Chapter 4 04. "Bismarck" died on its maiden voyage

The war lasted until 1940, France had surrendered, and naval bases on the west coast of the entire European continent were occupied by Germany.As a result, German submarines and warships were dispatched more frequently, causing very heavy losses to British ships. From the beginning of 1940, Britain lost as many as 340,000 tons of ships every month, and it rose to 650,000 tons in April. What is this concept?Faster than the British and Canadian shipyards can build ships, you build one German and sink two for you. Shipping is the lifeline of the British Empire, and Britain will be finished if it goes on like this.It can be said that the British Empire has been strangled by the German Navy.By May 1941, the German Navy put its number one ace "Bismarck" heavy battleship into the sea attack.We mentioned earlier that the "Earl Spey" was sunk by the Allied forces. You can tell the names of the two ships by comparing the names of the two ships. Not many people know "Earl Spey", but the iron-blooded prime minister "Bismarck" is a well-known figure. No one knows, no one knows.Bismarck can be said to be the "father of the country" of the German Empire. The warship named after him shows the high hopes that the German Navy placed on this warship. The "Bismarck" battleship is the first ship of the German Navy's "Bismarck" class battleship, and the second ship is the famous "Tirpitz". This warship is the most powerful among the warships built by Germany.

The battleship "Bismarck" began construction on July 1, 1936, and officially entered service on August 24, 1940. The standard displacement is 41,700 tons, and the full load displacement exceeds 50,000 tons.The main guns are four twin 380mm guns, and the rate of fire of the main guns has reached 3 rounds per minute, which is the highest level of battleships at that time. On May 18, 1941, the battleship "Bismarck" was dispatched for the first time, together with the heavy cruiser "Prince Eugen".The British Royal Navy had long suspected that the German Navy would break through the Atlantic Ocean, and the news of the departure of the "Bismarck" was also confirmed by British intelligence agencies. Three days later, the battleship "Bismarck" was spotted by a British reconnaissance plane in the Norwegian fjords.The battleships and other warships of the British Royal Navy immediately made deployments and paid close attention to the movements of the "Bismarck".

On the evening of May 23, the "Bismarck" was discovered by the British heavy cruisers "Suffolk" and "Norfolk" equipped with radar.After a brief exchange of fire with the "Bismarck", the British cruiser found that the two sides were not of the same weight at all. Knowing that they were not opponents, they retreated out of the range of the German ship and followed the German ship with radar. Although the "Bismarck" has strong firepower, unfortunately, the huge vibration generated by the main gun firing caused the ice cubes that had condensed on the mast to fall off, and the falling just happened to damage the radar.

Therefore, Admiral Lütjens, commander of the "Bismarck" formation, had to order the "Prince Eugen" to sail to the front of the fleet to navigate for the "Bismarck". The outlines of the "Prince Eugen" and the "Bismarck" are very similar. Both are equipped with twin main guns, and the camouflage sprayed is exactly the same. It is a red and gray camouflage. It is difficult to distinguish the two warships from a distance. By 5 am on May 24, the German fleet left the Denmark Strait.At this time, the "Prince Eugen" discovered two ships on the port side, and immediately notified the "Bismarck" to prepare for battle.

It was the British interceptor fleet that came, including the battlecruiser "Hood" and the newly launched battleship "Prince of Wales".The British fleet was led by the "Hood" and the "Prince of Wales" was in the rear. The "Hood" was the pride of the British Royal Navy and the largest battlecruiser in the world at that time. Its disadvantage was that its deck armor was very weak.This warship was launched after the end of the First World War. It was produced for the First World War, but it did not catch up with the war.The Royal Navy often sends it to visit various countries. It can be said to be a British diplomatic star ship.It is said that when the "Hood" visited a city in the United States, the mayor of the United States was moved to tears by the beauty of the "Hood", saying that if this warship came to attack us, we would definitely surrender. Why?Because this warship is so beautiful.The problem is that it is useless for a warship to be beautiful, it needs to be thick and thick, and a fair lady is dead in battle. The "Prince of Wales" is even more amusing. It has just been launched, and the technicians in the shipyard have not been completely evacuated, and some places are still under construction.

These two warships faced off against the "Bismarck", and the enemies were extremely jealous when they met. At 5:49, the British ship opened fire on the "Prince Eugen" led by the German ship.why?Because they mistook the "Prince Eugen" for the "Bismarck". The "Hood" opened fire first, followed by the "Prince of Wales". After two rounds, the British realized that they had hit the wrong target. ", but a lot of time has been wasted. Six minutes after the British ship fired, the German warship fired back, concentrating its fire on the "Hood".The British made a mistake in judgment, but the Germans did not make such a mistake, and hit the "Hood" as soon as they came up.Although the British ship has more powerful firepower than the German ship, the battlefield situation is not good for them. The bow of the British ship is facing the German ship. The German warships faced the British warships horizontally, which formed the most favorable T-shaped formation in naval battles, so the German warships could use all their firepower to fight back against the British.

The "Bismarck" fired a third salvo, which hit the middle of the "Hood", causing the deck of the lifeboat to catch fire and the fire spread.Lieutenant General Holland, the commander of the British ship, realized that the battle situation was unfavorable, and ordered the warship to turn left in order to exert its full firepower.What is a little bit memorized is that the "Hood" had just completed its turn, and the "Bismarck" fired its fifth salvo. A shell penetrated the weak deck of the "Hood" and detonated the main ammunition depot. The "Hood" broke in half instantly and quickly sank into the sea.Just like a duck injected with lead, it sank all at once. 1,418 officers and soldiers including Lieutenant General Huo Lan were killed, and only 3 were rescued.

