BISMARCK’S SUPPLY VESSELS

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23349, 7 June 1941, Page 9

BISMARCK’S SUPPLY VESSELS

Four Sunk by British Forces PURSUIT OF BATTLESHIP DESCRIBED

(Received June 6, 11 p.m.) (U.P.A.) LONDON, June 6. The Admiralty gives details of further successful operations by the naval forces which sank the German battleship Bismarck. The British forces encountered three supply ships and an armed trawler, which had been used for supplying the Bismarck. All four vessels were sunk. A British Official Wireless message says an account of the action against the Bismarck has been given by an officer who was present in the King George V. Starting his account at the time when it was discovered by naval aircraft that the Bismarck had left the Norwegian port where she had previously been located, he said that additional dispositions were taken to cover a possible break out into the Atlantic. -It was no surprise when the Norfolk sighted two German warships in Denmark Strait, west of Iceland, making all speed south toward the blue water. A fast squadron consisting of the Hood and the Prince of Wales was near at hand and made contact shortly after daylight the following morning. “You know how the Hood went,” he said. “She was firing every one of her great guns as she split in two and sank.

“The Prince of Wales fought on alone all that day and night into the early hours of May 25. She, the Suffolk and the Norfolk chased and shadowed the Bismarck through ice-floes, patchy fog, flurries of snow, intermittent rain and squalls. There were two separate, long cannonades and at one point fire was visible in the after part of the Bismarck.

• “Meantime the King George V was pounding along with spray flying right up over the bridge and taking care that there was no wisp of smoke to give her

away too early to the enemy. The' Victorious was in the chase'too, and, as soon as she was within air range she flew off torpedo-carrying aircraft. These, at noon on May 25, reported one hit. “Within an hour of this news, however, the Bismarck and her companion cruiser Prince Eugene had skipped away from their pursuers in the treacherous half. dark and northern mist. The Bismarck was lost for 31} hours and was then picked up by a Coastal Command, flying-boat. Soon afterwards, aircraft from the Ark Royal were on her track and escort, ships from convoys were closing in to help in the chase .“As daylight on May 26 closed in, the Ark Royal flew off a striking force of torpedo-carrying aircraft. This force, however, was unable to locate the target and a secorfd striking force took off. At last, learning that torpedo hits had been obtained by the second force, the King George V turned at once to close with the enemy more rapidly.. As the last light died the cruiser Sheffield and the destroyer Cossack and her flotilla slid quietly into their night shadowing positions. “The Sheffield quickly received a blast of 15-inch gunfire, which straddled her. She was too big and, too visible and she had to sheer off, for at that short-range a single, accurate salvo would easily have sunk her. The destroyers, though often engaged, were less visible and less vulnerable. As night wore on they put two or three torpedoes into the Bismarck. “When at last daylight appeared there were patchy rain squalls and a tearing wind from the north-west with a rising sea. After a little manoeuvring the Suffolk appeared to the east, signalling: ‘Enemy in sight 12 miles south of me.’ The Rodney opened out to port a little more, sayinr: 'Enemy in sight.’ The Rodney Opens Fire “There was a sudden shift of wind and a squall of rain. The Commander-in-Chief (Admiral J. C. Tovey) saw the Bismarck first, and gave orders to alter course. With a cracking roar the Rodney opened fire with her 16-inch guns and an instant later the King George V let fly with her 14-inch guns. The Bismarck fired all four guns from the two forward turrets. “The Germans have a reputation for hitting with early salvoes. Now I know what suspended animation means. It seemed to take about two hours tor those shots to fall. Splashes shot up opposite, but beyond the Rodney’s forecastle. I am sorry to say that we all thought, ‘Thank heaven she’s shooting at the Rodney.’ But the Rodney s first salvo produced great white columns of water 120 feet high that would break the back of a destroyer and sink her like a stone if she steamed through one of them. One shot, which seemed to belong to the King George V, was a little ahead of the Bismarck. “Then I watched the Rodney to see if she was being hit, but she just stood like a great slab of rock, blocking the northern horizon, and suddenly she belched a full salvo. I actually saw the projectiles flying through the air some seconds after they left the guns like little diminishing footballs curving up into the sky. Now I was sure that four or five had hit the enemy. There was only one great splash and a sort of flurry of spray and a splash which might have been a waterline hit. “The Bismarck turned north, steaming at about 12 or 14 knots. We kept turning in and out to confuse the enemy range-takers, all the while closing range rapidly. Admiral Tovey kept on saying: “Close the range. Get closer. Get closer. I can’t see enough hits.’

