It's time: Admiral Tovey finally has the opportunity he's needed to close the jaws on Bismarck. This ship MUST sink. New players! Download World of Warships and use the code EXTRA1 for free goodies: cpm.wargaming.net/i3v7c6uu/?pub_id=2017_Video_4 European Players: Check out the "Hunt for Bismarck" Extra History bundle in the premium shop: eu.wargaming.net/shop/wows/main/6377/
Extra Credits wow... I knew that the Nelson class BB had some problems (specially with the windows and the guns blasts)... but what you tell to us is amazing... the Rodney was really in a bad condition.
Could you do another ww2 series like the development to the dropping of the atomic bomb. Or another famous battle like when you did the battle of Kursk?
@@andreiagosto7039 The Polish destroyer is attacking the country that conquered their home's largest battleship while informing them that they are in fact Poles still fighting Germany.
more like the swordfish: we failed the navys : we win the bismark : **** **** **** **** (full of swear) the swordfish : wait what how ? (visible confusion)
that’s pretty badass to be hanging off a moving plane judging when to fire a torpedo and then you are the one to cripple the Bismarck. Damn. These give me chills
@@simonenoli4418 They did defend their land well from the Germans, but they were alone in doing so. Britain and France wouldn't help and the Germans had better tactics. Add on the back-stabbing by the Soviets and you have a country doomed to fall. Despite this, the Polish continued fighting. Conquering a country is the easy part; conquering its people is the real challenge.
@@simonenoli4418 they did defend their land though and even though they're defeated the polish goverment in exile went underground and establish a partisan network unlike the french goverment who work with the germans
Adonis KYT [HTTYD] after all they had so much to be proud of in their defense of their country, it’s truly amazing that their intelligence organization was so good but the rest not so much, and before you start telling me how good they were, didn’t they lose horribly ?
later Poles from Polish 1st armored division liberated part of France, almost whole Belgium and Netherland, took whole North western part of Germany with MAIN BASE OF KRIEGSMARINE in Wilhelmshaven. Germans signed capitulation in front of general Stanisław Maczek, commander of Polish 1st armored division. Poles had even their own ocupation zone in this area. Polish armed forces on eastincluding tank units woth T-34-85 and IS-2 helped soviets took Berlin.
"Captain, ready to fire!" "Hang on, Gunnery, I need to text them real quick." *I AM A POLE* Literal insult to injury, that one. Top notch banter from the boys.
So...that guy who had a son serving on the Bismarck never saw his son again, right? Grim. You know, I once heard a veteran saying that the first time he killed a man it wasn't the image of dead body that stuck him but a thought that he made someone's mother cry.
One wonders if that guy ever found out that it was his message that gave away their position. At least the families of the British and American dead knew their kids had accomplished something, and for a heroic cause, too, but what consolation can there possibly be if your kids were burnt up for some murderous tyrant's crazy ideology, completely senseless and futile with a net negative impact on both the world at large and everything they personally cared about?
If the general had kept to operational security he might, just might, have seen his son again. There's a reason soldiers are told to look to their front when all hell breaks loose. You fight your own fight; ask after the survivors afterwards.
Fun Fact: the Polish Destroyer was named the Piorun, she was an N Class destroyer, she was shadowing the Bismarck that day with the HMS Maori, after acquiring the location of the beast the Maori and her went in for a torpedo run. However, a simple torpedo run was not in the Pioruns goal set for that day, no, she charged the Bismarck at full steam, turning broadside and using Flashes and Wireless to spell out “I AM A POLE” as she fired with everything she had, this included her cannons, anti aircraft guns, some accounts even say men fired machine guns and pistols from the deck while others found musical instruments and played the Polish National Anthem as they strafed the Mighty Bismarck. The craziest part is she was never sank, not a single shell damaged her during the battle as she was too fast and nimble to be shot. She would go on to serve until the end of the war taking part in operations such as Overlord and Deadlight before finally being put out of commission and scrapped in 1955.
Unfortunately Piorun did NOT fire "everything she had" She was the only one of the 5 destroyers (HMS Cossack, Maori, Piorun, Sikh & Zulu) of the 4th destroyer flotilla that forgot to fire her main weapon, her torpedoes. Hats off to the Poles though for their eagerness to avenge their country's oppression.
Wow, the navigator was hanging upside down over the side of the plane so he could judge the waves. I hope he got some kind of medal. That was just insane.
