Tony_Buckland@mtsg.ubc.ca (05/26/91)
From: Tony_Buckland@mtsg.ubc.ca Rather than asking fool questions this time, I'll attempt to pay my dues by contributing a bit of research, on the Bismarck, which is a subject that has a peculiar grasp on the minds of people of my age group (57) who were born in the UK. The main questions raised here seem to have been: who torpedoed Bismarck, and to what effect; and how severely damaged was she when she sank? Most of this posting consists of quotes from Grenfell, "The Bismarck Episode," Faber & Faber, London, 1948. He tells a gripping and detailed story. "At 8:47 a.m., the Rodney's 16-in. guns opened the battle. Just as the salvo was due to fall, the King George V's guns flashed out and both the British battleships were in action ... The Bismarck's first salvo was a long way short. But ... her third salvo straddled the Rodney and nearly hit her. ... At 8:54 a.m., the Norfolk ... opened fire with her 8-in. guns ... about this time the Rodney brought her secondary armament into action. The Bismarck was now under the concentrated fire of three ships, and her own gunnery efficiency was noticeably falling off ... It became known later that the Bismarck's main fire control position ... was hit and destroyed fairly early in the action, ... but the mass of shells now pouring in on her would have lowered her offensive power in any case. "[stuff about the difficulty of accurate gunnery with the technology of the time, plus] ... a relative wind straight towards the Bismarck. Consequently, the clouds of brown cordite smoke that belched from the British gun muzzles ... were hanging irritatingly in front of the firing ships, ... the funnel gases added their quota. ... [Dorsetshire arrives, but can't shoot accurately because so many shells are already impacting on and around Bismarck]. "During this period, ten torpedoes were fired at the enemy, six by the Rodney at 11,000 yards and four by the Norfolk at 6,000 yards. None were seen to hit, ... [Bismarck can't move effectively, but the British have to keep on the move to dodge what's left of Bismarck's gunnery and the perceived U-boat threat. Meanwhile, Bismarck has a large fire amidships, some guns out of action and even at maximum depression, the back of the upper fore turrent blown back over the bridge, the 15-in. aloft Director toppled over the side. Rodney has missed with two more torpedoes] "By 10 a.m., the Bismarck was a silent, battered wreck. Her mast was down, her funnel had disappeared, her guns were pointing in all directions ... Inside, she was clearly a blazing inferno, for the bright glow of internal fires could be seen shining through numerous shell and splinter holes in her sides. Her men were deserting their guns ... Captain Patterson [of King George V] would have ceased fire earlier had he known of this, but the Bismarck's port side was so often screened by a wall of shell splashes along her whole length that it was none too easy to notice what was happening on board her. ... And her flag still flew. ... It was indeed astonishing that the Bismarck was still afloat ... [besides shells from four ships] she had been torpedoed by the Victorious', and the Ark Royal's aircraft. [Rodney's broadsides are now] hitting in her in threes and fours at a time. "At 3,000 yards, the Rodney also fired her last two torpedoes, and one of them was seen to hit the Bismarck amidships. The Norfolk also fired her remaining four torpedoes [and may have got one hit. Ark Royal's aircraft try for a torpedo attack, but run into the hazard of British shell splashes all around Bismarck, which would have been lethal to fly into. Finally, the British ships, short of fuel and worried about U-boats, have to turn for home] ... As Sir John steered away, he signalled that any ship with torpedoes was to close the Bismarck and torpedo her. [Dorsetshire alone has some left] ... At 10:20, from about 3,500 yards, [she] fired two torpedoes at the Bismarck's starboard side, one of which exploded right under the bridge. [She] then steered around to her port side and fired another torpedo from about 2,500 yards at 10:36. This torpedo also hit. The shattered leviathan, her colours still flying, silently heeled over to port, turned bottom up and disappeared beneath the waves [this doesn't appear much like a scuttling]. [A limited number of survivors are rescued with lines and ladders, but the weather and the U-boat threat prevent using boats. A report of a periscope sighting cuts the rescue attempt short. Possible loss of the Battle of the Atlantic has been avoided.] Sorry for the length of this posting. But I think interest in this battle, 50 years ago on May 27th of this year, should justify it.