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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bela_ghoulashi who wrote (5623)	10/16/2001 5:38:40 PM
From: ThirdEye	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

F.G.S. Lutjens: geocities.com

To: bela_ghoulashi who wrote (5623)	10/16/2001 5:50:39 PM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

The significance of that interchange was lost on me until I started trying to find a source for you. Admiral Lutjens was the Commander of the Bismark. We probably all remember the famous phrase, "sink the Bismark!" but maybe not the story: >>In the early hours of May 24, 1941, as the mighty German battleships Bismarck and Prinz Eugen slipped through the Denmark Strait, they were dramatically intercepted by the Royal Navy battleships Hood and Prince of Wales. Within six minutes of the first salvo being fired, the Hood, pride of the Royal Navy, was blown out of the water in one of the most gigantic explosions ever witnessed at sea. Bismarck's fourth salvo landed a shell forward of the Hood's after turrets, piercing her deck, exploding the 4-inch magazine. Simultaneously this detonated the adjacent 15-inch magazine, and in one mighty eruption the battleship broke in two. Within seconds she was gone. Of the ships company of 14000 officers and sailors only three survived. Outraged at the grievous loss Winston Churchill signalled the Admiralty just three words: "Sink the Bismarck!" Thus began one of the epic sea chases in the history of naval warfare. Damaged by shells from Prince of Wales' 14-inch guns, and losing fuel oil, Admiral Lutjens broke off the engagement and steamed Bismarck towards the anonymity of the North Atlantic. Evading the British warships for 32 hours he had hopes of reaching the safety of Brest, but when spotted by a Catalina of RAF Coastal Command, Lutjens knew it was the beginning of the end for the mighty German warship. When an attack by Ark Royal's Swordfish torpedo planes jammed her rudder Bismarck's fate was sealed. As she limped haphazardly through the waves trailing oil, the Home Fleet closed in for the final encounter. Overwhelmed by British guns and torpedoes, Bismarck's crew fought a gallant last battle, but the odds were too great. Watching Bismarck's final moments from King George V's bridge, Admiral Tovey said: "She put up a noble fight against impossible odds, worthy of the old days of the Imperial German Navy."<< militaryartcompany.com