Bismarck: How Britain Sank The Infamous German Battleship | Full Documentary | History Hit

[@getinthevantim]

Andrew Choong Han Lin is something of a star within this excellent documentary isn't he? His appreciation of the subtleties of naval architecture and the relative capabilities of the combatants is most informative and very eloquently expressed as well.

[@AgingGamer1977]

I definitely thought the same thing! They all did a great job but he stands out to me.

[@thatoneinasuit6404]

Won't lie, he looks dapper as too, suit is immaculate

[@Blisterdude123]

There's nothing quite so enthralling as listening to someone who truly loves what they have to talk about, talking about that thing.

[@robertkendall2410]

12 year old me, skipping lunch to read Time Life WW2 books is in heaven watching this documentary. Thank you.

[@roywinchel3620]

Bravo, keep studying. I'm 60 and have studied WWII since I was your age

[@dawnwennberg9884]

Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. Never stop learning.

[@kylepalmer7187]

I have all those books. And I read them from cover to cover every chance I can get. I've loved world War II ever since I was in first grade. And I'm nearly 35 now lol

[@xXturbo86Xx]

Don't. It's bullshit.

[@foxyroxstar]

Have A Father In Heaven To Pray To JESUS! "it's Destruction!" FamousLastWords!

[@Trecesolotienesdos]

This should win an award. it's not only informative but very dramatic and expertly written.

[@JPR3D]

It gives me similar vibes to when I was younger, chilling and watching History Channel when it was good. It's a pleasure seeing History Hit grow to where it is now.

[@adamdudley8736]

relax.. its fine

[@savatorefronio9212]

​@@JPR3DI have to get 😂😂2229

[@Thirdbase9]

And full of misinformation presented as fact.

[@ThepPixel]

​@@Thirdbase9such as?

[@fookdatchit]

Just what the world needs, quality long videos on interesting subjects. Entertaining and relaxing. Thank you very much

[@flatoutt1]

Andrew ,an aussie here . just want to compliment and thank you for your exceptional presentation and style in the bismark documentary . for me you really stood out .with your knowledge and your command and delivery of the english language .for me it was all class.

[@andywomack3414]

Agreed, although I take issue with presenting the speed of sound as being the same as the speed of light.

[@RoughWalkers]

​@@andywomack3414 its a huge difference too... can tell he didnt attend NBC training

[@primus209]

Brilliant documentary, and amazing to see ones of this quality on KZbin considering they hardly get a look in on TV.

[@colinthomas5462]

Completely agree 👍

[@CelticSaint]

"Basically, terrestrial TV is a dead duck. And who watches a dead duck? Not even its mother. She just flies off, depressed." - Alan Partridge

[@SimonLloydGuitar]

BBC used to make programmes of this quality about 30 years ago...Those days are long gone.

[@trainnerd3029]

Unfortunately, the BBC has just become an arm of the left wing… Very sad…

[@systemofapown]

Eh? There's loads of quality documentaries on the BBC, just look on the iplayer. Most recent one I watched on there is The Devil's Confession about the Eichmann tapes which is excellent. Sorry to ruin the BBC-bashing but that simply isn't true. Edit: typos

[@Throbbing_Gimp]

There's plenty mate, stop being melancholy and stuck in the past

[@hjr2000]

Defund The BBC

[@hjr2000]

​@systemofapown defund the BBC

[@KasFromMass]

Starting to enjoy the KZbin trend toward long format. Good to listen in the background.

[@Lezzyboy87]

Great isn't it, learning while working and getting paid

[@marionjohansson4235]

Excellent! Gripping report. Well done Dan Snow.

[@pauldyson8969]

@@Lezzyboy87exactly what I do! 👍🏼😆

[@JPR3D]

Same but these are so well put together I find that listening isn't enough, I really must watch.

[@andrewnorgrove6487]

My mother lost a brother on the Hood i can still picture her tearing up when recounting the story

[@RoughWalkers]

What the hood? As in nieghbourhood? Was she a gangsta?

