[[File:Map Rheinuebung.svg|thumb|upright=1.4|Map of [[Operation Rheinübung]] and Royal Navy operations against the battleship ''Bismarck''|left]]
In the [[Battle of the Denmark Strait]], ''Bismarck''{{'}}s fuel tanks had been damaged, and her intention was to reach the port of [[Brest, France|Brest]] for repair. Her companion, the heavy cruiser {{Ship|German cruiser|Prinz Eugen||2}}, had left to continue further into the Atlantic. The action began after ''Bismarck'', which had eluded the British forces (''Prince of Wales'' and the heavy cruisers ''Norfolk'' and ''Suffolk'') pursuing her, was sighted by a patrolling British aircraft on the afternoon of 26 May. It consisted of four main phases. The first phase consisted of air strikes by torpedo bombers from the British [[aircraft carrier]] {{HMS|Ark Royal|91|2}}, which disabled ''Bismarck''{{'}}s steering gear and thus jammed her rudders. The second phase was the shadowing and harassment of ''Bismarck'' during the night by British destroyers, with no serious damage to any ship. The third phase was an attack by the British battleships {{HMS|King George V|41|2}} and {{HMS|Rodney|29|2}}, supported by cruisers, on the morning of the 27th. After about 100 minutes of fighting ''Bismarck'' was sunk by the combined effects of shellfire, torpedo hits and deliberate scuttling.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} On the British side, ''Rodney'' was lightly damaged by near-misses and by the blast effects of her own guns.<ref>Kennedy, pp. 206, 283.</ref> British warships rescued 111 survivors from ''Bismarck''<ref>One of these survivors died of his injuries, while the remainder became [[Prisoners of War]].</ref> before being obliged to withdraw, leaving several hundred men to their fate, because of an apparent [[U-boat]] sighting. In the final phase the withdrawing British ships were attacked by aircraft of the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'', resulting in the loss of the destroyer {{HMS|Mashona|F59|6}}, and German ships and U-boats arrived later at the scene of the sinking and saved five more survivors.
Under the command of the Fleet Commander [[Günther Lütjens]], the German battleship ''Bismarck'' and the heavy cruiser ''Prinz Eugen'' tried to break out into the Atlantic in order to attack convoys. The ships were intercepted by a British force from the [[Home Fleet]]. In the resulting [[Battle of the Denmark Strait]] on 24 May, ''Bismarck''{{'}}s fuel tanks were damaged and several machinery compartments, including a boiler room, were flooded. Her captain's intention was to reach the port of Brest for repair.<ref>Cameron, pp. 6–10.</ref>


Determined to avenge the sinking of the "Pride of the Navy" {{HMS|Hood|51|6}} in the Battle of the Denmark Strait, the British committed every possible unit to hunting down ''Bismarck''.
==Origins==
* The old {{sclass|Revenge|battleship|2}} {{HMS|Ramillies|07|6}} was detached from convoy duty southeast of Greenland and ordered to set a course to intercept ''Bismarck'' if she should attempt to raid the sea lanes off North America.{{Sfn|Rohwer|2005|p=74}}
[[File:Map Rheinuebung.svg|thumb|left|350px|<center>Map of Operation "Rheinübung" and Royal Navy operations against the battleship Bismarck</center>]]
* The damaged ''Prince of Wales'' and the cruisers ''Norfolk'' and ''Suffolk'' were still in contact with the German ships after the Battle of the Denmark Strait.
''Bismarck''{{'}}s second sea battle was made inevitable by the decisions of the Fleet Commander ([[Günther Lütjens]]), taken well before the encounter with ''Hood'' and ''Prince of Wales''.
* The remainder of the Home Fleet, consisting of the battleship ''King George V'', the battlecruiser {{HMS|Repulse|1916|2}}, the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Victorious|R38|2}}, four [[light cruiser]]s and their escorts, had already set sail from [[Scapa Flow]] before the loss of the ''Hood''.
* The battleship ''Rodney'' was detached from escort duties West of Ireland and set an intercept course for the ''Bismarck''.{{Sfn|Stephen|1988|p=83}}
* Force H had already left Gibraltar with the aircraft carrier ''Ark Royal'', the battlecruiser {{HMS|Renown|1916|2}} and the light cruiser {{HMS|Sheffield|C24|2}} on 23 May to take over escort duties from other ships, but once it came clear the ''Bismarck'' was heading for France, the force set course to intercept ''Bismarck.''{{Sfn|Busch|1980|pp=80–81}}
* The heavy cruiser {{HMS|London|69|2}} was escorting a convoy from Gibraltar to the United Kingdom and was also ordered to intercept.{{sfn|Müllenheim-Rechberg|1980|p=102}}
* The light cruiser {{HMS|Edinburgh|16|2}}, which was searching for blockade runners in the area West of [[Cape Finisterre]], was also ordered to join the hunt.{{Sfn|Rohwer|2005|p=74}}
[[File:Swordfish on HMS Victorious before strike on Bismarck.jpg|thumb|upright=1.45|The Swordfish torpedo bombers on the deck of HMS ''Victorious'' before the attack on ''Bismarck'']]
In the early evening of 24 May, ''Bismarck'' briefly turned on her pursuers ({{HMS|Prince of Wales|53|2}} and the heavy cruisers ''Norfolk'' and {{HMS|Suffolk|55|2}}) to cover the escape of her companion, the heavy cruiser {{Ship|German cruiser|Prinz Eugen||2}} to continue further into the Atlantic. During the late evening of 24 May, an attack was made by a small group of [[Fairey Swordfish|Swordfish]] [[biplane]] [[torpedo bomber]]s of [[825 Naval Air Squadron]] under the command of [[Eugene Esmonde]] from ''Victorious''. One hit was scored, but caused only superficial damage to ''Bismarck''{{'}}s [[belt armour|armoured belt]]. Early on 25 May the British forces lost contact with ''Bismarck'', which headed E-S-E towards France while the British searched N-E, presuming ''Bismarck'' was returning to Norway. Later on 25 May the commander of the German force, Admiral Günther Lütjens, apparently unaware that he had lost his pursuers, broke radio silence to send a coded message to Germany. This faux-pas would prove critical, as the British overheard the communique, and subsequently were able to [[triangulate]] the approximate position of ''Bismarck'', logic leading them to deduce that the German battleship had set a course for France, for re-armament and repairs. Fuel was becoming a major concern to both sides: due to battle damage, the subsequent loss of fuel, and because ''Bismarck'' had failed to refuel in Norway, nor by fuel-tanker whilst underway in the North Atlantic. All things considered, Lütjens chose to maintain an economical speed of 21 knots, to conserve fuel, with the hope of reaching France before the Allied flotilla could detect and intercept them.


Meanwhile, from the pursuing Home Fleet: ''Prince of Wales'', ''Repulse'', ''Victorious'' and the four cruisers had to break off, and ''Suffolk'' as well. Only ''King George V'' and ''Norfolk'' were able to continue: since the destroyer screen of ''King George V'' was (like the ''Bismarck'') also running short on fuel, the [[4th Destroyer Flotilla|Fourth Destroyer Flotilla]] consisting of the destroyers {{HMS|Cossack|F03|6}}, {{HMS|Sikh|F82|2}}, {{HMS|Maori|F24|2}} and {{HMS|Zulu|F18|2}}, and the Polish destroyer {{ORP|Piorun|G65|6}}, under command of Captain [[Philip Vian]], was ordered to detach from convoy WS-8B and to screen ''King George V''.{{Sfn|Busch|1980|pp=94–95}}
Even before the breakout into the North Atlantic, Lütjens had refused his Captain's request to conduct an underway refuelling in the Greenland Sea with the ''Weissenburg'', one of the pre-positioned German tankers, before his fleet entered the Denmark Strait. And when, as a result of the battle with Hood and Prince of Wales, Bismarck lost access to several thousand tons of fuel in her foc’sle (due to a shell hit from Prince of Wales (aft of the foc’sle), in her anchor locker), Lütjens had to order the fleet to slow down to conserve fuel. The decrease in speed made Force H’s torpedo attacks inevitable, and those attacks led directly to the final encounter with the Home Fleet.


At 10:30 on 26 May ''Bismarck'' was detected by a [[Coastal Command]] [[PBY Catalina|Catalina reconnaissance aircraft]] from [[No. 209 Squadron RAF|209 Squadron RAF]] that had flown over the Atlantic from its [[RAF Castle Archdale|base]] on [[Lough Erne]] in [[Northern Ireland]] across the [[Donegal Corridor]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/09/a2059409.shtml BBC – WW2 People's War – World War Memories of an Ulster Childhood]</ref> It was piloted by the British Flying Officer Dennis Briggs<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://britainatwar.keypublishing.com/2018/07/25/we-shadowed-the-bismarck-in-flg-off-dennis-briggs-words/|title="We Shadowed the Bismarck" – In Flg Off. Dennis Briggs' Words {{!}} Britain at War|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-30}}</ref> and co-piloted by the US Navy observer Ensign [[Leonard B. Smith]], [[USNR]].<ref>4 November 2009, [http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq118-1.htm Bismarck: British/American Cooperation and the Destruction of the German Battleship] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206202449/http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq118-1.htm |date=6 December 2010 }}, Naval History and Heritage Command</ref> Smith was at the controls when he spotted ''Bismarck''<ref>[https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/the-american-who-helped-sink-the-bismarck/ The American Who Helped Sink the Bismarck] Defense Media Network 23 November 2021</ref> (via a trailing [[oil slick]] from the ship's damaged fuel tank) and reported her position to the [[Admiralty (United Kingdom)|Admiralty]]. Shortly before at 09:00 ''Ark Royal'' had launched scouting planes and half an hour after the Catalina, two Swordfish found ''Bismarck'' as well.{{Sfn|Stephen|1988|p=88}} From then on, the German ship's position was known to the British, although the enemy would have to be slowed significantly if heavy units hoped to engage outside the range of German land-based aircraft. On receiving the message from the Catalina, Capt. Vian decided not to join the pursuing British battleships, but to steer directly for ''Bismarck.''{{Sfn|Busch|1980|pp=99–100}} All British hopes were now pinned on Force H and these destroyers.
Determined to avenge the sinking of the "Pride of the Navy" {{HMS|Hood|51|6}} in the [[Battle of the Denmark Strait]], the British committed every possible unit to hunting down ''Bismarck''. The old {{sclass-|Revenge|battleship|2}} {{HMS|Ramillies|07|6}} was detached from convoy duty southeast of Greenland and ordered to set a course to intercept ''Bismarck'' if she should attempt to raid the sea lanes off North America.


