It's 2 AM on May 19th, 1941, and under the
cover of darkness the mighty battleship Bismarck slips free of her moorings and heads out to
sea. The ship is impressive, largest in the German fleet, with a displacement of over
50,000 tons, packing 64 guns, with foot-thick armor protecting her from enemy fire. She's
headed for the Danish straits, where she'll be joined by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen
and her three destroyer escort. Overhead, the fearsome Luftwaffe provides air cover,
watching over the convoy of ships until they are out of range. Their mission is to slip
past British defenses and make for open water in the Atlantic, where they will raid allied
shipping and cripple Britain's ability to continue its war effort. A few days later though the German convoy
encounters the Swedish cruiser Gotland- Sweden is a neutral nation and thus the Germans aren't
concerned about being attacked by Swedish coastal defenses, but unbeknownst to the Germans,
the Captain of the Swedish ship radios a report back to naval headquarters, which is passed
along to the British naval attache to Sweden by Swedish officers with sympathies to England.
Royal Navy Captain Henry Denham immediately transmits the information to the British Admiralty,
who review a report by Allied code-breakers that a raid on the Atlantic was imminent and
realize this is the flotilla enroute to wreck hell on British shipping. A pair of Supermarine
Spitfires are quickly ordered into the air over the Norwegian coast to search for the
German ships- they must be found immediately, and the ships of the convoy, to include the
mighty Bismarck, must be sunk at all costs- the very fate of Britain hangs in the balance. The now legendary Bismarck had her keel laid
on the 1st of July, 1936 in Hamburg, Germany. She was to be a replacement for the old pre-dreadnought
SMS Hannover, and a counter to the french Richelieu-class of battleships. Though on
paper she was within the 35,000 ton limit imposed by international treaty that governed
battleship construction in the period between World War I and World War II, in reality she
far exceeded those limits- though by the time she was completed the treaty system had fallen
apart due to Japan's withdrawal and was not enforced. She would come to displace over
50,000 tons and measure 823 feet (251 m), immediately becoming the largest battleship
in Europe until the commissioning of the HMS Vanguard by Britain after the end of the war.
Her complement included 1,962 enlisted men overseen by 103 officers, and she could carry
4 Arado floatplanes for scouting and spotting fire. She had a cruising range of 8,870 nautical
miles (16,430 km) and could move along at 19 knots, putting much of the Atlantic at
risk for the Allies. One of the most formidable ships ever built
at the time, the Bismarck sported eight 15 inch (38 cm) guns arranged in four twin gun
turrets, with two stationed forward, and two aft. Her secondary armament was made up of
twelve 5.9 inch (15 cm) guns, sixteen 4.1 inch (10.5 cm) guns, sixteen 1.5 inch (3.7
cm) guns, and twelve anti-aircraft guns. Her sides were protected by a belt of armor a
foot thick, and her upper and main decks were armored with 2 inches (50mm) and 3.9 to 4.7
inches (100 to 120mm) of armor plating respectively. Not only could the Bismarck dish out one hell
of a pounding, but she could take it in return and keep on firing. On the 5th of May, 1941, the Bismarck is ordered
on a mission to raid Atlantic shipping. German U-boats had been very successful to date,
but the British had begun moving their merchant ships in large convoy fleets protected by
destroyers and small aircraft carriers. The losses against German U-boats were growing
exponentially, but with the Bismarck and her destroyers to support them, the Germans could
wreak havoc on British shipping- potentially even ending the war by forcing Britain's surrender.
