Dogfights: High-Speed Chase for the Bismarck Battleship (S1, E9) | Full Episode | History

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I'm pretty sure I watched this or something like it 10 years ago.

At this point you're much better off watching Drachinifel or other YouTube historians than the History channel.

Edit: episode aired on January 30th, 2007.

๐Ÿ‘๏ธŽ︎ 8 ๐Ÿ‘ค๏ธŽ︎ u/nuked24 ๐Ÿ“…๏ธŽ︎ Jul 16 2021 ๐Ÿ—ซ︎ replies

The video's blocked on my country :(

๐Ÿ‘๏ธŽ︎ 2 ๐Ÿ‘ค๏ธŽ︎ u/Offencoch ๐Ÿ“…๏ธŽ︎ Jul 16 2021 ๐Ÿ—ซ︎ replies

lol Video unavailable

๐Ÿ‘๏ธŽ︎ 1 ๐Ÿ‘ค๏ธŽ︎ u/MushroomBoogaloo ๐Ÿ“…๏ธŽ︎ Jul 16 2021 ๐Ÿ—ซ︎ replies
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[battleship guns firing] NARRATOR: The most powerful warship on earth is loose in the Atlantic. [explosion] The German battleship, Bismarck, wield the firepower to crush any ship in the Allied fleet. [blasting and crashing] The British must call on courageous airmen flying outdated swordfish biplanes to help them hunt down Hitler's super weapon and pound her into oblivion. Now, the remarkable computer animation-- it's a dog fight on the sea. [helicopter whirring] [heavy explosions] The incredible story of the life and death of Germany's greatest warship and the air power that turned the tide. [battleship guns firing] Experience the battle. Dissect the tactics. Relive the hunt for the Bismarck. [helicopter whirring] [music playing] [battleground sounds] [action music playing] May 24, 1941. Dawn. Two lethal German warships raced through the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. The heavy cruiser of Prinz Eugen leads the formation. Behind her looms a fortress of guns and steel, Battleship Bismarck. Bismarck, the largest warship afloat is on her maiden voyage on a top secret mission codenamed, Exercise Rhine. The Germans plan? Steal into the Atlantic undetected and attack ally convoys. NICK HEWITT: Convoys are absolutely vital. These are Britain's lifeline. Without them, Britain will fall. If it's a ship like the Bismarck finds a convoy, none of the escorts that the convoy has a big enough to take her on. NARRATOR: Ernst Lindemann is captain of the great battleship, but the mission is so important. A battle tested veteran, Fleet Admiral G nther L tjens commands from the bridge. Heinrich Kuhnt is a 24-year-old machinist's mate. HEINRICH KUHNT: [speaking german] INTERPRETER: On Bismarck, we eagerly anticipated the mission. We knew Bismarck was the most powerful battleship afloat, but we also knew the British outnumbered us and wondered as we put to see what will happen. HEINRICH KUHNT: [speaking german] [music continues] NARRATOR: Unknown to the Germans, 30 miles to the southeast, two British ships steer an intercept course at full speed, the battleship Prince of Wales and the pride of the British Navy, HMS Hood. Admiral Lancelot Holland commands the operation from Hood. Ted Briggs is an 18-year-old signalman. TED BRIGGS: Hood's reputation was fantastic. She was the be all and end all as far as we were concerned. Without a doubt, she was the most famous warship of any kind of any country. [suspenseful music] NARRATOR: Admiral Holland's battle plan has already suffered a setback. He had hoped to beat the Germans to the mouth of the Denmark Strait and cross their T, positioned to fire all his guns in full broadside. [battleship guns firing] But during the night, the British lose contact with the enemy. The morning finds them out of position. The Germans now have the upper hand. The Germans find that they have achieved completely, by accident, the tactical advantage that sailors since Nelson have been looking for. They are effectively crossing the T of the enemy. This means that Bismarck can bring all her guns to bear, whilst the British is steaming in column and only their forward guns can bear initially. NARRATOR: But the British team in unafraid. Hood is the embodiment of British sea power. At 5:52 AM, 14 miles from the Germans, Hood shoots first. [battleship guns firing] The shells land off Prinz Eugen starboard bow. [swooshing and blasting] [suspenseful music] A salvo