It took only 6 minutes for the "Bismarck" to sink the "Hood". This was the most exciting duel in the era of giant ship cannons. In 6 minutes, the pride of the Royal Navy, the "Hood", followed its predecessor, the "Royal Oak". After beating the "Hood", the German ship immediately directed its artillery fire at the "Prince of Wales". The "Prince of Wales" was hit by a shell. Except for the captain and a signalman, all the personnel on the bridge were killed. The hull was severely damaged, and several main guns could not be fired.Originally, this new ship hadn't been built yet, so let's go back and rebuild it.

This naval battle ended with a complete victory for the German Navy. Of course, the Germans didn't suffer at all. The "Bismarck" was shot three times, and the No. 2 fuel tank on the bow was damaged and ruptured. Heavy fuel, and reduced its speed to below 28 knots.The slowing down of the ship's speed laid the foundation for the encirclement and annihilation of the "Bismarck" in the future. It was impossible to run, and there was an oil leak while walking. There was a clear oil stain on the sea level. The British aviation reconnaissance plane knew it was running Where did he go, there was nowhere to hide.

For an enemy like the "Bismarck", the British will definitely not let it go, and quickly locked its position, and assembled more warships to encircle and destroy it. On the same day, the "Bismarck" was attacked by a torpedo plane taking off from the Royal Navy's "Victory" aircraft carrier, and was hit by a torpedo, but only caused minor damage.Subsequently, the "Prince Eugen" continued to advance and entered the Atlantic Ocean to fight, and the "Bismarck" turned to the French naval port to repair the damage. History is made up of countless accidents.Originally, the British had lost track of the "Bismarck" and did not know where it went. However, Admiral Lütjens, the commander of the formation, mistakenly thought that the British army still knew the whereabouts of the "Bismarck", so he sent a letter to the mainland. The telegram, for the sake of the party and the state, help the brothers.The telegram went bad as soon as it was sent, and the telegram was intercepted by the British army, who immediately knew where the "Bismarck" was.

Two days later, on May 26, the "Bismarck" was again bombed by torpedoes from the "Ark Royal" aircraft carrier, and was hit by 3 torpedoes, one of which hit the stern of the "Bismarck".After the structure of the stern was damaged, it pressed the steering gear, causing the rudder angle of the "Bismarck" to be stuck at 15 degrees. As a result, the "Bismarck" was unable to evade the attack of the British fleet. Under the influence of currents and monsoons, the "Bismarck" could only move in the direction of the north, and this direction was the center of the British encirclement.That is to say, there is a way to heaven if you don’t go, but there is no way to hell and you will come in. On May 27, the main pursuit fleet of the British army arrived, including the battleships "King George V" and "Rodney", as well as several cruisers and destroyers. Bismarck".At around 8:00, the front and rear fire control stations of the "Bismarck" were damaged.After 20 minutes of fighting, the two main guns on the bow of the ship were scrapped successively. In fact, from the beginning of the battle until the end of the battle, the "Bismarck" has been attacking the "Rodney", thinking of pulling a back before dying.But the 380mm gun of the "Bismarck" could not penetrate the "Rodney", which is known for its shocking protection capabilities.This is not the "Hood", which sank after a dozen. The "Rodney" remained unsinkable, while the "Bismarck" was hit by hundreds of large-caliber armor-piercing shells, hundreds of small-caliber artillery shells, and at least one torpedo. At 8 o'clock, the "Bismarck" began to be beaten, and it lasted for 2 hours. At 10:25, the "Bismarck" still had not sunk.This so-called "unsinkable battleship" is really thick-skinned.The Germans are very proud. The warships we built are unsinkable, and they are too sophisticated.But the battle situation made it clear that there was no hope, so the German soldiers prepared to sink the warship by themselves. In the end, the British heavy cruiser fired 3 torpedoes at very close range. Eleven minutes later, the "Bismarck" sank in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Only more than 100 of the more than 1,000 officers and soldiers on the ship were rescued, including Lütjens, the best surface ship general of the German Navy at that time, and the ship sank together. In order to sink the "Bismarck", the Royal Navy dispatched 8 battleships, battlecruisers and 2 aircraft carriers, equivalent to half of the elite of the Royal Navy, and finally made the "Bismarck" die in its maiden voyage. After the battle, Admiral Tovey, the commander of the British Home Fleet at that time, said to the "Bismarck" with full respect: "The 'Bismarck' was like the German Navy in World War I. It fought the bravest battle and resisted. an enemy so many times its own that when it sank its flag was still flying." Although the "Bismarck" was valiant and outnumbered, and had achieved impressive results such as sinking the "Hood" and damaging the "Prince of Wales", and her courage in the war was admired by her opponents, But the "spiritual atomic bomb" is only the spirit after all, it cannot kill people.War is a contest of comprehensive national strength, a contest of steel.Of course, war is also a contest of wills, but wills alone are not enough. Judging from the sinking of the "Bismarck", although you are very brave and powerful, the British Royal Navy has risked its life and worked hard. I have so many warships attacking you, and the tiger can't stand it. A group of hungry wolves, so the "Bismarck", as a symbolic warship placed by the German Third Reich, was sunk during its maiden voyage. What does this portend?It indicates that the young German Navy of the Third Reich must not be the opponent of the British Royal Navy, which has dominated the sea for 300 years, and it also indicates the tragic ending of the German Navy in this war.