German battleship Bismarck
Channel: the aleatoric learning channel
Date: 2022-02-03

German_battleship_Bismarck:
On 16 May, Lütjens reported that Bismarck and Prinz Eugen were fully prepared for Operation Rheinübung; he was therefore ordered to proceed with the mission on the evening of 19 May. As part of the operational plans, a group of eighteen supply ships would be positioned to support Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. Hood engaged Prinz Eugen, which the British thought to be Bismarck, while Prince of Wales fired on Bismarck. The British ships approached the German ships head on, which permitted them to use only their forward guns; Bismarck and Prinz Eugen could fire full broadsides. After Bismarck resumed her previous heading, Wake-Walker's three ships took up station on Bismarck's port side. Although Bismarck had been damaged in the engagement and forced to reduce speed, she was still capable of reaching 27 to 28 knots, the maximum speed of Tovey's King George V. Unless Bismarck could be slowed, the British would be unable to prevent her from reaching Saint-Nazaire. One of Bismarck's shells exploded 20 feet off Rodney's bow and damaged her starboard torpedo tube-the closest Bismarck came to a direct hit on her opponents. Overall the four British ships fired more than 2,800 shells at Bismarck, and scored more than 400 hits, but were unable to sink Bismarck by gunfire. Bismarck disappeared beneath the surface at 10:40.Junack, who had abandoned ship by the time it capsized, observed no underwater damage to the ship's starboard side.

keywords: fire, shell, British, two, Eugen, German, ordered, rate, Prinz, ship, Bismarck

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2022-02-02 19:24:48.294279