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Second World War History > Sink the Bismarck!
 

Sink the Bismarck!

The scourge of Allied shipping and the pride of the Kriegsmarine - the mighty battleship Bismarck.

Germany had long sought control over the Atlantic shipping lanes in their road to total victory in Europe. Perhaps the best known of the German battleships was the KMS Bismarck who, along with the Prinz Eugen and other German naval surface ships, were charged with the destruction of Allied merchant shipping in the North Atlantic.

A cat-and-mouse game eventually ensues with the Royal Navy trying desperately to keep an eye on the Bismarck. The Royal Navy responds to the German aggression by releasing a hunter-killer task force changed with engaging and eliminating the German high-seas menace. What follows is perhaps one of the most famous naval engagement in history featuring torpedo-laden biplanes, massive cannon bombardments and extensive use of naval tactics to bring down one of the greatest warships of all time.

Royal Navy forces land two torpedoes into the Bismarck, the second disabling the rudder forcing her into a turn. From then on, the Royal Navy warships close and unleash hell on the sitting fortress. The end result would see thousands of British and German sailors lives cast about with thousands of shells lobbed back and forth till the might Bismarck finally went silent. At the end of it all, just 115 Bismarck sailors would be recovered while the ship herself would sink to the floor of the ocean well off the western coast of France.

The engagement proved a strategic and morale victory for the British though at the expense of the battleship HMS Hood and her 1,413 souls. Other Royal Navy ships are damaged. The Germans, however, are dealt the first of many deathblows and their containment of Allied shipping would have to rely on the prowess and thievery of the U-Boat scourge.


Total Events: 19

1941
Wednesday
April 2nd

  Under the direction of German Navy Grand-Admiral Raeder, Operation Rheinubung is fleshed out. The operation calls for direct hit-and-run engagements with British merchant shipping across the Atlantic.

1941
Tuesday
May 20th

  The German heavy cruiser KMS Prinz Eugen and the battleship KMS Bismarck leave port for the North Sea.

1941
Wednesday
May 21st

  In an effort to beef up Royal Navy presence in the North Sea, the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious and the battlecruiser HMS Repulse are called to action in support of existing forces under the command of Admiral Sir John Tovey.

1941
Wednesday
May 21st

  The British Navy is notified of the increase in German warship activity in the North Sea.

1941
Thursday
May 22nd

  A hunter-killer group of 14 Royal Navy ships, including the battleships HMS King George V, HMS Hood and the HMS Prince of Wales, leave Scapa Flow.

1941
Friday
May 23rd

  At 7:22 PM, the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Suffolk and the HMS Norfolk spot and shadow the mighty German battleship Bismarck. Its location is radioed in to Vice-Admiral L. E. Holland.

1941
Saturday
May 24th

  At 5:52 AM, the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen fall under attack from Royal Navy ships.

1941
Saturday
May 24th

  At 6:00 AM, the Bismarck fires a salvo at the battleship HMS Hood, striker her ammunition magazine, with the resulting explosion destroying the British ship leaving only three sailors alive.

1941
Saturday
May 24th

  At 6:13 AM, the battleship Prince of Wales is damaged enough to pull out of the battle.

1941
Saturday
May 24th

  The HMS Suffolk loses track of the KMS Bismarck.

1941
Sunday
May 25th

  German Admiral Lutjens orders that the Prinz Eugen break from the Bismarck.

1941
Monday
May 26th

  Between 8:47 and 9:25 PM, the Bismarck registers two direct torpedo hits. In a stroke of luck for the British, the second torpedo hits the stern section of the Bismarck, jamming her rudder to one side, forcing the vessel to go into an uncontrolled turn.

1941
Monday
May 26th

  A British Coastal Command PBY Catalina flying boat spots the KMS Bismarck 700 miles from Brest.

1941
Monday
May 26th

  At 2:50 PM, an attack group from the HMS Ark Royal consisting of Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers begins their attack on the Bismarck.

1941
Monday
May 26th

  Royal Navy ships open fire with their long range guns and close in on their prey.

1941
Monday
May 26th

  The Royal Navy hunter-killer group receives some help with the arrival of the HMS Renown, HMS Sheffield and the HMS Ark Royal arriving from Gibraltar.

1941
Tuesday
May 27th

  At 8:47 AM, the Bismarck is now being raked from front to rear by the guns of the Royal Navy warships. The battleship HMS King George V and the HMS Rodney unleash their short range armament on the hapless German ship.

1941
Tuesday
May 27th

  At 10:00 AM, the Bismarck's guns fall silent s she takes on water and burns.

1941
Tuesday
May 27th

  At 10:36 AM, the mighty German battleship Bismarck sinks into blue depths, leaving only 115 German sailors to recount her story.


Battleship KMS Bismarck
The KMS Bismarck.

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