==The battle==
The ''Prince of Wales'' and the cruisers ''Norfolk'' and ''Suffolk'' were still at sea in the area and tailing the German ships. A British force, the battleship ''King George V'', the carrier ''Victorious'' and their escorts, had set sail from Scapa Flow before the loss of the ''Hood''. The battleship ''Rodney'' was detached from escort duties on the 24th.
[[File:Fairey Swordfish being loaded with a torpedo on the deck of HMS Ark Royal (91) in 1941. (48831444676).jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|A Swordfish being loaded with a torpedo on the deck of HMS ''Ark Royal'']]


=== First phase: the ''Ark Royal'' disables the ''Bismarck'' ===
During the early evening of 24 May, an attack was made by a small group of [[Fairey Swordfish|Swordfish]] [[biplane]] [[torpedo bomber]]s of [[825 Naval Air Squadron]] under the command of [[Eugene Esmonde]] from the [[aircraft carrier]] {{HMS|Victorious|R38|6}}. One hit was scored, but caused only superficial damage to the ''Bismarck''{{’}}s [[belt armour|armoured belt]].
[[File:H.M.S. Renown and Ark Royal.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|HMS ''Renown'' and HMS ''Ark Royal'', seen from HMS ''Sheffield'']]
At 14:50 on 26 May in bad weather conditions, ''Ark Royal'' launched 15 Swordfish for an attack on the ''Bismarck''. The aircraft had not been warned that the ''Sheffield'' had been sent forward to shadow the ''Bismarck'', instead they had been told no other ships were in the vicinity. The Swordfish attacked, in poor visibility, the shadowing cruiser ''Sheffield,'' but some of their torpedoes had defective magnetic pistols which caused them to explode on impact with the sea, and the remaining torpedoes could be evaded. At 19:10 the same aircraft were relaunched for a second sortie with contact pistol torpedoes.{{Sfn|Stephen|1988|pp=88–92}} At 19:50 Force H ran into {{GS|U-556||2}}, which obtained a perfect shooting position to hit both the ''Ark Royal'' and ''Renown'', but the U-boat had expended all her torpedoes on previous operations and could not attack.{{sfn|Müllenheim-Rechberg|1980|pp=148–149}}


The aircraft made first contact with the ''Sheffield'' at 20:00 which vectored them to the ''Bismarck.'' Despite this helping hand and their [[ASV Mk. II radar|ASV II]] radars, they could not find the German ship. Half an hour later they had to recontact the ''Sheffield'' which could finally send them to the ''Bismarck.'' The attack started at 20:47 and lasted half an hour.{{Sfn|Stephen|1988|pp=88–92}} Three aircraft had to recontact the ''Sheffield'' for a third time.{{Sfn|Busch|1980|pp=106–109}} A first hit midships had little effect, but a second hit astern jammed ''Bismarck''{{'}}s rudder and steering gear 12° to port.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.navweaps.com/index_inro/INRO_Bismarck_p2.htm|title=Bismarck's· Final· Battle· -· Part· 2|work=navweaps.com|access-date=26 July 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160717125302/http://www.navweaps.com/index_inro/INRO_Bismarck_p2.htm|archive-date=17 July 2016}}</ref> This resulted in her being, initially, able to steam only in a large circle.
For some time, ''Bismarck'' remained under long-distance observation by the British. At about 03:00 on 25 May, she took advantage of her opponents' zig-zagging to double back on her own wake; ''Bismarck'' made a nearly 270° turn to starboard, and as a result her pursuers lost sight of the battleship, thus allowing her to head for German naval bases in France unnoticed. Contact was lost for four hours; however, perhaps in awe of British [[radar]] capabilities, it appears that the Germans did not realize their good fortune. For reasons that are still unclear, Admiral [[Günther Lütjens]] transmitted a 30-minute radio message to [[headquarters|HQ]], which was intercepted, thereby giving the British time to work out roughly where he was heading. However, a plotting error made onboard HMS ''King George V'', now in pursuit of the Germans, incorrectly calculated ''Bismarck''{{'}}s position and caused the chase to veer too far to the north. ''Bismarck'' was therefore able to make good time on 25/26 May in her unhindered passage towards France and protective air cover and destroyer escort. By now, though, fuel was becoming a major concern to both sides.
[[File:HMSRenown1 crop WEFretwellCollection.jpg|thumb|right|HMS ''Renown'']]


[[File:The Royal Navy during the Second World War A4092.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The crew of the rear director tower on HMS ''Sheffield'' show the damage caused by shell splinters from the ''Bismarck'']]
The British had a stroke of luck on 26 May. In mid-morning a [[Coastal Command]] [[PBY Catalina|Catalina reconnaissance aircraft]] from [[No. 209 Squadron RAF|209 Squadron RAF]], which had flown over the Atlantic from its [[RAF Castle Archdale|base]] on [[Lough Erne]] in [[Northern Ireland]] across the [[Donegal Corridor]], a small corridor secretly provided by the [[Republic of Ireland|Irish]] government,<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/09/a2059409.shtml BBC – WW2 People's War – World War Memories of an Ulster Childhood]</ref> piloted by US Navy observer Ensign Leonard B. Smith, [[USNR]],<ref>http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq118-1.htm</ref> spotted ''Bismarck'' (via a trailing [[oil slick]] from the ship's damaged fuel tank) and reported her position to the [[Admiralty]]. From then on, the German ship's position was known to the British, although the enemy would have to be slowed significantly if heavy units hoped to engage it out of range of German aircraft protection. All British hopes were now pinned on [[Force H]], whose main units were the [[aircraft carrier]] HMS ''Ark Royal'', the [[battlecruiser]] {{HMS|Renown|1916|6}} and the light [[cruiser]] {{HMS|Sheffield|C24|6}}. This battle group, commanded by [[Admiral]] [[James Somerville (admiral)|James Somerville]], had been diverted north from [[Gibraltar]].
''Bismarck'' fired her main and secondary armament against the attacking aircraft, trying to hit the low flying torpedo aircraft with the shell splashes. Once the attack was over, ''Bismarck'' fired her main battery at the shadowing ''Sheffield.'' The first salvo went a mile astray, but the second salvo straddled the cruiser. Shell splinters fell on ''Sheffield'' killing three men and wounding two others. Four more salvoes were fired but no hits were scored. ''Sheffield'' quickly retreated under cover of a smoke screen. ''Sheffield'' lost contact with the ''Bismarck'' in the low visibility but shortly before 22:00 she met Capt. Vian's group of five destroyers and was able to vector them to the ''Bismarck''.{{Sfn|Busch|1980|p=|pp=107-108}}{{Sfn|Stephen|1988|p=|pp=89-92}} The ''King George V'' and ''Rodney'' had joined around 18:00 and were approaching from the northwest. Since Vian's destroyers would keep in touch with the ''Bismarck'' and harry her all night, he decided to steer south, even southwest and making a circle in order to be able to engage the Bismarck in the morning silhouetted against the east. The heavy cruiser ''Norfolk'' and the light cruiser ''Edinburgh'' were also approaching separately from the northwest. ''Edinburgh'' had to abandon the chase due to fuel shortage but ''Norfolk'' took up a position to the north of ''Bismarck''. Another heavy cruiser, ''Dorsetshire'', was approaching from the west and would make contact the next morning. After collecting her airplanes ''Ark Royal'' and Force H first kept north of ''Bismarck'', but during the night sailed south and remained in the vicinity.{{Sfn|Stephen|1988|p=92}}


[[File:British Warships of the Second World War FL1657.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|HMS ''Cossack''. The {{sclass2|Tribal|destroyer|2||1936}} carried heavy gun armament, but only 1 bank of 4 torpedoes. ]]
==Night of 26/27 May==
Repair efforts by the crew to free the rudder failed.<ref>Garzke & Dulin, p. 235</ref> ''Bismarck'' attempted to steer by alternating the power of her three propeller shafts, which, in the prevailing [[Beaufort scale|force 8 wind]] and [[sea state]], resulted in the ship being forced to sail towards ''King George V'' and ''Rodney'', two British battleships that had been pursuing ''Bismarck'' from the west.<ref>Garzke & Dulin, pp. 235–236</ref> At 23:40 on 26 May, Admiral Lütjens delivered to Group West, the German command base, the signal "Ship unmanoeuvrable. We will fight to the last shell. Long live the [[Adolf Hitler|Führer]]."<ref>Jackson 2002, p. 91.</ref>
[[File:Bismarck aircrew rewarded.jpg|thumb|left|Five aircrew from HMS ''Ark Royal'' who were decorated for their part in the ''Bismarck'' attack, photographed in front of a Swordfish bomber]]


=== Second phase: Vian's destroyers harass the ''Bismarck'' at night ===
At dusk that evening, and in atrocious weather conditions, Swordfish from ''Ark Royal'' launched an attack. The first wave mistakenly targeted ''Sheffield'' which had been detached from Force H under orders to close and shadow ''Bismarck''. Although precious time was lost by this incident, it proved beneficial to the British in that the magnetic detonators on the torpedoes used against ''Sheffield'' were seen to be defective and for the following attack on ''Bismarck'' were replaced by those designed to explode on contact. Despite the lateness of the day, it was decided to try again. The attack went in, in almost darkness, at around 21:00 but once again the Swordfish torpedo bombers found Bismarck with their [[List_of_World_War_II_British_naval_radar#ASV_II|ASV II]] radars.<ref>Brown, p.34</ref> A hit by a single torpedo from a Swordfish flown by [[John Moffat (Royal Navy officer)|John Moffat]] jammed ''Bismarck''{{'}}s rudder and steering gear 15° to port. This resulted in her being, initially, able to only steam in a large circle. Repair efforts by the crew to free the rudder failed.<ref>Garke, p.235.</ref> Bismarck attempted to steer by alternating the power of her 3 propeller shafts which, in the prevailing [[Beaufort scale|force 8 wind]] and [[sea state]], resulted in the ship being forced to sail towards ''King George V'' and ''Rodney'', two British battleships that had been pursuing ''Bismarck'' from the west.<ref>Garke, p.235-236.</ref> At 23:40 on 26 May, Admiral Lütjens delivered to Group West, the German command base, the signal "Ship unmanoeuvrable. We will fight to the last shell. Long live the Führer."<ref>Jackson 2002, p. 91.</ref>
One hour after the Swordfish attack, ''Maori'' and ''Piorun'' made contact with ''Bismarck'' at 22:38. ''Piorun'' attacked at once, signalling her identity as a Polish ship, but was not able to launch torpedoes. She approached close enough to engage ''Bismarck'' with her guns, but then lost contact and played no more role in the battle. Deteriorating weather made a concentrated attack impossible. Throughout that night, ''Bismarck'' was the target of intermittent torpedo attacks by Vian's destroyers. In ten approaches between 22:38 and 06:56 ''Cossack'', ''Maori'', ''Zulu'' and ''Sikh'' fired sixteen torpedoes but none hit. One of ''Bismarck''{{'}}s shells sheared off ''Cossack''{{'}}s antenna and three other shells [[wikt:straddle|straddled]] ''Zulu,'' wounding three men. Between 02:30 and 03:00 the destroyers fired starshell at Tovey's request in order to make her position visible for the battleships. The constant harrying tactics of the destroyers helped wear down the morale of the Germans and deepened the fatigue of an already exhausted crew.{{Sfn|Stephen|1988|pp=92–94}}{{sfn|Müllenheim-Rechberg|1980|pp=139–142}}