That really happen btw, if you watch the episode dog fights sink the bismarck, the navigator really did hang upside down, hey thats what the navigator is for 😂😂😂
Both Grom and Błyskawica were of great progeny - basically, enlarged and upgunned british Tribial class, though bit top heavy as primarily tailored to Baltic and fighting Soviet Navy.
It didn't happen, there was no uboat in the area, The cruiser could only carry so many prisoners... I reckon they were full and the captain has to weigh up all risks.. of prisoners overtaking the ship, of uboats, of other incidents on the high seas...
Where a damaged, leaking out-of-fuel battleship can go? a) ruuun to the nearest friendly port b) rendezvous around the sea Britsh picked the wrong option xD
Brandon McBadass the germans knew that they were doomed. They knew why the rudder wasn't responding and they also knew that they wouldn't be able to reapair it. In an interview with one of the survivors, he told us that they had all wrote letters for their familiys, which were given to the pilot of one of Bismarck's planes. Sadly the katapult that started the plain jammed and the pilot was doomed to sink with the Bismarck.
Yea it sucks that he had to leave them but the u boat was there, its really sad that those seaman die on a burning, sinking ship. Even though they are the bad guys, they still need to be honer
The U Boats wouldn't be able to surface long enough without being sunk by bombers or planes, many Uboat crewmen were scared to surface because they were a sickly sitting ducks
[Long Post Ahead] Hi everyone! I’m Rob Rath, lead writer for Hunting the Bismarck. Because sponsored episodes don’t have a LIES episode, the EH crew decided the best thing would be for me to write them here in the comments. EPISODE I: THE PRIDE OF GERMANY • BRITISH PERSPECTIVE: After discussing possible approaches, we chose to tell the story from the British perspective as an hour-by-hour intelligence thriller. This approach had a few big advantages: it was tense, had a propulsive narrative, and allowed us to focus on the British intelligence effort that’s usually glossed over in other documentaries. It also let us communicate the “fog of war” and show how little the British often knew. The downside, though, is it gives short shrift to the Germans-but my hope is that the Bismarck’s side of this story is already well known to most naval history fans. • WASN’T YAMATO THE BIGGEST?: Yes, the Yamato’s displacement was larger-but it was still under construction when Bismarck sank. Yamato had already been “launched,” but that merely meant that its hull was floating in the water with its superstructure and armaments still under construction. Only after being “commissioned” into active service did it count as a real battleship. • CANADIAN SUPPLY CONVOYS: Several people pointed out that the Royal Canadian Navy and Merchant Marines played a large role in the Atlantic convoys. This is absolutely true, and I wish we had depicted that. As a form of apology, let me offer this: did you know that four Canadian midshipmen served at the Battle of the Denmark Strait? One served on the Prince of Wales, while three died on the HMS Hood. The Hood crew also included 20 men from Newfoundland, which was not (yet) a part of Canada. EPISODE II: THE MIGHTY HMS HOOD • WHY WAS PRINZ EUGEN OUT AHEAD?: It actually wasn’t a strategy. When Bismarck fired at the cruiser Norfolk in Episode I, the concussion of its own guns knocked out its radar array. Prinz Eugen was going first to act as a radar picket. • DID ALL THAT STUFF IN THE BATTLE REALLY HAPPEN?: Many people thought we took artistic license, but the events in this episode are based on the accounts of veterans and Hood survivors. One caveat: much like the circumstances of Hood’s sinking, there’s significant debate over whether Hood’s B-turret fired one last salvo. Both British and German sailors reported seeing the shot, but that doesn’t necessarily mean someone intentionally fired the guns. It’s possible that ammunition cooked off in the barrel, or that an internal explosion made it appear the guns fired. • DIDN’T MYTHBUSTERS PROVE SHIP SUCTION IS A MYTH?: Mythbusters used a 20-foot boat, which doesn’t reflect the fluid dynamics of a sinking battleship. A large ship going down very fast can experience “downflooding,” where water pours into the large spaces in the hull and ventilation shafts, pulling floating objects down like a drain. In addition, air escaping from the ship creates bubbles and foam at the surface, making the water less dense and able to support bodies. Oil and entangling debris also contribute to dragging sailors down-all three Hood survivors described being pulled down in some way. EPISODE III: A CHANCE TO STRIKE • WHY DID THE BRITISH KEEP ATTACKING ALLIES?: During most combat operations, ships tried to maintain radio silence so that listening stations on land