Pirates & Shipwrecks · German battleship, 1941
Bismarck
North Atlantic, west of France
What happened
Bismarck was one of the two largest battleships Germany ever built. In May 1941 it sailed into the Atlantic and sank the British battlecruiser HMS Hood in the Denmark Strait. British ships chased it for days until a torpedo from a Swordfish plane jammed its rudder, and it sank on 27 May 1941.
Why it matters
The chase was one of the largest naval hunts of World War II. It showed how aircraft could affect battles between big warships.
What came next
Robert Ballard's team found the wreck on 8 June 1989, at about 4.8 km deep.
Did you know?
With the rudder jammed, Bismarck could no longer steer a straight course, so the British ships caught up with it.
Timeline
- 19 May 1941Bismarck leaves port on its first mission.
- 24 May 1941It sinks HMS Hood in the Denmark Strait.
- 26 May 1941A Swordfish torpedo jams its rudder.
- 27 May 1941Bismarck sinks.
- 8 June 1989Robert Ballard finds the wreck.