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| Bismarck as seen from Prinz Eugen after the Battle of the Denmark Strait. (Source) |
As the German navy, the Kriegsmarine, had a substantially smaller surface fleet than their main foe, the Royal Navy, not much could be expected from them offensively. Bismarck's time in active service lasted about eight months, during that time she destroyed the British battlecruiser HMS Hood and damaged the battleship HMS Prince of Wales. Bismarck herself sustained enough damage that she was forced to turnabout and head for port. The Royal Navy was not going to let that happen.
Her mission, along with her consort the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, had been to raid Allied shipping in the North Atlantic. That mission was a failure. Germany eventually had to rely on submarine warfare to do that, a mission which the U-Boat fleet came dangerously near to succeeding at.
Meet the killers of the Bismarck -
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| Fairey Swordfish on the after deck of HMS Victorious, 24 May 1941. The next day, nine Swordfish from Victorious attacked Bismarck. |
Anyhoo, I stumbled upon this music video by Sabaton, a band I have mentioned before and a band which I believe our Polish correspondent Paweł is a big fan of, this video of theirs, about the Bismarck, sent shivers down my spine. Very well made.
I didn't think I'd like Sabaton at first, but they are growing on me, I mean, a metal band who loves history? What could be bad about that?
Enjoy.
The footage below is interesting, taken by a German cameraman aboard Prinz Eugen. (The audio was added by the guy who posted the video, it isn't original, but it's damned good.)
A little metal music before 0630 will certainly wake you up, it attracted the attention of a squirrel doing it's daily inspection of the upper deck....Never seen the Prinz Eugen footage before though. Going to guess that Bismark had it's own cameraman aboard, what with maiden voyage and all.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt when she went down, the cameras and all footage were lost. Hopefully (but doubtfully) the camera man survived.
DeleteThey tried to get the film and the logs off the ship before the last showdown, but the catapult had been damaged by shell splinters during the HOOD action, so they were unsuccessful.
DeleteWell, that sucks.
DeleteI watched the second vid first. Found myself wishing for the 2 second delay that YT usually gives me between audio and video. But the sound effects were very good. What did the Aleman's use for propellant on their naval guns? That black smoke looks like diesel smoke. Our guns belch out a yellow brown cloud of freedom, made me wonder.
ReplyDeleteThen the metal. Wow, good song, great video. Seeing that battle wagon coming out of the mist was awe inspiring... The did a good job with that. Noticed they said he for the ship. I seem to remember that being a custom of certain folks....
Good post today. Very though provoking....
Thanks STxAR, sounds like we had similar reactions to the video.
DeleteThe Kriegsmarine used intracellular propellants.
Deletehttp://navweaps.com/index_tech/tech-100.php
Off topic, but wanted to share as I know folks here will enjoy this. Brought to you by Juan Browne and his Blancolirio channel. His day job is flight crew (First Officer?) for a major airline.
ReplyDeleteB-25J Mitchell Bomber Ride - "Executive Sweet" over Donner Summit, Ca.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0ANcw4WVD8
Sweet!
DeleteHey AFSarge;
ReplyDeleteAs I recall Johnny Horton had a song "Sink the Bismark", and I still have the book "Sink the Bismark" by C.S Forester I got back in 1976 from the PX in Germany :)
Do tell. I was there then, too. My main PX was in Nürnberg, although I did not buy that book there.
DeleteMrG - He did and I read that book as well.
DeleteRHT447 - Every time I tell someone I was in Germany they think it was in that neck of the woods. The NATO base is much further north.
DeleteSarge, could it be that most folks just automatically think ground pounders when NATO is mentioned? As you and I well know, a bit more to it than that. I wonder where Mr.G was stationed.
DeleteTrue.
DeleteHey AFSarge;
DeleteAs a dependent, I was stationed in Frankfurt amd K-town because my Dad was in the Army in the 1970's, in the 1980's I was in the Army for 5 years stationed in Cooke Barracks at Geoppingen and then in Stuttgart at Stuttgart Army Airfield.