Eleven days later, the Bismarck leaves her port in Poland and makes for the Danish straits
were she is joined by the Prinz Eugen and three destroyers, along with a small flotilla
of minesweepers. The German mission is so secret that even
its crew is unaware of their destination or assignment, and it isn't until noon on May
20th that the crew is told over loudspeaker of the ship's mission. At about the same time
though a group of swedish aircraft flying reconnaissance come across the German fleet,
radioing their composition and heading while remaining unseen by the Germans. One hour
later, the Swedish cruiser Gotland intercepts the fleet and shadows it for two hours as
it passes by Swedish territorial waters. The Germans are unconcerned by the Swedish ship,
though privately Captain Ernst Lindemann, commanding officer of the Bismarck, fumes
that operational secrecy was effectively lost. The Swedes may be neutral, but any stray radio
chatter reporting their position could be picked up by Allied spies- and the Germans
always suspected that the Swedes harbored many Ally sympathies and could simply give
the ship up to the British. Captain Lindemann orders the convoy increase speed and get out
to open water as fast as possible, the quicker they reach the atlantic, the safer they will
be. Back at the British embassy in Sweden, Captain
Henry Denham receives an urgent report by a Swedish officer with sympathies to the Allies-
exactly as feared by the Germans. Though the Bismarck is not named in the report, what
is clear is that a large German force is making for open water, and there can only be two
conclusions: the Germans are preparing for a cross-channel invasion of England, or they
are moving forces out into the Atlantic in order to cut Britain off from America and
the vital war supplies the US is providing. Either possibility spells disaster, and Captain
Denhan immediately contacts the British Admiralty with his information. Back in England an intelligence
officer confirms that his code breakers at Bletchley Park had decrypted reports that
the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen had taken on prize crews- crews of sailors meant to take
over damaged enemy ships and sail them back to friendly waters for repairs- and that their
Captains had requested additional navigational charts. This could mean only one thing: the
long-awaited German push into the Atlantic was finally coming, and leading the offensive
was the most feared battleship in Europe. A pair of Supermarine Spitfires are immediately
ordered into the air to search for the German flotilla off the coast of Norway, while at
the same time the Germans launch their own aerial reconnaissance mission over the British
naval base at Scapa Flow. The Germans discover that one aircraft carrier, three battleships,
and four cruisers are still anchored at Scapa Flow, which confirms their belief that the
British are unaware of the Bismarck and her battle group's mission. That night, the Bismarck
reaches the Norwegian coast where her minesweepers, two raiders, and their destroyer escorts break
off and continue north without her. The next morning, the Prinz Eugen intercepts radio
broadcasts ordering British recon aircraft to search for two battleships and three destroyers
northbound off the Norwegian coast, and at 0700 hours the Germans spot four unidentified
aircraft believed to be British planes which immediately depart the area. Shortly after
noon the German destroyers, minesweepers and raiders reach Bergen and anchor at Grimstadfjord.
The Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen meanwhile are taking on supplies and fuel while a pair
of luftwaffe BF 109 fighters fly overhead to provide air cover. Despite the air cover though, British Flying
Officer Michael Suckling flies his Spitfire directly over the German flotilla at a height
of 26,000 feet (8,000 m) and takes photos of the Bismarck anchored alongside her remaining
escorts. Managing to break away from the defending German fighters, Suckling makes it back to
base where the pictures are immediately analyzed and a report sent to the Admiralty. The British
battlecruiser HMS Hood, the battleship Prince of Wales, and six destroyers are ordered to
reinforce a lone pair of cruisers that are currently the only force patrolling the Denmark
Strait. Meanwhile the British Home Fleet is put on high alert in Scapa Flow and puts out
to sea. The greatest naval battle of the European theater is in the making, with the fate of
Britain in the balance. The British immediately dispatch 18 bombers
to attack the anchored ships, though as luck would have it the weather over the fjord where
the ships are sheltering worsens considerably and the bombers are unable to locate the German
fleet. The next day at 1930 hours, the Bismarck, Prinz Eugen, and their three destroyer escorts
all leave Bergen and put out to sea once more, and it wouldn't be until midnight when the
force was already well out to sea that Hitler is informed of the raid on the Atlantic. By
this time it has become clear to the German senior command staff that Hitler was no master
strategist, despite his proclivity for personally overseeing every aspect of the war effort.
