The sinking of HMS Hood in under 10 minutes shocked Britain and triggered the pursuit that destroyed the Bismarck three days later.
Key Facts
- Date
- 24 May 1941
- HMS Hood survivors
- 3 out of entire crew
- Time until Hood sank
- Less than 10 minutes after battle opened
- Hood's sinking time
- 3 minutes after explosion
- HMS Prince of Wales completed
- Late March 1941
- Bismarck's fate
- Sunk three days after Denmark Strait battle
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Germany launched Operation Rheinübung to break out into the North Atlantic and attack Allied merchant shipping. The battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen sailed through the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland, prompting the Royal Navy to intercept them with HMS Hood and the newly commissioned HMS Prince of Wales.
On 24 May 1941, the two British warships opened fire on Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. Within ten minutes, a shell from Bismarck struck Hood near her aft ammunition magazines, causing a catastrophic explosion that sank her in three minutes. Prince of Wales continued fighting but suffered repeated malfunctions in her untested quadruple gun turrets and was forced to disengage.
Although a tactical German victory, Bismarck sustained damage to her forward fuel tanks that forced the abandonment of the breakout mission. Outraged by the loss of Hood, a large British naval force pursued Bismarck. The German battleship was caught and sunk three days later, giving Britain an operational victory and ending the immediate threat to Atlantic convoys.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent