British Battlecruisers 1939–45

This extract is taken from the chapter ‘Battlecruisers in action.’

In April 1941 German naval commanders hatched a plan to launch their new battleship Bismarck on a raid against British convoys in the Atlantic Ocean. Accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, Bismarck duly slipped out of the Baltic Sea, and by nightfall on 23 May the two German ships were north-west of Iceland, entering the DenmarkStrait. They were sighted by British cruisers, who radioed the news to the rest of the British fleet. Admiral Tovey, the commander of the Home Fleet, ordered the Hood and the brand-new battleship Prince of Wales to intercept. At 5:37hrs, just as dawn was breaking, lookouts on the Hood spotted the German ships, some 17 miles (30,000 yards) away to the north. The British and German forces were steering roughly parallel courses, and both were in line ahead formation. The Hood led the Prince of Wales, while Prinz Eugen was ahead of the Bismarck.

Vice-Admiral Holland altered course to intercept. Holland and the Hood’s commander, Captain Ralph Kerr, both realised that at long range the Hood was extremely vulnerable to plunging fire, so they decided to close with the enemy as fast as possible to reduce the risk. Below 20,000 yards, enemy shells were more likely to hit the hull than the deck.

At 5:39hrs Admiral Lütjens in the Bismarck also altered course, forcing the British to make a second turn in order to decrease the range. At that angle, only the forward turrets on the British ships were in a position to fire on their enemy. The two forces were now closing at a rate of just over 500 yards per minute. At 5:52hrs the British ships opened fire, at a range of 14 miles (25,000 yards). At that range, it took just under a minute for the shells to reach their target. One problem was that the gunnery crew on the Hood had assumed that the Bismarck was the leading German ship. It was an easy mistake to make, as the German vessels had a similar silhouette. While the Prince of Wales was correctly engaging the Bismarck, Hood was firing at the much less dangerous Prinz Eugen. Two minutes later, the German ships altered course to port, and the Bismarck increased speed in order to overtake her consort. Both German ships had also opened fire, concentrating on the Hood. A shell from the Prinz Eugen struck the upper deck of the Hood amidships, starting a small fire. Seconds later, a salvo from the Bismarck fell close to the British battlecruiser. Admiral Holland realised his flagship was firing on the wrong target. At 5:55hrs he ordered his ships to alter course to port, in order to bring all his guns to bear. The range was now 22,000 yards, and although the Hood was still vulnerable to plunging fire, the range was decreasing steadily. A third salvo from the Hood was unleashed against the Bismarck, but it fell short. By contrast, the third salvo from the Bismarck straddled the Hood. At 5:59hrs Admiral Holland altered course again, reacting to a German change of course to port. At this point, the Bismarck fired three more salvoes in two minutes. The shells took about 30 seconds to reach the target, at a range of 11 miles (19,000 yards).

The Bismarck’s fifth salvo landed at 6:00hrs and one of the shells struck the Hood close to her turrets. A huge flame was seen to shoot up from the base of the battlecruiser’s after mast, followed by an immense explosion in the vicinity of her rear turrets. The Hood was torn apart, leaving only a large cloud of smoke hanging over the scene of the tragedy. In less than three minutes the remains of the once great battlecruiser were gone. The Prince of Wales swerved to avoid the wreckage, then altered course to port. The Bismarck’s guns turned on the British battleship, and within minutes the bridge of the Prince of Wales had been hit. Captain Leach broke off the action after further German shells and mechanical problems knocked out his main armament. The engagement, known as the Battle of the Denmark Strait, ended any remaining belief in the value of the battlecruiser. Although her guns were powerful enough to engage the Bismarck, the inadequate deck armour of the Hood had proved the battlecruiser’s Achilles heel.