“Somewhere about 8 o’clock there was a fire on the forecastle which seemed to envelop the upper turret, and one observer said that he saw a huge plate torn away from the tail of it The Bismarck was turning away and then back, writhing, it seemed, under the most merciless hail of highexplosive and armour-piercing shells that any ship has ever faced, but there was no escape for the Bismarck. Smoke shot up, but it quickly flew away.” The captain of-the Rodney also described the sinking of the Bismarck;

He said: “The action developed into a battle with ships steering on opposite courses. The Bismarck was steering due north and the King George V and the Rodney towards the south. The wind was in the north and very soon after., on the alteration of coursenecessary so that I could get all my guns to bear—the wind came nearly astern. This meant that we experienced considerable interference from our guns and a certain amount of funnel smoke—as we were going fast—which drifted down between us and the enemy. This made us a, bit impatient, and as we were drawing rapidly past the enemy I considered it best to turn the Rodney round. . “About this time the Bismarck shifted her fire from the Rodney to the King George V, which therefore, made it easier for me to come to this decision. ' We therefore turned the Rodney right round and steered so as to cross the bows of the enemy. This meant that the range closed pretty rapidly, and I think it closed from 20,000 yards to 10,000 yards. Having turned round w e were in an extremely favourable position with the wind on the engaged bow blowing the smoke away, and all the guns bearing on the enemy.” An officer who was aboard the cruiser Dorsetshire, added the following about the Bismarck: “She a terrible sight. Perhaps you saw those photographs of the Admiral Graf Spee after she had.been blown up. The Bismarck was even worse than that. Her top was blown clean away, flames were roaring out of several places and her plates were glowing red with the heat. Great clouds of black smok£ were billowing from her and rising for 100 feet or so. Bismarck Goes Down “It was the end. We asked permission to finish her off with torpedoes. We fired, hitting her abreast of the bridge. The Bismarck settled down by the stern and then heeled over to port. She had not blown up, but she just went straight down on her side with her battle ensign still flying. It was a most impressive sight, and we watched in silence as sne went down." Describing thp action of the Dorsetshire, her second gunnery officer said: “We opened fire at long range at 9.5 a.m., and kept up a ceaseless pounding until we had drawn into close range. By that time the Bismarck was in a hopeless state, but her ensign was still flying. She had ceased firing and the only thing left to do was to sink her with torpedoes. We fired three and a moment after the last hit,she turned turtle and began to sink. The Germans told us that our gunfire was a terrific surprise to them, “The Bismarck fired four salvoes at the Dorsetshire, but all passed overhead, and soon after the Bismarck, heavily engaged by the Rodney, was unable to afford attention to the cruiser.” Describing ’the actual coup de grace, the officer in charge of the operation said: “We closed in to short range, and the captain told me to give her two. I was astonished to observe that when the torpedoes hit home, the Bismarck hardly shuddered. We went round to the other - side at 10.36 a.m., and I let her have another. When that one hit she began to list quickly and turned over to sink.

“Earlier in the day the Bismarck had been subjected to a torpedo attack from three destroyers which had been shadowing her. As these destroyers, the Maori, Cossack, and Zulu went in to attack they were vigorously shelled by the Bismarck’s main armament. Although her shells only narrowly missed the destroyers, they hung on until dawn when they fired torpedoes, the Maori scoring a hit on the Bismarck's forecastle. The destroyers remained on the scene while the bombardment was carried on by the Rodney, King George V, and Dorsetshire, and they assisted in rescuing German sailors.” The Official German News Agency has announced that Lieutenant-Com-mander Schneider, the first gunnery officer of the Bismarck, who is renuted to be “the man who sank the Hood” has been awarded the Iron Cross. Lieu-tenant-Commander Schneider was presumably saved, 'because the newi agency states that he was informed of his decoration by cable.

GERMAN NAVAL ’ STRATEGY §

Greater Use of Small Graft “ BIG SHIPS MAY NEVER BE COMPLETED ” (Received June 6, 8 p.m.) LONDON, June 5. The naval correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph” says the fact that the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen are Germany’s only large ships under construction at the outbreak of war which have ventured to sea, suggests a slowing up of German big ship_ construction, and the importance of concentrating smaller units may in the German view be paramount. It seems probable, he adds, that the rest of the big ships will never be completed. All the indications point to the fact that Germany is concentrating on submarines, destroyers, torpedo-boats and minesweepers and that, as in the last war. the delivery of bigger units is being retarded or suspended.

GERMANY AND EINLAND

“CURIOUS” MOVES SUGGESTED (8.0. W.) RUGBY, June 5. Described as being based on trust* worthy evidence, reports appear in the British press that German organisations in Finland are unofficially recruiting young Finns for service or training in the German Army. Although the report is not confirmed in informed London quarters, it is understood that inquiries are being made regarding what, if accurate, would be interesting and curious developments in German-Finnish relations, Mr J. W. Wear Dead,—The death has occurred of Mr Joseph Walker Wear, a former non-playing captain of the United States Davis Cup team.—Philadelphia, June 5.