from Prince of Wales quickly follows. [battleship guns firing] The British shells missed their mark. British armor-piercing shells plunge into the sea. [swooshing and blasting] Huge columns of water erupted around the German ships, but Admiral L tjens holds his fire. HEINRICH KUHNT: [speaking german] INTERPRETER: We went to action stations, and we're waiting for orders to fire. The anticipation was unbearable. We knew we were under attack, but why weren't we shooting back? [battleship guns firing] [swooshing in water] JAMES DELGADO: L tjens' job, as he saw it, was not to fight warships. His job was to destroy commerce. If he was badly damaged, he'd have to return to port. His mission over. [battleship guns firing] NARRATOR: The British blast away. Shells scream over the German ships at almost 2000 miles per hour. [swooshing in water] But L tjens still refuses to return fire. [distant battleship guns firing] Finally, a frustrated captain Lindemann steps in and says, "I will not have my ship shot out from under my ass." Bismarck opens fire. [battleship guns firing] Lethal one ton shells tear toward Hood. Germany has unleashed the fury of the most powerful warship on Earth. [classical marching music] February 14th, 1939. Hamburg, Germany. It's a glorious day for the Third Reich, christening Hitler's mightiest triumph, the battleship Bismarck. [classical marching music] German newsreels proudly claim the great ship weighs 35,000 tons, the legal limit set by international Naval treaties after World War I. The truth is a closely guarded secret. Bismarck weighs an astonishing 50,000 tons. [suspenseful music] [speaking german] INTERPRETER: When we saw Bismarck in Hamburg, we were tremendously surprised at its size. Some compartments on Bismarck were three stories high. I'd never seen a ship so impressive. [suspenseful music] NARRATOR: She's nearly a 6th of a mile long. Her sides are armored with 13 inches of steel, and her 118 foot beam creates a uniquely stable platform for her eight 15 inch guns. OTTO SCHLENZKA: Not only was I extremely proud to get back ships of that size. It was the biggest and was the extreme sign of power. [action music] NARRATOR: On May 18th 1941, Bismarck secretly embarks on Exercise Rhine. But three days later, a Royal Air Force Spitfire photographs Bismarck near Bergen, Norway. The Royal Navy quickly dispatches battleship Prince of Wales and Britain's largest warship, HMS Hood. [action music] When commissioned in 1920, Hood was the longest and fastest warship in the world. She's 860 feet long and weighs 48,000 tons. Both Hood and Bismarck are armed with eight 15 inch guns that can hurl 1700 pound shells over a 15 miles. But Bismarck newer guns can fire three shells a minute to Hood's two. The critical difference is armor. Bismarck, a battleship is heavily armored; Hood, a battlecruiser built for speed is not. [action music] NICK HEWITT: They were designed to hunt down and sink enemy cruisers. They were never designed to stand up in the line of battle against battleships. NARRATOR: The armor on Hood's deck is no more than 3 inches thick. Shells dropping from a steep angle called plunging fire, can easily punch through and explode inside. She was always intended to go improve a full refit, to have the deck armor fortified but unfortunately, war was declared and she couldn't be spared. [action music] [battleship guns firing] NARRATOR: Now on May 24th, 1941, Hood and Bismarck opened fire. [battleship guns firing] HEINRICH KUHNT: [speaking german] INTERPRETER: When the big guns fired, the entire shot staggered. It felt like it was bending and was pushed sideways in the water. It was amazing. The guns were so incredibly powerful. [speaking german] [suspenseful music] NARRATOR: Hood and Prince of Wales are here. Bismarck and Prinz Eugen are here, 13 miles away. Knowing the threat of plunging fire to Hood, the British race in, trying to get close enough to force the German gunners to fire at a flat trajectory. The shells will hopefully strike Hood's 12-inch hull armor rather than the thin deck. [battleship gun firing] Bismarck's first salvo