| Battle Of The Denmark Strait |
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The Battle of the Denmark Strait was a World War II naval engagement fought between the British battleship ''Prince Of Wales'' , and Battlecruiser ''Hood'' and the German battleship ''Bismarck'' and heavy cruiser ''Prinz Eugen'' which were attempting to break out into the North Atlantic to destroy Allied merchant shipping. BACKGROUND Admiral Lutjens , the German fleet commander, intended to break out into the Atlantic through the Denmark Strait and attack Allied Convoy traffic in the North Atlantic. Earlier raids by German capital ships such as battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had caused enough damage to cause the British to use some of their older battleships such as the ''Revenge'' Class as convoy escorts. Although old and slow, these ships were well armed with 15-inch guns, more powerful than most of the German heavy cruisers and pocket battleships. These German commerce raiders could risk attacking a convoys escorted by battleships. The ''Bismarck'' could engage and hopefully destroy the escorting battleship, leaving the ''Prinz Eugen'' to chase down and sink the fleeing merchant ships. The two ships had been expected ever since the start of their operation had been known. Royal Navy ships and aircraft were watching their likely route. On the evening of May 23 they were spotted by the heavy cruisers ''Norfolk'' and ''Suffolk'' , patrolling the Denmark Strait under the command of Rear-Admiral Wake-Walker . With the help of the ''Suffolk's'' newly-installed radar set, the cruisers shadowed the German ships throughout the night, reporting on their movements. The next morning the German ships were intercepted in the Strait between Iceland and Greenland by a force of British ships. These were the battleship HMS ''Prince of Wales'' and the battlecruiser ''Hood'', along with a destroyer screen, under the command of Rear Admiral Sir Lancelot Holland , on the ''Hood''. Despite the apparently visible British superiority, their force was not as capable as it appeared. ''Hood'', despite her reputation in the Royal Navy, was in very poor condition. As a symbol of the Royal Navy, she had been in constant service throughout the interwar period, and war had begun before her next refit. The ''Prince of Wales'' was a brand new modern design but had not been "shaken down", her crew were still green (not having yet settled into a team). As a result she had mechanical problems especially with her main armament and she had sailed with shipyard workers still working on her. The rough seas in the Strait kept the part that the destroyers could play to a minimum. The ''Norfolk'' and ''Suffolk'' were still miles behind the German force and would not reach the battle. Despite these weaknesses, the British force was still capable of fighting on equal terms with Lutjens' two ships, and Holland ordered his squadron into action, at approximately 0540. THE BATTLE BEGINS The British capital ships opened fire at 0552. Holland had ordered firing on the lead ship, ''Prinz Eugen'', believing from its position that she was the ''Bismarck''. He changed his instruction but while the ''PoW'' had already compensated and was targeting the ''Bismarck'', the ''Hood'' fired on ''Prinz Eugen''. Holland ordered the ''Hood'' to close with the enemy. Since the ''Hood'' had relatively weak deck armour, Holland wanted to reduce the range as quickly as possible—at a shorter range the trajectory of the ''Bismarck's'' shells would not be able to penetrate the ''Hood's'' deck armour. ''Prince of Wales'' struck first, hitting ''Bismarck'' three times: one shot struck the commander's boat and put the hydroplane catapult amidships out of action, one passed through her bow from one side to another, and one struck her hull underwater. These last two caused little damage or flooding, but cut access to the fuel tanks, which would lead ultimately to her destruction. Lutjens held fire until 0557 Both German ships concentrated fire on ''Hood''. She was hit by ''Prince Eugen'' on the boat deck, starting a fire among ammunition stored there. A subsequent shell from ''Bismarck'' hit at the base of the conning tower. ''Hood'' had stopped firing at ''Eugen'' and was changing aim onto ''Bismarck'', when a shell destoyed the primary fire control director killing the men inside. SINKING OF THE MIGHTY ''HOOD'' At 