[CaptainCrunch]

On May 1941 we saw the start of the Battle of The Denmark Strait. A naval battle between the the Battleship HMS Prince of Whales and the Battle Cruise HMS Hood versus the German Battleship Bismarck and its consort the heavy cruiser Prince Eugen


The German ships were attempting to break out of British containment by making a run for the GIUK line, but were spotted by British cruisers and British Radar which allowed the British to position a blocking force of 8 ships including the Hood and Prince of Whales.



Vice Admiral Holland's plan was simple, he wanted the Hood and POW to engage the Bismarck while the fleets smaller destroyers took on the Prince Eugen. He assumed that the Eugen would be behind the Bismark and he planned to attack out of the rising sun and get in the first shots.


at 5:52 the Hood and Prince of Whales opened fire with the first round, Holland mistakenly thought the the Eugen was the Bismarck and therefore opened fire on the wrong ship. As the Eugen was actually in front of the Bismarck



Because of that the Bismarck escaped the first volley and both German ships focused on the hood, at 5:55 one of the rounds penetrated the Hood and exploded its magazine taking 1412 of the 1415 members of the crew to their deaths including Admiral Holland.



This left the POW against a German Battleship and Battlecruiser. The POW took several hits and began to suffer gunnery failures and at 6:04 Captain Leach decided to withdraw and save his ship.



While the German's could be expected to pursue and destroy the Prince of Whales, The Bismark had taken several hits that caused a massive oil leak that allowed the British to track the ship. She also suffered propeller and boiler room damage



The Prince of Whales was a heavy battleship for its time and one of their newest commissioned in Jan of 1941. It gained notoriety as it because the first large combatant sank soley by naval air power as she was attacked and destroyed by Japanese aircraft On Dec 10,1941 in the South China Seas


The Hood was the last battlecruiser built by Britain and the only ship of its class that was completed. she was commissioned in 1920 and was the largest combat ship in the world for 20 years.


The Bismarck suffered serious damage to her boilers and guns and was pursued. British Swordfish bombers off of the Ark Royal torpedoed her and caused rudder damage that reduced her maneuverability to zero and she was forced to anchor and attempt to fight until help could come. Her luck ran out as she was reduced to wreckage by British air and sea attacks and her Captain ordered her scuttled.