barely misses, exploding just off Hood's starboard bow. [swooshing in water] [distant battleship gun firing] Bismarck fires again. [battleship gun firing] The German gunners zero in with deadly efficiency. [swooshing in water] [battleship guns firing] The pride of the Royal Navy is squarely in their sights. [swooshing and exploding] [swooshing in the water] May 24th, 1941. The most powerful warship afloat, the German battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, exchanged fire with the pride of the British Navy, HMS Hood and Prince of Wales. [BATTLESHIP GUNS FIRING AND EXPLOSIONS] Bismarck and Prinz Eugen are here, northwest of Hood and Prince of Wales. The Germans have the advantage. They're able to fire a full broadside while the British are only able to use their forward guns. [suspenseful music] Just four minutes into the battle, the Germans draw first blood. [battleship guns firing] A shell rips through Hood's ammunition locker, exploding 4-inch anti-aircraft shells. [fire blazing and explosions] A hurricane of shrapnel cuts down the men on the deck. From the compass platform, the highest point of Hood's bridge, Ted Briggs witnesses the carnage. [distant battleship guns firing] TED BRIGGS: That hit penetrated at the base of the main mast, and it caused a fire around the 4-inch ready-use lockers, which was creating one hell of a mess and killed quite a lot of people. [battleship guns firing] NARRATOR: Another shell strikes Hood close to her main tower. [swooshing and explosion] The situation is desperate. At 8 miles, Admiral Holland orders a hard turn to port to bring her full broadside to bear. FRANK ALLEN: At this point, Vice Admiral Holland probably felt that he had closed the range sufficiently enough to be out from under the danger of plunging fire. NARRATOR: But Holland has miscalculated. Bismarck fires her eight 15-inch guns. [BATTLESHIP GUNS FIRING AND EXPLOSIONS] --a rangefinders locked on Hood. [distant battleship guns firing] HEINRICH KUHNT: [speaking german] INTERPRETER: The enormous blasts rocked the ship back into the water due to the recoil. HEINRICH KUHNT: [speaking german] [battleship guns firing] HEINRICH KUHNT: [speaking german] INTERPRETER: We knew if the shells hit their target, there would be tremendous damage. [action music] [battleship guns firing] [foreboding music] NARRATOR: After 20 seconds in flight, a single 1,700-pound armor-piercing shell plunges through Hood --dead center. [swooshing explosion] The armor-piercing shell penetrates deep into the bows of the ship. The powder in a main magazine ignites. British crewmen on Prince of Wales watch in muted horror as a geyser of flames spewed from Hood's ruptured deck. This massive amount of powder in that magazine did something we call deflagration. It's like a giant Roman candle burning in an enclosed space. NARRATOR: Then, a huge explosion buckles the hull-- [METALS ERUPTING AND HEAVY EXPLOSION] --twisting and shearing the mighty ship in half. [heavy explosion] The bow lifts vertically into the air as her midsection sinks. TED BRIGGS: She'd gone about 30, 40 degrees, I suppose. We realized that she just wasn't coming back. There was no order given to abandon ship. It wasn't necessary. NARRATOR: Ted Briggs and the men on the compass platform struggled to escape. The flag lieutenant was just in front of me. The squadron navigating officer, commander [inaudible],, stood to one side to let me go through. He just went like that. (INHALES DEEPLY) Can't forget that. NARRATOR: Across the water, the Germans look on at their stricken adversary. OTTO SCHLENZKA: The ship broke into pieces. We were sure an explosion of that kind must have killed everybody. NARRATOR: As Hood slides beneath the waves, her forward turret fires a final defiant salvo before slipping into darkness. [battleship gun firing] [slow sinking sound] I managed to get out of the starboard door of the compass platform, down the ladder to the admiral's bridge, which was directly underneath. And I was about halfway down that ladder and I became level with the water. And it was dragging me down. NARRATOR: