The sinking of the Bismarck (1941)

GAUMONT BRITISH NEWSREEL (REUTERS)
To license this film, visit www.britishpathe.com/video/VL...
Sailors celebrate sinking of German battleship Bismarck, Royal Navy maneouvres, actual footage of attack, eyewitness accounts, officers congratulate troops
Full Description:
Gaumont British Ident
SLATE INFORMATION: "Bismarck" Conquerors Come Home
UNKNOWN:
EXT/INT
AEROPLANES - RACING Planes take off Ark Royal during sinking of Bismarck action
ALEXANDER .A.V. FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY Congratulates Navy on Bismarck action
"BISMARCK" (See 17546 for details of sinking on NAVAL BRITISH
DALRYMPLE-HAMILTON (Captain of H.M.S. Rodney). Speaks after Bismarck action
DORSETSHIRE H.M.S. (Captain Martin) Cruiser and Crew after sinking of Bismarck.. Captain Martine congratulated by Admiral Wellwood-Maxwell
ENNEVER LT. (Aircraft Carrier Victorious). Speaks after sinking of Bismarck
MARTIN CAPTAIN. Captain of H.M.S. Dorsetshire..congratulated by Admiral Wellwood-Maxwell after sinking of Bismarck.
NAVAL (British). Cruiser Dorsetshire after sinking Bismarck..and crew..Captain Martin congratulated by Admiral Wellwood-Maxwell..German survivors bought ashore..planes take off Ark Royal..Ad.Somerville planes action aboard Renown..actual action from 16mm..
NAVAL (British). Captain Dalymple -Hamilton (Captain of Rodney)
NAVAL (BRITISH). speaks..Mr. Alexander (1st Lord) congratulates Navy..Captain Phillips (H.M.S. Norfolk) speaks..Flt/Cmdr. Ronald (Aircraft Carrier Victorious) and Lt. Ennever of (Victorious) speak..also interview with Rodney Rating..
PHILLIPS CAPTAIN (H.M.S. Morfolk). Speaks after sinking of Bismarck
PRISONERS OF WAR Prisoners of war brought ashore after Bismarck action
RANALD FLT/CMDR. (Aircraft Carrier Victorious). Speaks after sinking of Bismarck
"RENOWN" Admiral Somerville plans action (for Bismarck action)
SOMMERVILLE ADMIRAL SIR. Planes action aboard Renown
WELLWOOD-MAXWELL ADMIRAL. Congratulates Captain Martin (H.M.S.Dorsetshire) on sinking of Bismarck
Navy - Active; Personalities - Politicians
ships, ship, Royal Navy, sailor, sailors, naval battle, victory, coming ashore, going ashore, German prisoners, aircraft carrier, airplane, crew, battle cruiser, officers, navigation, communication, telegraph, Morse code, torpedo bombers, battleship, cannons, eyewitness, prisoners of war, Swordfish, World War Two, World War 2, WW II, Second World War, RN, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Air Force, RAF, POW, POWs
Background: Sailors celebrate sinking of German battleship Bismarck, Royal Navy maneouvres, actual footage of attack, eyewitness accounts, officers congratulate troops
FILM ID: VLVA7HQYQDCC8KIESSDJ7U876LFN2
To license this film, visit www.britishpathe.com/video/VL...
Archive: Reuters
Archive managed by: British Pathé

[@mikec69]

My uncle was on HMS RODNEY at the age of 19 ,which sank the Bismark I have still all his memories in my head

[@SEnnever]

Lt .Colin Croft Ennever at 7:05 who was part of the Swordfish torpedo planes involved in Bismarck’s sinking. Was awarded Distinguished Service medal

[@royw-g3120]

The Rodney was a slightly crazy battleship design with all the turrets in the front. This make sense when the Royal Navy philosophy was we never present our read to the enemy.

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

The grouping of the main armaments produced a large reduction in the weight of armour that was required to protect the guns and their magazines.

[@royw-g3120]

@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684 oh great point. Must be why they could mount such huge guns on a smaller(ish) ship too.

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

@@royw-g3120 She was heavily armed and armoured.... where the admiralty chose to make concessions to keep her within treaty weight limits was by limiting her number of boilers... hence why the Nelsons could only achieve 23 knots. which was an average speed for WW1 battleships.

[@florinivan6907]

7:05 that midshipman looks to be about 17 a testament to how young some sailors were back then.

[@SEnnever]

He was 28

[@florinivan6907]

@@SEnnever I'm talking about the kid left of Ennever. The one with clear midshipman rank insignia. He looks 17 or so.

[@SEnnever]

Ah yes, you are right. He does look very young indeed. Love these Pathe clips with all the different dialects. Brave men everyone of them!

