| Kriegmarine battleship Bismarck, photographed from the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, following the Battle of the Denmark Strait and before the 2 German ships separated. Bismarck is somewhat down by the bow, the result of hits received in her engagement with HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Hood earlier in the day. This is the next to last photograph of Bismarck taken by the Germans. On May 24, 1941, the North Atlantic lived up to its reputation for nasty weather. Early in the day fog banks of ever-changing density and size engulfed the Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, running on a course of 230 degrees south of Cape Farewell, Greenland. Later in the day rain showers sliced holes into the fog. A gentle to moderate breeze from the east kicked up large wavelets and scattered white-caps. Both ships had changed to a southerly course of 180 degrees, making 24 knots. The Bismarck remained 3 degrees down by the bow due to the hit she had taken in her forecastle. 1 hostile heavy cruiser, HMS Suffolk, as well as a battleship, which the Germans still believed to be “K3G,” that is, HMS King George V, were shadowing the task force from a distance of about 11 miles (17 kilometers). The 2 Kriegsmarine ships darted in and out of heavy rain squalls, making optical identification nearly impossible. At precisely 1540 Hours, Kriegsmarine (“Nazi German Navy”) Admiral Günther Lütjens (May 25, 1889 – May 27, 1941) signaled Prinz Eugen: “Execute Hood.” The Bismarck immediately increased speed to 28 knots and veered off to starboard in a westerly direction. The Prinz Eugen again rang aircraft alert — and then spied the Bismarck coming up from astern out of the rainy haze. Captain Lindemann’s ship had run into 1 of its British shadowers and therefore abandoned its westerly course. Lütjens sent a short signal to Prinz Eugen’s Captain Helmuth Brinkmann (March 12, 1895 – September 26, 1983) at 1559 Hours: “A heavy cruiser stands off to starboard!” Prinz Eugen’s Captain now was certain that the 2 ships would remain together. Fog banks returned by 1800 Hours. For a 2nd time Admiral Lütjens signaled Brinkmann: “Execute Hood.” Again the Bismarck veered off to starboard, 1st on a westerly course and then on a northerly 1. The Prinz Eugen’s 2nd Artillery Officer, Kapitänleutnant Paul S. Schmalenbach (August 21, 1909 – September 26, 1986), poignantly recorded the parting of the 2 ships: “As the Bismarck turns away sharply, for the second time, the sea calms. Rain squalls hang like heavy curtains from low-flying clouds.” The officers on the bridge of the heavy cruiser were almost overcome with melancholy. Suddenly the Bismarck reappeared out of the rain, and bright flashes of light tinged with brown powder smoke painted the sea as her heavy guns roared out in anger at HMS Suffolk once more. “Then the curtain of rain squalls closes for the last time. The “big brother’ disappears.” For the 1st time since departing Gotenhafen in the early hours of May 19, the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen steamed on separate courses. While the battleship set out to shake off her British pursuers, the heavy cruiser acted as a decoy, continuing on a course due south at 24 knots. With a heavy heart, Captain Brinkmann left the bridge of the Prinz Eugen to update the ship’s war diary. Twice Brinkmann wrote the sentence: “Unfortunately, I was not allowed to know the fleet [chief’s] intentions.” Left to his own devices, Captain Brinkmann considered his options. “Refueling is of critical importance to my ship.” Proceeding north to the tanker Belchen in quadrant AJ 25 was fraught with danger. 1st, the enemy would probably surmise that the Prinz Eugen was running low on fuel and that it might head for a tanker stationed off Greenland. 2nd, he would have to count on fighting an engagement off Greenland, should he head in that direction, as he had been dogged since morning “by an American aircraft.” To the north and west, he would encounter more “American aircraft on patrol.” And then there was the “American coast guard vessel [USCGC Modoc] in Quadrant AJ 3920.” The intentions of the Americans were obvious: “They will certainly report me (to the British].” Next Brinkmann evaluated his chances if he continued on a southerly course. The broad stretches of the Atlantic offered greater opportunities to shake off possible pursuers. With every degree of latitude, the nights would get longer and thus reduce the chance of detection. And there would be less likelihood of being shadowed by American flyers. “Late in the evening of May 24 I was again detected twice by an American flying boat.” But where would the [Nazi German] tankers Esso-Hamburg and Spichern be? Brinkmann decided to leave the decision with Naval Group Command West. He did not have long to wait: Paris replied almost immediately that the Spichern would be in quadrant BD 78 by 1400 Hours the next day and the Esso-Hamburg in quadrant CD by May 26. “Therewith my decision to head south is final.” At 2343 Hours, Brinkmann recorded yet another contact made by hostile air. “Apparently we are dealing with