Between 05:00 and 06:00, Lütjens ordered an [[Arado Ar 196|Arado 196]] float plane launched to the French coast, to secure the ship's war diary, footage of the engagement with ''Hood'', and other important documents. It was discovered that the float plane catapult had been rendered inoperative due to damage received on the 24th by the ''Prince of Wales''. The fully fuelled aircraft was then pushed overboard to reduce the risk of fire in the upcoming battle.<ref>Garzke & Dulin 1985, pp. 237–238</ref> Lütjens then radioed at 07:10 for a U-boat to rendezvous with ''Bismarck'' to fetch these documents. ''U-556'' was assigned at once to this task, but the U-boat missed the signalled order because it was submerged. At any rate, it was subsequently revealed that ''U-556'' was too low on fuel to be able to carry out the order. The task was then passed on to {{GS|U-74|1940|2}} but by then ''Bismarck'' had already sunk.{{Sfn|Busch|1980|p=125}}{{sfn|Müllenheim-Rechberg|1980|pp=148–150}}
Throughout that night, ''Bismarck'' was the target of intermittent torpedo attacks by the [[Tribal class destroyer (1936)|Tribal-class]] destroyers {{HMS|Cossack|F03|6}}, {{HMS|Sikh|F82|2}}, {{HMS|Maori|F24|2}} and {{HMS|Zulu|F18|2}}, and the Polish destroyer [[ORP Piorun (G65)|ORP ''Piorun'']]. Neither side scored a hit, but the constant worrying tactics of the British helped wear down the morale of the Germans and deepened the fatigue of an already exhausted crew.


==The sinking of the ''Bismarck''==
=== Third phase: ''Bismarck'' is lost ===
[[File:Rodney firing on Bismarck.png|thumb|upright=1.4|''Rodney'' firing on ''Bismarck'', which can be seen burning in the distance]]
The morning of Tuesday, 27 May 1941 brought a heavy grey sky, a rising sea and a tearing wind from the northwest. Because of this northwesterly gale, Admiral Tovey concluded an attack on ''Bismarck'' from windward was undesirable. He decided to approach on a northwesterly bearing. Provided the enemy continued steering northward, he would deploy to the south on an opposite course at a range of approximately {{convert|15000|yd|m|abbr=on}}. ''Bismarck'' was sighted bearing 118° at a distance of {{convert|25000|yd|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>Barnett, 311.</ref>


As the British units converged on ''Bismarck''{{'}}s location, Tovey gave his instructions for the final battle. First, he ordered ''Renown'', which had closed to within 17 miles of ''Bismarck'', not to participate in the battle. ''Renown'' was similarly armoured as ''Hood'' and Tovey did not want to risk a repeat.{{Sfn|Stephen|1988|p=94}} He instructed the captain of ''Rodney'' to close to within {{cvt|15000|yd}} as quickly as possible, and that while he should, in general, conform to ''King George V''{{'}}s movements, he was free to manoeuvre independently.<ref>Garzke & Dulin 1980, p. 210</ref> The morning of Tuesday 27 May brought a heavy grey sky, a rising sea and a tearing wind from the northwest. Because of this northwesterly gale, Tovey postponed the final attack from sunrise until clear daylight{{sfn|Müllenheim-Rechberg|1980|p=158}} and concluded an attack on ''Bismarck'' from windward was undesirable. He decided to approach on a northwesterly bearing before deploying.<ref>Barnett, p. 311</ref>
''Rodney'' and ''King George V'' drew closer to ''Bismarck'' in line abreast, their enemy well illuminated by the morning sun in the background. ''Rodney'' steered to the east so that her gunfire would work the length of ''Bismarck'', while ''King George V'' took the side. They opened fire at 08:47. ''Bismarck'' returned fire, but her inability to steer and her list to port severely affected her shooting accuracy. Her low speed of {{convert|11|kn|mph km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}} also made her an easy target and she was soon hit several times by the large guns of the British battleships, with the heavy cruisers {{HMS|Norfolk|78|6}} and {{HMS|Dorsetshire|40|2}} adding their firepower later, after the Bismarck's heavy guns had all been put out of action. One 16-inch (406.4mm) salvo from ''Rodney'' destroyed the forward control post, killing most of the senior officers, while other salvoes destroyed all four gun turrets. Within 30 minutes, ''Bismarck''{{'}}s guns had all been silenced, and the ship was even lower in the water. ''Rodney'' now closed to [[point-blank range]] (approximately 3&nbsp;km) to fire into the [[superstructure]] while ''King George V'' fired from further out; so her fire would strike the ''Bismarck'' from a more vertical angle and be more likely to penetrate the decks.


''Norfolk'' was the first ship to sight ''Bismarck'' on the morning of 27 May. In poor visibility the cruiser stumbled upon an unidentified ship, flashing recognition signals before realising it was the German battleship. ''Norfolk'' quickly turned away and made contact with the British battleships before joining the final battle.{{sfn|Müllenheim-Rechberg|1980|p=158}} At 08:43, lookouts on ''King George V'' spotted ''Bismarck'', some {{cvt|23000|m|yd|order=flip}} away; ''Rodney'' opened fire first at 08:47, followed quickly by ''King George V''. ''Bismarck'' was unable to steer due to the torpedo damage to the rudders, and the consequent unpredictable motions made the ship an unstable gun platform and created a difficult gunnery problem. This was further complicated by the gale-force storm.<ref name="GarzkeDulin">{{Cite web |last=Garzke, Jr. |first=William H. |last2=Dulin, Jr. |first2=Robert O. |last3=Webb |first3=Thomas G. |date=1994 |title=Bismarck's Final Battle |url=http://www.navweaps.com/index_inro/INRO_Bismarck.php |website=[[International Naval Research Organization]]}}</ref> However, ''Bismarck'' returned fire at 08:50 with her forward guns, and with her second salvo, she straddled ''Rodney''. This was the closest she came to scoring a hit on any British warship in the final engagement,<ref>Bercuson & Herwig, pp. 288–289</ref> because at 09:02, a {{convert|16|in|mm|adj=on|0}} salvo from ''Rodney'' struck the forward superstructure, damaging the [[bridge (nautical)|bridge]] and main fire control director and killing most of the senior officers. The salvo also damaged the forward main battery turrets. The aft fire control station took over direction of the aft turrets, but after receiving three salvos was also neutralised. With both fire control stations out of action, ''Bismarck''{{'}}s shooting became increasingly erratic, allowing the British to close range. ''Norfolk'' and ''Dorsetshire'' closed and began firing with their {{convert|8|in|0|abbr=on}} guns.<ref>Bercuson & Herwig, pp. 290–291</ref><ref>Garzke & Dulin 1985, p. 239</ref> Around 09:10, ''Norfolk'' fired four and ''Rodney'' fired six torpedoes from a distance of more than 10&nbsp;km, but no hits were observed.{{Sfn|Stephen|1988|p=97}}
''Bismarck'' continued to fly its [[ensign]]. With no sign of surrender, despite the unequal struggle, the British were loath to leave the ''Bismarck''. Their fuel and shell supplies were low—a demonstration of how difficult it was for a battleship to sink a similar unit in a balanced engagement. However, when it became obvious that their enemy could not reach port, ''Rodney'', ''King George V'' and the destroyers were sent home. ''Norfolk'' had used its last torpedoes; therefore, ''Dorsetshire'' launched four torpedoes which may have hit the ''Bismarck'' at comparatively short range. Although the battleship's upper works were almost completely destroyed, her engines were still functioning and the hull appeared to be relatively sound; therefore, rather than risk her being captured, First Officer Hans Oels ordered the men below decks to abandon ship; he instructed the engine room crews to open the ship's watertight doors and prepare scuttling charges.{{sfn|Bercuson & Herwig|p=293}} Gerhard Junack, the chief engineering officer, primed the charges and ordered the crew to abandon the ship.{{sfn|Gaack & Carr|pp=80–81}} Junack and his comrades heard the demolition charges detonate as they made their way up through the various levels.{{sfn|Zetterling & Tamelander|p=281}} Most of the crew went into the water, but few sailors from the lower engine spaces got out alive. ''Bismarck'' went under the waves at 10:39 that morning.


[[File:HMSRodneyLoadingTorpedo1940.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The torpedo room in the bows of HMS ''Rodney''. The battleship was equipped with [[British 24.5-inch torpedo|24.5 inch torpedoes]], the heaviest torpedo in the Royal Navy inventory. One torpedo is being loaded into a tube, whilst another is being lowered into its cradle. ''Rodney'' fired a total of 10 torpedoes at ''Bismarck.'']]
''Dorsetshire'' and ''Maori'' attempted to rescue survivors, but a [[U-boat]] alarm caused them to leave the scene after having rescued only 110 ''Bismarck'' sailors, abandoning the majority of ''Bismarck''{{'}}s 2,200-man crew to the mercy of the water. The next morning, {{Ship|German submarine|U-74|1940|2}}, dispatched to try to rescue ''Bismarck''’s logbook (and which heard sinking noises from a distance), picked up three survivors and the German weather ship ''[[Sachsenwald (1939)|Sachsenwald]]'' picked up two survivors.
By around 09:31 all of ''Bismarck''{{'}}s four main battery turrets were out of action. With the ship no longer able to fight back, First Officer Hans Oels, the senior surviving officer, then issued the order to scuttle the ship&nbsp;– for all damage control measures to cease, for all the watertight doors to be opened, for the engine-room personnel to prepare scuttling charges, and for the crew to abandon ship. Oels moved through the ship, repeating these orders to all he met, until around 10:00 when a shell from ''King George V'' penetrated the upper citadel belt and exploded in the ship's aft canteen, killing Oels and about a hundred others.<ref name="GarzkeDulin"/><ref>Bercuson & Herwig, pp. 292–294</ref> Gerhard Junack, the senior surviving engineering officer, ordered his men to set the demolition charges with a 9-minute fuse. The engine-room intercom system had broken down, so Junack sent a messenger to find Oels and confirm the order to detonate the charges. The messenger never returned, so Junack primed the charges and ordered the engineering crew to abandon ship.<ref name=GC801>Gaack & Carr, pp. 80–81</ref>