[@andrewnorgrove6487]

@@RoughWalkers Young and ignorant i see, HMS Hood ! English ship 2nd WW was sunk with one shell fired from the German ship Bismarck with all 1400 men +lost except for one man blown off the stern

[@RoughWalkers]

@@andrewnorgrove6487 contact me so we can discuss your lack.of.judgement in person if you wanna try and be smart

[@andrewnorgrove6487]

@@RoughWalkers still young and ignorant

[@jimkluska253]

​@@RoughWalkers that remark is disgusting,..loser🤬

[@TheWildcard4542000]

"Then you have problems"... understatement of the century. Gotta love British stoicism.

[@stevenrogers5506]

Understated courage and bravery. That's the British way

[@mark.lawrence]

👏👏👏

[@rbaxter286]

Stoicism is a cover for incompetence and inability to change, not victory through excellence.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

@@stevenrogers5506 Brits can be a bit brutal at times...look what happened to the survivors that scuttled their fleet at Scapa Flo

[@bdhaliwal24]

I love the understated commentary from the old sailors who were there

[@tamsinlouisadungey3643]

it made me cry... a mix of pride and sadness, for all who died and their loved ones. great honour to both in the endeavors.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

got to talk to a German survivor of tht fight at a book signing...asked him of the Brits just sailed away and left them to drown and he said they did after saving only a couple of hundred...guess he was one of the lucky ones

[@stevenrogers5506]

Some of the live footage of the hood bismark engagement is stunning to watch. Makes this documentary priceless. Makes you almost feel like you're there.

[@kimrnhof107]

I especially like the fact that the decryption also is mentioned, as that has often been missed in this epic story.

[@karlbassett8485]

In the Kenneth Moore movie Sink The Bismark he is shown looking at the map and saying "I have a hunch" the ship will head to France. At the time the movie was made the codebreaking at Bletchley Park was still top secret so they had to make that line up.

[@mky45lg]

I've been watching documentaries about the sinking of the Bismarck for a long time. Yup, I'm old. This is epic on top of epic. The ferocity. Kids who became people like my grandparents. On giant boats with massive guns. It's hard to get my head around. Absolutely fearless.

[@yes_marky]

True warriors from a different time, the UK is a joke now, Britannia doesn’t rule the waves and we would crumble in another world war 😢 Snowflakes will not protect us 😂

[@francischambless5919]

if you want ferocity, look into the Scharnhorst and what it took to sink her. 13 or so to 1.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

visiting a battleship is always worth the trip....today every warship is a "battleship" to this generation...take the time to go see the real thing...very impressive

[@frankpienkosky5688]

@@yes_marky took all they had to retake the Falklands...good fighters though

[@olliehaskell6236]

The man stood in the museum with all the ships on display is very easy to follow does a awesome job in this documentary

[@mikejanewright371]

The most comprehensive and complete recounting of the sinking of the Bismarck yet produced. Very well done. 1:35:56

[@johnstudd4245]

My self having read and watched many accounts of the battle over many years..... I could be mistaken but I don't remember the "part" about the miscalculation of the Bismarck's position and the resultant wrong way pursuit for many hours, mentioned in any of the accounts I have previously observed. That was a huge factor and could have been a monumental blunder in the result of the battle. You never know when you might learn something new. When the winners are writing the books some of those friendly mistakes are "overlooked". I have run into that in other instances also of actions in WW2.

[@martinpattison1567]

My Grandfather served onboard H.M.S Hood but was reassigned just a few weeks earlier. Later he was assigned to H.M.S Hermes which was sunk by 70 or more Japanese Zero Aircraft just off the East Coast of Ceylon. (Sri Lanka) He was injured but survived. He remained in the Ocean for 5 hours and was then picked up by an American Hospital ship and taken to America. He retired from The Royal Navy in 1945. He signed up when he was just fourteen. Martin. (Thailand) This Ship would make a great video.

[@rbaxter286]

Val dive bombers from the cream of the Kido Butai sank the Hermes.

[@brucegibbins3792]

Your Grandfather's experience would make an interesting documentary or a docudrama.

