11. Operation Rheinubung was the last of the surface raider sorties in 1941
In May 1941, the German battleship Bismarck sortied in company with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. Under command of Admiral Lutjens – an inveterate Nazi – Bismarck was to enter the Atlantic shipping lanes and interdict convoys bound for the western British ports. The Royal Navy scrambled to meet the German threat. In the Denmark Strait the British battlecruiser Hood and the newest British battleship, Prince of Wales, encountered the German ships. On May 24, 1941, Bismarck sank Hood, pride of the British Navy, after only eight minutes of exchanging fire. 1,414 British sailors went down with their ship.
Prince of Wales was damaged and forced to break off the action. Bismarck too was damaged, leaking oil and down at the bow from a hit by the British battleship. The Royal Navy mustered every available ship to catch Bismarck before it could reach the safety of Brest for repairs. Though damaged, Bismarck had sufficient speed to outrun the British battleships chasing it, and was too powerful for the cruisers which shadowed it to engage alone. While the world listened to news of the chase, and the loss of Hood, Prinz Eugen broke away to attempt commerce raiding on its own. Bismarck shook off its pursuers, and vanished into the North Atlantic murk.
