| German battleship Bismarck (upper right) just prior to her sortie into the Atlantic. 2 merchant-type ships are also present. Photographed from a British Royal Air Force reconnaissance aircraft. This is the famous photograph taken by the British Spitfire (Suckling) at 1315 hours on May 21, 1941. The Bismarck can be seen to the right anchored in the Grimstadfjord near Bergen, Norway, with 3 merchant ships. The steamers would serve as torpedo shields in case of enemy attack. Unlike many other publications, this photo is shown here in its correct orientation with North up. At 1100 on May 21, United Kingdom Coastal Command dispatched 2 Spitfires from Scotland to search the Norwegian coastline and look for the German ships. At 1315 Hours, 1 of them, piloted by Flying Officer Michael F. Suckling (September 1920 – July 21, 1941), successfully sighted and photographed the German ships near Bergen from an altitude of 8,000 meters (26,200 feet), and then returned to Scotland where it landed at Wick Airfield at about 1415 Hours. The sighting of the German battle group by the Swedish cruiser Gotland in the Kattegat as well as by Norwegian resistance operatives the previous day, had proven very unfortunate for the Germans. If the German group would have passed through the Kiel Canal instead, this may have possibly prevented such immediate sightings, and thus the Coastal Command sending the reconnaissance Spitfires. Unfortunately, it took 2 full days to transit the canal, and it was not considered a viable option by the Kriegsmarine (“Nazi German Navy”) command. During their brief stay anchored in Norway, the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen painted over their striped camouflage paint with outboard grey. In addition, the Prinz Eugen, with less than 2,500 metric tons of fuel oil left in her tanks, refueled from tanker Wollin. The Bismarck did not refuel, and this would later prove to be a mistake. It seems that refuelling the Bismarck was not scheduled, and that Prinz Eugen was refueled only because she absolutely had to be due to her shorter endurance. By 1700 Hours, the Prinz Eugen completed refueling, and at 1930 Hours, the Nazi German ships weighted anchor. At this time, Bismarck’s intelligence team received a message from Germany, in which, based on an intercepted radio message, British aircraft had been instructed to be on the alert for 2 battleships and 3 destroyers proceeding on a northerly course. Around 2000 Hours, just before nightfall, the 5 German ships left the Norwegian fiords, and after separating from the coastline, set a course of 0 degrees at 2340 hours, due north. Upon receipt of the 1st sighting reports, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Home Fleet, Admiral Sir John C. “Jack” Tovey (March 7, 1885 – January 12, 1971), immediately began to consider the possible intentions of the German warships. He ordered the heavy cruisers Suffolk and Norfolk, both under the command of Rear-Admiral W. Frederic Wake-Walker (March 24, 1888 – September 24, 1945), to patrol the Denmark Strait. Later in the afternoon, the photos taken by the Spitfire arrived, thus positively identifying 1 Bismarck class battleship and 1 Hipper class cruiser in Bergen. Therefore, shortly before midnight on May 21, the battlecruiser Hood flying the flag of Vice Admiral Lancelot E. Holland (September 13, 1887 – May 24, 1941), the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, and the destroyers HMS Achates, HMS Antelope, HMS Anthony, HMS Echo, HMS Electra, and HMS Icarus, left Scapa Flow for Hvalfjord in Iceland. Their mission to cover the access points south and east of Iceland. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1814.jpg |
| Image Size | 379.95 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1798 x 1525 |
| Photographer | Michael F. Suckling |
| Photographer Title | Royal Air Force Coastal Command |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 21, 1941 |
| Location | Grimstadfjord |
| City | Bergen |
| State or Province | Midhordland |
| Country | Norway |
| Archive | The National Collection of Aerial Photography |
| Record Number | Sortie: N/0183 Frame: 0660 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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