warspite1
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Please see the write-up for the battlship Bismarck, and the story of her one and only voyage.
[4765 Bismarck - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 138,000 hp
.B Top Speed: 29 knots
.B Main armament: 8 x 15-inch (381mm), 12 x 5.9-inch (150mm) guns
.B Displacement (full load): 50,900 tons
.B Thickest armour: 12.5-inch (belt)
.P The Bismarcks were the first battleships built for the German Navy after
World War I. The first ship was ordered in November 1935, after the conclusion of
the Anglo-German Naval Treaty. Both ships were laid down in 1936, although
neither were completed by the start of the Second World War.
.P Their design was based upon the First World War vintage Baden-class and this
brought with it limitations to their defensive capability. The main problem being
the lack of deck armour that made the ships vulnerable to plunging shell fire.
They were however, very difficult ships to sink, courtesy of their extensive
watertight compartments.
.P They were powerful ships with a 15-inch main armament that, combined with a
speed of 29 knots, made them at least equal to anything the Royal Navy could
offer. They also featured an excellent fire control system, but the effects of
this were frequently hampered by problems with the German shells, that on many
occasions failed to explode. The Bismarcks provided a stable gun platform thanks
largely to their wide beam. They could have benefitted from a dual purpose
secondary armament that would have negated the need for separate anti-aircraft
(AA) guns, but the Germans had other priorities during the inter-war years.
.P The class also had a much greater range than their British contemporaries,
ideal for the commerce raiding activity that they were expected to carry out.
This gave these Kriegsmarine ships more flexibility in their dealings with the
battleships of the Royal Navy.
.P The largest ships ever completed for the Kriegsmarine were named, fittingly,
after two of the country`s most prominent characters of the late 19th and early
20th centuries; Otto von Bismarck, the first Chancellor of the unified Germany,
and Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, who helped in the building of the Kaiser`s
Navy in the lead up to the First World War.
.P Bismarck was completed in August 1940. From then until December, was a time of
crew training and the testing of her weaponry and propulsion systems to ensure
she was fully worked up for active service. She re-entered the dockyard at the
end of the year to have further work carried out, and from then until April 1941,
she was back in the Baltic under-going intensive work-up.
.P Bismarck took part in her one and only operation in May 1941; Rheinübung.
Following Operation Berlin (see Gneisenau), the Kriegsmarine intended to launch a
much bigger surface raiding operation in the Atlantic. Ideally this would mean
Bismarck and one or two other vessels sailing from Germany and meeting up with
the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau; the latter two having sailed from
Brest, France at around the same time. As it turned out, Scharnhorst was under-
going maintenance for wear and tear incurred during Berlin, and Gneisenau was
torpedoed while at Brest and so also unavailable. Bismarck`s sister Tirpitz was
not combat ready and the heavy cruisers Admiral Hipper and Lützow were being
refitted after their recent commerce raiding activities. As a result, Rheinübung
would take place with only the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen available to accompany
Bismarck.
.P For this operation, Admiral Lütjens was put in charge of the German force and
naturally Bismarck was his Flagship. The battleship was commanded by Captain
Lindemann. The operation should have commenced at the end of April, but Prinz
Eugen was damaged by a mine and she required repair work that took three weeks.
.P Rheinübung finally got underway on the 18th May, when the two ships sailed
from Gotenhafen (Gdynia) and headed for Bergen, southern Norway, where they
refuelled. Whilst at Bergen, they were spotted by a Royal Air Force (RAF)
reconaissance aircraft and their whereabouts reported to Admiral Tovey, in
command of the Royal Navy`s Home Fleet. As a result, the RAF were ordered to
attack, but by the time the bombers arrived off Norway, the Germans had sailed.
.P Now heading north, Lütjens had three break-out alternatives; the Denmark
Strait, the Iceland - Faroes Gap or even the Scotland - Faroes Gap. He chose the
same route that had been used by all surface raiders successfully to date; the
Denmark Strait, between Greenland and Iceland. Although the Strait was narrow and
contained British laid mines, it did offer the furthest distance from the British
fleet base at Scapa Flow.