Once all four of ''Bismarck''{{'}}s main battery turrets were out of action (around 09:31), ''Rodney'' closed to around {{cvt|2700|m|yd|order=flip}} with impunity to fire her guns at what is effectively [[point-blank range]] into ''Bismarck''{{'}}s superstructure. ''King George V'' remained at a greater distance to increase the possibility that her [[plunging fire|plunging shells]] would strike ''Bismarck''{{'}}s decks vertically and penetrate into the ships's interior. At 10:05 ''Rodney'' launched four torpedoes at ''Bismarck'', claiming one hit.{{Sfn|Stephen|1988|p=97}}
==Aftermath==

After the sinking, [[John Tovey|Admiral John Tovey]] said, "The ''Bismarck'' had put up a most gallant fight against impossible odds worthy of the old days of the Imperial German Navy, and she went down with her colours flying." Sub-Lieutenant Eryk Sopocko from Poland, serving in HMS ''Rodney'', was pleased with the destruction of the German vessel, and mused: 'Justice, you still exist'.<ref>Reagan, Geoffrey. Military Anecdotes (1992) pp. 33 & 34 Guiness Publishing ISBN 0-85112-519-0</ref>
By 10:20, the British battleships were running low on fuel. ''Bismarck'' was settling by the stern due to progressive uncontrolled flooding and had taken on a 20&nbsp;degree [[angle of list|list]] to port. Tovey ordered ''Dorsetshire'' to close and torpedo the crippled ''Bismarck'' while ''King George V'' and ''Rodney'' disengaged. By the time these torpedo attacks took place, ''Bismarck'' was already listing so badly that the deck was partly awash. ''Dorsetshire'' fired a pair of torpedoes at ''Bismarck''{{'}}s starboard side, one of which hit. ''Dorsetshire'' then moved around to her port side and fired another torpedo, which also hit. Based on subsequent examination of the wreck, the last torpedo appears to have detonated against ''Bismarck''{{'}}s port side superstructure, which was by then already underwater.<ref>Jurens et al.</ref><ref>Zetterling & Tamelander, p. 281</ref> ''Bismarck'' began capsizing at about 10:35, and by 10:40 had slipped beneath the waves, stern first.<ref>Garzke & Dulin 1985, p. 246</ref> During the engagement the two British battleships fired some 700&nbsp;large-caliber shells at ''Bismarck'',<ref>Bercuson & Herwig, pp. 291–294</ref> and all told, ''King George V'', ''Rodney'', ''Dorsetshire'', and ''Norfolk'' collectively fired some 2,800&nbsp;shells, scoring around 400&nbsp;hits.

=== Fourth phase: the ''Luftwaffe'' retaliates ===
The ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' had not been able to intervene on 26 May due to bad weather. Only some reconnaissance flights were made by some [[Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor]] of I/Kampfgeschwader 28 (Bomber Wing 28) which could locate ''Rodney''. On 27 and 28 May some attempts were made to attack the British ships. In the morning of 27 May one [[Heinkel He 111]] missed ''Ark Royal'' with a few bombs and only four bombers found the British battleships but failed to score a hit.

On 28 May the destroyers {{HMS|Mashona|F59|2}} and {{HMS|Tartar|F43|2}} were heading for Northern Ireland at economical speed due to their low fuel stocks and were attacked on 28 May in the morning by bombers. At 09:00 ''Mashona'' received a hit from a [[Heinkel He 111]], and was abandoned with the loss of 46 crew members. A first attempt to scuttle her with a torpedo from ''Tartar'' failed but then she was sunk by gunfire from other destroyers arriving at the scene.{{Sfn|Rohwer|2005|p=74}}{{Sfn|Busch|1980|pp=150–152}} The destroyer ''Maori'' was also damaged by bombers.{{Sfn|Rohwer|2005|p=74}}

== Survivors ==
[[File:War memorial (Neuhofen im Innkreis) image 03 Bismarck.JPG|thumb|War memorial in [[Neuhofen im Innkreis]] also commemorating Franz Kienast, who died aged 23 in the sinking of the ''Bismarck'']]
''Dorsetshire'' and ''Maori'' picked up 85 and 25 survivors respectively. At 11:40 a lookout on the ''Dorsetshire'' thought he spotted a periscope and the rescue effort was abandoned whilst hundreds of ''Bismarck''{{'}}s survivors were still in the water. While the British cruiser ''Dorsetshire'' was busy rescuing survivors from the water, Midshipman Joe Brooks{{Efn|According to Busch, the British man to jump overboard to help the German survivors was the torpedo officer, Lt II Curver.{{sfn|Busch|1980|p=148}}}} jumped over the side to help wounded Germans scramble up his ship's side.<ref name="Ballantyne">{{cite book |last1=Ballantyne |first1=Iain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UrGdDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT96 |title=Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom |date=23 May 2016 |publisher=Ipso Books |isbn=978-1-5040-5915-2 |language=en |access-date=5 September 2021}}</ref> One German sailor had lost both arms and was hanging onto a rope with his teeth; Brooks tried to save him but failed.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McKee |first1=Alexander |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tk0SAAAAYAAJ&q=brooks |title=Against the Odds: Battles at Sea, 1591–1949 |date=1991 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-1-55750-025-0 |language=en |access-date=5 September 2021}}</ref> Brooks was nearly left behind when the U-boat alarm was given and the ''Dorsetshire'' began to pull away while he was still in the water, but he was thrown a line by his shipmates and was pulled aboard.<ref>{{cite news |date=11 August 1941 |title=The Bismarck's End |language=en |page=35 |work=LIFE Magazine |publisher=Time Inc |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YE0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA35 |access-date=5 September 2021}}</ref> After the battle, the British warships returned to the United Kingdom with 109 ''Bismarck'' survivors, as one survivor (Gerhard Lüttich) had died of his wounds the day after his rescue and was [[burial at sea|buried at sea]] on 28 May 1941 with full military honours by the crew of HMS ''Dorsetshire''. That evening at 19:30, {{Ship|German submarine|U-74|1940|2}}, picked up three survivors from a dinghy (Herzog, Höntzsch, and Manthey) and the following day at 22:45 the German weather ship {{ship||Sachsenwald|1939|2}} picked up two survivors from a raft (Lorenzen and Maus). The neutral Spanish heavy cruiser {{Ship|Spanish cruiser|Canarias||2}} also arrived at the sinking scene but did not find survivors. Out of a crew of over 2,200 men, only 114 survived.{{sfn|Müllenheim-Rechberg1980|pp=185–190}}{{Sfn|Busch|1980|pp=145–148}}

== Aftermath ==
After the sinking, [[John Tovey|Admiral John Tovey]] said, "The ''Bismarck'' had put up a most gallant fight against impossible odds worthy of the old days of the [[Imperial German Navy]], and she went down with her colours flying."


The Board of the Admiralty issued a message of thanks to those involved:
The Board of the Admiralty issued a message of thanks to those involved:
{{quote|Their Lordships congratulate C.-in-C., Home Fleet, and all concerned in the unrelenting pursuit and successful destruction of the enemy's most powerful warship. The loss of H.M.S. Hood and her company, which is so deeply regretted, has thus been avenged and the Atlantic made more secure for our trade and that of our allies.
{{Blockquote|Their Lordships congratulate C.-in-C., Home Fleet, and all concerned in the unrelenting pursuit and successful destruction of the enemy's most powerful warship. The loss of H.M.S. ''Hood'' and her company, which is so deeply regretted, has thus been avenged and the Atlantic made more secure for our trade and that of our allies.
From the information at present available to Their Lordships there can be no doubt that had it not been for the gallantry, skill, and devotion to duty of the Fleet Air Arm in both Victorious and Ark Royal, our object might not have been achieved.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/598/957/124934442w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS68237501&dyn=13!xrn_22_0_CS68237501 |issue=48938 |page=p. 4 |date=29 May 1941 |journal=[[The Times]] |title=Congratulations to the Fleet |accessdate=19 October 2010}}</ref>}}
From the information at present available to Their Lordships there can be no doubt that had it not been for the gallantry, skill, and devotion to duty of the Fleet Air Arm in both Victorious and Ark Royal, our object might not have been achieved.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/598/957/124934442w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS68237501&dyn=13!xrn_22_0_CS68237501 |issue=48938 |page=4 |date=29 May 1941 |newspaper=[[The Times]] |title=Congratulations to the Fleet |access-date=19 October 2010}}</ref>}}


Unaware of the fate of the ship, Group West, the German command base, continued to issue signals to ''Bismarck'' for some hours, until [[Reuters]] reported news from Britain that the ship had been sunk. In Britain, the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] was informed of the sinking early that afternoon.<ref>[http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1941/may/27/war-situation War Situation]</ref>
Unaware of the fate of the ship, Group West, the German command base, continued to issue signals to ''Bismarck'' for some hours, until [[Reuters]] reported news from Britain that the ship had been sunk. In Britain, the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] was informed of the sinking early that afternoon.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1941/may/27/war-situation|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=27 May 1941|title=WAR SITUATION.}}</ref>


The sinking of the ''Bismarck'', especially the loss of her crew, dealt a massive blow to German morale. To Hitler the sinking was shattering, and validated his fear of open-sea warfare against the British navy. In addition Hitler's confidence in German sea power and Raeder began to wane. When the British interrogated the survivors of the ''Bismarck'', it was clear that morale aboard the vessel before it sank was very low because Lutjens was driving them to despair in regards to preparing to die.{{sfn|Rose|2007|p=240}}
After the battle, the British warships returned to the United Kingdom with 111 ''Bismarck'' survivors. One died later of his wounds. After a period of interrogation and processing, the survivors spent the rest of the war as [[prisoner of war|prisoners]]. No British ship was sunk during this action, but the destroyer {{HMS|Mashona|F59|6}} was sunk by the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' during the subsequent withdrawal the following day.


