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

The Wreck of DKM Bismarck − A Marine Forensics Analysis
through the torpedo bulkhead would have contributed to sinking the Bismarck. This is an
important distinction. It is also important to note that a 356-mm shell fired at long range from
Prince of Wales, falling short and striking below the main side belt, was able to damage the
torpedo bulkhead enough to cause flooding beyond the side protective system.
Each of the six 150-mm secondary turrets aboard Bismarck has been observed to have
sustained at least one direct hit, mostly achieved by the 134- and 152-mm batteries on the
battleships and the 203-mm guns on the heavy cruisers. We believe these hits were the results of
the random dispersion of salvo fire, with accurate fire inhibited by the Sea State Six conditions
and the heat of battle. This was certainly be the case on the starboard side, where Norfolk and
Dorsetshire expended 781 203-mm shells.
The British gunnery accuracy was mediocre at best. This certainly drew the attention of
Admiral Tovey aboard King George V, when he noticed at 0930 that Bismarck was still afloat
despite the pounding she was taking. He told CAPT Patterson, “Get closer; I do not see enough
hits.” Some 2,000 medium-caliber shells were fired and only about 10% of them hit Bismarck (a
large, barely moving target usually only a few miles away,)
During the morning battle of 24 May, the Prince of Wales’ gunnery had been rather
effective, despite the fact that the battleship’s turret crews were very inexperienced 32 . The Prince
of Wales had been in service only three weeks before being dispatched to fight Bismarck. Her
356-mm shell hits were achieved during a very short engagement. Two of these hits changed
history, causing Bismarck to slow down with a bow-down trim. This damage allowed Victorious
to get within range to make her air attack later in the day. Later in the day, Admiral Lütjens
changed his plans, turning Bismarck to head for France for battle damage repairs. Days later,
Bismarck would encounter aircraft with more experienced aviators launched by Ark Royal.
Prince of Wales and King George V each had ten 356-mm guns that fired shells weighing
721 kilograms. Hood had eight 381-mm guns firing shells weighing 879 kilograms. The Rodney,
was armed with the largest guns in the Royal Navy, nine 406-mm guns that could fire 929kilogram
shells. The heavy cruisers Norfolk and Dorsetshire were armed with 203-mm guns that
fired a 116-kilogram shell. The cruiser guns were vastly inferior in power to the 406-mm guns,
with their shells having a kinetic energy only about 15 per cent of that of the larger shells. The
burster charges of the two shells differed similarly.
The inevitable sinking process was accelerated by the detonation of scuttling charges by
the Germans. (This is our conviction, albeit a mildly controversial one for those who insist that
there was no scuttling of the German battleship. Certainly, Bismarck would have sunk even if not
scuttled by her crew. 33 )
TORPEDO DAMAGE DURING THE FINAL BATTLE
Two large sections of the lower side and bottom shell structure below the armor belt on
the starboard are missing from the main hull. Unique hydraulic outburst phenomena, described
later in this paper, separated this plating from the ship on impact with the sea bed. The aft end of
one long hole created by hydraulic outburst, on the starboard side aft, shows evidence of
probable torpedo damage. It is unclear if the torpedo may have weakened the shell structure and
contributed to the outburst effect, of if the effect occurred without prior weakening, and was in
32 Prince of Wales was completed on 31 March 1941, less than two months before her engagement with
Bismarck. The German battleship was completed on 24 August 1940.
33 Bismarck had prize crew personnel with associated scuttling charge equipment on board.
32