Thus the choice had been made to not let the Fuhrer know of the Bismarck's mission until
it was far too late for him to stop it, thus grudgingly, Hitler consents and the Bismarck
continues on her way. The next day at 0410 hours, the three escorting
destroyers are detached from the fleet as the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen attempt to
dash through the Denmark Strait and break out into the open Atlantic. Speed is increased
to 27 knots and both ship’s radars are activated- potentially giving them away to Allied forces
but also allowing them to monitor any threats bearing down on them. The move is risky, but
mists have reduced visibility to between 3,000 and 4,000 meters- which suits the Germans
as it provides them cover from air attack, but could also give that same cover to British
ships lying in wait to ambush the two German vessels. The mood is tense aboard the Bismarck,
if they can break past Iceland they'll be out into the open Atlantic and safe from British
attack. But they're so close to Britain now that at any moment these mists could be hiding
a British fleet waiting to pounce. At 10:00 hours the Germans encounter ice floes
which force them to reduce speed and adopt a zigzag route through the dangerous icebergs.
This further slows their break-out to the north Atlantic. At 19:22, hydrophone and radar
operators raise the alarm after detecting the HMS Suffolk at a range of approximately
12,500 meters, and the Prinz Eugen's radio-intercept team confirms their worst fears: their location
has been reported. The Prinz Eugen is immediately ordered to
engage the Suffolk, but through the fog the Germans are unable to clearly make out their
target. Rather than light themselves up and give the British an easier target to spot
and fire back at, the Germans hold their fire while the Suffolk retreats to a safe distance,
continuing to shadow the Germans ships. At 2030 hours, the heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk
joins the Suffolk, but strays too close to the Germans who immediately open fire. The
Bismarck fires five salvos from her main gun, three of which score hits on the Norfolk but
cause superficial damage. The Norfolk responds by laying down a smoke screen and fleeing
into a fog bank to lick its wounds- the opening salvo of Europe's greatest naval battle has
officially been fired. The concussion from the big guns of the Bismarck
though have knocked out her radar set, and the Prinz Eugen is ordered to take point so
she can use her own radar to find the British formation. Hoping to surprise the British
ships shadowing them, the Germans wait until the Bismarck has been overtaken by a rain
squall and then put the ship through a 180 degree turn, steaming full speed ahead at
the two British ships. The surprise attack however is defeated by the Suffolk's radar,
which easily detects the Bismarck's maneuver despite its heavy rain cover, and the British
ships evade the pending attack. The British cruisers remain on station throughout the
night, continually relaying the German position to the rest of the British fleet. The Germans
know a fight is coming, and try to get what rest they can through the stormy weather. The weather finally breaks early on the morning
of the 24th of May, as hydrophone operators aboard the Prinz Eugen detec t a pair of unidentified
vessels approaching at high speed. A half hour later German lookouts spot smoke on the
horizon, and a few minutes later the ships are revealed to be the Hood and Prince of
Wales. Alarms ring and klaxons sound as the men rush to battle stations, the Bismarck
training her big guns on the approaching threats. At 0552 hours, the Hood opens fire at extreme
range, and a salvo of shells explodes in the water around the Prinz Eugen, which the British
have mistaken for the Bismarck. The Prince of Wales responds a minute later, firing her
own salvo at the Bismarck, though its shells too fall short of their mark. As the British
ships approach, they continue raining down fire around the Germans, though the Germans
don't respond. Inside the bridge of the Bismarck, first gunnery officer Adalbert Schenider requests
permission to return fire twice, but is denied twice by Admiral Gunther Lutjens, fleet chief
of the Kriegsmarine. After a few more close calls, Captain Lindemann can no longer bear
it and mutters, “I will not let my ship be shot out from under my ass!” and formally
requests permission to return fire from Lutjens, who at last relents. The British ships are approaching head on,
which only lets them use their forward guns. The Germans meanwhile are able to bring all
of their guns to bear on the British and fire full broadsides. British Vice Admiral Holland
orders his ships to turn 20 degrees to port, allowing them to close the distance to the
Germans while bringing their rear gun turrets into the fight. Rather than split their fire like the British,
the Germans concentrate their fire on the Hood, and almost immediately after being freed
to return fire, the Prinz Eugen scores a direct hit with a high explosive shell, starting
a large fire. British damage control crews rush to put out a fire that threatens ammo
stores and manages to put out the flames before the entire ship goes up in one giant explosion.
