Recording script

{intro}

{Primo Victoria - Sabaton plays all the way through}

May 18th 1941. 11:15am. The Bismarck and Prinz Eugen leave their berths and anchor
in Gotenhafen. Almost 15 hours later they weigh anchor and set course for the open
seas through the Denmark strait.
Tuesday 20th May. 1300 hours. The Swedish cruiser “Gotland” caught sight of the
Bismarck and her escort, the Gotland reported this sighting to Kattegat who informed
British high command. The hunt for the Bismarck has begun.

{Title rolls}

Just 24hrs later and the British high command has found her again. A British Spitfire on
a reconnaissance mission sighted the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen leaving port in
Norway. The HMS Suffolk and HMS Norfolk were sent on an intercept course.

Just 2 days later the HMS Suffolk has caught up to the Bismarck and her escort,
knowing they were heavily out gunned the Captain of the Suffolk, Captain Robert Ellis,
decided to stay out of weapons range and instead shadowed Bismarck and kept them
marked on their newly fitted RADAR systems whilst they awaited backup. HMS Norfolk
however got close to the Bismarck, using the fog as cover and exchanged salvo fire
with the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen.
The Norfolk scored a hit on the Bismarck, no significant damage was done but the
forwards RADAR dish on the Bismarck was damaged, the Norfolk managed to duck
away without taking any hits to herself.
Due to the damage done to the forwards RADAR the Prinz Eugen took the lead and
during this manoeuvre the Bismarck took shots at the HMS Suffolk who quickly dodged
back out of weapons range.

Skip just 1 day ahead. The HMS Suffolk has finally received support. The pride of the
British navy, the picture boy of British home office had arrived with her escort. The HMS
Hood, appeared on Bismarck’s aft RADAR with another ship, the HMS Prince Of Wales
which had been rushed into deployment for this engagement fielding her new triple
cannon batteries.
A mere 6 minutes after they were sighted the Hood and POW opened fire on the
Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. The Hood and POW opened up on different targets, the
Hood shot at the lead ship believing it to be the Hood because the superstructure was
similar however the POW was shooting the correct target.
10 minutes later, tens of salvos have been fired, the POW is having problems with her
new guns and has one of her forward turrets out of action. A salvo comes in from the
Bismarck that brackets the HMS Hood, knowing the next salvo would hit the Hood calls
all hands to brace and damage control stood by.
Almost a minute later and the Bismarck fires again, a direct hit on the Hood. A shell
goes straight through the deck and into the ammo rack of the hood, several seconds
passed and suddenly a 20ft fountain of pink and green flame sprayed from the mid
section of the Hood followed by an explosion so massive in scale that it blew the out the
windows on the POW. The pride and joy of the British Royal Navy was sunk, all hands
lost, with it goes the moral of the men on the POW. The unthinkable had happened.

With malfunctioning weaponry, a disheartened crew and no chance of winning the POW
turned around and headed for port. The HMS Suffolk had already withdrawn to refuel,
however it wasn’t all bad news. Before withdrawing the POW had scored a hit on the
Bismarck that damaged her fuel reserves and she was leaking a trail of oil wherever she
went.

Injured the Bismarck scurried for home heading to make port in Brest, the Prinz Eugen
carried on her mission and so left the formation. 18 hours after the sinking of the Hood
the Bismarck is under attack again. 9 Swordfish torpedo bombers from the aircraft
carrier HMS Victorious engage. 1 torpedo hits the belt armour of the Bismarck, damage
negligible. These strikes continued to harass the Bismarck for another 2 days before the
HMS Victorious was recalled to refuel.

The Bismarck was days away from Brest, the Royal Navy were in hot pursuit, wanting
revenge for the sinking of the Hood. HMS Norfolk, Suffolk, Victorious refueled and
resumed their pursuit and two more British battleships joined the pursuit the HMS
Rodney and the HMS King George V.

Tuesday 27th May 1941. 08:47am. The King George opens fire, the Bismarck is
surrounded for the next hour and 15 mins the Bismarck and her crew fight for their lives.
None of the British ships or torpedos are capable of penetrating the Bismarck’s belt
armour and sinking her however, over the course of an hour hundreds if not thousands
of shells have ripped through Bismarck’s superstructure, gun turrets and all other vital
equipment. She was all but sunk but simply refused to go down. At 10am a general
ceasefire was ordered. The Guns on the Rodney, King George, Norfolk, Suffolk,
Dorsetshire and any other ship that had joined the engagement fell silent. 20 minutes
later the HMS Dorsetshire was ordered to torpedo Bismarck. 3 Torpedos and another
19 minutes later and Bismarck was listing, her crew jumping overboard and being
rescued by the encirclement of allied ships.

It was over, the British had done it, the Bismarck was lost 2,085 Kriegsmarine lost. 115
Kriegsmarine taken prisoner. Revenge for the sinking of the HMS Hood had been had.
But was it worth it? British moral was shattered at the loss of the Hood. Suddenly the
British Navy didn’t look invisible, suddenly it wasn’t only the British Army cracking under
the pressure of the German war machine. Was it worth it?