Bismarck and Hood : the battle of the Denmark Strait : a technical analysis for a new perspective

This book sheds new light on one of the most talked about incidents of the Second World War: the mighty duel between HMS Hood and the Bismarck . The author offers fresh evidence from recent studies of the wreck of the Hood to unravel what happened on that fateful day. Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Aim of this study Aspects of the battle worthy of further investigation An analysis and a synthesis 1. The Strategic Context 1.1 Anglo-German naval rivalry between the Belle Époqueand the First World War 1.2 The importance of the force ratio 1.3 The strategic context from 1935 to 1941: the reasons for commerce raiding 1.4 Technical aspects of shipbuilding 2. The Operational Context 2.1 General remarks on Operation RheinÜbung 2.2 British operations to block access to the central Atlantic 2.3 The German forces and the opposing British units 2.4 Planning RheinÜbung: critical aspects 2.5 Remarks on the first part of RheinÜbung 2.6 The Battle of the Denmark Strait and its effects on RheinÜbung 3. Tactical Aspects 3.1 British interception manoeuvres 3.2 Fighting manoeuvres of the British units 3.3 Manoeuvres of the German group 3.4 Remarks on the choice of targets and artillery fire 3.5 Further remarks 3.6 A different scenario? 3.7 ‘Virtual’ analysis of the battle 4. Technical Analysis of KMS Bismarck’s Fire 4.1 General remarks 4.2 Shots and hits against HMS Hood 4.3 Shots and hits against HMS Prince of Wales 4.4 Remarks on the Bismarck’s accuracy of fire 4.5 A statistical analysis of the effects produced by the Bismarck’s fire 4.6 Determining observed hit frequency and SSHP values 4.7 Results of the statistical analysis 5. Aspects of Terminal Ballistics 5.1 Preliminary remarks 5.2 Investigation of terminal aspects 5.3 The probability of destroying HMS Hood: an assessment 6. A New Perspective Picture Section Conclusion Appendices A: Kinematic model of the courses followed by the opposing naval groups from 0537 to 0609 on 24 May 1941 B: HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales: size of the hitting space (HS) and SSHP calculation procedure C: Fire dispersion of the Bismarck’s 380/47 gun battery and SSHP calculation D: Statistical analysis of the Bismarck’s firing accuracy E: Specifications of Krupp large-calibre guns on board German units participating in the battle F: Applying Lanchester’s Laws of Concentration to the battle Notes Sources and Bibliography "The legendary Battle of the Denmark Strait, which saw the mighty German battleship Bismarck sink Britain's HMS Hood in an epic duel of the titans, has been dogged by controversy to this day. Was the doomed HMS Hood really sunk by a shell that penetrated her decks to explode in one of her magazine compartments? Others believe that Bismarck's fortunate shell detonated in Hood's cordite supply - the powder that propelled 1,920-lbs some staggering 30,180 yards - suggesting that damage examined on the wreck indicates a more distinct explosion. Or was the Hood's destructive and violent demise a new, and until now, unexplained act of war? The sinking of HMS Hood on Empire Day, 24 May 1941, resulted in the single largest loss of life for the Royal Navy during the Second World War: 1,415 lives were lost. There were absolutely no traces of any crewmen save three survivors, with no trace left of the dead"-- Book jacket The strategic, operational, tactical, technical and terminal aspects are discussed one by one to progressively review how the Protagonists used the available resources within the various contexts. A cinematic and ballistic Model of the Battle was then developed and used to carry out a statistical analysis. The results open up a new perspective.