The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-05-27

forces. Details of operations will b' announced as soon as possible"
 The British navy, which had suf' fered Q heavy blow with the loss oi the proud Hood, the worlds largest warship, had vindicated It's prowes' land had dealt a really cripplin6 blow to the German navy.
 Hood was an old ship. Its 42,l0C ton bulk, it's eight 15-inch guns, hac made it the most glamorous unit IT. the navy but 1t had been built 2 years ago. It met its fate last Sat. urday in what the admiralty called an "unlucky" hit in Its magazine.
 In the Bismarck the 0ermanl had lost Q new battleshlp, possibly the only one completed of the foul of the Bismarck class.
 Brand new, one of the most pow. erful ships in the world, 1t had gone out from the Norwegian coast last Thursday on it's first venture into the open sea, to challenge the Brit. ish navy. It scored one quick and dramatic triumph. Five days after 1t put out 1t went down in battle From the day that 1t left Norway 1t was disclosed only today, the British fleet had stalked 1t.
 Over thousands of miles of seq from the 0reeland Iceland area tc the French invasion coast, British battleships and other units closed in Night and day scout planes sought 1t and, when they sighted 1t flashed its position. Torpedo planes dived down on 1t.
 Failed To Reach Coast
 Seeking to rid itself of It's pur- suers during the few northern hours of darkness or in the fogs which form suddenly over the Arctic and sub-Arctic seas, 1t had sought tc reach the European coast and safety, and failed.
 As admiralty chieftains here plot. ted courses and wirelessed orders the British sea huntsmen exchang- ed reports and hour by hour forced the Bismarck into position where Il could be given the mortal blow that made the sinking of the Hood, from the British viewpoint, better thar even exchange.
 The British fleet still ruled the Atlantic and the German navy hac paid 6 heavy price to find 1t out.
 Tn the final flashes of the explo. slons as the great German ship went down, the Germans had lost the prize ship of their navy, ant one that 1t would take them yeart to replace, a battleship matched by only Q handful in the world today.
 One Big Warship Left If Germany had any 5000 tor battleships left, 1t could have bu one--the T1rpitz, launched Q Inontf and 6 half after the newly completed Bismarck. It has two 26,000 ton bat tleships, Scharnhorst and Gneisenal crippled in Brest harbor after re- peated blows by British planes. I has two pocket battleships, Luetzov and Admiral Scheer, 10000 tons, twt lo,250 ton aircraft carriers and & most about seven cruisers.
 Britain has the new Ring Georg and Prince of Wales, 35 600 ton bat tleships of at least equal power {, the Bismarck, and possibly iron one to three more ships in thi class. It has the 34,000 ton battle ships Nelson and Rodney with 16 inch guns, nine lesser battleshipl the powerful l6-inch battle cruiser Renown and Repulse, at least eigll aircraft carriers. It has about 2 cruisers and four antl.aircraft ships
 It was disclosed that an Ainerical made plane, a huge Consolidated bombers, called here Q Catalina had picked up the Bismarck yes terday.
 Operating under orders of tn, coastal command in long rang, scouting work, the four-motoret plane sighted the Bismarck shortl! before dawn midday yesterday, ap parently making desperately fol Brest or St. Nazaire on the French invasion coast.
 The British huntsmen took posi- tons for battle, wheeling ct tol speed into line.
 Naxl Challenge Failed
 The German challenge had failed Signally and quickly.
 Naval experts emphasized that th' sinking of the Bismarck, despite 1t victory over the Hood, brought t' the front again the question wh! the Germans had built such battle ships when 1t was almost certaii they would be unable to create 6 biI enough force to challenge the Brit ish ships of the line. Even durinl the blackest of the appeasement day the navy had kept an overwhelming superiority.
 It was too early to say whethe the Bismarck sinking had marke, another Jutland, # on a small scale In the Jutland battle Of 1916 tn British suffered big losses. Bu never afterward did the German high seas fleet venture into the At lantic. Some experts, includin British ones. hold that the Britisl lost the Jutland battle. But even that were conceded, paradoxically il losing the battle they chased tn German fleet Into shelter and wo