Unfortunately for the British though, the Germans have found their range to the Hood,
and the Bismarck immediately opens fire with rapid salvoes from its main guns. Its secondary
guns are ordered to engage the Prince of Wales, scoring one or two hits with fail to penetrate
her heavy armor plating. The Prinz Eugen is then ordered to shift her
fire onto the Prince of Wales, in order to keep both enemy vessels under fire, and a
few minutes later the Prinz Eugen scores two direct hits on the British ship which set
off several small fires. The Prinz Eugen then drops behind the Bismarck so that she can
use her radar to monitor the location of the Norfolk and Suffolk, which have been shadowing
the battle. At 0600 hours, the Bismarck scores a direct hit on the hood with an armor piercing
shell which penetrates deep into the bowels of the ship and detonates 112 tons of explosives
stored below. A massive explosion immediately breaks the back of the Hood, splitting her
into two pieces. The battle for the Atlantic has lasted only eight minutes so far, and
already the British have lost one ship and 1.419 men. The Bismarck immediately shifts her fire to
the Prince of Wales. The British ship is now outnumbered two to one, and the Bismarck manages
to score a direct hit with its first salvo, striking the bridge. The round does not explode
on impact but instead passes through the bridge and out the other side, though it kills everyone
inside save for Captain John Leach and one other officer. Hurt and limping, the Prince
of Wales nonetheless returns fire and scores several direct hits on the Bismarck, hitting
her on the forecastle and above the torpedo bulkhead and flooding a turbo-generator room.
A third round passed straight through a lifeboat and the float plane catapult, though it too
fails to explode on impact. By 0613 though most of the Prince of Wale's
guns are out of commission, and she's taken very heavy damage. Captain Leach orders the
ship to retreat and she immediately lays out a smoke screen to cover her withdrawal, with
the Germans firing the entire way until at last she's out of range. Aboard the Bismarck
Captain Lindemann insists on giving chase and finishing off the heavily wounded British
battleship, but Admiral Lutjen refuses and quotes operational orders that state the ships
must not actively engage any forces not protecting a convoy. At first the Bismarck does not seem to be
seriously damaged, but after the Prinz Eugen spots heavy streams of oil on both sides of
her wake, the Bismarck is ordered to make for Saint-Nazaire in occupied France for repairs.
The Prinz Eugen is ordered to detach and commence its attacks on allied shipping, leaving the
Bismarck to steam back to port alone. The Prince of Wales meanwhile has joined the
Suffolk and Norfolk which are still shadowing the Germans, though it is ordered to the rear
of the formation given her extensive battle damage. A British flying boat spots the oil
slick being left behind by the Bismarck and reports it to the British ships, who report
it back to the British Admiralty. Seeing a chance to destroy Germany's most powerful
ship, the British order all available ships to give chase, and in total six battleships
and battlecruisers, two aircraft carriers, thirteen cruisers, and twenty one destroyers
all begin the hunt for the Bismarck. At 1814 hours, the Bismarck suddenly turns
on the three British ships and opens fire. The Suffolk, well out of range of its own
smaller guns, breaks away at high speed, though the Prince of Wales, which has repaired nine
of its ten damaged guns, fires twelve salvos in response. No hits land on either side,
though the brief action diverts British attention and allows the Prinz Eugen to finally break
away and head out into the Atlantic. With the Eugen away, the Bismarck turns back and
resumes its course to port. She's been damaged and slowed, but is still steaming along at
28 knots, the maximum speed of the chasing British ships. If she can't be slowed down,
the British won't be able to stop her from reaching port, and once under cover from the
Luftwaffe, any attempt to sink her would be suicidal. In desperation, the British launch a nighttime
strike from the nearby aircraft carrier Victorious, which launches six fighters and nine torpedo
bombers. As they approach their target though the inexperienced air crews almost attack
the Norfolk and a US Coast Guard cutter by accident, and the confusion alerts the German's
to their approach. As the torpedo bombers finally spot the correct target, the Bismarck
lowers her guns to maximum depression and opens fire, creating huge splashes of water
in the path of the incoming bombers, which must fly low in order to release their torpedoes.