[@derekowens1817]

Survivors from Hermes were picked up by HMHS Vita, not an American hospital ship, and they were all landed in Ceylon. He must have gone to America by different means. S

[@hasanmatloob3788]

Navies all over the world should thank History Hit team for making these brilliant naval documentaries. Surely they will increase the fascination of navy in younger people and boost naval recruitment.

[@unixbadger]

Thank you for the reminder of the thin threads that have kept us from oblivion, and the courage of the unsure yet determined young fighters who have pulled those threads to bring us to where we are.

[@cubismo85]

:)

[@mark.lawrence]

my most sincere compliments to all involved to produce such a superb piece... 👏👏👏

[@jimuk1982]

My grandad was on the Sheffield and boy did he tell me some stories. I think he lived more in 3 years than I will do in my lifetime. One story that stayed with me was when the friendly torpedoes were coming his way, then being in the engine room, they dropped all the hatches to seal him and his seamates in just in case the torpedoes hit the hull and compromised his room, then only his room would fill up with water thus… drowning only his small crew. He told me with all with a wave of the hand and said sealing him down there happened so much all the crew in there did was drink some fuel to get as drunk as they could as fast as they could. So, can you imagine when they reopened the hatch and they found most if not all the people in charge of the engines were drunk or at least well on their way. He started writing a book about his experiences but passed away before getting to chapter three. The Bismarck story wasn’t even in the first three chapters.

[@colinthomas5462]

Excellent documentary, found it fascinating, thanks for posting. Please keep up the good work and keep them coming.

[@Hardside65]

Outstanding documentary about one of the most dramatic conflicts of WWII . May the fallen sailors of the British Navy and "Deutschen Kriegsmarine" rest in piece !

[@nickjoy8868]

In the voiceovers Dan sounds like he's just been mauled by a dentist! Poor Dan. Brilliant video thanks, highly entertaining and educational, very nicely done.

[@Crow_Friend]

Sounds like he's been punched 😆

[@jako1234567890jako]

I thought he was eating a cold toffee!

[@MrShaneSunshine]

Curious!

[@bennewnham4497]

He's struggling. The lisp has been getting worse the last few years.

[@AnthonyOMulligan-yv9cg]

Dentists have many sharp Claws and Fang's

[@ashleygoggs5679]

That German Videography during the battle with Hood is nothing shy of completely fascinating and completly bleak. Seeing the flashes and realising 2 tons per shell of metal is flying towards you. That would be enough to put the shits up anyone and how all those crewman could be so brave like that is nothing short of completely courageous.

[@andywomack3414]

However, I take issue with presenting the speed of sound as being the same as the speed of light. A minor issue compared to the overall quality of this presentation.

[@namcat53]

@@andywomack3414 It would have been much better to delay the sound realistically.

[@andywomack3414]

@@namcat53 " Master and Commander" gets it right with the opening sequence. I wonder if a Bismark shell might arrive before the sound of the guns.

[@ewathoughts8476]

Each AP Bismacrk shell weighed 1764# not 2 tons which would be 4000 - 4400# depending on short or long tons. Yamato's shell weighed 3220#, yet still less than 2 tons.

[@ashleygoggs5679]

@@ewathoughts8476 The weight is insignificant to my overall comment, the point is that it is a fucking heavy piece of metal hurtling towards you.

[@jameskelly2559]

Feel heartfelt sorry for the young men on both sides who perished in this engagement. Thank God for the Royal Navy helping to defeat Hitler's fascism.

[@PatrickBaptist]

It was nothing more than a jesuit organized hoax on the world. Sad all the people that lose their kids over a big damn lie. People need to repent and be born again, Christians aren't called to the wars and affairs of this life, but sadly most reject to follow Jesus Christ and rather follow statism, impearlism, and pride, all things God hates and will destroy upon His return. What are you calling god? santa claus?

[@francischambless5919]

Imagine their horror if and when they found out their grandkids embraced the very socialism they were fighting against.

[@PatrickBaptist]

@@francischambless5919 You can think the gov welfare education system for the commi/socialism, can't believe people would die for that shite, then abortion and qu33r marriage, yeah that was so worth all those dead soldiers lives.... People will die over any useless thing these days.

