The sinking of the German battleship Bismarck—a masterpiece of engineering,
well-armoured with a main artillery of eight 15-inch guns—was one of the most
dramatic events of World War II. She left the port of Gotenhafen for her first
operation on the night of 18 May 1941, yet was almost immediately discovered by
Norwegian resistance and Allied air reconnaissance. British battlecruiser Hood
was quickly dispatched from Scapa Flow to intercept the Bismarck, together with
new battleship Prince of Wales. They were ordered to find the ship quickly
because, on their way from the USA, several large convoys were heading for
Britain. On 24th May, Bismarck was found off the coast of Greenland, but the
ensuing battle was disastrous for the British. The Hood was totally destroyed
within minutes (only three crewmen surviving), and Prince of Wales was
badly damaged. The chase resumed until the German behemoth was finally caught,
this time by four British capital ships supported by torpedo-bombers from the
carrier Ark Royal. The icy North Atlantic roiled from the crash of shellfire and
bursting explosions until finally the Bismarck collapsed, sending nearly 2,000
German sailors to a watery grave. Zetterling and Tamelander’s work rests on
stories from survivors and the latest historical discoveries. The book starts
with a thorough account of maritime developments from 1871 up to the era of the
giant battleship, and ends with a vivid account, hour by hour, of the dramatic
and fateful hunt for the mighty Bismarck, Nazi-Germany’s last hope to pose a
powerful surface threat to Allied convoys.
