The Hood against the Bismarck

In May 1941, the brand-new German battleship Bismarck, the most powerful in Europe, accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, was attempting to break out into the Atlantic to slaughter the convoys. Admiral Günther Lütjens was leading them through the Denmark Strait, between Greenland and Iceland. The Royal Navy, hunting him, intercepted the German squadron at dawn on 24 May.

Facing the Bismarck stood the pride of the British fleet: HMS Hood, the immense battlecruiser of the Great War, symbol of the Empire's naval might, accompanied by the new but unfinished battleship Prince of Wales. Vice-Admiral Lancelot Holland commanded them. The Hood had a known flaw: insufficient deck armour against plunging shells fired from a distance.

Holland had to choose his approach tactics: race in at the closest angle to reduce the distance as quickly as possible and shield the Hood from plunging fire, at the cost of an unfavourable angle of fire; engage at long range while manoeuvring, exposing the Hood's vulnerable deck; or await reinforcements at the risk of letting the enemy slip away toward the convoys. The decision had to be taken in a few minutes, at icy dawn.