In the ensuing battle the British battle cruiser HMS Hood was sunk with the loss of … On May 24, the British battle cruiser Hood and battleship Prince of Wales intercepted it near Iceland. View production, box office, & company info. [11] The film credits identify the actual Director of Operations as Capt. Only three of Hood’s 1,421 crew members were pulled from the water alive. positively, stating that "this fine film fully captures the tensions, dangers and complexities of battle by concentrating on the unsung back-room planners as much as on the combatants themselves" while also praising More's performance. From 14 miles away, Hood fired the first shots. © 2020 A&E Television Networks, LLC. [25], For the most part, the historical accuracy in Sink the Bismarck! Hundreds of Germans sailors bobbed in the gale water, and British ships picked up 110 survivors before a U-Boat warning caused them to leave the wreckage and approximately 2,000 dead behind. Sink the Bismarck Was this review helpful to you? 2. the German had the superior artillery. The film had its Royal World Premiere in the presence of the Duke of Edinburgh at the Odeon Leicester Square on 11 February 1960. Tovey ordered an attack to be launched from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, which had sailed north in storm-tossed seas along the Iberian Peninsula. [4] Film4 praised its cinematography, noting that it "very realistically re-enacted scenes in the War Room of the Admiralty" as well as "excellently filmed episodes using miniature models. [25], Sink the Bismarck! was seen as something of an anomaly, with much of its time devoted to the "unsung back-room planners as much as on the combatants themselves". On May 24, 1941, Germany’s largest battleship, the Bismarck, sinks the pride of the British fleet, HMS Hood. A view of the German battleship Bismarck firing on a merchant ship in the north Atlantic. Under the cover of darkness in the early morning hours of May 19, 1941, the most formidable battleship to have ever been built slipped into the Baltic Sea on its maiden voyage. [4] To date, it is the only film made that deals directly with the operations, chase and sinking of the battleship Bismarck by the Royal Navy during the Second World War. The weapons hit their mark, and around 10:40 a.m. Bismarck slipped below the waves—finished off by either the last British salvo or a German decision to scuttle the mighty battleship. Officially declared to displace 35,000 tons, she in fact displaced 41,700 tons, making her the largest and most powerful warship in European waters.eval(ez_write_tag([[468,60],'historyhit_com-box-3','ezslot_15',142,'0','0'])); In 1941 the German Navy planned a sortie into the Atlantic to attack the vital convoys supplying food and war materials to Britain. In reality, Lütjens did not agree with Nazi policies; along with two other navy commanders, he had publicly protested against the brutality of antisemitic crimes during Kristallnacht. Look back at one of the most epic nautical chases and battles in naval history, the sinking of the mighty Nazi battleship Bismarck. This concept was not an original idea of Lütjens; it had been proposed by German naval staff before the battle, but was scrapped because of the repairs the two German battleships needed from damage during an air raid. Capable of only sailing in large circles, the helpless Bismarck spent the night surrounded by only the open ocean and the enemy. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! But the British ignorance is too apparently one reason for the sinking of the Hood. I say astonishingly because the Germans did not start with it long before WW I, having no experience like the other sea nations. Shortly afterwards the remaining bridge officers are killed. Only one gun is left firing as Prince of Wales retreats. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. In reality, Lütjens ordered Lindemann to avoid engaging HMS Hood; Lindemann refused and ordered the ship's guns to open fire. The German death toll was more than 2,000. Title: There was propaganda. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler hoped that the state-of-the-art battleship would herald the rebirth of the German surface battle fleet. The Bismarck still had her main armament of 8×15″ calibre guns operational but was out-gunned by the KGV’s 10×14″ and the Rodney’s 9×16″ weapons. Naval experts and all who study the matter know well why British warships had extreme difficulties to stand against comparable German warships. Davis instead suggests breakfast, as they walk off together. Along with the director, he decided to use a documentary-style technique, switching back-and-forth from a fairly insular war room to action taking place on remote battleships. Fierce barrages ensued over the next 90 minutes as the British ships closed in from a distance of 16 miles to 3,000 yards. The German death toll was more than 2,000. In the historical "Sinking of the Bismarck" there was no heroism at all. His hunch proves correct, and Bismarck is located, apparently steaming towards the French coast. After surviving the crash, Zamperini floated on a raft in shark-infested waters for more than a month before being picked up by the Japanese and spending the ...read more, During the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian Baltic Fleet is nearly destroyed at the Battle of Tsushima Strait. Great historical book. © 2020 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. [16] A 2010 article in Aeroplane identifies the Swordfish flown in the production: LS326, carrying its true serial, was marked as "5A" of 825 Naval Air Squadron, while NF389 was marked as LS423 / "5B". Use the HTML below. On May 27, 1941, the British navy sinks the German battleship Bismarck in the North Atlantic near France. Directed by Robert Kirk. [Note 2] The main force of British ships (including battleships HMS Rodney and HMS King George V) find Bismarck the next day and rain shells upon her. was a surprise hit in North America. B. Edwards and "Capt. The Bismarck was the most modern of Germany’s battleships, a prize coveted by other nation’s navies, even while still in the blueprint stage (Hitler handed over a copy of its blueprints to Joseph Stalin as a concession during the days of the Hitler-Stalin neutrality pact). All Rights Reserved. The decisive defeat, in which only 10 of 45 Russian warships escaped to safety, convinced Russian leaders that further resistance against Japan’s imperial designs for ...read more, After winning access to the Baltic Sea through his victories in the Great Northern War, Czar Peter I founds the city of St. Petersburg as the new Russian capital. The destroyers used to depict the torpedo night attacks were the C-class HMS Cavalier, representing the flagship of "Captain (D), of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla", (in reality, Captain Vian in HMS Cossack) and the Battle-class destroyer HMS Hogue, representing the fictitious HMS Solent which Bismarck destroys in the film. His films merged historical episodes and the role of the individual, with Sink the Bismarck! [24] The attacks by Fleet Air Arm Swordfish show some aircraft being shot down: no Swordfish was lost to Bismarck's guns and all were recovered. British torpedoes from the archaic bombers managed to strike the modern metal behemoth’s weakest point—its undefended rudders. Self Computer Bismarck, a 1980 computer game that simulates the battle. Bismarck‍ fires another salvo from her main battery and both sides watch as three shells hit the water near the Hood. How the Roman Republic Committed Suicide at Philippi, Founding Fathers: The First 15 US Presidents in Order. [38], This article is about the 1960 film. an exemplar, sharing the "common themes, actors ... visual style and ideological messages ..." of the genre. [28][18] The film shows Lütjens ordering Captain Ernst Lindemann to open fire on HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Thousands of residents of Brooklyn and Manhattan Island turned out to witness the dedication ceremony, which was presided over by ...read more, The Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 on May 24, 1935 in Major League Baseball’s first-ever night game, played courtesy of recently installed lights at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The bombers returned to Ark Royal and rearmed for a second attack into the teeth of the storm, this time against the correct target. In May 1941, the order was given for the Bismarck to break out into the Atlantic. Who Was Behind the Allied Plot to Depose Lenin? They are rather anti-propagandists. Four torpedoes strike home, causing the vessel to sink faster than the crew can escape. [18] Nonetheless, Shepard's hunch was soon proved correct when, by good luck, a Luftwaffe Enigma transmission was intercepted and decoded at Bletchley Park, revealing that Bismarck was headed for Brest to repair an oil leak. Upon receiving his new post, Shepard discovers Lütjens is the fleet commander on Bismarck.