didn’t triangulate their signal and inform enemy vessels of their position. This meant a ship’s location wasn’t always clear, and it was hard for pilots to recognize the size and silhouette of a ship when hurtling at it from several miles out. Mistakes were common. • TIME TRAVELING SHIPS AND ENIGMA ROTORS: We accidentally depicted some ships with post-war modernizations like angled flight decks. We also used the destroyer HMS Sheffield (D80)-which the Argentine Navy famously sunk during the Falklands War-instead of the cruiser HMS Sheffield (C24). Also, we misstated the number of rotors on the Enigma: the standard version had three and the naval version had four. EPISODE IV: SINKING THE BISMARCK • WASN’T THE BISMARCK SCUTTLED?: Yes. The crew set scuttling charges, partially because regulations mandated that they be set before an evacuation could take place. But Bismarck was already foundering and most assessments agree that she would’ve sunk within a day or half a day-so really the British sank her, the scuttling just sped it up. • WHY DID THE ROYAL NAVY KEEP SHOOTING?: According to naval procedure, Tovey couldn’t stop firing until Bismarck struck her colors, which she never did. The feelings about this were very mixed among the British sailors. The HMS Rodney’s chaplain really did beg his captain to stop the shelling. • WAS THERE REALLY A U-BOAT?: The lookout on the Dorsetshire spotted U-74, which had come to pick up Bismarck’s war diary at the request of Admiral Lütjens. U-74 later rescued three men clinging to a raft. WALPOLE In 1732, King George II gifted Walpole the residence at 10 Downing Street, where Winston Churchill lived and worked during WWII. Too easy? Ok! The Prinz Eugen was named after Prince Eugene of Savoy, an Italian-French general who served the Austrian Habsburgs. In 1731, Eugene was responsible for hammering out the Second Treaty of Vienna, which reoriented European politics by breaking Britain away from its ally France and instead aligning it with Austria. Who steered this on the British side? WALPOLE.
I did find it strange that there was no mention of the scuttling since I had read about it years ago. But like you say it only sped things up. Thank you for the episode; can't wait for the next one
Admiral Tovey: "This is a complete waste of human lives, time, and ammunition alike. I wish there was some way to put this damn ship down...wait, do we still have some torpedoes? Those might help."
At the bottom of the ocean the depths of the abyss They are bound by iron and blood The flagship of the navy the terror of the seas His guns have gone silent at last
Germany: Hey Japan I'm about to take over Britain Japan: We're almost done over here in the Pacific Germany: Nothing can stop us now Japan: Oh by the way I bombed the U.S.A. so they wouldn't enter the war Germany: What ._. U.S.A.: *HI*
later Poles from Polish 1st armored division liberated part of France, almost whole Belgium and Netherland, took whole North western part of Germany with MAIN BASE OF KRIEGSMARINE in Wilhelmshaven. Germans signed capitulation in front of general Stanisław Maczek, commander of Polish 1st armored division. Poles had even their own ocupation zone in this area. Polish armed forces on eastincluding tank units woth T-34-85 and IS-2 helped soviets took Berlin.
PancakeofDeviousness, that is how I feel when I come up next to a battleship in a destroyer and torp them at about, oh decks touching each other in world of warships
British and Americans have the craziest luck I've ever heard of, also that one Polish ship man. The Poles just love sticking it to Germans. Even today they love to do that
And they learned their lesson with Tirpitz; they left her sitting around at port so the British wouldn't have to go through all that trouble to bomb her. That was nice of them.
This has been my favorite series yet, and I've loved all of them. The writing is so engaging that I'm always on the edge of my seat! Great work, thank you for this!
Olexi Petrov plus lots of updates on the artworks as well as tensions rising. We all know the Bismarck sank and yet, here we are exploring all those precious days and lives lost to set their foot on history. The tension was perfect, we wanted the British to win yet with hope jumping overboard how did they win? One of their best ships met Davey Jones with only 3 men left standing and yet we expect the British to win? Goosebumps on every corner at every command and every chess piece move slowly did theh win.
It's entertainment, certainly; but I have a hard time thinking of it as propaganda. After all, that segment talking about how the Royal Navy cruiser was forced to leave behind hundreds of men to drown is more likely to inspire pity and horror than patriotic fervor. And in any case, the war is long over. What point is there to propaganda when both combatants (Britain and Germany) are on the same side now?
