THE HUNTING OF THE BISMARCK
OPERATION RHEINUBUNG
HISTORY OF THE BATTLE:
THE ATTACK OF THE VICTORIOUS
(Drawn from: "Great German battle ships of the Second World war" of M.J. Whitley, 1989)
The Admiral Tovey was seen to escape the Bismarck and you/he/she had to make to slow down her/it if he wanted to attach her/it with the big one of his/her ships, therefore in the first afternoon he sent before the aircraft carrier Victorious with the cruisers of the II you/he/she quadrates commanded by the Rear-admiral Curteiss (Galatea, Aurora, Kenya and Hermione) for an attack aerosilurante. The Victorious had on board only 6 fighters Fulmar of the squadron n° 8002 and 9 torpedo bombardiers Swordfish of the squadron n° 825, but this thin contingent was due to the fact that the aircraft carrier was new and, as the Prince of Wales, had not had a lot of time for the verifications in sea. One of these, the transfer in Malta of 48 packed Hurricane, came really annulled by the appearance of the Bismarck and the aircraft carrier it set sail with some operational instruments of Machrihanish before having unloaded all the boxes.
The time was ugly when the Captain Esmonde brought in flight his/her Swordfishes armed with lanciasiluri from 45,7 cms (squadron n° 825); the wind blew strong from northwest and the bridge of flight it pitched up to more than 10 ms. The antediluvian outlines of the biplanes brought him to 500 ms, then they made rout to the time of Lutjens to the solos 85 knots granted by the maltempo, while they were taking off the scouts Fulmar. The airplanes of the squadron English they located the Bismarck with the radars and they went down in beaten to check from near; going out of the clouds they were found before the American coast guard Modoc and they saw the battleship of it - sun crumb 6 more miles to south.
The Bismarck immediately put on in alarm and opened the fire of defense.
The instrument of Esmond was struck 4 miles away from the ship but it continued the attack, a second lost the contact and solo a bystander it advanced uninjured. The battleship responded activating all the guns, inclusive those from 38 and from 15 cms and zigzagando to 27 knots.
All and eight the airplanes attached with the torpedos and all, except one, from left. Only one, the last, succeeded in striking the Bismarck on the right side, but it arrived on the belt of caress and it didn't make some damage. To the calar of the evening Esmonde brought his/her airplanes on board of the Victorious without losses, while two Fulmars didn't make return anymore.
The artillerymen of the Bismarck believed to have demolished five aerial enemies and when the ship resulted uninjured, the moral one on board it subsequently improved despite the wounded and the loss of a man.
The manoeuvres to high speed had however submitted the parts of the hull damaged in the clash with the Hood that you/they started to hear again of to hard test I strive him/it. The pagliettis anterior turafalles opened increasing the bow inclination, while to half ship the breaking in the paratia among the room generating n° 2 (already flooded) and the second room boilers of left it subsequently widened. The leak became uncontrollable and you is had to also close the room boilers. Contemporarily speed was reduced to 16 knots to allow to mend the turafalles of bow.
L' Admiral Tovey didn't have the opportunity of knowing how much the torpedos had been effective, could found only himself/herself/itself on the relationships of the ships of Wake-Walker, that in this eventuality, for the first time, they allowed to desire. The Suffolk pursued the Bismarck to 10,5 miles, zigzagando to 30° and it punctually lost the contact on one the diagonals for then to regularly recover him/it on the other, until, during the middle watch of May 25, the radar of the Suffolk didn't succeed in finding again him/it anymore. The Germans had eluded to the right the pursuers with a definite tacking toward the 03.00, aiming first to west and then continuing in circle around the hostile ship before taking back the rout for St. Nazaire.
Unfortunately, in lack of the books of edge of the Bismarck it is impossible to clarify the motives for which Lutjens ordered this manoeuvre, nevertheless it is probable that the German command was done a precise idea of the strategy of Wake-Walker after long times of observation of the hostile movements; it was evident above all that the ships English stazionavano to the left of the Bismarck and that the right side was open.
The German manoeuvre passed so unnoticed until the Suffolk, after the change of rout, it didn't gain the signal anymore as foreseen and in the turn of a hour it was forced to admit to have lost the contact with the battleship.
Supposing that you/he/she was run away to west, Wake-Walker veered southwest and departed to the pursuit. The loss of the Bismarck was a big let-down for Tovey, since, if they didn't have problems to the motors, to the Germans all it took is supplying him of fuel to begin the attacks on the Atlantic commercial routs. It supposed that the Bismarck was directed toward a tanker stazionata under Greenland or in the Azzorres, for which it sent the Rear-admiral Curteiss in west patrol and north - west (that is in Greenland) with the Victorious and three cruisers, while he dealt him with the zone southwest with Suffolk, Prince ofWales and Norfolk.