Bismarck, a German battlecruiser, was a ship to be reckoned with, a powerhouse of firepower, speed, and might hammered into one churning giant. In its brief but mad life, it sent shivers down travel on the Atlantic at full speed, its legend carving a place in the book of naval history that still holds to this day. Its story is one of strength and weakness, of risks for which there was no payoff and war’s urgency currents, and one distilled in nine indelible moments.
When Bismarck splashed into the ocean in 1939, it was immediately recognized as a sea giant. It ran more than 250 meters long and weighed more than 50,000 tons when loaded to capacity, making it the largest battleship in Europe. Eight terrifying 15-inch guns jutted out of its decks, bolstered by as much as 13-inch armor plate on its hull and shrouded turrets.
Its raked bow provided it with better weather-holding performance, and its sophisticated double-bottom system of watertight compartments provided it with immense resistance to damage. In trials, it achieved a record speed of 30 knots, evoking respect and admiration from naval strategists who believed that it was capable of withstanding the blow of the thickest guns on the ocean.
Bismarck was as much an icon as it was a weapon. Its prime intention was to sink and destroy Allied convoys menacing the lifeline supply lines across the Atlantic. Merely the existence of Bismarck in the oceans forced the Royal Navy to reroute astronomical resources away from other projects to find and address it. The ship was both a psychological and a tangible one, altering the priorities of hostile commanders merely for its presence.
Its initial serious gunpower test was on 24 May 1941, in the Denmark Strait, when Bismarck, escorted by heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, attacked British ships. In a brief but calamitous encounter, Bismarck wrecked HMS Hood with a direct hit, Britain’s pride and battlecruiser joy. The result was catastrophic: Hood’s magazine had exploded, the ship was gutted, and it went down within minutes with just three out of more than 1,400 surviving. The news created a shockwave in Britain, depressing morale and proclaiming the gigantic threat that Bismarck posed.
Hood’s sinking called the largest search in history to the waters. The Royal Navy employed everything it could command, from battleships to cruisers to air power, and over forty vessels were deployed. Intelligence intercepts also pinpointed Bismarck. The practice showed just how deadly the battleship was feared to be and how desperate the Allies would be to put it under the sea.
Bismarck was as powerful as it was, with faults to boot. It was disabled in battle with HMS Prince of Wales, a punctured fuel tank spilling oil onto the water and functioning like an anchor in the sea. This served to bring it back around from along the coast of France to be repaired and closer within reach for the Royal Navy to pursue, the turning point of the hunt.
Coup de grâce came from the skies. British Swordfish biplanes, rear-engined and slow, dived in through ack-ack fire and poor weather. One torpedo hit home, jamming the rudder on Bismarck and leaving her unable to turn round and round in the Atlantic. Stopped in its tracks, it was only a matter of when the Royal Navy could complete the task.
At dawn on May 27th, 1941, the Royal Navy took possession of the damaged battleship. King George V and Rodney opened a curtain of fire, and cruisers Norfolk and Dorsetshire joined in to unload their fury. The guns of the Bismarck fell silent, fires raged across the decks, and all was lost. The crew attempted to exhibit the sign of surrender, but the shelling continued, and they could do nothing other than sink the ship so that it wouldn’t fall into the hands of the enemy.
It was an appalling human toll. Of more than 2,200 men aboard, only 110 were rescued before the British were forced to retreat in fear of submarines and aircraft. The cold Atlantic claimed the rest, a grim preview of the brutality of sea conflict. But amidst all the slaughter, there was one act of decency that shone through, in the form of survivors being rescued from the sea at risk to their saviors.
The sinking of the Bismarck was greater than the sinking of a single battleship. It was a milestone in naval warfare, proving that even the largest steel giants could be vanquished by the power of a concerted effort and the increasing might of air power. The ship rests quietly on the seafloor today, a reminder of the fleeting supremacy of the battleships and proof of the continuous evolution of sea war.