“Pursuit” by Ludovic Kennedy, is an excellent read. He was a junior Midshipman on HMS Sheffield.
DeleteSwordfish and “luck, bad” ...
ReplyDeleteReminds me of one of juvat's mantras, "I'd rather be lucky than good."
DeleteA story still being discussed among aficionados; particularly the fate of HMS Hood--upshot (heh) seems to be that it was a one in a million shot, not a fundamental fault in her armor. Interesting also that the Admiral she was named for (Horace Hood) went down with his ship after she blew up during the Jutland battle in WW I. I think the British film based upon C.S> Forester's book is still the best.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the film.
DeleteI knew that HMS Hood was named for the admiral who went down with HMS Invincible (another of the ill-fated British battlecruisers). I believe the only "flaw" in the British battlecruisers was in their concept. Heavy enough guns to slug it out with a battleship but fast enough to avoid the battleship's punch.
All it takes is one round in the wrong spot and you get Admiral Beatty exclaiming, "Chatfield, there seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today."
Well, from what I have researched, the Hood had the same ammo hoist system, one that had several blast doors open at the same time, that her ill-fated battlecruiser sisters had at Jutland, much to their expense. One hit in the turret at the right time and the resulting explosion would travel down the hoists all the way into the magazines and booooom.
DeleteIt was a flaw that the Brits new about, well, since Jutland. And never got around to correcting. Pi..-poor engineering isn't only a modern US Navy trait.
And, amongst Prinz Eugen aficionados, they believe that the Hood hit was from the Eugen.
It wasn't the doors so much as it was the crew's habit of leaving those doors open for ease of use. The doors were there to prevent fire from communicating down into the magazines. Leave 'em open, guess where the fire goes?
DeleteOperator error isn't only a modern US Navy trait. 😉
"...the Brits new about..." Come on Andrew, I know you know better than that.
DeletePaul
Can anyone say "typo"?
DeleteI knew you could.
One analysis I've read (and forgotten the source) went into detail about the Germans woeful AA ability and the Fairey's fabric cover allowing it to absorb hits that might have fatally damaged an all metal airplane.
ReplyDeleteQuite plausible. It was still early in the war and the vulnerability of capital ships had yet to be demonstrated.
DeleteBelieve the source was National Interest Online.
DeleteThanks WSF.
DeleteThe Bismark was remarkably hard to sink, as the engineers really compartmented her. Much better than the design of the German destroyers, who were front heavy. The Bismark was done correctly. Modern everything. And then taken out by a plane with WWI performance. Oops.
ReplyDeleteAs to heavy metal, Christopher Lee composed and performed on several HM albums. one dealing with Charlemagne and a Heavy Metal Christmas album. Specifically, "Charlemagne - By the Cross and the Sword" and "A Heavy Metal Christmas." What a dude. Special Forces, Actor, Composer, Singer, Gardner, Composter, Swordsman, a true Renaissance Man.
Christopher Lee was something else, sorely missed.
DeleteInteresting post Sarge. Harrowing footage of the old school sluggers chucking 15” bricks as many miles and some.
ReplyDeleteRookie crews flying obsolete biplanes off a deck pitching through 30’ into the squalls with no Garmin, no TomTom, one compass and stopwatch and a single channel RDF. Balls of Titanium.
Trivia note: I was honoured to once have an afternoon brew with Lt.Ted Briggs RN Ret’d, one of the three survivors from HMS Hood. He spent his latter years in a retirement home in the town where I lived and worked. I consider it a matter of personal pride that I never asked him about dear old Hood, nor was the subject touched upon, albeit the action was very much in my thoughts. A wonderful experience for me, meeting the man.
Meeting LT Briggs? Now that is an experience to remember, and cherish.
DeleteNb Rookie crews from HMS Victorious that is. The Ark’s aviators were led by Lt Cdr Eugene Edmond. VC, DSO
ReplyDeleteStill amazing how that single engine could haul so much weight around. (The crews titanium cojones that is...)