Briggs is pulled deeper and deeper by the sinking ship. TED BRIGGS: I honestly thought I'd had it but it was then that I suddenly seemed to shoot to the surface. I came up and looked around. There was a ship about 50 yards away like that. I panicked. I turned and try to swim over as best I could. When I looked around again, she'd gone, and there was a fire on the water where she'd been. [distant battleship gun firing] [slow sinking sound] There were only three of us that came to the surface of the other 1418-- were lost. HEINRICH KUHNT: [speaking german] INTERPRETER: When we heard that the Hood was sinking, we were celebrating what we accomplished, but then we were horrified at the devastation that was happening. We recognized that on Hood, there were many sailors must have suffered a horrible death from the explosion. [speaking german] [action music] [battleship gun firing] NARRATOR: In less than 10 minutes, the massive guns of Hitler's super weapon have obliterated the pride of the British Navy. [MACHINE ERUPTING AND HEAVY EXPLOSION] It's a stunning victory. Bismarck now turns her attention to prince of Wales. With the loss of the flagship, the British were suddenly in a terribly weak tactical position. The HMS prince of Wales is alone. She is a brand new ship. She is inexperienced, and she is also experiencing significant mechanical problems with the machinery. NARRATOR: Prince of Wales wields plenty of firepower, 10 14-inch guns, but eight of her guns are housed in complex new quadruple turrets that are untested and malfunctioning. [action music] Bismarck and Prinz Eugen are here. The Prince of Wales is here just 8 miles away. The Prince of Wales captain, John Leach orders a hard turn to starboard to avoid Hood's wreckage. Bismarck and Prinz Eugen train her guns on the lone British ship. It was so very extremely easy for the Germans to operate to switch targets. A tiny, minute alteration to their stereoscopic rangefinders brought their fire to bear on Prince of Wales almost immediately. NARRATOR: The German strategy is simple, put shells on the target. [distant battleship guns firing] Bismarck and Prinz Eugen rapid fire their main and secondary armament. [battleship guns firing] The results are devastating. [battleship guns firing] FRANK ALLEN: The first hit struck the compass platform where Leach himself was standing. It killed everyone there except for himself and two others. The second hit struck a director control tower just to the rear of the compass platform. Next series of hits would strike the ship, under aircraft crane, her funnel, in the boat deck, and three below the waterline. [battleship guns firing] NARRATOR: But the withering German assault is too much for the battered battleship. She suffered seven devastating hits. 14 men are dead. Their guns are jammed. There was really no way that she was in a position to take on two German fleet units that were trained and worked up. NARRATOR: After firing 23 salvos, Prince of Wales make smoke and retreats to the southeast. Admiral L tjens aboard Bismarck chooses not to follow. She suffered three damaging hits from Prince of Wales, 2000 tons of seawater flood her forward compartments, and her fuel tanks are ruptured. She's hemorrhaging precious oil. Admiral L tjens must find a port and put in for repairs. [action music] At 6:14 PM on May 24th, 1941, Bismarck breaks away from Prinz Eugen and steams for sanctuary in Nazi occupied France. OTTO SCHLENZKA: Bismarck vanished in the direction of west, and that was the last time we saw the Bismarck. NARRATOR: For the Royal Navy, the loss of Hood is devastating, but the tragedy only strengthens their resolve. With unrelenting determination, they deploy every weapon in their arsenal including a fleet of antiquated torpedo bombers to avenge the loss of foot and sink the Bismarck. [distant jet roaring] tles] May 24th, 1941. Hitler's newest super weapon, battleship Bismarck, has obliterated the symbol of British sea power, HMS Hood, and crippled the battleship Prince of Wales. [battleship guns hitting water] The tragic news spreads rapidly. The reaction in