The last two hits caused damage to Bismarck's machinery and medium flooding. Grand Admiral Raeder was not clear whether Lütjens intended to steam for St. Nazaire immediately or after shaking off his pursuers and oiling in mid-Atlantic. It would leave Bismarck poised on the edge of the British trade routes once the damage were repaired; it also meant the potential support of the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Tovey stated that the two officers had acted correctly, ensuring that the German ships were tracked and not endangering their ships needlessly. The Battle of the Denmark Strait was a naval engagement on 24 May 1941 in the Second World War, between ships of the Royal Navy and the Kriegsmarine. Ted Briggs, one of the survivors, claimed Hood heeled to 30 degrees at which point 'we knew she just wasn't coming back'. In 1785, it was introduced as regimental flag in the Danish army and in 1801 for the military. There were several reasons for the animosity between the countries. He does a masterful job of explaining the significance of key events leading up to both the battle and its aftermath. The Battle of Copenhagen Day, observed on April 2 very year, is a military flag flying day. The Germans based this hope upon a transit from German territorial waters on the North Sea; and, through the territorial waters of German occupied Norway into the Norwegian Sea, undetected by aerial searches; neutral ship encounters; and traditional "coast-watching" observations performed by formal and informal efforts of maritime intelligence gathering, in the neutral and occupied countries surrounding the North Sea. By Robert J Winklareth. VILKÅR OG BETINGELSER DATABESKYTTELSESPOLITIK. Holland's ships could not use their after turrets until the final turn to port just before Hood was sunk. several times without receiving a response, until the captain of Bismarck, Kapitän zur See Ernst Lindemann, impatiently responded: "Ich lasse mir doch nicht mein Schiff unter dem Arsch wegschießen. Given the prior warning of the German sortie, there was ample time for the Royal Navy to place armed reconnaissance at both ends of this narrow alignment. The damage done to Bismarck's forward fuel tanks forced the abandonment of the breakout and an attempt to escape to dry dock facilities in occupied France, producing an operational victory for the British. Moreover, Holland's deployment of his units compared to Beatty's deployment at Jutland. Dybbøl, Denmark (DK) The Battle of Dybbøl (Danish: Slaget ved Dybbøl; German: Erstürmung der Düppeler Schanzen) was the key battle of the Second War of Schleswig and occurred on the morning of April 18, 1864 following a siege lasting from April 7. Hood had been reported by Group North to be off West Africa and there had been no reports of a King George V-class battleship in the vicinity. This came from her design as a Admiral-class battlecruiser to meet the threat of the German Mackensen-class battlecruisers.[7]. Raeder immediately conferred with his chief of staff, Admiral Otto Schniewind, who in turn telephoned Admiral Rolf Carls, who commanded Group North in Wilhelmshaven. The Battle of Copenhagen, also referred to as the First Battle of Copenhagen, was a naval battle between the fleets of the British Royal Navy and the Dano-Norwegian Navy, fought on April 2, 1801. At 05:35, lookouts on Prince of Wales spotted the German ships 17 mi (15 nmi; 27 km) away. One shell struck the commander's boat and put the seaplane catapult amidships out of action (the latter damage not being discovered until much later, during an attempt to fly off the ship's War Diary on the eve of her final battle). In April 1941, the German Kriegsmarine intended to send the recently completed fast battleship Bismarck into the Atlantic Ocean to raid the convoys carrying supplies from North America to Britain. The British public were shocked that their most emblematic warship had been destroyed so suddenly, with the loss of more than 1,400 of her crew. It has been suggested from examination of the wreckage, found in 2001, that the magazine explosion in the 4 in (100 mm) armament near the mainmast caused the vertical blast of flame seen there, and this in turn ignited the magazines of the aft 15 in (380 mm) guns that caused the explosion that wrecked the stern. [2] Work on the heavy cruisers Admiral Hipper and Admiral Scheer, both under refit in Germany after their own raiding operations, was delayed by British air attacks that struck supply depots in Kiel. During the turn, a salvo from Bismarck, fired from about 9 mi (7.8 nmi; 14 km), was seen by men aboard Prince of Wales to straddle Hood abreast her mainmast. [39], Even if he had known it was the untried Prince of Wales he was fighting and not King George V, Lütjens would probably have stuck to his decision. She would ultimately hit Bismarck three times. Beginning officially at 4:15 am, April 9, 1940, the invasion of Denmark had secretly started hours before under cover of darkness with Abwehr agents cutting communications while special forces seized bridges along the border, which the nervous Danish government in the days before had pulled troops from to avoid any excuses for invasion. [40] Moreover, before leaving Germany, Lütjens had told Admirals Conrad Patzig and Wilhelm Marschall, that he would adhere to Raeder's directives. [further explanation needed] When it was reported that the tips of the starboard propeller could be seen above water, Lindemann had ordered counterflooding two compartments aft to restore the ship's trim. [51], Carls had already drafted a message recalling Lütjens to Germany, but had not yet sent it. The ship had sailed with shipyard workers still aboard working on her. Hood and Prince of Wales were 35 mi (30 nmi; 56 km) away, slightly ahead of the Germans. Holland was waiting at the western end as the Bismarck force exited the Strait. Hood sank in about three minutes with 1,415 members of the crew. This, however, had incurred substantial costs. Admiral Hyde Parker, a suitably senior but rather unenterprising officer, was in charge; Adm. Horatio Nelson was his second in command. 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