Comments by "doveton sturdee" (@dovetonsturdee7033) on "Combat Arms Channel" channel.

  1. Rather late for that sentiment!
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  2. She was the biggest battleship in the world when built, largely because the Americans and British, by and large, stuck to the Washington Treaty limitations. However, Vanguard (51,420), the Iowas, (57,000), and the Yamatos, were all bigger.
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  3. That wouldn't have been difficult. Even the fastest convoys only managed 13-14 knots or so. Bismarck's broadside was lighter than that of Hood, the Nelsons, the KGVs and the Queen Elizabeths, and her armour inferior to that of the Nelsons and the KGVs.
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  4. Perhaps you might read the opinions of David Mearns and Bob Ballard, both of whom attributed the sinking of Bismarck to 'the British.'
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  5. A rather distorted claim. Piorun was operating with Vian's 4th Destroyer Flotilla, of Cossack, Maori, Zulu and Sikh. DF4 was diverted from escort of troop convoy WS8B to join the search for Bismarck, but by the time it arrived Bismarck had been located, damaged by Swordfish attack, and was being shadowed by HMS Sheffield. Admiral Tovey, in KGV with Rodney in company, was approaching but had decided to delay the final action until dawn on 27 May. During the night of 26/27, Vian's ships harassed Bismarck, carrying out a series of torpedo attacks. Piorun, however, failed to carry out her torpedo attack, but became involved in a brief gun duel, lasting about an hour. She was far from short of ammunition, but, unlike DF4, she did lose contact with Bismarck. Neither side achieved any hits, by the way. Piorun's action, whilst undoubtedly gallant, was futile, in that 4.7 inch shells were incapable of damaging Bismarck, whereas 21 inch torpedoes were. Moreover, Piorun lost contact, rather defeating the point of her being there in the first place.
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  6.  @Glassius89  Well, Plawski reported that he had lost contact, and I would assume that he would have known. Piorun was ordered to leave the area by Vian because she was short of fuel, but not until 0500.
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  7. Beware of Lucy Worsley. She is one of the BBC's favourite historians, and considered a Woke Queen by real historians. She recently re-assessed the Battle of Waterloo, which wasn't, apparently, a victory for Wellington, and she is currently reappraising Nelson's role in British history. Few expect Horatio to emerge unscathed!
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  8. Failing to top up Bismarck's tanks before she left Norway was hardly the act of a great sailor. No American, British, or Japanese commander would have made such a basic error.
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  9.  @Roguesquadroon  Did you not even know about the fact that, after sailing from Germany to Norway, Lutjens failed to replace the fuel Bismarck had used? Is sailing on a long commerce-raiding mission without full fuel tanks the mark of a great sailor? After that, he walked straight into a Royal Navy cruiser squadron in the Denmark Strait, abandoned his mission immediately immediately after the action, was forced to make for St. Nazaire at reduced speed (because of a shortage of accessible fuel!) and then sent a long rambling signal to Berlin, which the British HF/DF listening stations were able to detect and thus locate Bismarck. It is difficult to think of a mistake he didn't make during Rheinubung, in all honesty. I have never understood why people without actual knowledge even bother to post at all!
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  10. And shot to pieces by a 15 year old battleship on 27 May, 1941.
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  11.  @crisnicolainflores2252  Don't be silly. Bismarck had been reduced to a listing, sinking wreck, suffering from massive & widespread internal fires. Why would the British, already short of fuel, want to board a charnel house?
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  12.  @crisnicolainflores2252  By the time Bismarck sank, the blazing wreck was no threat to anyone.
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  13.  @crisnicolainflores2252  It is called 'Force Concentration.' If you have greater resources, you use them.
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  14. Not really. Grossly exaggerated.
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  15. A different Sheffield.
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  16. Iowa had 9 x 16 inch guns. Bismarck had 8 x 15 inch guns.
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