Britain to the loss of the Hood was a mixture of fury and a desire for revenge, an absolute shock. This was the pride of the Royal Navy. This was the unsinkable ship. This was the mighty Hood. The effect on the morale in Great Britain was absolutely catastrophic. [marching sound] NARRATOR: The British respond quickly and decisively. Prime Minister Winston Churchill vows, "Bismarck must be sunk at all " CPO HAD TURTLE: We all want to revenge the Hood. There's no doubt about it. Every ship, [inaudible] the smallest ship, the biggest ship in the Navy, wanted to revenge the Hood, and that's what we're sent out to do. NARRATOR: Within hours after Hood's sinking, nearly every warship in the North Atlantic is sent to reinforce fleet Admiral John Tovey's command. Bismarck is now 2000 miles from France. The wounded Prince of Wales shadows Bismarck with the cruisers Norfolk and Suffolk. Tovey himself commands the operation from the battleship King George V. His battle group is 300 miles east of Bismarck. A detachment, known as Force H, steams in from the south. Tovey, hours behind Bismarck, determines his best weapon for a quick counterattack is an airstrike. [distant jets roaring] [action music] May 26th, 11:30 PM. This far north is still light as the fleet air arm launches a flight of Swordfish torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier Victorious. [jets hovering sound] Cruising at 85 miles per hour, the Swordfish use a primitive onboard radar system to navigate toward Bismarck. Built by the Fairey Aviation Company in 1934, the Swordfish, affectionately known as the Stringbag is a lightweight biplane with a metal frame covered in fabric. The aircraft carries a crew of three, a pilot, observer, and rear gunner. [jet whirring] The dual wing design gives it incredible lift, allowing for very short takeoffs from the decks of small carriers. DAVID MORRIS: People viewed the Swordfish as being outdated or even obsolete at the start of the Second World War. --outdated perhaps, yes. -outclass no. JOHN "JOCK" MOFFAT: It was the most maneuverable even down to very slow speeds of [inaudible] about 60 knots. You are still in control. NARRATOR: The plane's primary armament is one Mach 12 18-inch torpedo, packing a powerful 388 pound charge of TNT. A year earlier, Swordfish sank five battleships during the attack on Taranto in Italy, helping to demonstrate the new thinking in Naval warfare. Airplanes can dominate battleships. Now a fleet of eight Swordfish speed toward Bismarck. [jets roaring] They break into three attack groups, flying and single file. They dive steeply down to 200 feet, banking into the target and fanning out parallel to one another to split antiaircraft fire. As the planes approach, the steel fortress erupts, opening up with her 52 anti-aircraft guns. [battleship guns firing] DAVID MORRIS: An entire ships worth of armament the barrage was being focused on just this poor selection of very antiquated biplanes scurrying in towards the ship, in the hope that they could get their one torpedo launched and score some kind of effective blow. NARRATOR: The German gunners use a clever tactic. [battleship guns hitting water] They fire Bismarck's main armament into the sea, creating massive walls of water in front of the tiny biplanes. The courageous Swordfish pilots pressed their attack, dropping to just 60 feet above the waves. They're flying so low and slow. Bismarck is unable to train her guns. The Swordfish pilots punched the torpedo release button on their throttles. [disarming] Mark 12 torpedoes accelerate to 40 knots and close on the battleship. HEINRICH KUHNT: [speaking german] INTERPRETER: British torpedo planes started to attack us. Our captain ordered many quick violent turns to dodge the torpedoes. [action music] [BATTLESHIP GUNS FIRING AND JETS WHIRRING] NARRATOR: Bismarck evades the first wave. [battleship guns firing] Then, a Swordfish, piloted by Lieutenant Percy Gick with air gunner Les Sayer and navigator V. K. Norfolk, sweeps in and fires. [disarms and swoosh on water] [distant battleship guns firing] A massive column of water soars 