| The British cruiser HMS Norfolk sighted the Bismarck for the 1st time in the strait between Greenland and Iceland. Here HMS Norfolk fires at the much larger German battleship. Upon receipt of the 1st sighting reports on May 21, 1941, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Home Fleet, Admiral Sir John C. Tovey (March 7, 1885 – January 12, 1971), immediately began to consider the possible intentions of the Kriegsmarine (“Nazi German Navy”) warships. He ordered the heavy cruisers Suffolk and Norfolk, both under the command of Rear-Admiral William Frederick Wake-Walker (March 24, 1888 – September 24, 1945), to patrol the Denmark Strait. On May 23, 1941, the weather remained poor – low clouds and thick fog. The weather conditions were very favorable for the German ships to pass through the Denmark Strait and reach the Atlantic unnoticed. At 2030 Hours, the Germans sighted the heavy cruiser Norfolk, and Bismarck opened fire immediately. She fired 5 salvos, 3 of which straddled the Royal Navy ship, throwing some splinters on board. HMS Norfolk was not hit by any direct impact, but had to turn hard to starboard, launch a smoke screen, and retire into the fog. Norfolk, with HMS Suffolk, then took up positions astern of the German ships Bismarck and Prinz Eugen; the Suffolk (equipped with a new Type 284 radar) on the starboard quarter, and the Norfolk (with an older Type 286M radar) on the port quarter. They limited themselves to keep Radio Direction Finding (RDF) contact and report the position of the German squadron until more powerful British ships could engage. These more powerful ships were HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales. On May 24, 1941, Bismarck and Prinz Eugen sank HMS Hood and severely damaged HMS Prince of Wales; Admiral Wake-Walker, in Norfolk, was left to pursue the Kriegsmarine warships; HMS Suffolk from the starboard quarter, and HMS Norfolk with HMS Prince of Wales from the port quarter. Pursuit continued until Bismarck drove at the British ships long enough to give Prinz Eugen time to escape. at 1814, the Bismarck turned to starboard at high speed again. This time the manoeuvre was successful and the Prinz Eugen maintained her course and left the formation. The Bismarck closed on the Suffolk, and at 1830 Hours opened fire from 18,000 metres (19,685 yards), but the cruiser quickly retired under a smoke screen. Subsequently, the Bismarck became engaged with the Prince of Wales at long distance, and after an exchange of salvoes the fire ceased at 1856. After this action, in which no hits were scored by either side, the Suffolk joined the Norfolk and the Prince of Wales back to the port side of the Bismarck, probably to avoid being surprised by the German battleship if she decided to reverse her course again. However, this left Bismarck’s starboard side open. After Swordfish torpedo bombers from HMS Ark Royal crippled Bismarck on May 26, 1941, with 2 hits; 1 jammed her rudder and steering gear 12 degrees to port, the ship was slowed in her race to Brest. British destroyers harassed Bismarck throughout the night. On May 27, 1941, 2 Royal Navy battleships, HMS Rodney and HMS King George V, and the heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire, joined HMS Norfolk in engaging Bismarck in her last battle. HMS Rodney opened fire at 0847 Hours, followed by HMS King George V 1 minute later. The distance at this time was about 20,000 meters (21,870 yards). The Bismarck returned fire at 0849 Hours with the forward turrets “Anton” and “Bruno” against the Rodney. Turrets “Caesar” and “Dora” could not be trained at this time. In opposition, HMS Rodney had all her 9 guns positioned forward and the King George V added 6 more. So, the initial stage of this engagement consisted of an exchange between 4 German guns and 15 British. The Bismarck was totally outgunned. Moreover, at 0854 Hours, HMS Norfolk joined the battle with her 16-inch (203 millimeter) guns, and at 0858 Hours the 6 twin 6-inch (152 millimeter) secondary battery of HMS Rodney joined the action. Nevertheless, just at this time Bismarck managed to straddle Rodney. Finally, at 0902 Hours, Bismarck was hit by several shells that struck the forecastle, foremast and disabled the foretop rangefinder. At 0904 Hours, HMS Dorsetshire, which had just arrived, also opened fire. 2 battleships and 2 heavy cruisers were firing against Bismarck. At 0908 Hours, the forward range finder and turrets “Anton” and “Bruno” were put out of action. Bismarck’s fire control was, therefore, shifted to the after command post. From there, the 4th Artillery Officer, Kapitänleutnant Burkard Freiherr von Müllenheim-Rechberg (June 25, 1910 – June 1, 2003) directed 4 salvoes against HMS King George V. But at about 0913 Hours, just as he got the range, his station was also put out of action by a 14 inch (356 millimeter) shell that destroyed the cupola. The after turrets then proceeded to fire under local control at HMS Rodney which, in the meantime, had launched 6 torpedoes at Bismarck; none of them hit. At 0921 Hours, turret “Dora” was put out of action after 1 of its own shells exploded inside the right barrel. At 0927 Hours, turret “Anton” or “Bruno” surprisingly fired 1 last salvo. 4 minutes later, at 0931 Hours, turret “Cäsar” fired its last salvo. Only a few secondary guns were still in action, but these were soon to be silenced, too, by the enormous avalanche of British fire. At this time, Captain Ernst Lindemann (March 28, 1894 – May 27, 1941), gave the order to scuttle and abandon ship. Once the Bismarck lost her fighting capability, Rodney got closer, and from distances between 2,500 and 4,000 meters (2,700 to 4,300 yards) continued firing with her 25-inch guns against both sides of the German battleship. The hits continued. At about 0940 Hours, the rear wall of turret “Bruno” blew out and the turret caught on fire. At 0956 Hours, the Rodney launched 2 more torpedoes from 2,700 meters (3,000 yards) with 1 possible hit scored on the port side. From this point blank range, it was virtually impossible to miss a shot, and shell by shell hit Bismarck which amazingly was still afloat. Soon after 1000 Hours, HMS Norfolk launched 4 torpedoes from about 3,600 meters (4,000 yards) with 1 possible hit to the starboard side. The destruction aboard Bismarck was complete, and men had begun jumping overboard. All guns were out of action, their barrels pointing in different directions at odd angles. The funnel and superstructure were holed in many places. The port forward hangar was demolished. In some places the decks looked like a slaughterhouse. Ironically, the mainmast was still standing with the battle flag flaying with the wind. The Rodney ceased fire at 1016 Hours, and Admiral Tovey, short of fuel, was forced to leave the battlefield. At 1020 Hours, HMS Dorsetshire closed the range and fired 23 inch Mark 7 torpedoes from 3,000 meters (3,300 yards) at the starboard side of Bismarck. Both of them hit, but no appreciable effect was observed. Then, the British heavy cruiser turned around, and at 1036 Hours fired another torpedo from 2,200 meters (2,400 yards) against Bismarck’s port side that also hit. By this time the German battleship had a heavy list to port, with the water reaching the upper deck. The port secondary battery turrets were almost submerged. Finally, Bismarck capsized and sank at 1039 hours. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1851.jpg |
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| Image Dimensions | 1600 x 1222 |
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| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 27, 1941 |
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| Country | Atlantic Ocean |
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| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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