'During the night the British destroyers appeared once more, coming in close to deliver their torpedoes again and again, but the Bismarck's gunnery was so effective that none of them was able to deliver a hit. But around 08.45 hours a strongly united attack opened, and the last fight of the Bismarck began. Two minutes later, Bismarck replied, and her third volley straddled the Rodney, but this accuracy could not be maintained because of the continual battle against the sea, and, attacked now from three sides, Bismarck's fire was soon to deteriorate. Shortly after the battle commenced a shell hit the combat mast and the fire control post in the foremast broke Gerhard Junack, Lt Cdr (Eng), away. At 09.02 hours, both forward heavy gun turrets were put out of action. Bismarck, writing in Purnell's ' A further hit wrecked the forward control post: the rear control post was History of the Second World War' wrecked soon afterwards... and that was the end of the fighting instruments. For some time the rear turrets fired singly, but by about 10.00 hours all the guns of the Bismarck were silent' SINK the Bismarck' 1 Desperately fighting the U-boat war and was on fire — but she continued to steam to the picture of the Duchess of Kent in a fearful lest the Scharnhorst and the south west. number of places. That picture was left Gneisenau might attempt to break out in its battered condition for the re- from Brest, the Royal Navy had cause for It was imperative that the BISMARCK be mainder of SHEFFIELD'S war service. concern in late May, 1941. Air sunk before reaching harbour. The air- reconnaissance had detected the new craft carrier Victorious; the battleships Facing the enemy was dangerous enough, German battleship BISMARCK and the Rodney and Ramilles; the battle cruiser but when aircraft from the Ark Royal cruiser Prinze Eugen in an unfrequented Renown and the cruiser SHEFFIELD, made a further sortie, poor visibility Norwegian fjiord near Bergen. There was were all ordered into the Atlantic. The resulted in a torpedo attack being made little doubt that, sooner or later, they aircraft carrier Ark Royal; the cruisers on the SHEFFIELD by mistake. Luckily would make a dash for the Atlantic. The Edinburgh, Norfolk and Suffolk, and a for her the newly-adopted magnetic stage was being set for the most dramatic destroyer force... all these were moving pistols failed to explode. A further attack sea chase of World War II. in remorselessly to block the with better torpedoes was made on the BISMARCK'S route to France. BISMARCK later and she was hit. BIS- Early information of the sailing of the MARCK was then seen to turn two German ships was of vital importance to Hanging on relentlessly, Suffolk and Nor- circles and when she resumed her course Admiral Sir John Tovey, Commander-in- folk reported that the enemy had slightly it was clear that she was partially crip- Chief of the Fleet based at Scapa Flow. reduced speed. A Coastal Command air- pled and that her speed had been much He could not keep his patrol cruisers con- craft reported oil showing in the reduced. stantly at sea; he did need his ships to be BISMARCK'S wake and, on the evening ready to intercept once the break-out had of 24th May, HMS Prince of Wales made That night it was the turn of Captain PL been made. contact. After a short exchange of broad- Vian and his Tribal Class destroyers By 22nd May the weather was deterior- sides the BISMARCK turned away and Cossack, Maori, Sikh and Zulu to attack. ating fast. The Commanding Officer of a altered course. That night, torpedo Cossack, by coincidence, had been build- naval air station in the Orkneys, aware of carrying aircraft launched by the Vic- ing at Walker Naval Yard when the urgency of the situation, called for torious made a long distance attack and SHEFFIELD was launched, and SHEF- volunteers to man an aircraft to fly over scored one hit. FIELD was there shadowing the enemy Bergen. Four men volunteered at once when Cossack and Maori each obtained a and, despite the 'impossible' meteor- At 3 a.m. on 25th May the shadowing hit with torpedoes. An hour later HMS ological forecasts, flew close to the sur- cruisers lost contact for the first time. The SHEFFIELD reported that BISMARCK face all the way to Norway, only to find BISMARCK was then 350 miles SSE of was stopped, 400 miles west of Brest and the fjiord empty. The hunt was on. Greenland. An extensive air search was 1750 miles from the position in which the organised, but it was not