66 GERMANY TRIUMPHANT 1939–1941
May 24 Hood is sunk; of
1,418 men, only three survive
and are retrieved by the destroyer
HMS Electra.May 25 Repulse,
low on fuel, is
forced to detach
from the hunt
for Bismarck.8 pm May 24 The British
battleship Rodney and four
destroyers, escorting the
liner MV Britannic to
Canada, are instructed by
the Admiralty to join the
hunt for Bismarck.3:06 am May 25
Suffolk loses contact
with Bismarck, which
turns to starboard,
and behind her
pursuers, to make
her escape.June 1 Prinz Eugen develops
mechanical problems and
returns to Brest. The threat
in the Atlantic from the
German surface fleet is over.◁ Bismarck in the Baltic
The battleship named after Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck was commissioned into
the Kriegsmarine in 1940. With a range of
almost 9,000 nautical miles and armed with
eight 15-in guns, she was a formidable foe.NorthSea KattegatDenmark
StraitARCTIC
OCEAN
HvalfjrđurIce^EdgeShetland
IslandsOrkney
IslandsFaroe
IslandsN
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A
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D A T L A N T
IC
(^) O
C
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ICELAND
IRELAND
PORTUGAL
NETHERLANDS
FRANCE
DENMARK
GREATER
UNITED GERMANY
KINGDOM
VICHY
FRANCE
Timmiarmiut
Reykjavík
Gibraltar
Glasgow
Scapa
Flow
Lerwick
London
Kulusuk
Bergen
Dublin
Belfast
Berlin
Moss
Brest
Kiel
Malmö
Gdynia
May 21
6 CLOSING IN FOR THE KILL MAY 26
At about 10:30 am on May 26 Bismarck was pinpointed
by an RAF Catalina flying boat, but King George V and
the battleship Rodney were about 130 miles (210 km)
behind the wounded giant. That evening, Gibraltar-
based Force H caught up from the south, and 15
Swordfish from the British carrier Ark Royal struck
Bismarck with torpedoes, crippling her rudders. As she
floundered helplessly, her pack of pursuers closed in.
Torpedo Fairey Swordfish biplanes
5 A NAVAL HUNT ON THE HIGH SEAS
MAY 24–25, 1941
Prinz Eugen slipped away to continue raiding while
the Bismarck, in need of repair, continued south-west,
shadowed by Norfolk, Suffolk, and Prince of Wales.
Meanwhile, other British ships had joined the hunt.
Near midnight, torpedo-armed Swordfish aircraft
from Victorious attacked Bismarck, but caused little
damage. Amid a long radio silence Lütjens gave the
British the slip—until a message the next morning
betrayed Bismarck’s bearings and reignited the chase.
Torpedo Fairey Swordfish biplanes
IN SEARCH OF THE ENEMY
7:22 PM MAY 23–5:50 AM MAY 24, 1941
At 7:22 pm on May 23, a lookout on the Suffolk spotted
Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. Signals were sent to the
Hood and Prince of Wales while Suffolk and Norfolk
shadowed the German vessels at high speed through
banks of fog and snow. Hood and Prince of Wales
intercepted them at 5:30 am. At 5:50 am Commander
Vice Admiral Holland, aboard Hood, closed range and
directed Hood and Prince of Wales to open fire.
3
German ships spotted
THE BATTLE OF THE DENMARK STRAIT
5:56–6:09 AM MAY 24, 1941
The German ships returned fire, and a 15-in shell hit
Hood near the main mast; she was struck by another
shell before her aft magazines exploded. The ship sank
with the loss of all but three of her crew. Following a
brief lull, firing resumed; the Prince of Wales was hit,
but she had also struck Bismarck and caused a fuel
leak. At 6:03 am, a damaged Prince of Wales disengaged
and by 6:09 am firing had ceased.
4
Battle of Denmark Strait HMS Hood sunk
THE END OF THE BISMARCK MAY 27
By about 9 am on May 27, the big guns from Rodney and
King George V had neutralized the Bismarck’s eight 15-in
guns. The cruisers Norfolk and Dorsetshire attacked.
Despite hundreds of shell hits, the battered Bismarck
remained afloat. The end came at about 10:39 am when
a torpedo from Dorsetshire coincided with explosive
charges set in the boiler room by Bismarck’s crew.
Only 115 men survived out of a crew of around 2,200.
7
Torpedo Bismarck sunk
10:39 am May 27 The
Bismarck sinks after
a torpedo hit from
the Dorsetshire and being
scuttled by her crew.
May 25 Victorious
sets off for Iceland
to refuel.
US_066-067_Sinking_of_the_Bismarck.indd 66 22/03/19 2:39 PM