They called it the “Rhine Exercise,” after the river Rhine.The confidential German naval records, captured at the end of the war, reveal the Bismarck’s sailing orders. She was to destroy British merchant shipping in the Atlantic and to avoid, if possible, engagements with a strong enemy fleet. But if cornered by British battleships, the Bismarck was to fight with all she had.The German naval command did not believe the Bismarck would be caught. She was too fast for the British battleships. There was some danger, of course, that the big warship might be observed breaking out into the Atlantic north or south of Iceland. But the chances of that, it was believed in Berlin, were slim. The top command of the German navy was convinced that the British warships did not yet have radar as the Bismarck had.This was a costly mistake. Radar enables a ship or plane to see through fog or clouds. It bounces an electric impulse against a distant object and retrieves it. A screen reveals the location of the object, its distance, speed and direction.
What do You think about The Sinking Of The Bismarck?