150 feet in the air amid ships on Bismarck. [heavy explosion] HEINRICH KUHNT: [speaking german] INTERPRETER: One torpedo exploded against the armor belt. The massive concussion threw us off our feet. [heavy explosion] And the jolt triggered the shut off valves in the turbines. We had to quickly restart the engines. HEINRICH KUHNT: [speaking german] INTERPRETER: During the attack, the boatswain's mate Chief Petty Officer Kurt Kirchberg was thrown into the airplane catapult and died. HEINRICH KUHNT: [speaking german] NARRATOR: Bismarck has suffered its first fatality, but the torpedo has struck the thick armor belt and done little structural damage. [heavy explosion] Having dropped their single torpedoes, the Swordfish pull in to cloud cover and returned to their carrier. The aviators have sent a message. As long as Bismarck is shadowed, Tovey will keep sending waves of aerial assaults. [action music] For Admiral L tjens aboard Bismarck, his next move is clear. He must shake the British ships from his tail. L tjens knows the British are steering in a zigzag pattern to avoid possible U-boat attack. When they're at their furthest point, Bismarck turns hard to starboard, looping back over her own weight. The British lose radar contact and steam right past the German ship. For the next few hours, British radar operators work frantically to re-establish contact but to no avail. At 5 AM, 24 hours after the sinking of Hood, the cruisers send an ominous message to Tovey, "Have lost contact with enemy." --and so L tjens and Bismarck slip away. Tovey moves in the opposite direction. And it seems that in this game of chess, that these two admirals are playing in the high seas. L tjens is now winning. NARRATOR: The biggest battleship on earth is now steaming for the safety of Nazi occupied France undetected, hiding somewhere in the vast storm tossed seas of the North Atlantic. May 26th, 1941. For 30 hours, ships and planes of the British home fleet have scoured the North Atlantic for some sign of battleship Bismarck, but Bismarck has simply disappeared. CPO HAD TURTLE: We're very despondent Everybody, everybody, and I mean everybody from the lowest boys to the highest officer onboard was in a terrible state because we lost the Bismarck. NARRATOR: Aboard Bismarck, the crew hopes by morning to be within 200 miles of France, waters controlled by the German Luftwaffe. Desperate to re-establish contact Fleet Admiral Tovey dispatches Catalina flying boats or PBYs. They're American aircraft, Lend-Lease to Britain to support the war effort. Their incredible 2,500-mile range makes them ideal for long distance searches. They comb the seas for hours. Then, at 10:30 AM, 36 hours after losing her, a PBY crew spots a dull black shape moving across the water. Bismarck has been found. [marching music] Bismarck has been spotted here, 700 miles from the coast to France. Admiral Tovey's battle group is here, 130 miles directly north. Tovey must slow Bismarck down to get in range to strike. In perfect position for this mission is a task group steaming in from the south known as Force H, which includes the aircraft carrier Ark Royal. [action music] May 26th, 1941. 7 PM. Eight hours after finding Bismarck, 15 Swordfish torpedo bombers from Ark Royal speed toward the German battleship. Lieutenant John "Jock" Moffat pilots one of the Fairey Swordfish. We were told to go in there and do our best and get as many torpedoes into her as we could possibly do. NARRATOR: Moffat and his crew break through the clouds and descend on their target. JOHN "JOCK" MOFFAT: My first impression of the Bismarck when I saw it on my starboard side about two miles away, it was really awesome. NARRATOR: Moffat's flight of three Swordfish close in at 115 miles per hour. 6,000 feet off, all of a sudden all hell was let loose. [BATTLESHIP GUNS FIRING AND JETS ROARING] NARRATOR: Bismarck's anti-aircraft gunners desperately fill the sky with flak. [JETS WHIRRING AND DISTANT BATTLESHIP GUNS FIRING] JOHN "JOCK" MOFFAT: I had no doubts about what was going to happen, and I was scared stiff. [action music] I thought the only