[@jimkluska253]

That is a great and true statement!! It is a total slap in the face to the greatest generation of men and women ​@@francischambless5919

[@Crusty_Camper]

What the F are you talking about? Nazis we're not socialist, they were the other end of the political spectrum. And if you think Britain is either communist or Nazi, there is something seriously wrong with your judgement.

[@stevehughes7789]

Dan Snow's material keeps getting better and better over time.

[@stevenrogers5506]

He doesn't sensationalise everything, which is a start. Takes after his father

[@CelticSaint]

Yes it seems a long time sine he and his father presented 'Battlefield Britain'. He's a very good presenter now in his own right.

[@trainnerd3029]

@@stevenrogers5506 Is his father still around? I remember watching them as a team on I do believe Discovery Channel.

[@ianmangham4570]

​@@trainnerd3029Yup, aged 86

[@Stitchwitchstitch]

Excellent documentary! It’s so important to have this. Old stories, but new information and presentations, cultural changes in how history gets presented and shown, biases changes or lessening or disappearing- and making history accessible is incredibly valuable to society, I think. And- an extra thank you, from a personal perspective! This war is such a huge part of my family history and family creation on both sides- it’s just fascinating to learn more and more about what they were living with- the events and upheaval, survival tactics both physical and psychological- that helped form them and trickled down the family line. I’m quite grateful for History Hit and appreciate the wide range of things offered.

[@jackrobertson8960]

One of, if not, the best video I have ever watched on this channel. Very informative and detailed. Thank you so much for making this video.

[@TheJennick13]

I gave up my subscription to Hh last year because most of the programming, as excellent as it is, you can now get on KZbin ! Plus these are without the issues I continously experienced trying to watch these exact shows I was paying for!

[@Crow_Friend]

'Rodney' is such a good name for a Battleship..

[@Dave_Sisson]

Only if it has a brother ship called Del Boy.

[@optimusprime7062]

However HMS Trigger keeps calling it Dave

[@celston51]

You should have seen her sister ship, HMS Nelson.

[@richdurbin6146]

Hood initially was supposed to have a sister ship named Rodney.

[@celston51]

@@richdurbin6146 Hood was meant to be one of four Admiral-class battlecruisers. None of the others were constructed but their names were used for King George V-class battleships Anson and Howe.

[@PeterOConnell-pq6io]

Well done, the oscilloscopic trace of the playback of eye witness audio superimposed on the horizon of the video of the grey unforgiving North Altantic backdrop adds a sobering artistic touch.

[@Ridcully9]

Gosh my Grandfather was on the Hood. He was a young Marine. He never spoke about it. He was in hospital with pneumonia when it sank. This is fascinating

[@rhodrievans3602]

Splendid treatment of the subject matter. Peerless presentation of the narrative by subject matter experts. An engrossing story. Thank you.

[@Dullborn]

A very well done telling of the tale...Kudos to History Hit !

[@OnlyOneRace]

What a wonderful exciting and gripping story of unbelievable circumstances. Your production was of massive professionalism. Thank you for the most exciting video I have ever seen.

[@wishkie66]

Great video, excellent, very informative Dan Snow always does a great job

[@iconoclasticflow1620]

Fantastic work. i settled in to watch this before seeing how long it was, and suddenly doubted i'd feel like holding on the whole way through. instead, i found myself pulled right into the drama (and occasional absurdity) of classic modern naval warfare. one thing i especially love about this production - and about History Hit as a whole! - is the profoundly humane sensibility that it offers. it doesn't feel like propaganda the way so many warfare documentaries do. it feels like an honest, material explanation of the events as they happened - good, bad, and ugly. thanks for making these, and definitely keep it up.

[@AnthonyOMulligan-yv9cg]

Ah the Graf Spee in the River Plate

[@robertliskey420]

This is what a documentary should look like! Thank you for posting! Keep up the great work, and a thank you to KZbin this might be the only history some can learn.

