Bismarck Sinking

Discussion in 'The War at Sea' started by David Seymour, Sep 29, 2005.

  1. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Some pictures of the Bismarck firing on HMS Hood


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    Battle ship Bismarck and heavy cruiser prince Eugen in combat with SMS Hood and SMS Prince OF Wales, battle ship Bismarck firing.

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    Description: Teleaufnahme of the explosion of the largest warship of the world, Hood. A tank high-explosive shell Bismarck had brought figure eight to ammunition chamber to the explosion. 300 m the explosion wall, an uncanny Aschgrau, which was torn apart by glow-red and sulfur-yellow lightnings, was high. 1338 men found in this inferno death Specially information: " Enterprise Rheinübung" , Battle ship Bismarck and heavy cruiser prince Eugen in combat with SMS Hood and SMS Prince OF Wales, smoke clouds on the horizon

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    Sea-combat of the battle ship " Bismarck" under Iceland. Now battle ship Bismarck directs its whole firepower toward the withdrawing battle ship " Prince OF Wales". <I wonder at this point if the Hood had been sunk?>
     
  2. James S

    James S Very Senior Member

    If P.of W. was withdrawing , yes - she was hit on the bridge which killed or wounded all present another shell landed in a munition handling room but failed to explode.
    At one time she only had perhaps two of her main armament in action and sailed with maintance men on board trying to remedy faults in her gun turrets.
    She was not really in order to face Bismarck but had to go and perhaps with another senior officer in charge of the German squadon Prince of Wales would probably have been sunk or at least much more heavily damaged than she was.
    Its no secret that Lindemann was beside himself that the opportunity was allow to slip away.
     
  3. James S

    James S Very Senior Member

    The change in position of the two ships should be noted , Priz Eugen entered the battle in the lead as Bismarks radar array was out of action and this lead to Admiral Holland in mistakenly engaging Prinz E. as his primary target - Captain Leach in Prince of Wales did not make the same mistake .
    The German ships have shifted position as the engagement progressed.
     
  4. James S

    James S Very Senior Member

    Bismarck left the engagement down at the bows , , a nine degree list to port, taking water , a major quantity of her fuel supply contaminated, and a boiler room out of action.

    She had not lefte Norway with full tanks and had declined the opportunity to fuel from a supply ship in the Arctic - taking advantage of weather and surprise to hed for the Atlantic.
    The missed and declined opportuities now became critical to her chances of survival as she headed for France , running well below maxium speed with the Home Fleet behind her , heavy units leaving convoys to join the chase and force H moving in to block her passage to Biscay.
    The contaminated fuel loss was making a critical influence on her chances for survival.
    Attached from "The Loss of The Bismarck- An Avoidable Disaster" by Graham Rhys-Jones.( Cassell. 2000).

    The cordite clouds are very impressive when she is seen moving at speed , the clouds from her just fired rounds marking where she was , can you imagine her firing her guns in the Gulf war ?
    (She of her generation did so).

    America's battleships never raided against Japanese commerce , they engaged their own kind and later became support for the landings which leapfrogged towards Japan , fine ship as she was her construction illustrated a dated naval thinking perhaps one evene more behind that of the British , Americans and Japanese.

    The operational orders for "Rhine Exercise" taken from "Battleship Bismarck- A Survivor's Story" by Burkard Baron von Mullenheim-Rechberg. ( Arms and Armour Press 1991).
    They mae interesting reading, along with Ludovik Kennedy's classic "Pursuit - The Sinking of the Bismarck" , these are amongest the best accounts of the ill fated maiden voyage of Bismarck.

    The BBC documentery made in 1971 is long overdue for a showing , history channel should ask BBc for it and others made at the same time - they are really quite remarkable comments on the naval war.
     

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  5. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    I've just watched a interesting programme about her on the Nat Geographic.

    Some Aussie chap hired a Russian survey ship and took some of the Bismarcks crew to where she sunk and went down in a submersable with the crew.

    It was quite a emotional moment for them and they laid a big steel plaque on her deck listing the crew that were killed.

    They reckon she suffered over 2,800 hits from shells and torpedoes before she sunk although some of the crew claimed she was scuttled by them rather that sunk outright by the Royal Navy.

    A really good programme and a must for anyone with a interest of the sea.

    'Return to the Bismarck'

    Regards
    Andy
     
  6. James S

    James S Very Senior Member

    I would wonder about the "2,800" Andy when you think of them as hits , how many rounds fired that missed , the Home fleet cpould not have carried ammuntion in that quantity.

    The programme I though was a little weak in terms of historical information , the highlight for me was seeing the German sailors returning to the scene of the action.

    The footage previously shot of the Hood and Bismarck by David Mearns was amongest the very best shown to date.

    Channel 4 - Hood v Bismarck - Home

    YouTube - Bismarck vs Hood

    Poor Ted Briggs has since died , the last voice from HMS Hood is now gone.

    (Andy the photo you posted above is one of the outstanding images of the Bismarck - a ship with beautiful lines.)
     
  7. mikebatzel

    mikebatzel Dreadnaught

    The change in position of the two ships should be noted , Priz Eugen entered the battle in the lead as Bismarks radar array was out of action and this lead to Admiral Holland in mistakenly engaging Prinz E. as his primary target - Captain Leach in Prince of Wales did not make the same mistake .
    The German ships have shifted position as the engagement progressed.
    I believe she knocked out her own radar when she fired a few salvo's towards the shadowing cruisers when they got too close the day before.

    I also enjoy the side story that begins with the sinking of the Bismark.
    Unsinkable Sam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
     
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  8. James S

    James S Very Senior Member

  9. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    James S likes this.
  10. James S

    James S Very Senior Member

    When you look back with what we know now about the chase and the huge elements of luck enjoyed by both sides the propaganda message does not really hold up.

    Always a learning experience to see how the establishment presented the news.

    (The binoculars the rating is holding - Carl Zeiss !)
     
  11. Secret_Army

    Secret_Army Junior Member

    If you've never read the book Alarm Starboard! by Lt Cmdr Geoffry Brooke, you should try and get hold of a copy as it contains a compelling personal account of the Hood action and sinking. (Its still available from Amazon). He was in the standy gun director on the Prince of Wales when the main was put out of action and he assumed command of the ship's guns. He was quite possibly the person who ordered the barrage that fatally wounded the Bismark.
    The whole book in worth reading, especially as Geoff died earlier this year, and the Daily Telegraph obituary tells an incredible tale of his life. Lt-Cdr Geoffrey Brooke - Telegraph
    I knew most of it already though, as I had the privilage of working with him in the 1980's and heard most of the stories firsthand
     
  12. skyhawk

    skyhawk Senior Member

    Found the following account of events. I believe taken from the second flying boat on scene that day. It states that no enemy aircraft engaged them and none were seen. Can anyone shed some light on this and is there any evidence that F.L.T Briggs catalina came into contact with enemy aircraft whilst tracking the Bismarck.
     

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  13. James S

    James S Very Senior Member

    I have had quite a bit of contact with Mr Cyril Newtown who was a FME / AG on the 240 Catalina which shadowed Bismarck after briggs located her.
    Cyril's claim to fame was that he is the only man to have been taken under fire by a German battleship whilst cooking a steak.

    Cyril told me about seeing what they took to be enemy aircraft but they can only have been Swordfish.
    (Bismarcks catapult was out of action although this was unknown to the her crew at this stage so launching any of her float planes would have been out of the question.)
     

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