Scorponox93 U-74's captain recorded he attempted to torpedo the British ships. If the British ships spot a U-boat in attack position that is intention of harm.
It's hard to say. Development of battleships basically stopped after WWI due to treaties, while other classes and aircraft carriers continued on. With rocket guided artillery projectiles, ship structures and subsystems designed against modern battlefields we probably could have effective battleships today. However, all the countries that have the money and engineering to develop such a ship today doesn't really have a target for them.
@@JohnSmith-wx9wj they would still be obsolete , the problem is that you rely on stealth and good AAW capability to stay alive at sea these days because planes and missiles are so accurate. Battleships would take a massive amount of damage even today but eventually they would sink.
@@SquatterLoki Not true. That's pretty normal accuracy for warships. In the Denmark Strait the Bismarck hit Hood only four times. It's not how many shots you fire that matters: it's the hits, and what they do.
You can't. Wargaming doesn't like to give already-invested players freebies. This sort of thing is intended to bring in heaps of new players with the hopes that a handful of them will also turn out to be cash cows and buy all the premiums and loot available.
Very good story telling, even though most people familiar with the Bismarck know how it all ended. However I would really like to see more of the more German side of this story, if there is enough material about it that is.
A sad annecdote: there were four floatplanes aboard the Bismarck, and near the end of the battle, one was still operational. Men wrote farewell letters and gave them to the pilot that was supposed to fly off, he entered the cockpit, but the engine wouldn't start...
I'm kinda conflicted. As a Brit it's cool to hear how the Royal Navy worked around their weaknesses to sink a stronger opponent but the Bismarck's crew didn't deserve that. As I'm typing, London Bridge was just attacked by what's likely to be terrorists... humanity kinda sucks for me at the moment.
We fight with honor because it sets us apart from them. When an enemy goes to low blows, we hold ourselves to a higher standard of honor and nobility. That's part of why Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan lost, the world was fighting for peace and freedom.
@@friedrichdergroe6361 yes however, his captain insisted upon calling K.M.S Bismarck a he due to all the power, wether it's untraditional or not, you still gotta refer to him as a he
"Hey we have this amazing ship!" "Great, send it out to combat situations with little support; try and keep it unsupported if possible." "That's a fantastic idea!" The sad thing is that the Japanese would make the same mistake with the Yamato
the yamato would die exactly like the Bismark in my opinion even 1 torpedo in the right place can sink a decently sized ship or heavily damage a giant ship
At that point the Japanese had been cornered very hard. They had few resources left and their war machines were pretty much breaking down (due to literal schoolchildren being hired to construct them due to a lack of manpower), as well as a lack of properly trained soldiers. They knew the Yamato was going to get dunked, that was the whole point, but they wanted to slow down American advances into the mainland.
🎶We found the German battleship was makin' such a fuss We had to sink the Bismarck 'cause the world depends on us We hit the decks a-runnin' and we spun those guns around We found the mighty Bismarck and then we cut her down🎶
The hood found the Bismarck, and on that very day. The Bismarck started firing 15 miles away! "We gotta sink the Bismarck!" was the Battlesound! But when the smoke had cleared away the mighty good went down...
“He was made to rule the waves across the seven seas To lead the war machine To rule the waves and lead the Kriegsmarine The terror of the seas The Bismarck and the Kriegsmarine”
*shooting a german battleship* *does small damage or doesnt at all* "I AM A POLE, I AM A POLE!!.." and so began the blitzkreig of the german navy ft. poland
@@pandrzewko2780 i know the stories and love them, but you can be both heroic AND weak at the same time... Poland just didnt have enough modern airplanes, else they might have stopped the germans.
That is not really true, from memory of my history research studies, (albeit some thirty odd years ago), the Rodney was designed to carry four or five sixteen inch gun turrets, (with one or two sixteen inch turrets at her stern), however, the ship was 'downsized' to accommodate the displacement treaties that the Bismark breached, hence it looked like it had been made a third too short, which was why she looked very awkward However, The Rodney could only ever be used a part of a concerted effort, as just about any German battleship or battle cruiser could chase her down from behind, where she only had, from memory, six or perhaps eight inch gun turrets, so she was not a stand alone threat like the Hood or The Prince of Wales, as she was awesome up front, but even the lightweight Eugen could have had the better of her from the stern, and the Scharnhorst would eaten her alive in a chase, let alone what the Bismark would have done to her. What you have to appreciate, is that the Germans were adept at understanding that battleship warfare had changed since WW1, in that the traditional broadside attacks ala the Battle of Jutland, (basically an arm wrestle), were outdated, and that mortar style fire was the future, and therefore the Germans built their ships with very thick deck armour, unlike the British, who had older ships not fit for anything other than broadside battles or sheer ship numbers dominance on the battle arena. The Bismark, and her sister ship, The Tirpitz, were so far advanced compared to the Royal Navy's fleet, that it would be like a comparing Mike Tyson to Sugar Ray Leonard in a straight fight, quite simply, the British had no heavyweights to go one on one with either of the two German battleships, hence the requirement for an all out assault on the Bismark once she was out of hiding.