way I could survive was to get as low as possible. And the nearer I got to the ship, I was hoping that they wouldn't be able to get the guns down low enough. NARRATOR: Moffat closes to within 2000 yards and prepares to launch. There was a voice who suddenly says to me, not yet, Jock. And this was my observer. And I thought, what's happening? And he kept saying it, not yet, not yet. And then out of the corner of my eye, I happened to turn slightly to the right, and there was a friend of mine hanging outside this aircraft with his bottom in there, but I don't know how he did it in fact. But he was leaning right outside the aircraft, with his head right underneath the fuselage. And he was shouting, not yet, not yet. And then it dawned on me why. [jet whirring] NARRATOR: In these high seas, Moffat's observer knows that if a torpedo hits the top of the wave, the impact could veer it off course. With only one torpedo, he has to make the shot count. He hangs upside down, judging the wave height, waiting for the right moment. If you could release the torpedo just went into a trough of a wave, then you had a chance. And that's when he said to me, let her go. And when I let her go, he said, Jock, we've got a runner. NARRATOR: Bismarck makes a hard turn to port to avoid the torpedo. It's a fatal miscalculation. 51 seconds after Moffat launches, the deadly missile strikes Bismarck's port side on her stern. [battleship guns firing] The violent explosion tears a huge hole in the hull. [rupture and explosion] HEINRICH KUHNT: [speaking german] INTERPRETER: The shock was so strong that rivets flew off the bulkhead, and there was a sound like the ship was tearing apart. [speaking german] NARRATOR: Bismarck unarmored twin rudders, angled for the hard turn to avoid the torpedo, jammed 12 degrees to port. HEINRICH KUHNT: INTERPRETER: They sent two men down in diving suits to try to fix the rudder mechanism, but the water was rushing in too fast to the big hole. So we all had to come back up. [speaking german] NARRATOR: The Swordfish have crippled the mighty battleship. With rudders jammed, Bismarck can only steam back toward her enemy. [speaking german] INTERPRETER: We knew that all efforts failed to steer the ship. We were alone surrounded by enemies. [speaking german] NARRATOR: Admiral G nther L tjens signals Berlin, "Ship unmaneuverable. We will fight to the last shell. Long live the f hrer." [battleship guns firing] The British close in. [heavy explosion] The hunt for the Bismarck steams toward a bloody climax. [battleship guns firing] May 27th, 1941. [TORPEDO DISARMING AND SWOOSHING] The battleship Bismarck, crippled by courageous Swordfish pilots, steams helplessly toward the waiting guns of her enemies. Air power has demonstrated its supremacy over the mightiest warship. [JETS WHIRRING AND DISTANT BATTLESHIP GUNS FIRING] The British surface fleet closes in for the killing blow. Finally, there is an opportunity to avenge the Hood, and the British go into action confident that they can achieve this. NARRATOR: On King George V, Fleet Admiral John Tovey plots his tactics. [marching music] His plan? Force the cornered German ship to divide its fire against multiple targets, then turn his ships broadside, unleashing massive firepower. Battleships Rodney and King George V speed within 12 miles of Bismarck. At 8:47 AM, Rodney's 16-inch guns fire,-- [battleship guns firing] --then, King George V. [battleship guns firing] Shells rained down around Bismarck. [battleship guns hitting water] The British cruise stuff cotton in their ears to deaden the sound. Their throats sting as they breathe in the cordite fumes after each salvo. The desperate German battleship strikes back. [battleship guns firing] L tjens first act was to open fire on the aged battleship Rodney. It's been suggested by some that like Hood, he saw her as an older ship and thought perhaps, weaker. He could take her out and lessen the odds against her. [battleship guns firing] NARRATOR: Both sides missed their targets. [battleship guns firing] With each salvo, the gunners adjust their rangefinders. [battleship