Catching the Bismarck

In May 1941, British Admiral John Tovey in the 36,000-ton battleship King George V was faced with a dilemma. For 9 hours he had pursued a false trail which carried his two battleships, including 33,000 ton Rodney, far from his intended quarry: the rogue German battleship Bismarck. With every moment the 41,000 enemy dreadnought escaped further from the vengeful clutches of the Royal Navy, into the safety of Luftwaffe bombers launched from the French coast.

The entire operation, dubbed Rheinubung by the Germans, had been one of chance and confusion from the start. Chance had alerted the British of the breakout of Bismarck and cruiser Prinz Eugen from the Norwegian fjords, and brought out the 42,000 ton HMS Hood and Prince of Wales, sister to King George V, to intercept. A lucky hit in the magazine of Hood had cost the life of the pride of the fleet, as well as 1000 of her crew. A chance hit from Prince of Wales also put a premature end to Rheinubing, with Bismarck trailing oil from her engines. Now she dashed for the port of St. Nazaire for repairs and shelter.

Fortune favored Admiral Tovey, just as the Germans neared freedom. Launched from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, a Swordfish bomber had performed a miracle. The Swordfish was an archaic biplane, seemingly of another era, its prototype first flying in 1933. She was very slow, barely making 100 knots into a head wind, but tough and reliable. In the stormy Atlantic seas, this gave the Swordfish a crucial edge. Armed with an 18 inch torpedo, she became a precision weapon of the new war at sea.

In an attempt to slow the Bismarck, a squadron of Swordfish armed with torpedoes launched an early morning strike on May 26. What they found was HMS Sheffield and mistakenly attacked her instead. Luckily, all torpedoes would misfire. The British realized their weapons were exploding as soon as they hit water, and the mistake was corrected in time to catch Bismarck.

The next strike occurred later that afternoon, with darkness looming and the enemy ever nearing the safety of France. This time, with the right vessel in their sights the Swordfish began their attack. One torpedo exploded into Bismarck’s near impervious armored side, causing little damage. Another missile ran deep and impacted against its vital steering
gear. The deed was done. Instead of reaching safety, the Bismarck was now sailing uncontrollably into the gaping jaws of the Royal Navy’s battleships.

Dawn of May 27th, found the Bismarck still helpless. Rodney and King George V reached the scene and began pounding the pride of the Kreigsmarine until she was a blazing wreck. She finally took 1900 of her crew, along with her admiral to a watery grave. Hood had been avenged and the sea lanes made safe, thanks to a lucky shot from an antiquated warplane called Swordfish.

KBismarck
Online since 27 May, 1998!