.P Meanwhile, in response to hearing the news that the German ships had sailed,
Tovey had ordered a strengthening of the patrols along the two most likely break-
out routes. A total of five cruisers were at sea, two of them in the Denmark
Strait. These were the heavy cruisers Suffolk and Norfolk under the command of
Rear-Admiral Wake-Walker. In addition, he had ordered the new battleship Prince
of Wales and the battlecruiser Hood to sea to sail south of Iceland to await firm
intelligence on where the Germans were. Tovey remained at Scapa Flow on board the
battleship Duke of York, along with the aircraft carrier Victorious and four
cruisers.
.P In the early evening of the 23rd May, Suffolk`s look-outs spotted the German
ships and there then followed a game of cat-and-mouse as the British ships tried
desperately to keep contact with Bismarck, while at the same time staying out of
range. Bismarck had opened up with her main armament for the first time in anger
when Norfolk had got too close, but the cruiser managed to hide in the fog and
she was not hit. Norfolk`s radar was rather limited, but thanks to the more
modern radar fitted to Suffolk, Wake-Walker was able to provide a report of
exactly where the Germans were, their course and their speed and as a result,
Vice-Admiral Holland in the Hood was able to set a course to intercept.
.P Initially, Lütjens could not shake off the cruisers, but eventually he managed
to do so, and at a critical point in the proceedings. Had Holland continued to
know Lütjens whereabouts, he could have ensured that battle took place on the
most favourable terms for his ships. Unfortunately for the British, Holland had
to launch his own search mission and so when, at 0530hrs on the 24th May he came
across Bismarck and Prinz Eugen to the northwest of his force, the positioning of
his ships was less than ideal.
.P Hood, with eight 15-inch guns, was the lead ship at the time, with Prince of
Wales roughly 800 yards to the right and rear of her. The two German ships were
on a roughly parallel course but, importantly, at enough of an angle that all of
their guns could be brought to bear. Holland ordered the range to close as fast
as possible in order that Hood would be less at risk of plunging shell fire. He
would then turn to port once his ships were sufficiently close to the Germans.
Although the Royal Navy ships only had their front turrets able to fire, they did
present the smallest target possible during this phase.
.P Hood opened the firing at 0552hrs at a range of just over 25,000 yards, but
mistakenly fired at Prinz Eugen, while Prince of Wales, quickly realising the
error, switched fire to Bismarck. Lütjens now had a choice to make; should he
engage the capital ships or try and withdraw? With the range reducing fast it is
reported that Captain Lindemann shouted "I will not let my ship get shot out from
under my arse!". Three minutes, and what must have seemed like an age after the
British began the firing, Lütjens ordered both German ships to concentrate their
fire on the Hood.
.P It is believed that the first hit on Holland`s Flagship came from the 8-inch
shells of Prinz Eugen rather than from Bismarck, whose first three salvoes all
missed. The hit on Hood started a fire that spread across the boat deck and
reached the ready-use ammunition lockers. The boat deck soon became an inferno as
4-inch shells began detonating, but the fires could not be put out until the
exploding ammunition had been expended. A second hit was then made on Hood`s
spotting top. By this time, despite major mechanical problems with the main guns
on the Prince of Wales, three of her shells had struck Bismarck. Two were of
little importance, but the consequences for Bismarck of the third will be seen
later.
.P The Germans superb fire control now ensured that the two Kriegsmarine ships
were finding their target regularly, and the Royal Navy ships, particularly the
Hood, were in serious trouble. As soon as Holland believed it safe to do so, he
gave the order to turn his ships to port and so allow the rear turrets of each
ship to come into the action. But just as Hood was commencing her turn, disaster
struck. Bismarck’s 5th salvo had hit around Hood`s mainmast area and within a
second or two a thin funnel shaped flame shot out from the ship. This was
followed by an explosion and her being covered in smoke. The Hood rolled to port
and began to sink very quickly, breaking in at least two places as she did so. It
was less than nine minutes since the battle had started.
.P Those on board Bismarck, Prinz Eugen and the Prince of Wales that had
witnessed what had happened, were left in stunned silence. The "Mighty Hood" had
quite simply blown up, taking all but 3 of her crew of 1,418 with her to the
bottom of the sea. However, there was no time to dwell on this. For the Germans,
a change of target to Prince of Wales was required; for Prince of Wales, the
first task was to avoid the wreckage of the sinking Hood, as the battleship
executed her turn to port.
