BritishGermanWind NE
23 May, 7:15 p.m.
Along the ice
Bismarck and Prinz Eugen run south-west through the Denmark Strait, between the Greenland pack ice and the minefields off Iceland. The cruisers Suffolk and Norfolk are patrolling the strait.
“clear over and close to the ice, and misty between the ice and the land.”
The battle
In May 1941 the German battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen tried to break out into the Atlantic through the Denmark Strait, between Iceland and the Greenland ice. On the evening of 23 May the cruisers Suffolk and Norfolk found them and held them by radar through the night.
At dawn on the 24th Vice-Admiral Lancelot Holland’s Hood and the new battleship Prince of Wales closed to engage. Within eight minutes of opening fire Hood blew up and sank; three of the 1,418 men aboard survived. Prince of Wales, hit seven times, turned away under smoke.
Bismarck had been hit and was leaking oil. Admiral Lütjens turned for France and that evening released Prinz Eugen to raid alone. The shadowers held on, and on 27 May Bismarck was caught and sunk.
Reading the chart
- Times are zone minus 2, two hours ahead of Greenwich: the clock of the British reports and of both German war diaries. On that clock the sun rose at 06:37, so the action was fought in the half-light before sunrise.
- The exact position of Hood’s wreck has never been released. The chart puts her sinking at the approximate position published by the H.M.S. Hood Association, 63°22′ N, 32°17′ W, which agrees with Prince of Wales’s own 1941 reckoning to about two miles. The true spot may be five to ten miles away.
- Hood and Prince of Wales are traced back from that point along Captain Leach’s logged courses and speeds. Bismarck, Norfolk and Suffolk in the action come from Norfolk’s plot and Prince of Wales’s action plan, moved onto the same point.
- The Germans’ night run is fitted between Suffolk’s 19:22 sighting and their dawn position along the courses in their war diary, and the shadowers are placed by the bearings and ranges Suffolk reported. Suffolk’s own 00:28 reckoning lies about 20 miles from this and is not used.
- Electra and Echo are not shown between 02:30, when they were searching to the north, and 07:00, when Norfolk’s plot places them. No record gives the time of the rescue; about 08:10 follows the histories’ two hours after the sinking.
- After 07:08 Bismarck’s track is dead reckoning along the courses Suffolk reported and is uncertain by 50 miles or more. The exchange at 18:40 is laid out from the bearings Suffolk reported; Prinz Eugen’s course after she left is not recorded and is shown holding south.
- Sources differ: Hood blew up at 06:00 (the British reports), 06:01 (Bismarck’s diary) or 06:02 (Norfolk’s plot); Prince of Wales turned away at about 06:02 (her own chart) or 06:13 (Tovey); the opening range is given as 23,000 to 26,600 yards. The wind in the action is reported as east, north-west and almost calm; the arrow’s north-east is an inference.
- Ships are drawn far larger than life. Rates of fire are representative: Hood fired five or six salvoes, Prince of Wales eighteen, and Bismarck 93 heavy shells in all.
- Tovey’s despatch and its Coastal Command appendix (1947) are out of Crown copyright, and every quote was checked against the printed page. The Admiralty files and the German war diaries are paraphrased.
The ships
- HoodBritishBattle-cruiser, flagship of the Battle Cruiser Squadron, eight 15-inch in four twin turretsCapt. Ralph Kerr, with Vice-Admiral Lancelot HollandBlew up at about 06:00 and sank in three or four minutes. 1,415 killed; three survivors.
- Prince of WalesBritishBattleship, King George V class, joined the Fleet in March 1941, ten 14-inch in two quadruple turrets and one twinCapt. J. C. LeachHit by four 15-inch and three smaller shells. 13 killed and 9 wounded, one of whom died next day.
- NorfolkBritishHeavy cruiser, flagship of the First Cruiser Squadron, eight 8-inchCapt. A. J. L. Phillips, with Rear-Admiral W. F. Wake-WalkerFired on at 20:30 on the 23rd, with splinters on board but no casualties. Shadowed Bismarck with Suffolk.
- SuffolkBritishHeavy cruiser, County class, eight 8-inchCapt. R. M. EllisFound Bismarck at 19:22 and held her by radar through the night. No casualties.
- ElectraBritishDestroyer of Hood’s screen, four 4.7-inch, eight torpedo tubesCdr C. W. MaySearched to the north when Holland turned south, then found Hood’s three survivors and landed them at Reykjavík.
- EchoBritishDestroyer of Hood’s screen, four 4.7-inchLt Cdr C. H. de B. NewbySearched to the north with Electra and came back with her to where Hood sank.
- SunderlandBritishSunderland flying boat Z of No. 201 Squadron, from ReykjavíkFlt Lt R. J. Vaughan, pilotWatched the action under anti-aircraft fire, then shadowed Bismarck and reported her oil trail.
- BismarckGermanBattleship, flagship of Admiral Günther Lütjens, eight 38 cm (15-inch) in four twin turretsKapitän zur See Ernst Lindemann, with Admiral Günther LütjensHit two or three times and leaking oil; five lightly wounded. Fired 93 heavy shells. Sunk on 27 May.
- Prinz EugenGermanHeavy cruiser, Admiral Hipper class, eight 20.3 cm (8-inch)Kapitän zur See Helmuth BrinkmannUndamaged, with no casualties. Released at 18:14 on the 24th; reached Brest on 1 June.
Sources
- Tovey’s despatch, London Gazette, 14 October 1947
- Coastal Command appendix, London Gazette, 14 October 1947
- Boards of Enquiry into the loss of Hood (ADM 116/4351)
- Captain Leach’s narrative, Prince of Wales (ADM 116/4352)
- Suffolk’s narrative of operations (ADM 234/509)
- Norfolk’s action plot, 24 May 1941 (Exhibit A)
- Battle Summary No. 5, Plan 4 (1950)
- Bismarck’s war diary, German and English (kbismarck.com)
- The wreck of Hood, H.M.S. Hood Association
- Royal Navy casualties, May 1941 (naval-history.net)