The launching ceremony of Bismarck was very grand. Thousands of heads of state and officials invited Dorothea von Leuwen Feld, Bismarck's granddaughter, to the new warship. She named her grandfather otto von bismarck, the famous iron-blooded prime minister. On the same day 13: 30, Bismarck was successfully launched. This is the fourth German warship named after Bismarck. The first is a small coastal defense ship of 1877. The second is a cruiser of 1897; The third ship was not built during World War I.
After the Bismarck was launched, it was outfitted for 18 months and officially joined the navy on124 August, 940. 1940 September 15 went to Kiel B& to start the test work after service, and returned to b & soon; V shipyard makes the final equipment adjustment. On March 6th, 194 1 began training in the Baltic Sea and began to form combat effectiveness. Then he stayed in the Baltic Sea until he participated in the Rhine exercise in May 194 1.
Break through the Atlantic
The first and only mission of Bismarck was the Rheinübung on May 194 1, accompanied by the heavy cruiser prinz eugen. Other major German warships, including two scharnhorst-class combat cruisers, were unable to participate in the operation due to mechanical failure or war damage; Tirpitz, the sister ship of Bismarck, has not completed the sea trial. The fleet was commanded by Admiral Gunter Lukins. German objectives include: harassing allied ships as much as possible, so that the British can suspend the dispatch of escort fleets and temporarily balance the forces of both sides in the Mediterranean and North Africa; The transfer of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean reduced the risk of Rommel and his troops invading Libya from Crete. The British Admiralty had long suspected that the Germans would break through the Atlantic Ocean, and the news that Bismarck had set off was confirmed by the super intelligence agency (deciphering the enigma code message). The Swedish cruiser Godland had discovered Bismarck's whereabouts. Three days later, Bismarck arrived at Grimstad Fjord near Bergen.
Grimstadfjorden was found and photographed by a fire-breathing reconnaissance plane when he broke down. The Royal Navy's battleships and other warships have been deployed, keeping a close eye on the route that Bismarck will pass when entering the Atlantic Ocean.
The Germans took the northbound route first, then the northwest route, successfully and safely crossed the Norwegian Sea, headed for Greenland, and sailed to the Danish Strait between Iceland and Greenland, which is the entrance to the Atlantic Ocean. Because the fleet's route is very close to the Arctic Circle, British aviation reconnaissance found no Germans. As the main target of the German army is the transport team, Gunther Lutjens hopes to sneak into the Atlantic Ocean with the help of dense fog.
1941On the evening of May 23rd, the Germans were discovered by heavy cruisers Suffolk and Norfolk equipped with radar. At that time, the two ships were patrolling the Danish Strait, expecting a German breakthrough. After a brief exchange of fire, the British cruiser knew that it was not an opponent, and was forced to release smoke, retreat out of the range of the Germans, and track the Germans with radar. At the same time, the huge vibration caused by the shooting of Bismarck's main gun caused the condensed ice on the mast to fall off and smashed its radar, forcing Gunther Lutjens to order prinz eugen to drive to the front of the fleet to provide radar search for the fleet. This decision later led the British to confuse the German ships, because the outlines of the two German ships were very similar, and the camouflage of hull painting was the same.
Naval battle in the Danish Strait
1941At 5 am on Sunday, May 24th, the German fleet was preparing to leave the Danish Strait. Prinz eugen's sonar detected two unidentified ships on the port side. German ships are ready to fight at once. The British interception fleet includes the newly completed battleship Prince of Wales and the battleship Hood, under the command of Lancelot Holland vice admiral. The British formation was headed by Hood, followed by the Prince of Wales. Hood was regarded as the pride of the Royal Navy and the largest combat cruiser in the world at that time, but its weakness was that its deck armor was quite weak. Captain general Holland ordered his bow to aim at the German ship in order to shorten the distance between the two sides as soon as possible. Because he knows that the deck armor of the hood is very weak, if the distance between the two sides in the artillery battle exceeds 10000 yards, the enemy's shells are likely to land on the deck of their own warships, and vice versa. At 5: 49, the Netherlands ordered a fire on German leader prinz eugen, because the British mistook prinz eugen for Bismarck. At 0552 hours, Hood's main gun fired first, and then the Prince of Wales fired at the prinz eugen. It was not until after two rounds of volley that Holland discovered that the target was wrong and immediately ordered the fire to turn to Bismarck, but it had wasted a lot of time and caused some confusion. At that time, the distance between the two sides was about 12.5 nautical miles, that is, about 10.9 nautical miles.
At 0555 hours, the German formation fired back and concentrated its fire on the hood. Due to the misjudgment of the British ship, the shelling did not hit the German ship at the beginning. On the other hand, the German ship did not make such a mistake, so the shells were fired at the British ship continuously and accurately. Although Dutch firepower is stronger than German warships, the battlefield situation is favorable to Gunther Lutjens-because the bow of British warships is facing German warships, Hood and Prince of Wales can only use four and six main guns respectively, and German warships can use all their firepower to fight back against British warships. At this time, Bismarck launched a third volley, hitting the middle of Hood, causing the lifeboat deck to catch fire and spread rapidly. Captain General Holland realized that he was at a disadvantage at this time, so he ordered the left rudder to be deviated by 20 degrees to give full play to his firepower. At 0600 hours, the hood had just turned, and Bismarck made the fifth volley. A shell penetrated the weak deck armor of the hood and detonated the main ammunition depot. The hood broke in two in an instant and quickly sank into the sea. All 14 18 officers and men, including Lieutenant General Holland, were killed, and only three were rescued. German ships immediately aimed their fire at the Prince of Wales. The bridge of the ship was hit by a 15 inch shell, and all the bridge personnel were killed except the captain and a signalman. In addition, four 15-inch shells and four 8-inch shells hit everywhere, and the hull was severely damaged. Several main guns could not be fired due to failure and war damage, and they lost their combat effectiveness under serious injuries and were forced to quit the battle.