==Order of battle==
Timing of the sinking was fortunate for the United Kingdom. Publicity concerning ''Bismarck'' distracted public attention from the heavy losses suffered by the Mediterranean fleet during the [[Battle of Crete]], where cruisers {{HMS|Calcutta|D82|6}}, {{HMS|Fiji|58|6}}, {{HMS|Gloucester|62|6}}, {{HMS|York|90|6}} and six destroyers were sunk; and damage to aircraft carrier {{HMS|Formidable|67|6}}, battleships {{HMS|Barham|04|6}} and {{HMS|Warspite|03|6}}, and cruisers {{HMS|Ajax|22|6}}, {{HMS|Orion|85|6}}, {{HMAS|Perth|D29|6}} and {{HMS|Dido|37|6}} reduced the effective Mediterranean strength of the Royal Navy to two battleships and three cruisers to oppose the four battleships and eleven cruisers of the Italian Navy.<ref>Pack, S.W.C. ''The Battle for Crete'' (1973) ISBN 0-87021-810-7 p.91</ref> fuck bitches get money
=== Axis ===
* German battleship ''Bismarck''


==Ships involved==
=== Allied ===
Nearly a hundred ships of all kinds were deployed to operate with, against, or because of ''Bismarck'':


===Axis===
==== In the final battle ====
* The battleships ''King George V'' and ''Rodney''.
*German battleship [[German battleship Bismarck|''Bismarck'']]
* The heavy cruisers ''Norfolk'' and ''Dorsetshire''.
*German heavy cruiser {{Ship|German cruiser|Prinz Eugen||2}}
*The German destroyers [[German destroyer Z10 Hans Lody|''Hans Lody'' (Z-10)]], [[German destroyer Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt|''Friedrich Eckoldt'' (Z-16)]], and {{Ship|German destroyer|Z23||2}}.
*The German [[U-boat|submarine]]s {{Ship|German submarine|U-46|1938|2}}, {{Ship|German submarine|U-48|1939|2}}, {{Ship|German submarine|U-66|1940|2}}, {{Ship|German submarine|U-73|1940|2}}, {{Ship|German submarine|U-74|1940|2}}, {{Ship|German submarine|U-93|1940|2}}, {{Ship|German submarine|U-94|1940|2}}, {{Ship|German submarine|U-98|1940|2}}, {{Ship|German submarine|U-108|1940|2}}, {{Ship|German submarine|U-138|1940|2}}, {{Ship|German submarine|U-552||2}}, {{Ship|German submarine|U-556||2}}, and {{Ship|German submarine|U-557||2}}.
*Italian submarine {{Ship|Italian submarine|Barbarigo||2}}.
*The German weather ships [[German weather ship Sachsenwald|''Sachsenwald'']], {{Ship|German weather ship|Lauenburg||2}}, and ''Freese''.
*The German tankers ''Belchen'', ''Egerland'', ''[[Esso Hamburg]]'', ''Friedrich Breme'', ''Heide'', {{Ship|German tanker ship|Lothringen||2}}, ''[[Weisenburg]]'', and ''Wollin''.
*Boats of the German 5th Minesweeping Flotilla.


==== Made contact before final battle ====
===Allied===
* 15 Swordfish of the aircraft carrier ''Ark Royal''
*The British battleships {{HMS|King George V|41|6}}, {{HMS|Prince of Wales|53|2}}, {{HMS|Ramillies|07|2}}, and {{HMS|Rodney|29|2}}.
* The light cruiser ''Sheffield''.
*The British [[battlecruiser]]s {{HMS|Hood|51|6}}, {{HMS|Repulse|1916|2}} and {{HMS|Renown|1916|2}}
* The destroyers ''Cossack'', ''Sikh'', ''Zulu'', ''Maori''
*The British aircraft carriers {{HMS|Victorious|R38|6}} ([[800 Naval Air Squadron|800Z]] and [[825 Naval Air Squadron]]s) and {{HMS|Ark Royal|91|2}} ([[810 Naval Air Squadron|810]], [[818 Naval Air Squadron|818]], and [[820 Naval Air Squadron]]s)
* The Polish destroyer ''Piorun''
*The British [[heavy cruiser]]s {{HMS|Suffolk|55|6}}, {{HMS|Norfolk|78|2}}, {{HMS|Dorsetshire|40|2}}.
*The British [[light cruiser]]s {{HMS|Galatea|71|2}}, {{HMS|Aurora|12|2}}, {{HMS|Neptune|20|2}}, {{HMS|Hermione|74|2}}, {{HMS|Arethusa|26|2}}, {{HMS|Birmingham|C19|2}}, and {{HMS|Sheffield|C24|2}}.
*The British [[destroyer]]s {{HMS|Achates|H12|6}}, {{HMS|Antelope|H36|2}}, {{HMS|Jupiter|F85|2}}, {{HMS|Electra|H27|2}}, {{HMS|Icarus|D03|2}}, {{HMS|Punjabi||2}}, {{HMS|Mashona|F59|2}}, {{HMS|Cossack|F03|2}}, {{HMS|Sikh|F82|2}}, {{HMS|Zulu|F18|2}}, {{HMS|Maori|F24|2}}, {{HMS|Tartar|F43|2}}, {{HMS|Sherwood|I80|2}}, and {{HMS|Hesperus|H57|2}}.
*The British [[submarine]]s {{HMS|H44||2}}, {{HMS|Sealion|72S|2}}, {{HMS|Seawolf|47S|2}}.
*The Canadian destroyers {{HMCS|Assiniboine|I18|6}}, {{HMCS|Saguenay|D79|2}}, and {{HMCS|Columbia|I49|2}}
*The Polish destroyer [[ORP Piorun (G65)|ORP ''Piorun'']]


===Neutral===
==== Supporting role ====
*Spanish heavy cruiser {{Ship|Spanish cruiser|Canarias||2}} (attempted to rescue some survivors from ''Bismarck'')
*American Coast Guard cutter, {{USCGC|Modoc|WPG-46|2}}


* The aircraft carrier ''Ark Royal''
==See also==
* The battlecruiser ''Renown''
*[[Operation Rheinübung]], the intended mission of the ''Bismarck'' and ''Prinz Eugen''
* The destroyers ''Mashona'', ''Tartar''
*''[[Sink the Bismarck!]]'', a 1960 film based on [[C.S. Forester]]'s book ''[[The Last Nine Days of the Bismarck]]''
*"[[Sink the Bismarck (song)|Sink the Bismarck]]", a 1960 song by [[Johnny Horton]] inspired by the film of the same name.
*''[[Computer Bismarck]]'', a 1980 computer game that simulates the battle.
*[[Unsinkable Sam]], a [[ship's cat]] on board the ''Bismarck'' who survived the sinking and was adopted by the Royal Navy.


==Notes==
== See also ==
* ''[[Sink the Bismarck!]]'', a 1960 film based on [[C. S. Forester]]'s book ''[[The Last Nine Days of the Bismarck]]''
* "[[Sink the Bismarck (song)|Sink the Bismarck]]", a 1960 song by [[Johnny Horton]] inspired by the film of the same name.
* ''[[Computer Bismarck]]'', a 1980 computer game that simulates the battle.
* [[Unsinkable Sam]], a [[ship's cat]] on board ''Bismarck'' who allegedly survived the sinking and was adopted by the Royal Navy; most likely a tall tale.

== Notes ==
{{notelist|30em}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==References==
== Bibliography ==
*{{Cite book |last1=Brown|first1=J. D.|title=Carrier Operations in World War II|year=1968|location=Shepperton, UK|publisher=Ian Allen|isbn=978-0-7110-0040-7}}
* {{cite book|last1=Bercuson|first1=David J.|last2=Holger|first2= H. Herwig|title=The Destruction of the Bismarck|location=Woodstock and New York|publisher=The Overlook Press|year=2001|isbn=1-58567-192-4}}
* {{cite book |last1=Brown|first1=J. D.|title=Carrier Operations in World War II|year=1968|location=Shepperton, UK|publisher=Ian Allan|isbn=978-0-7110-0040-7}}
*Chesnau, Roger (Ed.) ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922–1946''. Conway Maritime Press, 1980. ISBN 0-85177-146-7
* {{Cite book |last=Busch |first=Fritz-Otto |title=De vernietiging van de Bismarck |publisher=omega boek BV |year=1980 |isbn=90-6057-197-5 |location=Amsterdam |language=nl}}
*Dewar, A.D. Admiralty report BR 1736: ''The Chase and Sinking of the “Bismarck”''. Naval Staff History (Second World War) Battle Summary No. 5, March 1950. Reproduced in facsimile in Grove, Eric (ed.), ''German Capital Ships and Raiders in World War II. Volume I: From “Graf Spee” to “Bismarck”, 1939–1941''. Frank Cass Publishers 2002. ISBN 0-7146-5208-3
* Cameron J., Dulin R., Garzke W., Jurens W., Smith K.,[https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/12480849/the-wreck-of-dkm-bismarck-a-marine-forensics-analysis-1-the- The Wreck of DKM Bismarck A Marine Forensics Analysis]
* Jackson, Robert (2002). ''The Bismarck''. London: Weapons of War. ISBN 978-1-86227-173-9.
* {{cite journal |last=Carr |first=Ward |title=SURVIVING the Bismarck's Sinking |journal=Naval History |volume=20 |date=August 2006 |issn=1042-1920}}
*{{Cite book|last=Garzke|first= William|coauthors= John Dulin|title=Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II| location=Annapolis|publisher= Naval Institute Press|year= 1990|isbn= 978-0-87021-101-0}}
*{{cite book|editor-last1=Gardiner|editor-first1=Robert|editor-last2=Chesneau|editor-first2=Roger|title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|year=1980|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-146-7}}
*[[Ludovic Kennedy|Kennedy, Ludovic]]. ''Pursuit: The sinking of the Bismarck''. William Collins Sons & Co Ltd 1974. ISBN 0-00-211739-8
* Dewar, A.D. Admiralty report BR 1736: ''The Chase and Sinking of the "Bismarck"''. Naval Staff History (Second World War) Battle Summary No. 5, March 1950. Reproduced in facsimile in Grove, Eric (ed.), ''German Capital Ships and Raiders in World War II. Volume I: From "Graf Spee" to "Bismarck", 1939–1941''. Frank Cass Publishers 2002. {{ISBN|0-7146-5208-3}}
*Müllenheim-Rechberg, Burkard von. ''Battleship Bismarck: A Survivor’s Story''. Triad/Granada, 1982. ISBN 0-583-13560-9.
* {{cite book| last1 = Gaack| first1 = Malte| last2 = Carr| first2 = Ward| year = 2011| title = Schlachtschiff Bismarck—Das wahre Gesicht eines Schiffes—Teil 3| language = de| location = Norderstedt, Germany| publisher = BoD – Books on Demand GmbH| isbn = 978-3-8448-0179-8}}
*Schofield, B.B. ''Loss of the Bismarck''. Ian Allan Ltd 1972. ISBN 0-7110-0265-7
* {{cite book|last1=Garzke|first1= William|first2=John |last2=Dulin|title=Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II| location=Annapolis|publisher= Naval Institute Press|year= 1990|isbn= 978-0-87021-101-0}}
* {{cite book|last1=Garzke|first1= William|first2=John |last2=Dulin|last3=Jurens|first3=William|title=Battleship Bismarck: A Design and Operational History| location=Annapolis|publisher= Naval Institute Press|year= 2019|isbn= 978-1-59114-569-1}}
* {{cite book|last1=Garzke|first1= William|first2=John |last2=Dulin|last3=Jurens|first3=William|title=Battleship Bismarck: A Design and Operational History| location=Annapolis|publisher= Naval Institute Press eBook|year= 2019|isbn = 978-1-52675-975-7}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Garzke|first1= William|first2=John |last2=Dulin| year = 1994| title = The ''Bismarck''{{'}}s Final Battle| journal = Warship International| volume = XXXI| issue = 2| pages = 158–190| issn = 0043-0374}}
* Jackson, Robert (2002). ''The Bismarck''. London: Weapons of War. {{ISBN|978-1-86227-173-9}}.
* [[Ludovic Kennedy|Kennedy, Ludovic]]. ''Pursuit: The sinking of the Bismarck''. William Collins Sons & Co Ltd 1974. {{ISBN|0-00-211739-8}}
* Jerzy Pertek, ''Wielkie dni małej floty'' (Great Days of a Small Fleet), Zysk i S-ka, 2011, {{ISBN|978-83-7785-707-6}}
* Michael A. Peszke, ''Poland's Navy 1918-1945'', Hippocrene Books, 1999, {{ISBN|07818-0672-0}}
* [[Burkard Freiherr von Müllenheim-Rechberg|Müllenheim-Rechberg, Burkard von]]. ''Battleship Bismarck: A Survivor's Story''. Triad/Granada, 1982. {{ISBN|0-583-13560-9}}.
* {{Cite book |last=Müllenheim-Rechberg |first=Burkhard von|title=De ondergang van de Bismarck |publisher=De Boer Maritiem |year=1980 |isbn=90-228-1836-5 |language=nl}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rohwer |first=J. |title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. |publisher=Naval Institute Press. |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-59114-119-8 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Rose |first1=Lisle A |title=Power at Sea Volume 2 |date=2007 |publisher=University of Missouri Press |isbn=9780826217028}}
* Schofield, B.B. ''Loss of the Bismarck''. Ian Allan, 1972. {{ISBN|0-7110-0265-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Stephen |first=Martin |title=Sea Battles in close-up: World War 2 |publisher=Ian Allan ltd |year=1988 |isbn=0-7110-1596-1 |editor-last=Grove |editor-first=Eric |location=London}}
* Tovey, Sir John C. "[http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/LondonGazette/38098.pdf Sinking of the German Battleship Bismarck on 27™ May, 1941.]"
* {{cite book| last1 = Zetterling| first1 = Niklas| last2 = Tamelander| first2 = Michael| year = 2009| title = Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship| publisher = Casemate| location = Drexel Hill}}


