Hunt the Bismarck
20th Century
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49m
Launched on 14 February 1939, the German flagship and pride of the Kriegsmarine, Bismarck was launched. In the darkness of the early morning of the 19 May 1941, Bismarck slipped out of harbour on the Baltic coast and started making its way through the Baltic Sea on its maiden voyage, Operation Rheinubung. The German Navy High Command's plan was to disrupt and attack Allied merchant shipping, to starve Britain of precious materials and food. Prinz Eugen (the ship accompanying Bismarck) had a film crew on board - Bismarck’s first action was going to be filmed. Desperate to protect its Atlantic trade routes, the admiralty of the Royal Navy sent her best battleships, including the mighty HMS Hood to intercept the German sortie and sink Bismarck.
The first episode in this two-part series on the hunt for and sinking of the Bismarck focuses on the initial clash between the German battleships Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, and the British battlecruisers HMS Hood and Prince of Wales - the Battle of Denmark Strait, on 24 May 1941.
Featuring Andrew Choong, curator at the National Maritime Museum, naval historian Nick Hewitt and Angus Konstam, author of 'Hunt the Bismarck'. Presented by Dan Snow.
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