.P All ships achieved their initial tasks and the Prince of Wales was now being
hit regularly by the German ships. She was lucky to survive a 15-inch hit
underneath her armour belt when, not for the first time, Bismarck`s shells failed
to explode. She also took a direct hit against her bridge that killed all men
there with the exception of two, one of whom was her commander, Captain Leach.
With continued problems affecting her guns, Leach felt he had no choice but to
withdraw and Lütjens decided not to chase after her, the battle finishing at
0609hrs.
.P Lütjens then had to decide what to do next. The conclusion he came to was to
try and detach Prinz Eugen, which would continue with a limited Rheinübung, while
Bismarck would make for the nearest friendly port, which was at Brest. Why did
Lütjens not continue the operation with Bismarck? One of the three hits scored by
Prince of Wales on Bismarck had holed her below her armour belt and in the
process had flooded one of the oil storage tanks. This in itself was not too
serious, although it also meant that the oil further forward could not be used
either. Even so, she still had sufficient fuel on board to either get home or to
get to one of the tankers stationed in the Atlantic for the purpose. More serious
was that any high speed manoeuvres or violent shifts to port or starboard would
mean adding further pressure to the already strained bulkheads in the flooded
section. In addition, she was laying a thick trail of oil in her wake that was
seeping from the holed area.
.P Lütjens was also acutely aware that his ships were once more being shadowed as
the Prince of Wales and the dogged Norfolk and Suffolk had joined up after the
earlier battle and were clinging onto the German ships. However, the Germans
managed to detach Prinz Eugen successfully when, in the early evening of the
24th and taking advantage of fog, the Bismarck turned first west, then north and
finally east, completely wrong footing the British. During this turn there was a
brief exchange of fire between Bismarck and the cruisers, but with no damage to
any ship. Bismarck then began the long journey home.
.P Although Wake-Walker had lost contact with Prinz Eugen, his force of three
ships were still shadowing Bismarck on her new south-easterly course. The
Admiralty had also ordered Force H, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, the
battlecruiser Renown and the cruiser Sheffield, to sail north from Gibraltar.
Meanwhile, Tovey was continuing to try and close the gap in order to bring
Bismarck to battle. The battleship`s sudden change of course now meant that the
Royal Navy ships could catch the Bismarck. However, if they lost her again or she
changed course, there was every possibility that the British ships, with their
much lesser range, would run out of fuel before they were able to catch the
German battleship. In desperation, Tovey decided to launch an air strike using
the nine available Swordfish aircraft on Victorious. This despite the fact that
the aircrew were mostly inexperienced and could be considered unready for such an
operation.
.P Victorious and the four cruisers were detached from King George V, and the
carrier aircraft launched an attack just before midnight on the 24th. One torpedo
hit was achieved, although no damage was done. However, the violent manoeuvres by
Bismarck to avoid the torpedoes had resulted in further damage to the previously
torpedoed bow area. This damage required further repairs and Bismarck had to
reduce speed while these were effected. However, only a few hours later, in the
early hours of the 25th, Bismarck escaped the shadowing ships once more while all
the Royal Navy ships were zig-zagging as a defence against U-boats.
.P For the British, this could have been game-over; Tovey continued on a south-
westerly course, while Bismarck continued southeast to France. Both the Prince of
Wales and the Repulse, which had joined Tovey previously, now had to return to
base to refuel. Later, Victorious too would have to refuel. Tovey`s options were
becoming ever more limited; even if he found Bismarck. The British were left with
King George V, heading in the wrong direction, the battleship Rodney (which had
been heading to the United States for a refit when the Bismarck broke out) was
now some miles to the east, and Force H, still heading north from Gibraltar.
