KMS Bismarck (Schlachtschiff, 1939-1941) "Sink the Bismarck!"

Schlachtschiff KMS Bismarck

The sinking of the Bismarck (May 27, 1941) affirmed the superiority of His Majesty's Navy in the western theatre of operations during WW II and effectively ended any German hopes to implement sea control tactics.

Kriegsmarine WW II poster

The critical point in the Bismarck affair was her sinking of the battlecruiser HMS Hood, in joint action with the KMS Prinz Eugen. Even though the Hood had become obsolete, it was the flagship of the Home Fleet and a ship the british public was very fond of.

Wartime British Prime Minister Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill, with his keen wartime instinct (indeed, he was the architect of british sea superiority in the two great wars, when during his term as First Lord of the Admiralty he implemented the switch from coal to oil as fuel for the Fleet and the development of naval aviation) saw that this could be the beginning of a very negative trend.

If any German battleship were allowed to escape, then soon the Kriegsmarine, with the implementation of its shipbuilding program, would be more than a match for Home Fleet.

Churchill, with his "Sink the Bismarck!" directive allocated all the resources of Home Fleet to the chase of Bismarck and Prinz Eugen.

Bismarck, as seen from the deck of KMS Prinz Eugen

Prinz Eugen, a lucky ship to the very end, escaped but Bismarck suffered a lucky hit by an airplane-fired torpedo which jammed her rudder, irreversibly condemning her to a circular course. The british warships closed in and started pounding the Bismarck. After hours of unequal combat she sank, leaving very few survivors.

About 3000 shells and torpedoes were fired against her. About 1/10 hit. The result: Recent investigations by deep sea probes, beginning with Dr. Ballard's expedition show that the most probable cause of Bismarck's sinking was scuttling by her own crew....

Anyway, with the loss of the Graf Spee and the Bismarck the Kriegsmarine was restricted only to sea denial tactics with a fleet in being and unrestricted submarine warfare. The invasion of the Islands became a distant dream, but when, less than a month later, Barbarossa was launched, the German nation was about to discover the really great tragedies and horrors of war.

And since we are in a such a cheerful mood, let us end with a song:

In May of 1941 the war had just begun,
The Germans had the biggest ship,
They had the biggest guns.
The Bismarck was the fastest ship,
That ever sailed the seas,
On her deck were guns as big as steers,
And shells as big as trees.
Out of the cold and foggy night,
Came the British ship the Hood.
And ev'ry British seaman he knew and understood,
They had to sink the Bismarck, the terror of the sea.
Stop those guns as big as steers,
And those shells as big as trees.

We'll find that German battleship,
That's makin' such a fuss.
We gotta sink the Bismarck,
'Cause the world depends on us.
Yay, hit the decks a-runnin' boys,
And spin those guns around.
When we find the Bismarck we gotta cut her down.

The Hood found the Bismarck and on that fatal day.
The Bismarck started firin' fifteen miles away.
"We gotta sink the Bismarck" was the battle sound.
But when the smoke had cleared away,
The mighty Hood went down.
For six long days and weary nights,
They tried to find her trail.
Churchill told the people "Put ev'ry ship a-sail,
'Cause somewhere on that ocean,
I know she's gotta be.
We gotta sink the Bismarck to the bottom of the sea".

We'll find that German battleship,
That's makin' such a fuss.
We gotta sink the Bismarck,
'Cause the world depends on us.
Yay, hit the decks a-runnin' boys,
And spin those guns around.
When we find the Bismarck, we gotta cut her down.

The fog was gone the seventh day,
And they saw the mornin' sun.
Ten hours away from homeland,
The Bismark made its run.
The Admiral of the British fleet said,
Turn those bows around.
We found that German battleship,
And we're gonna cut her down.

The British guns were aimed,
And the shells were comin' fast.
The first shell hit the Bismarck,
They knew she couldn't last.
That mighty German battleship is just a memory.
"Sink the Bismarck!" was the battle cry,
That shook the seven seas.

We found that German battleship,
Was makin' such a fuss.
We had to sink the Bismarck,
'Cause the world depends on us.
We hit the deck a-runnin' and,
We spun those guns around.
We found the mighty Bismarck,
And then we cut her down.

We found that German battleship,
Was makin' such a fuss.
We had to sink the Bismarck,
'Cause the world depends on us.
We hit the deck a-runnin' and,
We spun those guns around.
We found the mighty Bismarck,
And then we cut her down.

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