None of the aircraft are hit, but only one of the nine torpedoes finds it mark, striking
amidships along the armored belt that protects the ship. The damage is light, but the stress
of evading the incoming torpedoes has caused flooding from the forward shell hole scored
earlier by the Prince of Wales. The flooding forces the crew to abandon the port number
2 boiler room and slows the Bismarck down to a speed of 16 knots. By morning of the 25th of May though the damage
has been largely repaired by damage control crews and the Bismarck is once more able to
steam along at 28 knots. Entering waters known to be prowled by German U-boats, the British
are forced to zig-zag in order to avoid the lurking threats, which further adds to the
Bismarck's growing lead. Successfully breaking radar contact, the Bismarck circles away to
the West and then North, confusing the British who by this point are low on fuel and desperate
to make contact again. Unaware that she has successfully shaken off
her pursuers though, the Bismarck sends a radio message to Naval Group West in Paris,
asking for Luftwaffe air support. British code-breakers decrypt the messages and successfully
triangulate the location of the Bismarck- though a mistake by the pursuing British puts
them on a wrong course for seven hours, adding even more distance to the Bismarck's lead.
The British immediately order every available ship and plane to search for the Bismarck,
but it's not until 1030 hours on the 26th of May that she's spotted again by a US Navy
pilot northwest of Brest. If the Bismarck isn't stopped soon, she'll be in range of
friendly U-boats and the Luftwaffe in less than one day- yet most of the British forces
were not close enough to stop her. The only possibility to stop the Bismarck
lay with the Royal Navy's Ark Royal, a small aircraft carrier equipped with antiquated
Swordfish torpedo bomber biplanes. The odds couldn't have been longer, but the chance
to sink Germany's most powerful ship and break the back of the German navy would quickly
pass, and so the Swordfish are ordered into the air. Armed with magnetic detonator torpedoes,
the Swordfish proceed on a bearing to the Bismarck, but instead encounter the heavy
cruiser Sheffield which had been ordered to shadow the Bismarck- though the pilots were
never told. Believing they were at their target, the Swordfish proceed to attack the Sheffield,
though the magnetic detonators on the torpedoes fail and the Sheffield is unscathed. Returning
to the Ark the Swordfish are rearmed with contact detonator torpedoes. At 1910 hours,
a flight of 15 Swordfish take to the air, and at 2047 the attack on the Bismarck begins. Plunging through the growing cloud cover,
the small biplanes are raked with anti-aircraft fire even as the Bismarck fires its main guns
on the Sheffield, which has moved in range hoping for a critical hit from a torpedo attack.
The first few salvos manage to score hits on the Sheffield though, and the cruiser is
forced to retreat under a cover of smoke. The torpedo bombers meanwhile avoid incoming
anti-aircraft fire and loose their torpedoes against the Bismarck, which by now is zig-zagging
violently to avoid their attack. Torpedo after torpedo misses the giant ship, until finally
two manage to hit- the first doing minor structural damage, but the second explodes on the Bismarck's
stern, near the port rudder shaft. The rudder becomes locked in a twelve degree turn, and
the Bismarck is no longer able to sail straight, instead sailing in large circles, utterly
helpless versus approaching British forces. Whether miracle, or luck, the antiquated biplane
torpedo bombers have managed to do what the most modern British ships couldn’t, and
now the Bismarck's fate is sealed. Aboard the Bismarck, Admiral Lutjens sends
a radio dispatch to fleet headquarters at 2140. The message reads simply: Ship unmaneuverable.