Swordfish: "I want to attack the Bismarck". DM: "Make an attack roll then. But remember that you are not suited for this at all." Swordfish: "Nat 20" DM: "wtf. well..."
"At the bottom of the ocean, the depths of the abyss. They are bound, by iron and blood. The flagship of the navy, the terror of the seas. Its guns, have gone silent at last."
Makes one remember a certain Cessna that flew right through through USSR's tightest air defense net and landed in Moskow. Just because it's old, it doesn't mean it is useless. But still, 175 hits.
Everyone makes it's own luck. Plane were extremely effective vs big capital ships. That is why they went out of use or were used as support for carriers. This attack would have never happend if Bismark have had a carrier. Also thoose swordfish planes weren't that old. Biplane doesn't mean old and useless.
I wanna say, even with the knowledge that its quite possible that these comments dont get read, that this particular series of Extra history has gone above and beyond the others. The art is better, the scripting is better, even Dan's narration is more emotive and engaging. This is top quality RUclips content.
Crystal_ignition I believe the surviving crew ordered the ship scuttled, so they placed charges. Bismarck didn't surrender because it took a while to figure out who was in charge after the captain and most senior officers died.
Imagine towing a ship that is already heavily damaged, almost breaking apart that has not formally surrendered, limited and fuel and without direct command to do so. Why would one lead alone multiple captains disobey their orders and do something insane instead?
I was holding back the tears as you were describing the last moments when the Royal Navy was firing on the Birsmarck. The chaplin, the cocoa and rum. And finally having to abandon the sailors in the water brought a such sadness. What else could the Royal Navy do, they HAD to sink her.
Although I knew how this story would end, it's really nice hearing it again and with the Extra history lean. I had not heard about the polish ship or the American pilots on catalinas but it's those extra details that really flesh it out.
This is movie worthy! Great job! As a German, I also see this story from the german side. Both the Royal Navy and the Kriegsmarine lost many sailors in this Battle just so one power hungry little man with a small moustache could do his thing. Just Sad.
Np... citizens of country what defended France, Norway, UK, liberated part of France, almost whole Belgium and Netherlands.. and took north wester part of nezo germany with MAIN BASE of kriegsmarine in Wilhelmshaven.
If you guys want something from the perspective of the German sailors, I'd recommend Robert Ballard's book on the Bismarck. He was the guy who explored the Titanic, and he also explored the wreck of the Bismarck. He also took the time to interview five survivors, four sailors and one officer, about the Bismarck, and the tone is sympathetic since his own son had died around the same age as many of those sailors on the Bismarck.
Very good but it's too bad we don't hear anything from the Kriegsmarine perspective - particularly the messages from Lutjens to his men after Hood or the torpedoing or Hitler's final transmission to the Bismark (which we have from the survivors like Mullenhem-Rechberg)
Well, most of the crew of Bismarck were sunk. And this totally original quote goes along the lines of "History is written by the Victors" So most perspectives on this battle are British
Have a book written by one of the survivors, Ill have to dig it up from the book shelf, but All four crew from the rear gunnery tower survive and with a friend from an anti air battery live in Canada.
I mean I would love to see that perspective too but all but 114 soldiers serving on the Bismarck died. And they probably died before they had a chance to get interviewed.
TheBlackBaron later Poles from Polish 1st armored division liberated part of France, almost whole Belgium and Netherland, took whole North western part of Germany with MAIN BASE OF KRIEGSMARINE in Wilhelmshaven. Germans signed capitulation in front of general Stanisław Maczek, commander of Polish 1st armored division. Poles had even their own ocupation zone in this area. Polish armed forces on eastincluding tank units woth T-34-85 and IS-2 helped soviets took Berlin.