.P But then came an incredible stroke of fortune. Lütjens must have believed that
the British were still shadowing Bismarck many hours after they had actually lost
contact. This is the only possible explanation for why he then sent a long
message to headquarters. The message recounted the story of the breakout to date,
including the sinking of the Hood, but its length gave the British the
opportunity to plot from where the signals were coming from. Even then, the exact
location remained a mystery as Tovey and the Admiralty calculated different areas
where they believed Bismarck to be transmitting from. Tovey now believed Bismarck
to be heading for Norway and turned his ship northeast accordingly. Meanwhile,
Rodney and Force H were ordered by the Admiralty to assume Bismarck was heading
for France. By the time that Tovey`s mistake was confirmed, there was no chance
that King George V could catch Bismarck before she reached France. The British
finally made visual contact with Bismarck in the mid-morning of the 26th. A
Catalina flying-boat had been tasked with looking for the battleship in the area
she was now believed to be in. She was.
.P Having confirmed her position, there was now just the matter of sinking the
German vessel. For this, there was just one hope remaining, one ace left for the
Royal Navy to play. That ace came in the form of Ark Royal. If a torpedo strike
could be launched and Bismarck could be sufficiently damaged, then the remaining
Royal Navy ships left in the chase, King George V, Rodney, Renown, Sheffield,
Norfolk and Dorsetshire, could possibly catch her before she reached Brest.
.P Fifteen Fleet Air Arm Swordfish took off in the afternoon of the 26th May to
attack the battleship, but inadvertently attacked the cruiser Sheffield that had
raced ahead of Force H and was now shadowing Bismarck. Fortunately none of the
torpedoes struck and disaster was avoided, however, the Bismarck continued her
passage to France; and every minute saw her inching closer to safety. A second
wave of Swordfish from 810 and 818 Naval Air Squadrons was ordered to take off
early that evening and at 2100hrs they attacked. This time there was no mistake
and two hits on Bismarck were achieved. One of these caused little problem as the
armour belt did its job. However the second hit sealed the fate of the Bismarck.
.P The torpedo struck the stern of the ship and caused the rudder to jam at an
angle; Bismarck was now involuntarily travelling away from the safety of the
French coast and toward the British battleships. The Germans tried everything in
order to free the jammed rudder, but the damage caused by the torpedo to the
stern, hampered efforts to get at the problem. That night the British launched a
torpedo attack using Captain Vian`s 4th Destroyer Flotilla that had been diverted
from convoy escort duty previously. The attacks proved futile and the accuracy of
the Bismarck`s counter-fire surprised the destroyers, however these efforts had
done nothing to assist the repair efforts going on all night and the further
violent manoeuvring did more damage to the hull. Facing up to the grim reality of
the situation, during the night, Lütjens sent a message that he addressed to
Adolf Hitler, confirming that Bismarck would fight to the death. Hitler responded
that Germany would do all it could to help.
.P The battle began the next morning at 0847hrs, when the 16-inch guns of the
Rodney opened fire at just over 27,000 yards. King George V followed immediately
afterwards and finally Bismarck opened her account. Rodney found the range
quickly, as did Bismarck, although she was not to maintain this level of accuracy
as a result of earlier damage to the ship that affected her gunnery calculations.
.P King George V had problems finding the target initially but this problem was
soon rectified. Within a few minutes the range had reduced sufficiently that
secondary armament could be employed. The 8-inch guns of Norfolk began to open
up, and soon afterwards the similarly gunned Dorsetshire entered the battle. Just
over half an hour into the battle, Bismarck`s main armament was silenced. The
range was progrssively closed and by the end the British were effectively firing
at point blank range. Shell after shell tore into the hulk of what was once a
battleship and the pride of the Kriegsmarine.
.P Eventually, at 1021hrs the British battleships ceased firing. Frustrated that
the Bismarck could not be sunk with gunfire, but at the same time satisfied that
the damage was so great that she could never be repaired, Tovey ordered the
Dorsetshire to sink Bismarck with torpedoes.
.P There is debate as to whether it was these torpedoes or the scuttling charges
set by Bismarck`s crew that sank her. Maybe it was a combination of the two.
Either way, Bismarck rolled over and sank, taking Lütjens, Lindemann and almost
2,100 of her crew with her. There were just 115 survivors, almost all of whom
were picked up by the Dorsetshire and the destroyer Maori. There would have been
more saved but a U-boat was spotted by look-outs on the cruiser and the British
ships vacated the area.
_____________________________
England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805  |
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