Prinz Eugen
The British ships approached the Germans head on, which permitted them to use only their forward guns, while "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" could fire full broadsides. Several minutes after opening fire, Holland ordered a 20° turn to port, which would allow his ships to engage with their rear gun turrets. Both German ships concentrated their fire on "Hood". About a minute after opening fire, "Prinz Eugen" scored a hit with a high-explosive 20.3 cm shell, detonating unrotated projectile ammunition and starting a large fire on "Hood", which was quickly extinguished. Holland then ordered a second 20° turn to port, to bring his ships on a parallel course with "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen". By this time, "Bismarck" had found the range to "Hood", so Lütjens ordered "Prinz Eugen" to shift fire and target "Prince of Wales" to keep both of his opponents under fire. Within a few minutes, "Prinz Eugen" scored a pair of hits on the battleship and reported that a small fire had been started.