0600, as the Hood turned to bring all her guns into action a shell from ''Bismarck'' struck somewhere astern between the main mast and "X" turret. At 06.01 a 8-inch salvo from Prinz Eugen striking her was soon followed by a huge jet of flame reaching skyward and an explosion that destroyed the after part of the ship. The stern rose and sank shortly before the fore part did the same. A bright flame shot upwards—described as something like a welding torch—followed by an explosion that wrecked the superstructure from amidships aft. The stern then broke away—the stem rising then sinking. Shortly afterwards the fore part did the same. Admiral Holland and 1,415 crewmen went down and only three men survived to be rescued by the destroyer ''Electra'' . It has been suggested from examination of the wreckage, which was found only in 2001, that the shell set off a magazine for the secondary armament (the vertical flame), which in turn ignited the magazines for the main armament in the rear of the ''Hood'' (the explosion that wrecked the stern). This explosion went through the starboard fuel tanks, igniting the Fuel Oil there, setting off the forward magazines completing the destruction of the ship. ''PRINCE OF WALES'' ALONE The ''Prince of Wales'' turning to open her rear arcs then had to immediately turn to avoid ''Hood's'' wreckage as it sank. This violent change of course broke her aim, interrupting her gunfire and made it easier for the Germans to move their aim onto her. She now came under the concerted fire of both ships. She was hit four times by ''Bismarck'' and three times by ''Prinz Eugen''. One of these shells passed through the upper superstructure, killing every member on the compass platform except for Captain John Leach and another officer. An 8-inch shell from ''Prinz Eugen'' found its way to the propelling charge/round manipulation chamber below the after 5.25-inch gun turrets, and a 15-inch shell from ''Bismarck'' hit underwater very close to the after 14-inch magazine. Fortunately neither shell exploded, if they had the ''Prince of Wales'' might have succumbed to a fate similar to the ''Hood''. By this point the combination of damage from enemy shells and mechanical malfunctions had put all but one of the 14-inch guns out of action: additional hits were scored underwater, to the starboard 5.25" gun direction, to the rear funnel. Rather than risk his ship further, Captain Leach ordered the ''Prince of Wales'' away and to make smoke. As she turned her after turret fired three salvos—all falling short. She then escaped behind her smokescreen. The Germans did not attempt to pursue. Eleven of her crew had been killed in the exchange. AFTERMATH Both sides were amazed by the swift and total destruction of the ''Hood''. The Germans celebrated the achievement, while the British were shocked that the pride of their navy had been destroyed so suddenly. The Admiralty mobilized every ship in the Atlantic to hunt down the ''Bismarck'' and destroy her. ''Prince of Wales''' hit on the ''Bismarck's'' fuel tanks meant she could no longer realistically operate against the Atlantic convoys, so ''Bismarck'' headed for Brest , France for repairs. ''Prince of Wales'' and the cruisers ''Norfolk'' and ''Suffolk'' continued to shadow the Germans then, but the German ships slipped away from their pursuers. Shortly afterwards ''Bismarck'' and ''Prinz Eugen'' separated and escaped into the Atlantic. Later, moves were made to court-martial the captain of the ''Prince of Wales'', John Leach, and the Admiral commanding the ''Suffolk'' and ''Norfolk'', Frederick Wake-Walker. The view was taken that they were wrong not to have continued the battle with ''Bismarck'' after the ''Hood'' had sunk. John Tovey , Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet , was appalled. A row ensued between Tovey and his superior, Admiral Sir Dudley Pound . Tovey stated that the two officers had acted correctly, not endangering their ships needlessly and ensuring that the German ships were tracked. Furthermore, ''Prince of Wales's'' main guns had repeatedly malfunctioned and she could not have matched the ''Bismarck''. Tovey threatened to resign his position and appear at any court-martial as 'defendant's friend' and defense witness. No more was heard of the proposal. SEE ALSO Rheinübung Sortie of the ''Bismarck'' and ''Prinz Eugen'' |
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