The Germans also paid a high price for victory. Bismarck was shot three times, and the No.2 fuel tank at the bow of the ship was damaged and ruptured; A water bomb (from the Prince of Wales) hit the port side, causing a boiler on the port side to be destroyed and the No.2 generator room to be flooded. The hull tilted 3 degrees to the left 9 degrees, and the right propeller pointed out, and the speed dropped to 26 knots. It laid a curse for future annihilation.
pursue and attack
The British army quickly determined the position of Bismarck and assembled a large number of warships to surround and attack, including the local fleet under the command of Admiral john tovey and the Mediterranean H fleet under the command of Lieutenant General james somerville. 194 1 On May 24th, 2008, Bismarck was attacked by a swordfish torpedo plane that took off from the carrier Victory, and was hit by 1 torpedo, but only slightly damaged. Then prinz eugen entered the Atlantic Ocean, and Bismarck turned to San Nazaire to repair the damage. Later, the British almost lost contact with Bismarck, but the captain and admiral Lucens (Lucens thought that the British still knew where he was, so he sent a telegram to the mainland and was intercepted by the British) made the British discover Bismarck again.
sabotage
194 1 On May 26th, 2008, Bismarck was attacked by the Royal Ark carrier "Swordfish" torpedo bomber again, and was hit by three torpedoes, among which 1 hit the stern. The heavy structure was damaged and pressed on the steering gear, resulting in the steering angle of Bismarck stuck at 15 degrees. This made Bismarck unable to avoid the attack of the British fleet (under the influence of current and wind, Bismarck could only move north and west, which was the center of the British encirclement network), and the speed decreased again, making it difficult to control the course.
194 1 On the morning of May 27th, 2008, the British main pursuit fleet arrived, including battleships King George V and Rodney, cruisers and destroyers, and took turns to attack the failed Bismarck with shells and torpedoes. At about eight o'clock, Bismarck entered the range of the battleship's main gun, and the two ships approached quickly, bombarding Bismarck with its 16 inch and 14 inch main guns. Bismarck, the front and rear fire control stations were breached, and even the two main guns at the bow were scrapped in the first 20 minutes. In fact, from the beginning to the end of the battle, Bismarck only attacked Rodney, but the 14.96 inch gun could not penetrate the Nelson-class battleship Rodney, which was famous for its amazing protection ability in the "Big Seven". Bismarck was hit 26 times, plus at least 1 torpedo. The last 16 inch shell was fired at a very close distance (about 3000 yards). But until 10: 25, Bismarck still didn't sink, and even the engine was still running. Without hope, the Germans began to prepare self-sinking warships to avoid being captured. The British Dorset heavy cruiser then fired three torpedoes at close range, all of which hit. 10: 36, Bismarck finally sank in the sea 400 nautical miles west of Brest. The "unsinkable battleship" sank and the Atlantic Ocean became its underwater grave. General Tovey, commander of the British army, said after the battle: "Like the Imperial German Navy in World War I, Bismarck fought the bravest battle and resisted an enemy several times his own, so that her flag was still flying when she sank."
Sinking or sinking?
According to the memory of the survivors on Bismarck and the data of Bismarck Memorial Station, the sea valve 27may19411020 on Bismarck opened at 10: 20. Those who survived the volley began to leave the ship. Waiting for them is the oil-covered waters of the North Atlantic, which is the last refuge of the Bismarck crew. When the survivors jumped off the ship, some people were thrown to the side of the ship and died. Others were killed when they hit the keel of the ship or saw-toothed torpedo bubbles lurking under the water. The escape fee has been set and Fregattenkapit? Hans Ors crossed the spaceship and instructed the people he found to jump over the side of the ship. When Bismarck was ready to wreck, the watertight doors, sea valves and overflow valves were all opened. In the thirteenth section of the battery deck, Oels found about 300 people flocking to the ladder. He screamed at them to keep order, but a huge explosion tore apart the crowd and killed many people, including Oels.
Then at 10: 39, the ship sank in May of 27 years.19411039 was still flying, and Bismarck arrived at the port with a heavy list. The port auxiliary gun was almost submerged. 1039, Bismarck capsized to port and sank in position 48? 10' north, 16? 12' west took Günther Lütjens, Ernst Lindemann and hundreds of others.
According to the self-sinking theory (the core area is undamaged), will Bismarck's tonnage sink in as short as 19 minutes? Then let's take a look at Operation Rainbow. This large fleet will arrive at 2 1. Is there a person with the flow of Ni 19 19 Scapa? In Northern Europe, Hattie, Genstieg and von reuter spoke at a meeting on 1998125 October, saying: Paragraph Genie. The best? Tegan. When the Englishman is confused, is he saying that he is a genius? Schiff van Sank um 12. 16. Hindenburg time: 17: 00. According to German data, it is confirmed that the seawall valve of Rainbow Operation is at 1 1, and then the frederick the great first sinks at 12 on 16, and the Hindenburg finally sinks at 17. Before and after comparison, Bismarck only took 19 minutes from opening the sea valve to sinking, and it was obvious that the ship had a lot of water. At this time, it is irrelevant to open the sea valve, which is nothing more than speeding up the sinking speed.