[@ultrametric9317]

This is just a wonderful show. The spine tingles at the British mastery of exposition. What a story!

[@gizmo101ish]

Half way through and my emotions are all over the place. Great story telling 👏

[@BarkerT]

Very good documentary. One can't but feel for the brave men in this fight. And for the 4,000 on both sides who went down with their battleships.

[@stephenholmes1036]

Prinz Eugen was a very good ship , Much underrated by the senior service.

[@cubismo85]

It was, but at that time the size of the barrel was most important.

[@barbararice6650]

The American crew who had to sail it across the Atlantic thought it was a bag of bolts

[@stephenholmes1036]

​​@@barbararice6650Their ships were nothing and it took some sinking

[@hernerweisenberg7052]

@@barbararice6650 The ship was likely either sabotaged by the germans, or the american crew not properly instructed in her complicated high pressure steam turbin engines operation. That said tho, german surface ships were very inefficient, allied ships achieving the same amount of protection and armament on ships thousands of tonnes lighter.

[@johnlant1730]

Best Bismarck documentary I have ever seen! Thank you for the meticulous detail. Beautifully done!

[@davehooper5115]

Wow, that was a very Impressive Informative video. Such a fascinating story of the legendary Bismarck. Very well put together. 10/10

[@williamrobinson7435]

Missed this when it 1st came out for want of time. Dan is gaining such a reputation for excellence now that he has easier access to the relevant experts than most. This is worth waiting for and then some. Impressive. 🌟👍

[@TCK71]

Utterly brilliant video.

[@eloquentsarcasm]

As an Army Ranger, like any grunt, artillery and airstrikes were the things I feared most. You couldn't see em coming, and often had little if any warning. For us at least, we could seek/dig some kind of cover to protect ourselves. Naval combat is a whole nother kind of terrible. Nothing but flat sea and open sky, no mountains to shield you, no trees to conceal you, just an old school shootout at high noon on a wide open street. Those crews on WWII ships were the definition of brave, slinging steel at each other until one or the other emerged victorious. Sua Sponte you mad lads, Nothing but respect for the guts it took to sail the seas never knowing if you'd get wiped out by a sub or battleship just over the horizon.

[@luckyspurs]

Just 3 of 1,418 surviving is horrendous. 41:12 And that explosion was terrifying.

[@sarahmusk7793]

One of the best documentaries I have seen for a long time. Brilliant.

[@22942]

These Time-Life documentaries really are the very best there are currently available, and WELL worth the investment of one's time.

[@EAdrien92]

Interesting directorial choice to record this mid root canal.

[@NicolaiAwesome]

While most here name grandparents it was in fact my father, midshipman Brian M Barrow, who was a 17 yo kid in ‘41 and was aboard on HMS Suffolk during this time (he didn’t have me until the ripe old age of 52, in 1976). He had many stories from this infamous chapter and other ships he was on and I’m lucky to have his memoirs written down as he died when I was barely older than he was when the men of Hood and Bismarck sailed to her fate. We must not forget. These men gave their lives for the world we live in. A message that perhaps has never been more poignant and powerful in late 2024.

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

Similar story here..... My father was a stoker onboard Suffolk's sister ship, HMS Dorsetshire, and took part in the rescue of the 86 Bismarck survivors that she later picked up. I too was a "late baby" with dad being 47 before I arrived. He was 22 at the time of Bismarck's sinking. I spend a fair amount of time in these threads with many others who provide a counterbalance to the nazi enthralled schoolkids who try to pass of their nazi and anti-British tainted nonsense as "fact".

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

Lutjens considered using explosive charges to blow the damaged rudder off the ship, but the possibility of damaging the propellers and hull put the kibosh on that idea.

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

There was more damage than simply to the rudder. Several compartments were also flooded and the entire stern, always a weakness in large German WW2 warships, severly compromised.

[@peterfeeney721]

Fabulous presentation, gripping to the end. So much challenge foisted on the fleet by the fog of war. The Loss of the Hood is traumatic even today.

[@philturner4406]

Sorry to be pedantic, but the verb in your title should be "sank," not "sunk". Long live English grammar.