==External links==
== External links ==
*[http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=12723 Newsreel footage of Bismarck's last battle]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCl0G1jGb5k Newsreel footage of Bismarck's last battle]


{{German battleship Bismarck}}
{{German battleship Bismarck}}

{{coord missing|Atlantic Ocean}}
{{coord missing|Atlantic Ocean}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Bismarck}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bismarck}}
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Naval battles and operations of the European theatre of World War II]]
[[Category:German battleship Bismarck|Last battle]]
[[Category:Operation Rheinübung]]
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving Germany]]
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving Germany]]
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving Poland]]
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving Poland]]
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving Canada]]
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving Australia]]
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving France]]
[[Category:Naval battles and operations of World War II (European theatre)]]

{{Link FA|pl}}
[[de:Unternehmen Rheinübung]]
[[it:Caccia alla Bismarck]]
[[ja:ライン演習作戦]]
[[pl:Operacja przeciw pancernikowi Bismarck]]
[[zh:俾斯麥號戰艦的最後一戰]]

Latest revision as of 23:48, 2 December 2024

Last battle of the Bismarck
Part of Operation Rheinübung

Surrounded by shell splashes, Bismarck burns on the horizon
Date26–27 May 1941
Location
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
 United Kingdom
Poland
 Germany
Commanders and leaders
John Tovey
Frederic Wake-Walker
Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton
Günther Lütjens 
Ernst Lindemann 
Strength

Aircraft carrier Ark Royal
2 battleships

2 heavy cruisers

8 destroyers

1 battleship

Luftwaffe

  • I/Kampfgeschwader 28
Casualties and losses
49 killed
5 wounded
Mashona scuttled
Rodney lightly damaged
2,200 killed[a]
110 captured
Bismarck scuttled[1]

The last battle of the German battleship Bismarck took place in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) west of Brest, France, on 26–27 May 1941 between the German battleship Bismarck and naval and air elements of the British Royal Navy. Although it was a decisive action between capital ships, it has no generally accepted name. It was the culmination of Operation Rheinübung where the attempt of two German ships to disrupt the Atlantic convoys to the United Kingdom failed with the scuttling of the Bismarck.

The last battle consisted of four main phases. The first phase late on 26 May consisted of air strikes by torpedo bombers from the British aircraft carrier Ark Royal, which disabled Bismarck's steering gear, jammed her rudders in a turning position and prevented her escape. The second phase was the shadowing and harassment of Bismarck during the night of 26/27 May by British and Polish destroyers, with no serious damage to any ship. The third phase on the morning of 27 May was an attack by the British battleships King George V and Rodney, supported by the heavy cruisers Norfolk and Dorsetshire. After about 100 minutes of fighting, Bismarck was sunk by the combined effects of shellfire, torpedo hits and deliberate scuttling.[1][2] On the British side, Rodney was lightly damaged by near-misses and by the blast effects of her own guns.[3] British warships rescued 110 survivors from Bismarck before being obliged to withdraw because of an apparent U-boat sighting, leaving several hundred men to their fate. A U-boat and a German weathership rescued five more survivors. In the final phase, the withdrawing British ships were attacked the next day on 28 May by aircraft of the Luftwaffe, resulting in the loss of the destroyer HMS Mashona.

Background

[edit]
Map of Operation Rheinübung and Royal Navy operations against the battleship Bismarck

Under the command of the Fleet Commander Günther Lütjens, the German battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen tried to break out into the Atlantic in order to attack convoys. The ships were intercepted by a British force from the Home Fleet. In the resulting Battle of the Denmark Strait on 24 May, Bismarck's fuel tanks were damaged and several machinery compartments, including a boiler room, were flooded. Her captain's intention was to reach the port of Brest for repair.[4]

Determined to avenge the sinking of the "Pride of the Navy" HMS Hood in the Battle of the Denmark Strait, the British committed every possible unit to hunting down Bismarck.

  • The old Revenge-class battleship HMS Ramillies was detached from convoy duty southeast of Greenland and ordered to set a course to intercept Bismarck if she should attempt to raid the sea lanes off North America.[5]
  • The damaged Prince of Wales and the cruisers Norfolk and Suffolk were still in contact with the German ships after the Battle of the Denmark Strait.
  • The remainder of the Home Fleet, consisting of the battleship King George V, the battlecruiser Repulse, the aircraft carrier Victorious, four light cruisers and their escorts, had already set sail from Scapa Flow before the loss of the Hood.
  • The battleship Rodney was detached from escort duties West of Ireland and set an intercept course for the Bismarck.[6]
  • Force H had already left Gibraltar with the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, the battlecruiser Renown and the light cruiser Sheffield on 23 May to take over escort duties from other ships, but once it came clear the Bismarck was heading for France, the force set course to intercept Bismarck.[7]
  • The heavy cruiser London was escorting a convoy from Gibraltar to the United Kingdom and was also ordered to intercept.[8]
  • The light cruiser Edinburgh, which was searching for blockade runners in the area West of Cape Finisterre, was also ordered to join the hunt.[5]
The Swordfish torpedo bombers on the deck of HMS Victorious before the attack on Bismarck

In the early evening of 24 May, Bismarck briefly turned on her pursuers (Prince of Wales and the heavy cruisers Norfolk and Suffolk) to cover the escape of her companion, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen to continue further into the Atlantic. During the late evening of 24 May, an attack was made by a small group of Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers of 825 Naval Air Squadron under the command of Eugene Esmonde from Victorious. One hit was scored, but caused only superficial damage to Bismarck's armoured belt. Early on 25 May the British forces lost contact with Bismarck, which headed E-S-E towards France while the British searched N-E, presuming Bismarck was returning to Norway. Later on 25 May the commander of the German force, Admiral Günther Lütjens, apparently unaware that he had lost his pursuers, broke radio silence to send a coded message to Germany. This faux-pas would prove critical, as the British overheard the communique, and subsequently were able to triangulate the approximate position of Bismarck, logic leading them to deduce that the German battleship had set a course for France, for re-armament and repairs. Fuel was becoming a major concern to both sides: due to battle damage, the subsequent loss of fuel, and because Bismarck had failed to refuel in Norway, nor by fuel-tanker whilst underway in the North Atlantic. All things considered, Lütjens chose to maintain an economical speed of 21 knots, to conserve fuel, with the hope of reaching France before the Allied flotilla could detect and intercept them.

Meanwhile, from the pursuing Home Fleet: Prince of Wales, Repulse, Victorious and the four cruisers had to break off, and Suffolk as well. Only King George V and Norfolk were able to continue: since the destroyer screen of King George V was (like the Bismarck) also running short on fuel, the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla consisting of the destroyers HMS Cossack, Sikh, Maori and Zulu, and the Polish destroyer ORP Piorun, under command of Captain Philip Vian, was ordered to detach from convoy WS-8B and to screen King George V.[9]

At 10:30 on 26 May Bismarck was detected by a Coastal Command Catalina reconnaissance aircraft from 209 Squadron RAF that had flown over the Atlantic from its base on Lough Erne in Northern Ireland across the Donegal Corridor.[10] It was piloted by the British Flying Officer Dennis Briggs[11] and co-piloted by the US Navy observer Ensign Leonard B. Smith, USNR.[12] Smith was at the controls when he spotted Bismarck[13] (via a trailing oil slick from the ship's damaged fuel tank) and reported her position to the Admiralty. Shortly before at 09:00 Ark Royal had launched scouting planes and half an hour after the Catalina, two Swordfish found Bismarck as well.[14] From then on, the German ship's position was known to the British, although the enemy would have to be slowed significantly if heavy units hoped to engage outside the range of German land-based aircraft. On receiving the message from the Catalina, Capt. Vian decided not to join the pursuing British battleships, but to steer directly for Bismarck.[15] All British hopes were now pinned on Force H and these destroyers.

