05_Almaxr's MAY-08

Sighting the Bismarck - 26 May 1941

In late May 1941 a German Navy raiding expedition into the Atlantic was undertaken, employing the new battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. After briefly stopping near Bergen, Norway, on 21 May, they then headed north, planning to enter the shipping zone by way of the Denmark Strait, between Iceland and Greenland.

Catalina Reconnaisance Aircraft

British planes had photographed the German ships while they were in Norwegian waters, and the Royal Navy sent its own warships to sea in an effort to intercept the enemy and keep them from attacking the vital convoys. British cruisers began to shadow the Germans on 23 May, and Bismarck fired on HMS Norfolk. At about 6AM the next day, in the Battle of the Denmark Strait, the Germans fought and destroyed HMS Hood and drove off HMS Prince of Wales.

Bismarck was also damaged sufficiently to force her to abort her mission. British aircraft and ships continued to follow the two German vessels, which separated late on 24 May during an exchange of gunfire with their pursuers. Prinz Eugen continued into the Atlantic while Bismarck was to head towards France, where her damage could be repaired.

Catalina Reconaissance

That night, the British hit the German battleship with a carrier plane's torpedo, reducing her speed, but also lost track of her. Contact was regained on the 26th May when Catalina AH 545 of 210 Squadron spotted the German battleship (pictured above) and the Royal Navy vectored its ships to attempt to sink Bismarck before she could reach the protection of Luftwaffe aircraft from France. Later that day, planes from the carrier Ark Royal scored at least two torpedo hits, one of which crippled Bismarck's rudders.

View more photos of the Lego Catalina

Unable to maintain course toward France, and still out of range of friendly airpower, Bismarck now was at the mercy of her enemies. Torpedo attacks by destroyers on 26-27 May achieved no success, but on the morning of the 27th two Royal Navy battleships, Rodney and King George V, and two heavy cruisers arrived. British fourteen and sixteen-inch shells gradually smashed Bismarck's main guns, superstructure, hull and armour. Prompted by torpedoes and scuttling charges, the German battleship rolled over and sank somewhat after 10:30 AM on 27 May 1941, bringing to an end the most serious challenge that German surface warships would make to British Atlantic Ocean supremacy.

almaxr	Latest page update: made by almaxr , May 26 2008, 10:36 AM EDT (about this update About This Update Edited by almaxr 7 words added 1 image added view changes - complete history)
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"In May of 1941, the war has just begun..."

May 29 2008, 6:10 AM EDT by almaxr

Thread started: May 28 2008, 1:41 PM EDT Watch

Brilliant choice!

Johnny Horton's "Sink the Bismarck" was one of my favorite songs as a child -- so much so that in college I wrote a 50-page paper on the Bismarck and its pursuit by the British Fleet. (At some point I even remember building a fleet of Lego starships and naming them after key ships in the Bismarck pursuit: Norfolk, Suffolk, Dorsetshire, Rodney, Sheffield, etc.)

I like the way you selected a pivotal moment in the pursuit, even though it doesn't seem very dramatic (no shots being fired, no explosions or fancy maneuvers) -- in fact this is precisely the moment that the advantage shifted from the German battleship to the British fleet.

Very nice job with the photo composition, too.

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