[@andrewwhitehead2002]

Lol... nope. "Sank" is the simple past form and is correct here. "Sunk" is the past pariciple form and as such would need an auxiliary verb to support it. "The Royal Navy sank the Bismarck", simple past. "The Royal Navy has sunk the Bismarck" , english perfect tense, sunk is the past participle with has being the auxiliary. Either way in the context of all those lives lost it really doesn't matter.

[@martinarnold4999]

I watched this tonight for my first time. This was one of the most intense, theatrical presentations of a military history event I’ve watched. I do not mean theatric as an offense, the history lesson was true and not hyperbolic. Rather it was theatric in the sense that the documentary of a topic I have studied was still gripping. Small details I n3ver knew were shockers, even if I k ew the overall ending. I remember when you got to the moment where the British launch a torpedo attack on the HMS Sheffield I fondly remembered my Mom and Dad took me to GB when I was a teenager, I was a military history enthusiast from a young age g age so we toured this ship. Anyways, thank you for an incredible history lesson.

[@Paul-tg4xg]

Having watched the Movie Sink the Bismarck and wondering whether it compared favourably with the actual events and accounts of the Navy. This brought home just how accurate a portrayal of events that took place. in the movies depiction of it. I thuroughly recommend watching it after seeing this documentary as i will be rewatching it here on YT in the next few days. Thank you time team for giving us the true accounts through survivors narration and the valuablle experts giving much needed cllarity.

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

A shame about the false and nonsensical sinking of a destroyer, however.

[@colinthomas5462]

Agreed Sink the Bismarck is an excellent film, Kenneth Moore great British actor 👍

[@lynnflynn5591]

​@@colinthomas5462 Greetings from the 🇺🇸! I remember watching the 1960's black and white film SINK THE BISMARK on a television program called, FAMILY CLASSICS with FRASIER THOMAS. A good movie and good childhood memory that fueled my love of history.👍

[@christoffellner84]

22 or 21 years ago i heard the first time about both Bismarck and Hood. And 20 years ago i saw James Cameron's Documentation on the Bismarck. It still sends waves of chill down my spine to think about the Hood. Especially when i think about Ted Briggs. May their souls rest in peace

[@TomFynn]

"in a minute we'll be getting our cutlasses and get out and board that" That would have been...EPIC.

[@Crow_Friend]

They don't like it 'UP em! 😮

[@Jaxxv01]

Exceptional program! I really enjoyed Andrew's explanations.

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

He's one of the most cogent presenters today..... very fluent and a great communicator.

[@gregedmand9939]

You know this isn't a new History Hits production... Right? Drachinifel has a great YT episode on Hood's sinking. He favours the "short round" theory of the fatal strike. Due to Hood's hull design, at high speed the bow wave creates a water void just forward of X trurret. Thus allowing a 15" shell to strike below the armour belt, with easier access.

[@MrEnvirocat]

Drach did an excellent job with that video. Very convincing.

[@KennethMachnica-vj3hf]

​@@MrEnvirocatHe's a cool dude. He met up with that guy who does the New Jersey videos.

[@jasonwomack4064]

Drach does amazing content. I haven't found another naval channel that comes anywhere near what he does.

[@nmeau]

This should be a major motion picture - riveting

[@1982nsu]

Not a bad video. But if you want to see an excellent video on Bismarck watch "Operation Rheinübung." kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGecnIlqnLuietk Enjoy.

[@melanierhianna]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sink_the_Bismarck!

[@colinthomas5462]

Sink the Bismarck with Kenneth Moore excellent movie from the 1950s.

[@mikewatson8521]

Yeah a remake would be really cool

[@bazonics]

@@mikewatson8521 I very much doubt that. I would predict: a 'diverse' cast, modern slang, mostly poor CGI and the 'message'.

