Bizmark Never Had a Chance

[Black Eagle]

As SH4 sees its last sunsets, we harken back to May 27, 1941.
Herr Kanug Rolfe Hass experienced the thrill of his naval career. He intercepted HMS Rodney and HMS King George V steering 145 degrees at about 18 knots at 0730 on that morning in force 15 conditions. Exact grid location at first contact:
25km west of the intersection formed by BE29, BE37, BE53, and BE61 (or about 1400km (per the game) west of Brest, France.
His Type IX (at GWX 90% degree of difficulty) used all remaining 6 torpedos on board to dispatch these two British battleships. After surfacing, U124 observed gunfire flashes far to the SSE where Bismark, spared interception by the battleships sunken by Hass, was engaged with other Royal Navy units.
Now here's the really mind-blowing part of this story:
Hass then moved SE towards the area where gunflashes had been seen. To his surprize he sighted the silohette of a large warship....Bismark!!
She was dead in the water, her upper works shattered presumably by 8 inch shellfire. U124 sent its contact report. Soon thereafter BDU sent out its message lamenting the loss of the Bismark. Little would the SH4 designers have known Bismark was still afloat, and deadly!
Hass then decided to stay near the stricken Bismark to see what would become of Germany's flagship. Incredably, two days later a large convoy traveling westerly at 7 knots stumbled upon the Bismark!
Hass then positioned his U124 between Bismark and oncoming escorts.THREE sunken destroyers later and SEVEN shredded merchants approximating 30,000 tons later, Bismark, while motionless in high sea conditions, had survived to fulfill her assignment to attack convoys. Toward the end of this engagement U124 had the incredible experience to witness 15 inch shells slamming into merchant ships, along with attendant explosions and sinkings.
What an unforgettable experience! What a glorious way to close the book on Silent Hunter IV's story!
I'd recommend anyone loving the game to mission in the Atlantic during May one more time. Save your torpedos, and head for the rendevous described above. If you do, you are in for a very unforgettable experience if you can intercept and sink these two British battleships!
Happy Hunting. oblt Rolfe Hass

[Anton88]

The Bismark was sunk by its own crew


After the Swordfish planes destroyed her rudder, and the British fleet closed within firing range and started pounding her, .. her crew opened valves and flooded the ship. It fired all of its armament.. on the deck were pieces of sailors that were cut and blown by the rain of fire.. the guns were split up like tulips..
The crew flooded the ship so it goes down..

The Bismark was built to be unsinkable by gunfire..
a surviving crewmemeber gave this account,,.that ...yes ..."we sank the bismark"

[Lt.Fillipidis]

I remember reading somewhere that it was almost impossible for a Battleship to sink another Battleship. Dunno if its true though.

[psykopatsak]

it should pheraps be mentioned that bismarck was already destroyed when they sank her

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Lt.Fillipidis

I remember reading somewhere that it was almost impossible for a Battleship to sink another Battleship. Dunno if its true though.

Almost. With the exceptions of magazine explosions it is very rare for any surface ship to sink another one of equal size purely through flooding by shellfire. There is a fair chance that Bismarck would have sunk due to the uncontrolled fires raging everywhere, but the scuttling and torpedoes made sure of it.