"Exploring the wreck of the Bismarck – and it is in..." Topic

… remarkable condition.

"Some years ago I was lucky enough to spend some time with a rear gunner of a Swordfish ("stringbag") that was one of the planes that attacked the Bismarck with torpedoes.

This video footage of a dive to the wreck is pretty addictive. The wreck looks like it wouldn't take a lot to make it war ready again. The level of preservation is incredible. The wreck of Bismarck was discovered on 8 June 1989 by Dr. Robert Ballard, the oceanographer responsible for finding RMS Titanic. Bismarck was found to be resting upright at a depth of approximately 15,719 ft about 400 miles west of Brest…"

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Amicalement
Armand

I think the story of the Bismarck sortie is one of the most compelling episodes in the Second World War. One of my relatives served on the Rodney, which did most of the damage in the final battle with her monster 16 inch guns.

Rodney, which did most of the damage in the final battle with her monster 16 inch guns

And one of the arguments that often gets overlooked in the Bismarck vs [fill in your favorite US treaty battleship] debates is that the US 16" on the treaty battleships and Iowas was significantly more powerful than the British 16".

I am not sure I buy the "did not implode so must have been scuttled" logic. Scuttling a ship does not push it to the point where it looses buoyancy any differently than battle damage flooding does. Implosion happens when a ship sinks with some compartments still filled with water. No ship fills completely with water AND THEN sinks. Bismarck did not settle as she was scuttled until she lost buoyancy and then the air suddenly and miraculously rushed out of all the other water-tight compartments. I don't think that is possible. You could argue that the scuttle order included "open every door and every hatch and every porthole", but given the state of the ship at the time of the order I doubt that could happen. So the bigger question is "how did she sink without imploding?"

And…Bismarck is not the only essentially intact hull on the ocean floor.

Virtualscratchbuilder wrote –
"And one of the arguments that often gets overlooked in the Bismarck vs [fill in your favorite US treaty battleship] debates is that the US 16" on the treaty battleships and Iowas was significantly more powerful than the British 16"."

The 16/45 of North Carolina firing a 2700 lb AP projectile @ MV of 2300 f/s had (according to Navweaps at any rate) approximately the same striking velocity at 15,000 yds as the 2048 lb AP of Rodney fired at 2586 f/s. I'm leaving aside the question of armor penetration, as I cannot easily lay hands upon any AP data recorded under "like-for-like" test conditions.

However, even if the US gun gave superior AP performance (theoretically perhaps 30% better based solely upon striking energy and an assumed equal efficiency of the projectiles) the big question is whether that really might have represented an additional benefit or simply overkill. I suspect that is a question not easily answered.

Strictly my opinion, of course.

B

Thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand

I'm quite willing to believe that they did fire the scuttling charges when it was clear that the ship was no longer capable of fighting.

There are huge shell holes in the deck around the fore and aft main turrets and in the vicinity of the catapult amidships. The upper superstructure was also absolutely wrecked during the bombardment, the stern was also damaged. Rodney apparently fired nearly 350 rounds at Bismarck and eight torpedoes which is a horrific amount of punishment, especially at point blank range (less than 3km).

Rodney suffered some structural damage from the shock of firing her main armament for such a sustained period.