The battle

[edit]
A Swordfish being loaded with a torpedo on the deck of HMS Ark Royal

First phase: the Ark Royal disables the Bismarck

[edit]
HMS Renown and HMS Ark Royal, seen from HMS Sheffield

At 14:50 on 26 May in bad weather conditions, Ark Royal launched 15 Swordfish for an attack on the Bismarck. The aircraft had not been warned that the Sheffield had been sent forward to shadow the Bismarck, instead they had been told no other ships were in the vicinity. The Swordfish attacked, in poor visibility, the shadowing cruiser Sheffield, but some of their torpedoes had defective magnetic pistols which caused them to explode on impact with the sea, and the remaining torpedoes could be evaded. At 19:10 the same aircraft were relaunched for a second sortie with contact pistol torpedoes.[16] At 19:50 Force H ran into U-556, which obtained a perfect shooting position to hit both the Ark Royal and Renown, but the U-boat had expended all her torpedoes on previous operations and could not attack.[17]

The aircraft made first contact with the Sheffield at 20:00 which vectored them to the Bismarck. Despite this helping hand and their ASV II radars, they could not find the German ship. Half an hour later they had to recontact the Sheffield which could finally send them to the Bismarck. The attack started at 20:47 and lasted half an hour.[16] Three aircraft had to recontact the Sheffield for a third time.[18] A first hit midships had little effect, but a second hit astern jammed Bismarck's rudder and steering gear 12° to port.[19] This resulted in her being, initially, able to steam only in a large circle.

The crew of the rear director tower on HMS Sheffield show the damage caused by shell splinters from the Bismarck

Bismarck fired her main and secondary armament against the attacking aircraft, trying to hit the low flying torpedo aircraft with the shell splashes. Once the attack was over, Bismarck fired her main battery at the shadowing Sheffield. The first salvo went a mile astray, but the second salvo straddled the cruiser. Shell splinters fell on Sheffield killing three men and wounding two others. Four more salvoes were fired but no hits were scored. Sheffield quickly retreated under cover of a smoke screen. Sheffield lost contact with the Bismarck in the low visibility but shortly before 22:00 she met Capt. Vian's group of five destroyers and was able to vector them to the Bismarck.[20][21] The King George V and Rodney had joined around 18:00 and were approaching from the northwest. Since Vian's destroyers would keep in touch with the Bismarck and harry her all night, he decided to steer south, even southwest and making a circle in order to be able to engage the Bismarck in the morning silhouetted against the east. The heavy cruiser Norfolk and the light cruiser Edinburgh were also approaching separately from the northwest. Edinburgh had to abandon the chase due to fuel shortage but Norfolk took up a position to the north of Bismarck. Another heavy cruiser, Dorsetshire, was approaching from the west and would make contact the next morning. After collecting her airplanes Ark Royal and Force H first kept north of Bismarck, but during the night sailed south and remained in the vicinity.[22]

HMS Cossack. The Tribal-class destroyer carried heavy gun armament, but only 1 bank of 4 torpedoes.

Repair efforts by the crew to free the rudder failed.[23] Bismarck attempted to steer by alternating the power of her three propeller shafts, which, in the prevailing force 8 wind and sea state, resulted in the ship being forced to sail towards King George V and Rodney, two British battleships that had been pursuing Bismarck from the west.[24] At 23:40 on 26 May, Admiral Lütjens delivered to Group West, the German command base, the signal "Ship unmanoeuvrable. We will fight to the last shell. Long live the Führer."[25]

Second phase: Vian's destroyers harass the Bismarck at night

[edit]

One hour after the Swordfish attack, Maori and Piorun made contact with Bismarck at 22:38. Piorun attacked at once, signalling her identity as a Polish ship, but was not able to launch torpedoes. She approached close enough to engage Bismarck with her guns, but then lost contact and played no more role in the battle. Deteriorating weather made a concentrated attack impossible. Throughout that night, Bismarck was the target of intermittent torpedo attacks by Vian's destroyers. In ten approaches between 22:38 and 06:56 Cossack, Maori, Zulu and Sikh fired sixteen torpedoes but none hit. One of Bismarck's shells sheared off Cossack's antenna and three other shells straddled Zulu, wounding three men. Between 02:30 and 03:00 the destroyers fired starshell at Tovey's request in order to make her position visible for the battleships. The constant harrying tactics of the destroyers helped wear down the morale of the Germans and deepened the fatigue of an already exhausted crew.[26][27]

Between 05:00 and 06:00, Lütjens ordered an Arado 196 float plane launched to the French coast, to secure the ship's war diary, footage of the engagement with Hood, and other important documents. It was discovered that the float plane catapult had been rendered inoperative due to damage received on the 24th by the Prince of Wales. The fully fuelled aircraft was then pushed overboard to reduce the risk of fire in the upcoming battle.[28] Lütjens then radioed at 07:10 for a U-boat to rendezvous with Bismarck to fetch these documents. U-556 was assigned at once to this task, but the U-boat missed the signalled order because it was submerged. At any rate, it was subsequently revealed that U-556 was too low on fuel to be able to carry out the order. The task was then passed on to U-74 but by then Bismarck had already sunk.[29][30]

Third phase: Bismarck is lost

[edit]
Rodney firing on Bismarck, which can be seen burning in the distance

As the British units converged on Bismarck's location, Tovey gave his instructions for the final battle. First, he ordered Renown, which had closed to within 17 miles of Bismarck, not to participate in the battle. Renown was similarly armoured as Hood and Tovey did not want to risk a repeat.[31] He instructed the captain of Rodney to close to within 15,000 yd (14,000 m) as quickly as possible, and that while he should, in general, conform to King George V's movements, he was free to manoeuvre independently.[32] The morning of Tuesday 27 May brought a heavy grey sky, a rising sea and a tearing wind from the northwest. Because of this northwesterly gale, Tovey postponed the final attack from sunrise until clear daylight[33] and concluded an attack on Bismarck from windward was undesirable. He decided to approach on a northwesterly bearing before deploying.[34]

Norfolk was the first ship to sight Bismarck on the morning of 27 May. In poor visibility the cruiser stumbled upon an unidentified ship, flashing recognition signals before realising it was the German battleship. Norfolk quickly turned away and made contact with the British battleships before joining the final battle.[33] At 08:43, lookouts on King George V spotted Bismarck, some 25,000 yd (23,000 m) away; Rodney opened fire first at 08:47, followed quickly by King George V. Bismarck was unable to steer due to the torpedo damage to the rudders, and the consequent unpredictable motions made the ship an unstable gun platform and created a difficult gunnery problem. This was further complicated by the gale-force storm.[35] However, Bismarck returned fire at 08:50 with her forward guns, and with her second salvo, she straddled Rodney. This was the closest she came to scoring a hit on any British warship in the final engagement,[36] because at 09:02, a 16-inch (406 mm) salvo from Rodney struck the forward superstructure, damaging the bridge and main fire control director and killing most of the senior officers. The salvo also damaged the forward main battery turrets. The aft fire control station took over direction of the aft turrets, but after receiving three salvos was also neutralised. With both fire control stations out of action, Bismarck's shooting became increasingly erratic, allowing the British to close range. Norfolk and Dorsetshire closed and began firing with their 8 in (203 mm) guns.[37][38] Around 09:10, Norfolk fired four and Rodney fired six torpedoes from a distance of more than 10 km, but no hits were observed.[39]

The torpedo room in the bows of HMS Rodney. The battleship was equipped with 24.5 inch torpedoes, the heaviest torpedo in the Royal Navy inventory. One torpedo is being loaded into a tube, whilst another is being lowered into its cradle. Rodney fired a total of 10 torpedoes at Bismarck.

By around 09:31 all of Bismarck's four main battery turrets were out of action. With the ship no longer able to fight back, First Officer Hans Oels, the senior surviving officer, then issued the order to scuttle the ship – for all damage control measures to cease, for all the watertight doors to be opened, for the engine-room personnel to prepare scuttling charges, and for the crew to abandon ship. Oels moved through the ship, repeating these orders to all he met, until around 10:00 when a shell from King George V penetrated the upper citadel belt and exploded in the ship's aft canteen, killing Oels and about a hundred others.[35][40] Gerhard Junack, the senior surviving engineering officer, ordered his men to set the demolition charges with a 9-minute fuse. The engine-room intercom system had broken down, so Junack sent a messenger to find Oels and confirm the order to detonate the charges. The messenger never returned, so Junack primed the charges and ordered the engineering crew to abandon ship.[2]

Once all four of Bismarck's main battery turrets were out of action (around 09:31), Rodney closed to around 3,000 yd (2,700 m) with impunity to fire her guns at what is effectively point-blank range into Bismarck's superstructure. King George V remained at a greater distance to increase the possibility that her plunging shells would strike Bismarck's decks vertically and penetrate into the ships's interior. At 10:05 Rodney launched four torpedoes at Bismarck, claiming one hit.[39]

By 10:20, the British battleships were running low on fuel. Bismarck was settling by the stern due to progressive uncontrolled flooding and had taken on a 20 degree list to port. Tovey ordered Dorsetshire to close and torpedo the crippled Bismarck while King George V and Rodney disengaged. By the time these torpedo attacks took place, Bismarck was already listing so badly that the deck was partly awash. Dorsetshire fired a pair of torpedoes at Bismarck's starboard side, one of which hit. Dorsetshire then moved around to her port side and fired another torpedo, which also hit. Based on subsequent examination of the wreck, the last torpedo appears to have detonated against Bismarck's port side superstructure, which was by then already underwater.[41][42] Bismarck began capsizing at about 10:35, and by 10:40 had slipped beneath the waves, stern first.[43] During the engagement the two British battleships fired some 700 large-caliber shells at Bismarck,[44] and all told, King George V, Rodney, Dorsetshire, and Norfolk collectively fired some 2,800 shells, scoring around 400 hits.

Fourth phase: the Luftwaffe retaliates

[edit]

The Luftwaffe had not been able to intervene on 26 May due to bad weather. Only some reconnaissance flights were made by some Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor of I/Kampfgeschwader 28 (Bomber Wing 28) which could locate Rodney. On 27 and 28 May some attempts were made to attack the British ships. In the morning of 27 May one Heinkel He 111 missed Ark Royal with a few bombs and only four bombers found the British battleships but failed to score a hit.