DeleteHistorically speaking, titanium wasn't in use as much then, and it's lighter than most metals used in that era. I reckon those were probably Gun Metal Stones, Mod 1 Mk 1, with a broad arrow on each!! And I doubt they were issued.... Probably born with 'em.... (like my cowboy boots)..... ("If God wanted me nekked, I'd have been born that way." STxAR)
Delete😎
DeleteApparently the fire control systems on the German ships couldn't deal with a plane flying as slow as the Swordfish could. In addition the 3.7cm flak guns on the Bismarck were single shot as compared to the 40mm Bofors and 'Pom Pom' Guns fitted to USN and RN ships. By the latter stages of the war the RN and the USN could put up impressive curtains of fire against aerial attacks. Lt Cdr Eugene Esmond met his fate his fate attacking the Scharnhorst/Gniesenau/Prinz Eugen during the 'Channel Dash' or 'Operation Cerberus' as the Germans called it. Perhaps that might be a subject you might write about?
DeleteRetired
The Channel Dash as a post, now that is a brilliant idea.
DeleteI'm on it!
Sarge, when in London......
DeleteI have stood before Lt. CD-R. Esmonde’s VC on display in the Imperial War Museum. The citation always leaves tears.
Germans just didnt have capital ships to take on RN during WW2, even more so than during the Jutland.
ReplyDeleteJust look at the forces RN was able to marshall on quick notice to hunt down Bismarck.
Victorious, Ark Royal, KG V, Rodney Renown, and plenty of smaller ships
Submarine warfare on the other hand...
Very true, they didn't have the resources to build capital ships and panzer divisions. Truth be told, they were stretched throughout the war.
DeleteThank God they didn't concentrate on submarine warfare!
And thank providence they didn’t get the bomb.
DeleteAs each USN Fast Battleship was put into commission, she remained with the Atlantic Fleet, until the next fast Battleship was commissioned, and then was released for the Pacific, and the newly commissioned BB waited for the next new one. that way there was always something fast, with radar controlled 16"ers available, in case TIRPITZ managed to get loose. The MK38 fire control system on an IOWA, with it's MK13 Fire Control radar, could consistently drop all 9 rounds of a broadside withing a football field. So a fight between TIRPITZ, and NEW JERSEY would have been interesting. A NORTH CAROLINA, or SOUTH DAKOTA would have been a better ship to hunt the TIRPITZ with, as the 16"/45 cal was a slower, higher trajectory round, and had better deck penetration.
ReplyDeleteThere was one occassion, the infamous convoy PQ-17, when The Mighty Washington almost got into scrap with Tirpitz, but RN HQ decided that instead of rushing the escorts to convoy in submarine and bomber infested waters it is better to disband the convoy nad let the merchantmen run individually to Murmansk. Results were awful, Germans simply recalled the Tirpitz back and let the u-boats and planes massacre the largely defenceless merchant vessels.
DeleteWashington would have put paid to TIRPITZ's career, right then and there. She was very well aware of how to deal with enemy BBs!
DeleteI temper my anger over the scatter order, with the knowledge that Dudley Pound had a brain tumor, which would kill him in 1943
and that would have put Washington as only WW2 BB to sink 2 of same class (Kirishima being the second at Guadalcanal)
Deletehave my WoWS version of Missouri "Hooding" Tirpitz
https://youtu.be/_lPSPue48uQ
PQ-17, what a nightmare!
DeleteRe Tirpitz, fortunately we had Lancasters, X-craft and Barnes Wallis’s TallBoys. There is a piece of Tirpitz’s armour belt in the “Explosion” museum in Gosport, part of Portsmouth Historical Dockyard. It is one heck of a lump of steel.
Deleteaaah, porfessor Wallis, the man that probably personally costed Germany the most in destroyed property...
Deletealso the original Mother of All Bombs...