[@vincebaseley13]

It is always a feeling of pride that the only Navy in the world that could have sunk the Bismarck was the Royal Navy. Without the RN the Bismarck and her consorts could have wreaked unbridled havoc on the oceans of the world. Johnnie Horton got it right when he sang " we had to sink the Bismarck cos the world depends on us" (meaning the RN ). But for me the real heroes were the two pilots of the Fairy Swordfish plane who swooped to wave height and scored that all important torpedo hit on Bismarck's rudder. What were their names??

[@jonsouth1545]

Far from it while a good ship she was far from unbeatable and was arguably the worst of the late/post treaty designs the US Navy had just launched the North Carolina class which was more than capable. The USN Carrier force would have been capable, Even the Italians could have done it as the Vittorio Veneto class was vastly superior as was the French Jean Bart the Japanese definitely could have done it.

[@GM-yc3rl]

@@jonsouth1545 the Italians were not an elite Navy by any means I think you could say the same for the French as well.. nice-looking ships though

[@GM-yc3rl]

Three days after the Hood was sunk the Bismarck was destroyed

[@joftoronto]

@@jonsouth1545 No one is discounting the quality of the North Carolina class. Unfortunately, the US was still neutral and quite isolationist at this point in the War, although lend lease was swinging into action. (thank god). So regardless of the capabilities of the North Carolina class, the original poster is correct. In the circumstances of May 1941, it was only the Royal Navy that was capable of sinking the Bismark. France had surrendererd and was collaborating with Nazi Germany at this point. Italy was Nazi Germany's ally. USSR had not yet been attacked by Nazi Germany and were still providing massive supplies to the Nazi war machine. At this point, only Britain and the Commonwealth (Canada, Australia, NZ, India, etc, and Crown colonies) and the governments of a few occupied countries in exile stood against the Nazi German menace.

[@hawkerhellfire9152]

Several navies at the time could have Sunk Bismarck quite easily.

[@allgood6760]

Jolly good show! 👍🇬🇧

[@mikebennett3812]

My wife's father (my Father-in-Law) MAA Henry (Harry) William York aboard HMS Dorsetshire had the singular honour of 'laying and firing' the final torpedo which sank the Bismark. Harry was awarded the BEM by the King in recognition of his (and his crew mates) contribution.

[@davidcoghlan4104]

Dalymple -Hamilton's son was serving as a midshipman onboard KGV.

[@karlharrison2449]

Over whelmiing odds, i imagine one on one the outcome would have been quite different.

[@itzjustbryan123]

0:25

[@seventyfivemm]

the news was a little harsh on the surviving german sailors geez

[@ironmantooltime]

Not unexpected for wartime.

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

Those rescued crewmen's intention during "exercise Rhine" was to sink civilian merchant shipping in order the starve the population of Britain, Do you think we should have welcomed them with open arms? Which is exactly what happened onboard HMS Dorsetshire and Maori, where after their rescue they were provided with exactly the same meals as the crew, and supplied with rum, Cigarettes and even sweets, one Bismarck survivor who was picked up with a severely injured arm, was operated on onboard Dorsetshire, but died during the procedure and was buried at sea with full military honours by the RN. On arrival at Newcastle upon Tyne they were warned that their reception on shore may not be as respectful as they had received onboard. Suffice to say that a large number of the survivors were treated so well during their captivity that after the end of WW2 they elected to settle in Canada and the US where they had been sent to POW camps.

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

Many years ago I worked with a man who had been a member of HMS Rodney's crew & took part in this action. He told me about it & that those aboard Rodney felt sorry for Bismarck's crew, who were young men like themselves. Only a few cheered the hits & when Bismarck stopped firing most were simply relieved that it was no longer a threat to them & that they had survived the action.

[@LeftIsBest001]

Agreed.

[@jamesberlo4298]

@@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684 Oh you mean like how England paid other Countries to not Trade Food Stuff and , Starved out Germany during WW one? Also the Germans were Very kind in not destroying Prince of Wales

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

That commentator has a really horrible Tony Robinson-like naturally annoying voice.

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

Listen to the voices of the individuals involved. It was how a lot of people spoke in Britain then.

[@SuperiorAmericanGuy]

I’m glad that giant Nazi battleship was sunk. The Bismarck battleship is a huge pirate terror battleship that would sink the entire allied fleets if we didn’t use aircraft against it.

[@JLongbow]

Er...no. Bismarck was a fairly good ship. Nothing more. The battleship was not alive. It was not a member of the Nazi party. It was a German ship.

[@SuperiorAmericanGuy]

The Bismarck is a giant pirate terror ship that sunk the hood and if it wasn’t chased down by air power it will sink the allied fleets.

[@JLongbow]

@@SuperiorAmericanGuy lol. You're funny. Was it commanded by Capt Blackbeard Lindemann?

[@SuperiorAmericanGuy]

It’s commanded by German pirates.

[@JLongbow]

@@SuperiorAmericanGuy clearly.