an American machine.” Naval Group Command West reported that Grand Admiral Raeder was about to release a communiqué in Berlin to the effect that “American patrols, American convoys,” and “darkened neutral warships” would be met with “German political intervention.” Raeder was ready to let the world know that he no longer considered the United States to be neutral. The Prinz Eugen was a lucky ship. Not only had she escaped the encounter with the Hood and the Prince of Wales without a scratch, but also she was now free and clear in the Atlantic. At 0606 Hours on May 26, Captain Brinkmann spied the tanker Spichern. He could scarcely conceal his joy: “We have made it!” The heavy cruiser was down to 250 tons of fuel. Brinkmann had avoided his worst nightmare: “to stop dead in the water with a fully intact ship.” From 1030 to 1200 Hours the Prinz Eugen took on 2,815 tons of fuel from the Spichern. Not a single hostile sighted her. 2 days later, Brinkmann took on another 680 tons of fuel as well as 10 tons of fresh water and 8-inch (203 millimeter) shells from the Esso-Hamburg in quadrant CD 36 before smoke on the horizon forced him to break off the refueling. He was now ready to raid the target-rich environment of the Halifax (HX) convoys. The heavy artillery from the Bismarck that Lieutenant Schmalenbach had observed from the Prinz Eugen had been directed at the battleship’s old nemesis, HMS Suffolk. Admiral Lütjens had turned on his pursuer, guns blazing, to create a diversion that would allow the Prinz Eugen to escape undetected. The gambit worked. But no sooner had the Suffolk been driven off after laying down a thick cloud of smoke than another old acquaintance, HMS Prince of Wales, opened fire on the Bismarck at 1847 Hours. Lütjens at once ordered a return to a southerly course. Both ships ceased firing as the distance between them grew to 17 miles (27 kilometers). Neither side registered a hit. Unknown to Lütjens, 2 guns of the Prince of Wales’ A turret had broken down. At 1914 Hours, Lütjens briefly reported the encounter: “Short action with King George V without result. Prinz Eugen released to fuel. Enemy maintains contact.” On board the Bismarck, the feeling that the ship was now alone finally sank in. As did the knowledge that the British would activate every warship available to hunt her down. On the Admiral’s Bridge, Lütjens assessed his situation. His task force was now down to 1 ship, the Bismarck. Her hull had been holed, with the result that she was down by the bow and listing to port, with best speed reduced to 28 knots. Her forward radar-detection gear was out of order, and a 1,000 tons of fuel remained inaccessible in the flooded forward compartments. There was no hope of reinforcement: the Tirpitz was still in the Baltic Sea undergoing final workup, and both the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau remained in dock at Brest undergoing repairs. The Bismarck was beyond the range of Luftwaffe aircraft based in France. The enemy continued to shadow him from astern. There was no doubt in Lütjens’ mind that Churchill would put every ship out to sea to find and sink the Bismarck. Indeed, at 1722 Hours, Naval Group Command West passed on to the task force commander a message it had received from the Spanish Intelligence Service: “Renown, Ark Royal, and a Sheffield-class cruiser left Gibraltar during the night of May 24, course unknown.” Kapitänleutnant Burkard Freiherr von Müllenheim-Rechberg (June 25, 1910 — June 1, 2003) wrote in his memoirs, “Although we weathered it quite well, it cannot be said that we came out of the Swordfish attack unscathed. When we increased speed to twenty-seven knots, water pressure increased correspondingly and that, together with our violent zigzags, caused the matting in the forecastle to rip, and water began rushing in again. The result was that we were still more deeply flown by the bow. Furthermore, vibration from our gunfire enlarged the gash in the bulkhead between port boiler room Number Two and the adjacent electric power station, which had flooded after the shell hit that morning, to such an extent that the boiler room also flooded and had to be given up. We reduced speed and steamed at sixteen knots long enough for the matting in the forecastle to be made watertight again. Meanwhile, we resumed course towards Saint Nazaire.” This photo was copied from the report of officers of Prinz Eugen, with identification by her 2nd Artillery Officer Schmalenbach. In 1970, Schmalenbach identified this photo as part of Prinz Eugen‘s war diary. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1748.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.23 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5654 x 3440 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Kriegsberichter Prinz Eugen |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 24, 1941 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | |
| Country | Denmark Strait |
| Archive | Naval History and Heritage Command |
| Record Number | NH 69732 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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