guns firing] With her rudders jammed, Bismarck can't maneuver. She's an easy target. [battleship guns firing] Rodney scores the first hit on Bismarck at 9:02 AM. The British have the range and let loose with everything they have. [EXPLOSIONS AND BATTLESHIP GUNS FIRING] CPO HAD TURTLE: We were firing broadside. We're firing 10 shells at a time, 10 14-inch shells. We're going all over. [explosion] And that's a hell of a lot of shells for one ship to take. NARRATOR: Two British cruisers, Norfolk and Dorsetshire, join the fight. [swooshing and exploding] Bismarck is being pumped from all sides. [speaking german] INTERPRETER: Shell splinters rained through the air ducts that supplied our fresh air. The shells were hitting us fast violently. [swooshing and explosions] NARRATOR: Then, King George V's 14-inch guns make a critical hit. [heavy explosion] HEINRICH KUHNT: [speaking german] INTERPRETER: A shell hit the gunnery control and also the main battery. The men screamed because of all the sulphur steam. It scalded them terribly. NARRATOR: Bismarck is now a slaughterhouse. The huge dreadnought fires a final salvo, but at 9:31 AM, her mighty guns fall silent. [speaking german] INTERPRETER: As Bismarck's gun stopped, shells were hitting everywhere. Pieces of the ship were blasted away. [speaking german] [distant battleship guns firing] CPO HAD TURTLE: In the end, it was painful to see really because we knew she wasn't firing anymore. NARRATOR: Tovey's warships fired over 2,800 shells. [battleship guns firing] 400 hits reduced Bismarck to a ravaged steel inferno, but the great battleship, --her flag still flying-- remains afloat. At 10:21, Tovey ceases fire. The cruiser Dorsetshire moves in to sink Bismarck with torpedoes, but the commanding officers left on Bismarck have other plans. [speaking german] INTERPRETER: They announced over the PA that we should set scuttling charges and open the sea valves. We were going to sink her ourselves and abandon ship. [speaking german] [swooshing] NARRATOR: Before the scuttling charges take effect, the Dorsetshire fires three 21-inch torpedoes into Bismarck. At 10:39 AM, Bismarck sinks by the stern into a watery grave. [jets roaring] During the fight, Swordfish flew in but couldn't make attack runs in the fury of the surface battle. Now, Jock Moffat flies above the carnage. [distant jet whirring] I was a witness to a scene which haunted me for many days. All those hundreds of poor sailors bobbing up and down in gale waters is not a pretty sight. And when we got back to the ship, there was no euphoria because we thought to ourselves, they are sailors, we're sailors and there by the grace of God. NARRATOR: Out of Bismarck's crew of 2092, only 115 survived. Among the dead are Admiral L tjens and captain Lindemann. [action music] Bismarck's only combat mission lasted just 215 hours. [battleship guns firing] She proved a formidable enemy against surface ships. [swooshing and heavy explosions] But ultimately, courageous British pilots in antiquated biplanes proved that dreadnoughts were vulnerable to air power. It was the death knell of the battleship. [battleship gun hitting water] Though U-boats would continue to attack convoys, Hitler never again allowed the German surface Navy into the North Atlantic. The tragic fate of the giant Bismarck was proof. The sea was now controlled from the sky. [action music]
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Channel: HISTORY
Views: 460,601
Rating: 4.8858404 out of 5
Keywords: history, history channel, history shows, history channel shows, dogfights, history dogfights, dogfights show, dogfights full episodes, dogfights clips, full episodes, air ambush, dog fights, dogfights full episode, full episode, dog fights full episode, Colonel Robin Olds, pilot, vietnam, vietnam war, Wolfpack, f-4 phantom, bomber, warfare, war, vietnam war ambush, dogfight, Fierce MiG-21 Jet, season 1, episode 9, battleship, warship
Id: Y57_eFsTRpA
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 45min 12sec (2712 seconds)
Published: Thu Jul 15 2021
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