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Continued from previous page.
Once More into the Breach
By 0341 hours, both vessels were on a course of 240º. At 0450 hours, Prince of Wales took over guide of the fleet (i.e. positioned herself ahead of Hood). Why this temporary switching of position took place is not clear. It is recorded in Prince of Wales's log as well as in the narrative of the operation written afterwards by Captain Leach but neither document explains the reason behind the move. Hood resumed guide at 0505 hours. Between 0500 and 0510 hours, Holland quietly ordered, "Prepare for instant action". The crews then went to the first level of readiness. The command crew trained their binoculars and strained their eyes to the north, as they silently waited for contact to be made. Over the past few hours the sky had grown lighter and visibility gradually increased, so that at roughly 0535-0536 hours, lookouts in Prince of Wales visually sighted smoke and mast tops of the enemy vessels at a range of at least 38,000 yards (18.75 nm / 34.7 km) .
By 0537 hours enough of the ships could be seen to confirm they were the Germans. Prince of Wales transmitted an enemy report at 0537 hours. Translated from code, it read: "Emergency to Admiralty and C in C Home Fleet. One battleship and one heavy cruiser, bearing 335, distance 17 miles. My position 63-20 North, 31-50 West. My course 240. Speed 28 knots". Hood sighted the Germans shortly thereafter, but did not transmit her enemy report until 0543 hours.
The Battle of the Denmark Strait
At 0537 hours, VADM Holland had ordered his vessels to turn 40º to starboard together. This put the vessels on a heading of 280º, and placed the enemy fine off their starboard bows. The British ships were steaming at nearly 29 knots, with Prince of Wales roughly 800 yards/ 731.5 m off Hood's starboard quarter. Unfortunately, rather than come out ahead of the Germans, Holland's force had actually been on a diverging course. This was a result of the northern diversion the evening before as well as positional error in the regular reports from the British cruisers shadowing the Germans.
By 0552 hours, the range had decreased to roughly 25,000 yards / 12.3 nm / 22.8 km. The British vessels were now on a heading of 300º, a further turn of 20º towards the enemy having been executed at 0549. At 0550, Holland gave the order 'G.S.B. 337 L1' directing Hood and Prince of Wales to both engage the left hand German ship bearing 337º, which was presumed to be Bismarck. In reality, it was Prinz Eugen. Aboard Prince of Wales the mistake was realised fairly quickly. Gunnery Officer, Lieutenant Commander Colin McMullen, correctly identified the right-hand ship as Bismarck and ordered her to be targeted. Despite this correct identification, he had a difficult time in obtaining accurate ranges until just prior to the time fire was opened.
The reasons for the initial misidentification are quite understandable: First of all, it was assumed that the command vessel, Bismarck, would be leading the formation. They had no idea that the German vessels had switched position the previous day: Bismarck's radar had been put out of action by the concussion of her main armament as she fired at the Norfolk on the previous day. This being the case, Prinz Eugen was sent ahead in order that she could use her radar to search for any British vessels approaching from a forward bearing. Given the extreme ranges and angles at which they were first sighted, the German ships were virtually indistinguishable due to their similar silhouettes. This was further compounded by the distance at which Bismarck was trailing Prinz Eugen (roughly between 1.5 to 2.5 km). This made the smaller ship look larger.
As the ships grew closer, the spotters in Hood realised their mistake. VADM Holland was informed and only moments before opening fire, he ordered 'GOB1' directing that fire be switched to the right hand German ship, Bismarck. This order was definitely communicated to Prince of Wales. It is also believed to have been meant for his own ship as well. Despite this, Hood's target remained the left hand ship, Prinz Eugen. The reason for this failure to switch targets is not exactly known. It may not have been possible to switch over quickly enough or there may have been communications problems.
Note: The timing of the order to switch targets is in some doubt. Hood survivors were sure that Hood shot at least two salvoes before VADM Holland ordered the target switch. On the other hand, Capt Leach of Prince of Wales insisted it came before fire was opened.
Action commenced at 0552 1/2 hours, as Hood's two forward turrets fired the first salvoes. Half a minute later, Prince of Wales's forward turrets followed suit. Hood's first salvo fell near Prinz Eugen but did not actually hit. Prince of Wales's opening salvo was observed to be at least 1,500 yards over and to the right/aft of Bismarck. This was due to to incorrect estimates of the initial sighting range, course and bearing of Bismarck. The Germans, having seen the salvos, were shocked to learn that the approaching vessels were not cruisers, but were major combatants - a King George V class battleship (which they assumed was KGV herself, as Prince of Wales was thought to still be working up) and even worse, the famed and feared battle cruiser H.M.S. Hood (apparently the men aboard Bismarck knew it was Hood before the crew of Prinz Eugen). Her legend and reputation were great and she was well respected in the Kriegsmarine. This is backed-up by the statements of Bismarck crew who were later quoted as saying that Hood, in particular, was the 'terror of their war games'.
Hood continued to fire on Prinz Eugen. Prince of Wales continued to engage Bismarck. According to Hood survivors, Hood switched targets to Bismarck after 2 or 3 salvoes. A German witness aboard Prinz Eugen thought otherwise and recounted that Hood shot only at Prinz Eugen. This is far different from the recollections of Bismarck survivors - they were sure Hood had engaged them accurately all along. Most of these men, however, were not in a position to actually see what Hood was shooting at and more than likely were accounting for the fire of Prince of Wales. With little to no fall of shot information available, it points to the strong possibility that Hood shot most of her salvoes between the two German ships, never striking either one.
Aboard Bismarck, Admiral Lütjens' hesitance had started to place his ships in potential danger - though his gun crews were ready and requesting permission to open fire, Lütjens still would not act. At 0555 hours, after two minutes of British shelling, Captain Lindemann had finally had enough. He was rumoured to have said 'I will not let my ship get shot out from under my arse!' then give permission to open fire. Prinz Eugen shot first, followed shortly by Bismarck. Both vessels concentrated their fire on Hood, the lead British vessel. Bismarck's first salvo (4 guns) fell in front and slightly to starboard of Hood. Its second, fell directly between Hood and Prince of Wales. Its third salvo appeared to straddle Hood. Meanwhile, Prinz Eugen had loosed between 2 and 3 salvoes herself. One of these salvoes straddled Hood at roughly the same time that Bismarck's third salvo fell. It is believed that either one 15inch shell from Bismarck or one or more 8inch high explosive (not armour piercing) shells from Prinz Eugen struck Hood near the base of the main mast on the port side of the shelter deck. It is widely believed that the hit was from Prinz Eugen rather than Bismarck. This conclusion is based on both eye witness testimony as well as the fact that a hit by Bismarck's 15inch shells would likely have caused considerably more damage.
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