To anyone who was worried about the Bismarck’s crew that was left behind, 5 more men were rescued by that same U-boat that scared away the ship that sunk the Bismarck
These videos gave so much detail in such a dynamic way. I learned things that I had not been aware of before, and I thought I had studied the battle of the Bismarck in depth!
Didn't the captain of the Bismarck scuttle it with charges to prevent the British from capturing it? Also, as a more morbid note, the spotting of a U-boat was a false alarm, and when a German U-boat finally did reach the scene, it was only able to pick up another 3 sailors(which, along with 2 more from a German trawler, are counted into the 114 survivors)
ocadioan What source is the U-boat spotting a false alarm? Because U-74 actually reported trying to sink British fleet units in the area after Bismarck sunk, the bad swell meant keeping its periscope depth was impossible. Likely uncovering its hull briefly in the mean time and getting spotted. uboat.net/history/u74-bismarck.htm At 10.36 am the sonar crew heard sinking sounds but they weren't certain whether it was Bismarck or a British ship. Detonations were also audible. Later U-74 went to periscope depth and Kentrat saw battleships and cruisers directly in front of him. He tried to get into an attack position but the weather was too bad, the seas too high to remain on periscope depth or to shoot a torpedo.
Crag_r My mistake. I read that the U-boat(U-74 apparently) arrived later, which I then inferred as meaning that it had not been there before, meaning that either another U-boat would have had to be there and then left the sailors, or it was a false alarm.
Even if it's a false alarm, you don't take chances. WW2's biggest mistakes were mainly caused by mistrusting/mishandling of intel. The Soviets lost many ground early in Barbarossa because Stalin didn't trust his spies in Switzerland. Pearl Harbor happened because of somebody mismanaged the intel about the Japanese fleet. French military command ignored intel about the Germans in the Ardennes and it cost them the war.
“You know, there’s getting a concussion, and then there’s having your body partially phase into a different dimension. I think that’s the point you’re supposed to throw in the towel.” - Admiral Tovey, probably
Rooney hit Bismarck's bridge early on in the fight. They was an independent attempt by someone to surrender however some of it's guns were still firing at the same time. Communication across the ship had been lost and there was uncertainty about who was in command.
Why though Peter? The vast majority of German soldiers were innocent and had loving families, almost all unaware of the holocaust, and only small branches of the military could be considered 'evil'.
Sure as hell not me. Don't get me wrong, I know they were human beings just like us, and most probably weren't nearly as gung ho for all the mass murder and destruction Hitler wanted. The fact that one of the father's of the Bismarck's sailors was concerned for the life of his son is a pretty big pointer for that. However... Did they really expect anything else go happen? They sank the Hood, one of the most prized British vessels, and were planning to attack supply ships. When that U-Boat appeared near the sunken Bismarck, it should've been obvious instantly that the British would choose to flee and live rather than help the very men who'd been trying to kill them and had already killed their comrades. They knew the risks and should've known that mercy from the Brits would be incredibly small, if at all.
Look up photos of Bismarck's shipwreck, it's amazing how intact she still is, despite taking a pounding from the Royal Navy and the immense water pressure of those depths.
My wife and I found her grand-dads flight logs from the Fleet Air Arm from World War II. One page detailed a flight shadowing the Bismarck, next page Torpedo run on the Bismarck; he was a swordfish pilot
@@LordInter Both Yamato and Musashi each took more hits than entire American battlefleet in in Pearl Harbor and mostly heavier ones as Americans had heavier bombs with stronger explosives.
Well, if you're fighting a fair fight something's gone wrong. Also, Bismarck destroyed as a capable fighting unit pretty early in fight, so what's the point of a ship that can't sink very easily if can't effectively back for most of the time it's afloat.
