1941
Bismarck Sunk by Royal Navy
On May 27, 1941, the British navy sinks the German battleship Bismarck
in the North Atlantic near France. The German death toll was more than 2,000.
On February 14, 1939, the 823-foot Bismarck was launched
at Hamburg. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler hoped that the state-of-the-art battleship
would herald the rebirth of the German surface battle fleet. However, after the
outbreak of war, Britain closely guarded ocean routes from Germany to the
Atlantic Ocean, and only U-boats moved freely through the war zone.
In May 1941, the order was given for the Bismarck to
break out into the Atlantic. Once in the safety of the open ocean, the
battleship would be almost impossible to track down, all the while wreaking
havoc on Allied convoys to Britain. Learning of its movement, Britain sent
almost the entire British Home Fleet in pursuit. On May 24, the British battle
cruiser Hood and battleship Prince of Wales intercepted it near
Iceland. In a ferocious battle, the Hood exploded and sank, and all but
three of the 1,421 crewmen were killed. The Bismarck escaped, but
because it was leaking fuel it fled for occupied France. On May 26, it was
sighted and crippled by British aircraft, and on May 27 three British warships
descended on the Bismarck and finished it off.