[@stevem7868-y4l]

My Grandfather was on the Rodney, so i have a fond (if thats the right word!) attachment to this part of history, yes the Rodney put the last shells int0 the Bismark,but an almighty amount of work went into finding the Ship, sadly my Grandfather died when i was 2, in1962, so i never heard his side of the story, but i have all his paperwork, medals etc

[@PBHitman1973]

HMS Rodney was a legendary ship. 🫡

[@ShagShaggio]

Quality educational entertainment. This took me right back to chilling watching documentaries on the History channel as a kid before the aliens took over. But even better in my opinion. Cheers!

[@Ksknight100]

I love the history of the Bismarck and those 9 days. Excellent documentary, very well made. As an aside, the Bismarck's escort, the Prinz Eugen survived the war, was captured and was eventually used as a target ship and sunk during the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll, Hawaii in 1946. In fact, her capsized wreck is still visible today.

[@kurtkuczynski]

Angus Konstam, at the 5:40 mark makes a false statement. Bismarck was not designed as a comerce raider. Who is this guy? No serious historian would make this claim. Bismarck was designed to fight other battleships, in particular the Bismarck class was designed to take on the French Richelieu class ships. Once WWII started and the Germans found themselves fighting the British, they knew their battlefleet had no chance of winning in a straight up engagement. Bismarck really only had one feasible use and that was to attack convoys. If she was able to get in amongst a convoy, she could do a lot of damage. However, the idea that this was her initial purpose is pure BS.

[@Scoobydcs]

my 18 year old grandad was onboard ark royal. he told me they were scared of bismark unsurprisingly

[@tomhenry897]

German surface ships already sunk one British air craft carrier

[@Scoobydcs]

@@tomhenry897 glorious? i dont know if he knew about that

[@RobTheWatcher]

I'm a Dan Stan. I see him in a thumbnail, I click.

[@glenmarshall5039]

Same.

[@DA-pt1em]

Another high quality Dan Snow documentary. Well done.

[@desydukuk291]

Great documentary, thank you. May all RIP.

[@brianmcallister114]

Excellent presentation of a comprehensive analysis of the sinking of the Bismarck.

[@davepoul8483]

Very good documentary... keep it up Dan..

[@3sierra15]

Kept my interest throughout Even after many WWII books and documentaries, I heard some facts I had not known before. Well done.

[@leewoodward7734]

Hooray! The full video😊😊😊

[@daverino2577]

I am delighted by the quality of the documentary. Thank you for the upload.

[@adamj6645]

This really should be made into a movie.

[@stephenconnolly3018]

It was.

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHyzcoN-jMR4oaM

[@Basque-Aragon]

I have always been fascinated by the mechanics of war, esp WW2. The battles, the bad luck, the good luck, all of the variables that determine the outcome of a battle - the battle of the two ironclads during the civil war is one of my faves but the sinking of the Bismark, what a story! The outgunned determination of the Brits to take down this ship is admirable.

[@PMCKnivesAndTools]

Not a single mention of the Polish destroyer ORP Piorun which fought a running twelve hour action solo against Bismarck before Force H arrived, even disobeying orders to disengage. Come on guys, you're better than this.

[@PMCKnivesAndTools]

Piorun also defended my hometown of Clydebank during the Clydebank Blitz, firing it's AA guns from the River Clyde whilst it was in for repairs.

[@olseneudezet1]

@@PMCKnivesAndTools Thank you for pointing that out. I was waiting for the ORP Piorun part, only to be disappointed. Polish contribution being overlooked as usual.

[@PMCKnivesAndTools]

@@olseneudezet1 Piorun defended my hometown when it was almost completely destroyed by the Luftwaffe. Only 36 houses survived undamaged. There is a plaque to the Piorun and her crew in the town commemorating their selfless bravery.

[@maryholder3795]

Polish sailors like the Polish airman didn't back down from a fight. They wanted to get revenge for the german invasion of Poland.

[@PMCKnivesAndTools]

@@maryholder3795 damn right. They were awesome and deserve respect

[@ThomasMann85643]

Good job Dan Snow. You’ve got a real vision for History Hit and wonderful speaking voice.

[@lancemcclung3991]

Thanks for finally telling the small but vital role the US had in re-acquiring Bismarck. It’s an often overlooked part of the Royal Navy’s epic victory.

