The Sinking of the Bismarck (9 page)

Germany’s largest battleship, the
Bismarck
, is launched at Hamburg.
(Wide World)

Left
. Admiral Guenther Luetjens, top-ranking German naval officer aboard the
Bismarck. (Wide World)

Right
. Admiral Sir John Tovey, commander in chief of the British Home Fleet.
(Imperial War Museum)

This aerial photograph, taken by a British reconnaissance plane, revealed the location of the
Bismarck
in a Norwegian fiord.
(British Information Service)

The British cruiser
Suffolk
steams full speed ahead after the
Bismarck. (Wide World)

The powerful guns of the British cruiser
Norfolk
fire at the
Bismarck. (Wide World)

The
Hood
was the largest vessel in the British navy at the time of the
Bismarck
chase.
(Wide World)

Crew members on the
Hood
clean one of the battle cruiser’s huge guns.
(Wide World)

A German crew member aboard the
Prinz Eugen
adjusts the firing angle of one of the forward 8-inch guns.
(Wide World)

Crew members aboard Admiral Tovey’s flagship,
King George V
, prepare a towing cable during general drill.
(British Information Service)

An aerial view of the 35,000-ton
King George V
, a floating arsenal.
(Wide World)

Three British naval commanders who took part in the sinking of the
Bismarck
: left to right—Captain F. H. G. Dalrymple-Hamilton of the
Rodney
; Captain H. C. Bovell of the
Victorious
; Rear Admiral Wake-Walker of the
Norfolk. (Wide World)

Crew members on the
Sheffield
point to splinter holes caused by a near miss from the
Bismarck
guns.
(Imperial War Museum)