We will fight to the last shell. Long live the Fuhrer. Her crew, fully cognizant of their
fate, grow increasingly depressed- yet remain committed to fight to the last. At 2238 a group of five British destroyers
encounter the Bismarck, only to be greeted with heavy fire form her main guns. The Polish
destroyer ORP Piorun takes a direct hit yet continues to close defiantly until a near
miss at 12,000 meters forces her to turn away. Stuck making slow circles, the Bismarck is
unable to maneuver, and throughout the night the British destroyers dart in and out, harassing
her with fire until day break. At sunrise, the British battleship King George
V leads the final attack on the Bismarck. Within minutes the King George is exchanging
fire with the Bismarck, its big 16 inch (406 mm) guns raining fire down around her. For
her part though the Bismarck immediately scores several hits on the British destroyer Rodney,
though the increasingly heavy seas and her inability to steer is making it difficult
to aim her guns properly. Closing in, the attacking ship's secondary batteries open
fire, joining their 8 inch (203 mm) guns to the fight. At 0902 hours, a 16 inch shell
from the Rodney strikes the Bismarck's forward superstructure, immediately killing hundreds
of men and severely damaging the two forward turrets. Captain Lindemann and Admiral Lutjens,
along with the rest of the bridge staff, are instantly killed. The Bismarck is now without
a captain, and with her two main guns severely damaged. Moments later another salvo strikes
the forward main battery, and it is unable to fire again save for one final salvo at
0927 hours. By 0931 all four main batteries are severely damaged and out of action, smoke
and fire pouring over her deck. By 1000 hours the British are at point-blank
range and have fired over 700 shells. The Bismarck has been reduced to a mangled smoking
mess of steel wreckage, yet the British continue firing. They have been ordered not to stop
until the ship strikes her colors- or lowers her flag in surrender- or it becomes clear
that the men are abandoning ship. Orders are given by the surviving officers to scuttle
the Bismarck, and scuttling charges are planted in the depths of her hull. By 1020 hours the
British have now fired over 2,800 shells at the Bismarck, most at close range, and yet
still failed to sink her. With the British ships running low on fuel, the cruiser Dorsetshire
is ordered to sink the Bismarck with torpedoes and the rest of the ships are sent back to
port. The Dorsetshire scores two direct hits with its torpedoes on the Bismarck's starboard
side, and two more hits on its port side, and at last, the incredible ship slips beneath
the waves. Out of a crew of over 2200 men, only 114 would
survive, but the Bismark itself would endure as a testament to German engineering and combat
prowess. Struck over 700 times it took four direct hits by torpedoes at close range to
at last send the mighty ship to the bottom, and after such a staggering combat action
it becomes clear why the British feared what would happen if the Bismarck had ever made
it to the open Atlantic and been let loose upon their merchant shipping fleet. If you managed to get all the way, congrats.
Now go watch our other video: The Most Intense Tank Battle In History: The Battle of 73 Easting
Don't forget the animated mosquitos that apparently tried to torpedobomb Bismarck. But I did feel for the destroyer rodney
Our 'friends' at Infographic have once again decided to post a video about the epic saga of the Bismarck. In typical Infographic fashion, it features a wide cast of ships including a Bismarck that looks more like a Soviet missile cruiser with some extra guns, a Prinz Eugen that looks nothing like Bismarck, Hood and PoW that again look like missile battleships, the HMS King George V with it totally powerful 16 inch guns, the destroyer HMS Rodney also with 16inch guns and the very famous Submarine Spitfire. At least they congratulate you if you finish watching the entire video.
Plus, while still a bit inacurate, HMS Norfolk can pass as a WW2 era cruiser.
Everything posted by The "Infographics" Show about naval history is so fucking cancerous that the cancer got cancer.
Honestly, if it was a single person I'd give them some leeway if they didn't have the budget/expertise to make complicated graphics, TIS is a fucking team, it's so clear that they just don't give a single fuck about their video accuracy if they get views.
Sweet baby Jesus this is bad. I could hardly watch two minutes of this. Can’t wait for IChase to wreck this video.
That video is trash, please don't watch it. It's not just about the pronunciation or how the ships look. It contains so many inaccuracies it's ridiculous. At one point he says that "King George V was raining fire on Bismarck with his 16" guns, and on her side Bismarck managed to score several hits on the British destroyer Rodney".
British Admirality? Submarine Spitfire? I just woke up and hope I didn’t hear these.
At 3:45 the Eugen pops up and like a Nelson with dodgy turrent placement. What a mess of a video
Clickb8 graphics show "navy" should honestly become some sort of April fools mode.
I couldn't get past the Missile Cruiser as Bismarck. Suffered through their 1st video but no way on another fiasco.