On 28 May the destroyers Mashona and Tartar were heading for Northern Ireland at economical speed due to their low fuel stocks and were attacked on 28 May in the morning by bombers. At 09:00 Mashona received a hit from a Heinkel He 111, and was abandoned with the loss of 46 crew members. A first attempt to scuttle her with a torpedo from Tartar failed but then she was sunk by gunfire from other destroyers arriving at the scene.[5][45] The destroyer Maori was also damaged by bombers.[5]

Survivors

[edit]
War memorial in Neuhofen im Innkreis also commemorating Franz Kienast, who died aged 23 in the sinking of the Bismarck

Dorsetshire and Maori picked up 85 and 25 survivors respectively. At 11:40 a lookout on the Dorsetshire thought he spotted a periscope and the rescue effort was abandoned whilst hundreds of Bismarck's survivors were still in the water. While the British cruiser Dorsetshire was busy rescuing survivors from the water, Midshipman Joe Brooks[b] jumped over the side to help wounded Germans scramble up his ship's side.[47] One German sailor had lost both arms and was hanging onto a rope with his teeth; Brooks tried to save him but failed.[48] Brooks was nearly left behind when the U-boat alarm was given and the Dorsetshire began to pull away while he was still in the water, but he was thrown a line by his shipmates and was pulled aboard.[49] After the battle, the British warships returned to the United Kingdom with 109 Bismarck survivors, as one survivor (Gerhard Lüttich) had died of his wounds the day after his rescue and was buried at sea on 28 May 1941 with full military honours by the crew of HMS Dorsetshire. That evening at 19:30, U-74, picked up three survivors from a dinghy (Herzog, Höntzsch, and Manthey) and the following day at 22:45 the German weather ship Sachsenwald picked up two survivors from a raft (Lorenzen and Maus). The neutral Spanish heavy cruiser Canarias also arrived at the sinking scene but did not find survivors. Out of a crew of over 2,200 men, only 114 survived.[50][51]

Aftermath

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After the sinking, Admiral John Tovey said, "The Bismarck had put up a most gallant fight against impossible odds worthy of the old days of the Imperial German Navy, and she went down with her colours flying."

The Board of the Admiralty issued a message of thanks to those involved:

Their Lordships congratulate C.-in-C., Home Fleet, and all concerned in the unrelenting pursuit and successful destruction of the enemy's most powerful warship. The loss of H.M.S. Hood and her company, which is so deeply regretted, has thus been avenged and the Atlantic made more secure for our trade and that of our allies. From the information at present available to Their Lordships there can be no doubt that had it not been for the gallantry, skill, and devotion to duty of the Fleet Air Arm in both Victorious and Ark Royal, our object might not have been achieved.[52]

Unaware of the fate of the ship, Group West, the German command base, continued to issue signals to Bismarck for some hours, until Reuters reported news from Britain that the ship had been sunk. In Britain, the House of Commons was informed of the sinking early that afternoon.[53]

The sinking of the Bismarck, especially the loss of her crew, dealt a massive blow to German morale. To Hitler the sinking was shattering, and validated his fear of open-sea warfare against the British navy. In addition Hitler's confidence in German sea power and Raeder began to wane. When the British interrogated the survivors of the Bismarck, it was clear that morale aboard the vessel before it sank was very low because Lutjens was driving them to despair in regards to preparing to die.[54]

Order of battle

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Axis

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  • German battleship Bismarck

Allied

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In the final battle

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  • The battleships King George V and Rodney.
  • The heavy cruisers Norfolk and Dorsetshire.

Made contact before final battle

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  • 15 Swordfish of the aircraft carrier Ark Royal
  • The light cruiser Sheffield.
  • The destroyers Cossack, Sikh, Zulu, Maori
  • The Polish destroyer Piorun

Supporting role

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  • The aircraft carrier Ark Royal
  • The battlecruiser Renown
  • The destroyers Mashona, Tartar

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Bismarck's complement as Fleet Flagship was 2,220 (2092 + 128 Fleet staff) (Chesneau, p. 224). For Operation Rheinubung she embarked over 100 supernumeraries, including merchant seamen to act as prize crews, cadets in training, and a film unit (Kennedy, p. 33). The number of these supernumeraries, and hence the exact number of casualties, is unknown.
    4 floatplanes destroyed
  2. ^ According to Busch, the British man to jump overboard to help the German survivors was the torpedo officer, Lt II Curver.[46]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Who sank the Bismarck - The British or the Germans? We are convinced the answer is "Both!!" Bismarck unquestionably would have sunk due to progressive flooding hours after the battle ended [...] There is enough evidence to indicate that [CDR Oels] ordered the ship scuttled..." Cameron et al. 2002, p. 50
  2. ^ a b Gaack & Carr, pp. 80–81
  3. ^ Kennedy, pp. 206, 283.
  4. ^ Cameron, pp. 6–10.
  5. ^ a b c d Rohwer 2005, p. 74.
  6. ^ Stephen 1988, p. 83.
  7. ^ Busch 1980, pp. 80–81.
  8. ^ Müllenheim-Rechberg 1980, p. 102.
  9. ^ Busch 1980, pp. 94–95.
  10. ^ BBC – WW2 People's War – World War Memories of an Ulster Childhood
  11. ^ ""We Shadowed the Bismarck" – In Flg Off. Dennis Briggs' Words | Britain at War". Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  12. ^ 4 November 2009, Bismarck: British/American Cooperation and the Destruction of the German Battleship Archived 6 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Naval History and Heritage Command
  13. ^ The American Who Helped Sink the Bismarck Defense Media Network 23 November 2021
  14. ^ Stephen 1988, p. 88.
  15. ^ Busch 1980, pp. 99–100.
  16. ^ a b Stephen 1988, pp. 88–92.
  17. ^ Müllenheim-Rechberg 1980, pp. 148–149.
  18. ^ Busch 1980, pp. 106–109.
  19. ^ "Bismarck's· Final· Battle· -· Part· 2". navweaps.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  20. ^ Busch 1980, pp. 107–108.
  21. ^ Stephen 1988, pp. 89–92.
  22. ^ Stephen 1988, p. 92.
  23. ^ Garzke & Dulin, p. 235
  24. ^ Garzke & Dulin, pp. 235–236
  25. ^ Jackson 2002, p. 91.
  26. ^ Stephen 1988, pp. 92–94.
  27. ^ Müllenheim-Rechberg 1980, pp. 139–142.
  28. ^ Garzke & Dulin 1985, pp. 237–238
  29. ^ Busch 1980, p. 125.
  30. ^ Müllenheim-Rechberg 1980, pp. 148–150.
  31. ^ Stephen 1988, p. 94.
  32. ^ Garzke & Dulin 1980, p. 210
  33. ^ a b Müllenheim-Rechberg 1980, p. 158.
  34. ^ Barnett, p. 311
  35. ^ a b Garzke, Jr., William H.; Dulin, Jr., Robert O.; Webb, Thomas G. (1994). "Bismarck's Final Battle". International Naval Research Organization.
  36. ^ Bercuson & Herwig, pp. 288–289
  37. ^ Bercuson & Herwig, pp. 290–291
  38. ^ Garzke & Dulin 1985, p. 239
  39. ^ a b Stephen 1988, p. 97.
  40. ^ Bercuson & Herwig, pp. 292–294
  41. ^ Jurens et al.
  42. ^ Zetterling & Tamelander, p. 281
  43. ^ Garzke & Dulin 1985, p. 246
  44. ^ Bercuson & Herwig, pp. 291–294
  45. ^ Busch 1980, pp. 150–152.
  46. ^ Busch 1980, p. 148.
  47. ^ Ballantyne, Iain (23 May 2016). Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom. Ipso Books. ISBN 978-1-5040-5915-2. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  48. ^ McKee, Alexander (1991). Against the Odds: Battles at Sea, 1591–1949. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-025-0. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  49. ^ "The Bismarck's End". LIFE Magazine. Time Inc. 11 August 1941. p. 35. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  50. ^ Müllenheim-Rechberg1980, pp. 185–190.
  51. ^ Busch 1980, pp. 145–148.
  52. ^ "Congratulations to the Fleet". The Times. No. 48938. 29 May 1941. p. 4. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  53. ^ "WAR SITUATION". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 27 May 1941.
  54. ^ Rose 2007, p. 240.

Bibliography

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  • Bercuson, David J.; Holger, H. Herwig (2001). The Destruction of the Bismarck. Woodstock and New York: The Overlook Press. ISBN 1-58567-192-4.
  • Brown, J. D. (1968). Carrier Operations in World War II. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0040-7.
  • Busch, Fritz-Otto (1980). De vernietiging van de Bismarck (in Dutch). Amsterdam: omega boek BV. ISBN 90-6057-197-5.
  • Cameron J., Dulin R., Garzke W., Jurens W., Smith K.,The Wreck of DKM Bismarck A Marine Forensics Analysis
  • Carr, Ward (August 2006). "SURVIVING the Bismarck's Sinking". Naval History. 20. ISSN 1042-1920.
  • Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
  • Dewar, A.D. Admiralty report BR 1736: The Chase and Sinking of the "Bismarck". Naval Staff History (Second World War) Battle Summary No. 5, March 1950. Reproduced in facsimile in Grove, Eric (ed.), German Capital Ships and Raiders in World War II. Volume I: From "Graf Spee" to "Bismarck", 1939–1941. Frank Cass Publishers 2002. ISBN 0-7146-5208-3
  • Gaack, Malte; Carr, Ward (2011). Schlachtschiff Bismarck—Das wahre Gesicht eines Schiffes—Teil 3 (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: BoD – Books on Demand GmbH. ISBN 978-3-8448-0179-8.
  • Garzke, William; Dulin, John (1990). Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-101-0.
  • Garzke, William; Dulin, John; Jurens, William (2019). Battleship Bismarck: A Design and Operational History. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-569-1.
  • Garzke, William; Dulin, John; Jurens, William (2019). Battleship Bismarck: A Design and Operational History. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press eBook. ISBN 978-1-52675-975-7.
  • Garzke, William; Dulin, John (1994). "The Bismarck's Final Battle". Warship International. XXXI (2): 158–190. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Jackson, Robert (2002). The Bismarck. London: Weapons of War. ISBN 978-1-86227-173-9.
  • Kennedy, Ludovic. Pursuit: The sinking of the Bismarck. William Collins Sons & Co Ltd 1974. ISBN 0-00-211739-8
  • Jerzy Pertek, Wielkie dni małej floty (Great Days of a Small Fleet), Zysk i S-ka, 2011, ISBN 978-83-7785-707-6
  • Michael A. Peszke, Poland's Navy 1918-1945, Hippocrene Books, 1999, ISBN 07818-0672-0
  • Müllenheim-Rechberg, Burkard von. Battleship Bismarck: A Survivor's Story. Triad/Granada, 1982. ISBN 0-583-13560-9.
  • Müllenheim-Rechberg, Burkhard von (1980). De ondergang van de Bismarck (in Dutch). De Boer Maritiem. ISBN 90-228-1836-5.
  • Rohwer, J. (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-119-8.
  • Rose, Lisle A (2007). Power at Sea Volume 2. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 9780826217028.
  • Schofield, B.B. Loss of the Bismarck. Ian Allan, 1972. ISBN 0-7110-0265-7
  • Stephen, Martin (1988). Grove, Eric (ed.). Sea Battles in close-up: World War 2. London: Ian Allan ltd. ISBN 0-7110-1596-1.
  • Tovey, Sir John C. "Sinking of the German Battleship Bismarck on 27™ May, 1941."
  • Zetterling, Niklas; Tamelander, Michael (2009). Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship. Drexel Hill: Casemate.
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