Bismarck and Prinz Eugen ‘Rheinubung’

Bismarck and Prinz Eugen and operation ‘Rheinubung’.  This was the operation name given to the breakout into the North Atlantic by these two  German warships . Bismarck was a new battleship . Along with the Battlecruiser Prinz Eugen they had the potential to decimate the allied shipping convoys .

The Admiralty in London had to stop them .Using the cover of fog and the weather fronts , they got to the Denmark Strait .

Bismarck , Prinz Eugen and Rheinubung was nearly successful until they were seen and met by the Royal Navy in the form of Hood and the Prince of Wales . Within minutes of meeting ,Hood was sunk after exploding. Prince of Wales made smoke and departed for safety.

Sometime after this encounter the Prinz Eugen went alone into the North Atlantic. The Bismarck made for the safety of  occupied France to have repairs done . Meanwhile in London , Winston Churchill ordered that the Bismarck must be sunk at all costs . The Royal Navy took ships from other duties to find Bismarck and sink her.

After several days the Bismarck was found by the Royal Navy , crippled and unable to manoeuvre she was a sitting duck . Several British ships attacked her and shortly afterward she too sank with high casualties . Both ships became part of history because of this event . In a matter of days two of the largest warships in the world were gone . They have both made an intriguing focus for writers , historians and artists alike , not to mention films .