[@squirepraggerstope3591]

"Oh, the Catalina 'Tuck' flew... Ensured she'd never get home!" 😁

[@AdanClark-zx7pw]

It was kept secret because he was breaking US neutrality flying with the RAF

[@ivar5021]

The U.S. says "Don't touch my boats!", but this is the original. Really fascinating story. Thanks for posting it.

[@VickersDoorter]

I recall many years ago my father would cheerfully deliver his regular quip, "Right, I'm off to sink the Bismarck". My mother would roll her eyes and we knew not to venture into the loo for the next hour.

[@gryph01]

Excellent documentary!

[@heyhandersen5802]

The English had mobile radar towers mounted on trucks that could replace some of those bombed. But it is correct that the German high command failed to understand the importance of the technology. Oddly, much of the technology was of German origin, but Goring failed to comprehend it's correct usage and application. My mother lived next door to one of the scientists involved in setting up the radar towers, and she recalled him telling her a story of how on a cold day, he had worked in the tower, and a chocolate bar that should have been frozen had melted completely. He went on to speculate that one day food might be cooked by such a method.

[@iansneddon2956]

The towers were remarkably resilient to bombing and the more vital buildings with equipment were generally missed. There was also a fair bit of redundancy in the system. The British were preparing for attacks. Another German waste was in their efforts to go after RAF airfields. Incorrect intelligence as to which airfields were active and a generous deployment of decoy models of aircraft meant German attacks were often pointless.

[@WraySatchel]

What a nail-biting documentary! Bravo!

[@pilots85]

great experts! learned a great deal of details that were very interesting!

[@Crow_Friend]

I was gonna say the same, the historians were excellent in this.

[@ah757]

Bring back these types of documentaries.

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

The "talking token heads" that fill modern "documentaries" are all part of the drive to "thicken" the audience.... dopes in society tend to do as they're told by "authority figures".

[@mattbarton2029]

I’ve fallen asleep three nights in a row watching this. Now attempting a fourth watch. I will get through it!

[@roadtrip2943]

Quality presentation by dr snow's team highlighting the tension, high stakes , fortuitous good fortune played in this epic drama. War at sea a terrific british series had an episode covering the numerous critical Mediterranean sea actions however I've never seen any others. I remember watching the US series victory at sea with my navy vet dad and now though in my 70s i still revere the gift of victory those of his generation bestowed on our world

[@largesatsuma]

Great Wednesday night viewing

[@christopherTYJ]

Terrific stuff. Thank you. Question: When a ship is sunk, is it later replaced by a ship with the same name? Is or was there another Bismarck or Hood?

[@535phobos]

Depends. Usually yes. Names get recycled. However names also fall out of fashion. Bismarck isnt terribly dominant in the german military tradition nowadays, so we wont see another "Bismarck" anytime soon, I am afraid. Germany now mostly focuses on its cities and provinces, so we will get for example another "Emden" (the sixth ship with that name). We havent got another Hood, probably because of the bad taste the last one left and out of respect for its fallen crew. But Warspite, Dreadnought, Queen Elizabeth,... are all in service right now.

[@Oddskin_the_Hogg]

I loved this, really interesting and well told. Great work guys!

[@Tomsworld]

Massive congratulations. To start a project of this scale and to be here now is amazing.

[@GregWampler-xm8hv]

The German Navy was so small because Raeder had been told he had about 5-6 more years than he got to build up his Navy.

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

It didn't help that it suffered major losses in Norway 1940.

[@jbepsilon]

Also didn't help that the treaty of Versailles left Germany with a very small and obsolete navy. After the angry guy with the silly moustache took power and started rearming Germany there was only so much time to build it up again, steel and slipways were serious constraints.

[@Bloodline2009]

I've seen quite a few docu's on the Hood and The Bismarck, this one however is extremely well written. Great work!

[@JCW-jx6ld]

Brilliant documentary

[@Vics251]

For me, this excellent documentary was spoiled by the rediculous number of adverts 🙁

[@dalj4362]

Brilliant story. Thanks 🇬🇧