The Wreck of DKM Bismarck − A Marine Forensics Analysis 1 The ...

The Wreck of DKM Bismarck − A Marine Forensics Analysis
can be explained in this manner, including the explosion damage starboard in way of Turret
Dora. What is seen there is an outburst propagation which ended at a pre-existing torpedo hole.
There may be other, similar instances of this, but the evidence is masked by sediment.
Bismarck had a slight list to port before the Swordfish aircraft made their torpedo attacks
during the evening of 26 May. A review of the British airmen’s report of the attack is
inconclusive as to the number of torpedo hits or where they may have struck the battleship. As
has been mentioned earlier, German survivor testimony is rather conclusive that there were two
torpedo hits sustained amidships, one on either side 15 .
One of the last attacking planes reported Bismarck was in a port turn. Several survivors
(LCDR Baron von Müllenheim-Rechberg, and Apprentice Seamen Bruno Rzonca and Georg
Herzog) observed two low-flying aircraft making their approach from starboard aft. With the
ship turning to port, the two aircraft made a turn toward Bismarck and dropped their torpedoes
very close to the stern 16 . They then over-flew Bismarck in their successful effort to escape.
Herzog noted that the 105-mm guns couldn’t depress their barrels low enough to engage the
aircraft as they approached 17 .
During the last torpedo attack that came from astern, two torpedoes quickly approached
Bismarck. One missed. The other torpedo continued on its fateful path toward the stern. There
are three plausible scenarios regarding the location of its detonation:
○ It exploded against the trailing edge of the starboard rudder.
○ It exploded to the starboard side of the centerline between the two rudders.
○ It exploded in the wake of centerline propeller.
We believe that this torpedo passed under the stern and that the wake from the propellers
forced it upwards against the underside of Bismarck’s stern plating, between the two rudders,
whereupon it exploded with tremendous force. Based on the nature of the damage to the hull, we
believe that the torpedo actually exploded to the starboard side of the centerline, destroying a
large amount of structure, including the structural support for the starboard rudder stock. The
venting force of the torpedo explosion was carried to the port side, causing the port rudder stock
to fail. None of the British airmen observed the characteristic water plume of an exploding
torpedo in the stern area. This is strong evidence that almost all of the force of the exploding
torpedo was vented against and into Bismarck’s overhanging stern structure.
The torpedo hit or exploded under the stern. Its explosion also caused the failure of a
large portion of the trailing edge of the starboard rudder (about 25-50% of the total rudder area).
The starboard rudder stock and the rudder itself were pushed forward and towards the centerline
15
This information was provided by Baron von Müllenheim-Rechberg during a discussion aboard the
heavy cruiser Dorsetshire after his recovery, as related to authors William Garzke and Robert Dulin
during an interview in Annapolis, Maryland during September 1980. The Baron, an artillery specialist,
was the fourth gunnery officer on Bismarck, with a rank of LT. Seaman Josef Statz, who was assigned to
Damage Control Central, provided Mr. Garzke a detailed flooding diagram of the ship, further confirming
this information.
16
Baron von Müllenheim-Rechberg in his book, Battleship Bismarck, A Survivor’s Story, commented
that the torpedo was dropped from only 20 meters astern. That estimate cannot be correct, for that short a
distance would not allow the torpedo to arm. Perhaps the distance was 200 meters.
17
The extreme motions of the ship in the sea way, coupled with the port list and the trim down by the
bow, may have contributed to this difficulty.
14