Evening star., 1941-07-19
Bismarck
Continued From First Pageo

lOlll L IL ot q oSN"'
have been hunted by force con-
sisting of four or five battleshlps,
a dozen cruisers. a horde of Destroy
ers, four airplane carriers and land
based aviation from Newfoundland.
Iceland, the British Isles and Gil
braltar.
The Bismarck cleverly availed
herself of the presence of American
patrol boats, the story is. by maneu-
vering whenever possible to place
them as screen between herself
and British men of war, which were
thereby compelled to cease firing.
The German battleship is said TO
have refrained also from firing over
American surface craft.
One such vessel was called to the
scene by an SOS stating that II
merchant ships had been sunk The
inhumanity of modern war at sea
has become such that ships in con-
VOWS are forbidden to stop and res
cue survivors floating in the water.
In the war zone such reScues are
now entirely in the hands of Amer
lean patrols. This particular ship,
somewhere south of Denmark Strait,
separating Greenland ano Iceland,
suddenly found herself with the Bis
marck 4 miles away on one side
and British warships another 4 miles
distant on the other. Neither of
the combatants fired q shot over
the American vessel.
Suicide Planes Blasted.
Observers from the United States
dwell on the appalling fury and
savagery of new marine warfare. as
witnessed in this epic conflict, and
upon the audacity raised to new
dimension which was displayed by
English boys of II and 18 manning
that suicide craft, the torpedo air.
plane. The decks of the Bismarck,
they say, were thronged with anti
aircraft guns which enveloped her
from stem to stern in ring of flame
and steel. Into this inferno they
saw eight planes dive low on one
occasion and skim along some 20
feet above the surface in the hope of
sending their torpedoes home. Seven
of these planes were instantly shot
to pieces and only one returned
American eyewitnesses also cele-
brate the courage Of officers and
men on second suicide craft. the
destroyer. 1t was not gunfire that
dispatched the Bismarck, they as
sert, but torpedoes fired by DESTROY
ers that swarmed in upon the
stricken monster. the batteries Of
which were still blazing when she
plunged beneath the sea. Many of
the destroyers were hit. it is de-
clared, but the Bismarck could not
sink them all The survivors finally
placed enough torpedoes 10 send the
battleship down.
British Losses High.
The British have not published
their losses in this long running
battle. but they are believed to have
been terrific. particularly in de-
stroyers and planes That is in
addition to the destruction of the
overage battle cruiser Hood, the
powder magazine of which was ex-
ploded by lucky shell fired by the
Bismarck from a distance of 13
miles. This is rated by Americans
near the scene as "one shot in
million"
Immediately after the Bismarck
disappeared, the British forces are
said TO have scattered to the four
winds, without stopping to save more
than handful of hundreds of Nazi
sailors and marines swimming in the
sea. tt has been learned by costly
experience that chivalry is no longer
possible, since German planes have
never heSitated to bomb enemy
ships even when they were engaged
In the rescue of drowning Nazis.
The fact that the German battle
ship had aboard an extra force of
about 1900 marines is interpreted
TO signify that one OF her missions
was the landing of a shore expe-
dition. probably in Iceland. If so,
this information may account for
President Roosevelts S action in send
ing armed forces to that island.
Engines Scattered.
Another safety measure incorpO-
rated in the Bismarck is declared
to have been the scattering of her
engines throughout the hull, so that
no single well-placed shell could put
her power plant out of action.
If this account, from trained and
expert American observers, proves to
be true. then the Germans have
developed a battleship relegating to
obsolescence not only every United
States capital ship afioat but like
wise all those in the present six-year,
two-ocean program. 1t includes
IS ,000-ton craft with speed of q
knots an hour. and 45,000-ton ves-
sells with a speed slightly better
than 80 knots.
Those we'll advanced in con-
struction are declared to have only
Is main watertight compartments.
According to report which could
not be verified at the Navy Depart
nent, the Bureau of Ships is hastily
revising its plans so as to increase