rats scurrying about in terror. Apparently even the rats aboard knew the ship was going into battle.
The Commander in Chief also had been up most of the night, taking in the signals from the destroyers and waiting as impatiently as everyone else for the daylight to break. Admiral Tovey still didn’t know exactly where his prey was. For nearly a week the thick clouds had hidden the sun by day and the stars by night. The ships could not get a bearing. They had to plot their position as well as that of the Bismarck by dead reckoning. This was never completely accurate.
For this reason the Commander in Chief during the night had asked Captain Vian’s destroyers to fire star shells to indicate the Bismarck ’s location. But in the rain and low clouds he had not been able to see them over the horizon.
It soon became obvious that daylight was not going to bring any improvement in the weather.As the skies began gradually to lighten on May 27, the clouds still hung close to the sea. The rain did not let up. The seas remained high. The wind blew out of the northwest as strong as ever. In the wretched visibility Sir John began to search for the Bismarck . Because of the fuel shortage of both his battleships, he knew he had to find the German leviathan and sink her within two or three hours at the most. By 10:00 A.M. they would have just enough oil to limp home.
At this critical juncture the cruiser Norfolk came to his aid, as she had at the beginning of the chase off Iceland. Though herself dangerously low on oil, she had been racing south all night to get in on the fight. At 8:15 A.M. her lookouts sighted the Bismarck eight miles dead ahead. Captain Phillips turned his cruiser hard over to get quickly out of range of the big ship’s guns. As he swerved he sighted the Rodney and King George V in the distance. He could thus serve as a visual link between them and the enemy.
Admiral Tovey’s two ships were actually off course. Had it not been for the Norfolk theCommander in Chief might have missed the Bismarck once again. Quickly he altered course. Twenty-eight minutes later he finally sighted his target twelve miles directly ahead. It was the first time he had actually seen the Bismarck . After nearly a week of frustrating, nerve-wracking pursuit, he had cornered her at last.
He moved in at once for the kill. He could see that the Bismarck was moving very slowly, headed into the wind. But he had no reason to doubt that Admiral Luetjens could still use his excellent guns with customary accuracy. The German battleship had managed to dispose of the Hood in a few minutes.
Admiral Tovey signaled to the Rodney , which was about a mile off to his port side. He told her she was free to move and to fire as she thought best but should conform generally to the flagship’s maneuvers. He was not going to fight the rigid battle that had cost the fleet the Hood .
At precisely 8:47 A.M. on May 27 the Rodney opened fire with her 16-inch guns. Within the minute the King George V got off her first salvo of 14-inch shells. The Bismarck did not reply forabout two minutes. But when she did, her fire was accurate. Her third salvo straddled the Rodney , on which she concentrated her big guns, and almost scored a direct hit.
Captain Dalrymple-Hamilton on the Rodney turned a little to port so he could bring all his guns into action. Soon he was pounding the Bismarck with full broadsides. The King George V plowed straight ahead. In this position she was unable to use her aft guns. But she was rapidly closing the range. The cruiser Norfolk , which had refrained from firing at the Bismarck during the earlier action with the Hood and the Prince of Wales , now joined in the battle. She began firing with her 8-inch guns at 20,000 yards.
A second British cruiser soon entered the fray. This was the Dorsetshire . She had been escorting a convoy 600 miles west of Cape Finisterre on the morning of May 26 when she picked up the signal that the Bismarck had
The Commander in Chief also had been up most of the night, taking in the signals from the destroyers and waiting as impatiently as everyone else for the daylight to break. Admiral Tovey still didn’t know exactly where his prey was. For nearly a week the thick clouds had hidden the sun by day and the stars by night. The ships could not get a bearing. They had to plot their position as well as that of the Bismarck by dead reckoning. This was never completely accurate.
For this reason the Commander in Chief during the night had asked Captain Vian’s destroyers to fire star shells to indicate the Bismarck ’s location. But in the rain and low clouds he had not been able to see them over the horizon.
It soon became obvious that daylight was not going to bring any improvement in the weather.As the skies began gradually to lighten on May 27, the clouds still hung close to the sea. The rain did not let up. The seas remained high. The wind blew out of the northwest as strong as ever. In the wretched visibility Sir John began to search for the Bismarck . Because of the fuel shortage of both his battleships, he knew he had to find the German leviathan and sink her within two or three hours at the most. By 10:00 A.M. they would have just enough oil to limp home.
At this critical juncture the cruiser Norfolk came to his aid, as she had at the beginning of the chase off Iceland. Though herself dangerously low on oil, she had been racing south all night to get in on the fight. At 8:15 A.M. her lookouts sighted the Bismarck eight miles dead ahead. Captain Phillips turned his cruiser hard over to get quickly out of range of the big ship’s guns. As he swerved he sighted the Rodney and King George V in the distance. He could thus serve as a visual link between them and the enemy.
Admiral Tovey’s two ships were actually off course. Had it not been for the Norfolk theCommander in Chief might have missed the Bismarck once again. Quickly he altered course. Twenty-eight minutes later he finally sighted his target twelve miles directly ahead. It was the first time he had actually seen the Bismarck . After nearly a week of frustrating, nerve-wracking pursuit, he had cornered her at last.
He moved in at once for the kill. He could see that the Bismarck was moving very slowly, headed into the wind. But he had no reason to doubt that Admiral Luetjens could still use his excellent guns with customary accuracy. The German battleship had managed to dispose of the Hood in a few minutes.
Admiral Tovey signaled to the Rodney , which was about a mile off to his port side. He told her she was free to move and to fire as she thought best but should conform generally to the flagship’s maneuvers. He was not going to fight the rigid battle that had cost the fleet the Hood .
At precisely 8:47 A.M. on May 27 the Rodney opened fire with her 16-inch guns. Within the minute the King George V got off her first salvo of 14-inch shells. The Bismarck did not reply forabout two minutes. But when she did, her fire was accurate. Her third salvo straddled the Rodney , on which she concentrated her big guns, and almost scored a direct hit.
Captain Dalrymple-Hamilton on the Rodney turned a little to port so he could bring all his guns into action. Soon he was pounding the Bismarck with full broadsides. The King George V plowed straight ahead. In this position she was unable to use her aft guns. But she was rapidly closing the range. The cruiser Norfolk , which had refrained from firing at the Bismarck during the earlier action with the Hood and the Prince of Wales , now joined in the battle. She began firing with her 8-inch guns at 20,000 yards.
A second British cruiser soon entered the fray. This was the Dorsetshire . She had been escorting a convoy 600 miles west of Cape Finisterre on the morning of May 26 when she picked up the signal that the Bismarck had
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