until 10.30 a.m. first sea contact had been made. HM ships Suffolk and Norfolk were on 26th May that the German was found ordered to patrol the Denmark Strait; the heading east and about 550 miles west of The ship was still fighting. The shadowing battleship Prince of Wales — so new that Lands End. The Prince Eugen had parted destroyers and the cruiser Norfolk were she had not really completed her accep- company with her and was not sighted fired on at daylight on 27th May. About 9 tance trials — and the battlecruiser Hood again. At 11.15 a.m. aircraft from the Ark a.m. that day, the King George V and the were ordered to take up a strategical Royal sighted BISMARCK, and HMS Rodney, who had awaited full daylight, position west of the Strait. Admiral Tovey SHEFFIELD was ordered by Admiral opened fire. BISMARCK was hit and himself put to sea with the battleship King Somerville to make contact and shadow. silenced and the cruiser Dorsetshire was George V. On the evening of 23rd May, The same afternoon, aircraft from the ordered in to sink her. At 11 a.m. on 27th Suffolk and Norfolk sighted the enemy carrier made an unsuccessful sortie. May, the BISMARCK action was over. ships and, despite bad visibility, shadowed Shortly after 5.30 p.m. SHEFFIELD More than 100 officers and men were them throughout the night. As a result the contacted the BISMARCK and proceeded picked up from the sunken ship. Prince of Wales and Hood made contact to shadow her, under fire. It was in this early on 24th May and at once attacked. action that the ship received her most The whole epic story — the story of a The Hood was blown up when a broadside treasured battle scar. Straddled by a salvo strategical and tactical triumph — is now hit her magazine; the Prince of Wales was from the BISMARCK, the cruiser was hit written in one word among the battle slightly damaged and the BISMARCK was by splinters. Some passed through the side honours of HMS SHEFFIELD... BIS- hit — and at one time of the wardroom piercing MARCK, 1941. Sheffield was the first warship to carry 6" guns mounted in triple turrets, two forward and two aft. She was capable of maintaining a succession of 23- gun broadsides with a total out- put of 96 rounds per minute. The ship with a charmed life here can be no doubt that the first SHEFFIELD bore a charmed life. Certainly her crew swore by her as a lucky ship. TShe had, for instance,captured the German merchant ship Gloria in October 1939; had landed her Marines at Namsos to secure the harbour and road bridges and permit a large British force to land; she had taken part in a bombardment of Genoa and shadowed the Bismarck. By the end of 1941, six of her battle honours had been hard earned with no serious damage. Rejoining the Home Fleet, HMS more. Driving spray brought visibility 1942, SHEFFIELD suffered a head-on SHEFFIELD found herself on that most down to less than 200 yards and so great collision with another ship at a com- onerous of wartime naval duties was the pressure of the wind on the ship bined speed of 30 knots. The fatal escorting convoys to Russia. Making a that she was compelled to heave to, her casualties were few and those aboard the turn in darkness, and in a rising gale engines running at a minimum speed to ship that day had cause to be thankful to North East of Iceland, she struck a give steerage way. The seas stove in the the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors floating mine which blew a hole in her starboard whaler, submerged the forward who had designed her, and Vickers- port quarter, 40 feet long and 20 feet gun turret and swept part of the turret Armstrong who had built her. deep. She was 1 000 miles from the roof overboard. HMS SHEFFIELD rode nearest repair base and the story of her out that storm for three days before For three months between September and successful return was an epic in itself. being able to set course for port. In December 1942, there were no convoys to another gale there was further damage by Russia. The landings in North Africa had On two other occasions the ship was heavy seas and the ship was hove to for drained the Home Fleet of ships and there damaged by heavy weather in the Arctic. 17 hours. At the end of that time she had been a certain anxiety as to the safety During terrific storms in February 1943, found herself 40 miles further of Arctic convoys after the mauling given the wind reached hurricane force and the downwind than when the gale first to PQ-17 in June 1942.