2:20 That Polish destroyer, the Prion, actually has a crazy story in this fight, it actually ended up engaging in a long range gun-dual with the Bismarck for over an hour, firing literally every gun it had at the ship and more while continuing to signal "I am a Pole, 3 salvoes for the honor of Poland" and ignoring orders to withdraw. It survived the battle and the war, but was later scrapped by the Royal navy Post-battle analytics show that the Bismarck performed so poorly in its final engagement with force H partially cause of crew exhaustion, thanks to one angry Polish destroyer keeping them up all night
More gushing nonsense. Here's the real story. ORP Piorun was one of the 5 ships of the RN's 4th Destroyer Flotilla, the other British ships being HMS Cossack, Maori, Sikh & Zulu. The commander of the flottilla was Captain Philip Vian. On discovering that contact had been temporarily lost with Bismarck, Vian ordered his 5 destroyers to "fan out" and search for her. Purely by chance Piorun's search "finger" crossed Bismarck's path first. Ignoring Vian's orders to wait for all 5 to make a co-ordinated attack together, Piorun charged in alone to take part in a gun duel with Bismarck, Piorun's six 4.7 inch guns Vs Bismarck's eight 15 and twelve 6 inchers, Whilst simultaneously flashing its now famous signal "I AM A POLE". After Bismarck landed a couple of main gun straddles close to Piorun, Piorun withdrew and managed to lose contact with Bismarck, taking no further part in the action that carried on through the night of 26/27th May. Luckily the other 4 ships of the flotilla (Cossack, Maori, Sikh & Zulu) had now made it to the scene and then engaged Bismarck in unison, also with their 4.7 inch guns, but with the added tactic of synchronised torpedo attacks (Which Piorun had forgotten to use). In the rapidly falling light and difficult sea conditions the torpedo attacks are not thought to have landed any hits, but as you say the 4 remaining ships of the flotilla did engage Bismarck all night, and exhaust her crew.... while Piorun remained out of contact.
P.S HMS Cossack was sunk by a U-boat in Oct 1941, HMS Maori was sunk during axis air attacks on Valletta harbour in Malta in Feb 1942, While both HMS Sikh & Zulu were sunk by coastal artillaery during a commando raid on Tobruk in the Mediterranean in Sept 1942. Life on a WW2 destroyer was a dangerous affair.
![KSI - Thick Of It (feat. Trippie Redd) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/At8v_Yc044Y/mqdefault.jpg)
It's time: Admiral Tovey finally has the opportunity he's needed to close the jaws on Bismarck. This ship MUST sink.
New players! Download World of Warships and use the code EXTRA1 for free goodies: cpm.wargaming.net/i3v7c6uu/?pub_id=2017_Video_4
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Extra Credits wow... I knew that the Nelson class BB had some problems (specially with the windows and the guns blasts)... but what you tell to us is amazing... the Rodney was really in a bad condition.
Extra Credits What it was spelled tovey? I thought it was Toby
Hey, I realized the kriegsmarine caps are missing the k
Could you do another ww2 series like the development to the dropping of the atomic bomb. Or another famous battle like when you did the battle of Kursk?
I wish you can do a battle of Verdun series
2:20 "I am a pole"
Teasing the largest battleship on earth must feel good
I don;t get the joke
@@andreiagosto7039 The Polish destroyer is attacking the country that conquered their home's largest battleship while informing them that they are in fact Poles still fighting Germany.
Basically a prank
@@puzzlered8096 The world's ballsiest prankl
Morgan Smith Especially when that ship belongs to the country that invaded and annex half of your home.
Swordfish: Its not very effective...
Its a critical hit!
The Bismarck is now confused
Lost Swiftpaw LOL
"The Bismarck hurt itself in its confusion"
Lol
The royal navy hurt itself in confusion more like
more like
the swordfish: we failed
the navys : we win
the bismark : **** **** **** **** (full of swear)
the swordfish : wait what how ? (visible confusion)
that’s pretty badass to be hanging off a moving plane judging when to fire a torpedo and then you are the one to cripple the Bismarck. Damn. These give me chills
Sounds like something that would only happen in a movie
@@masterofdoots5965 Agreed.
@@masterofdoots5965 No...Basically these airplanes were gliders with one small engine...Nothing unbelievable there...
@@dimaignatiev6370 than you’d think it would start leaning towards the navigator
@@dimaignatiev6370 then you’d think it would start leaning towards the navigator
Of course, it is so polish to pridefully flash “I am a pole” at the enemy XD
@AdonisplayZ KYT That was so defiant, loved hearing about that part! :D
@@simonenoli4418 They did defend their land well from the Germans, but they were alone in doing so. Britain and France wouldn't help and the Germans had better tactics. Add on the back-stabbing by the Soviets and you have a country doomed to fall.
Despite this, the Polish continued fighting. Conquering a country is the easy part; conquering its people is the real challenge.
@@simonenoli4418 they did defend their land though and even though they're defeated the polish goverment in exile went underground and establish a partisan network unlike the french goverment who work with the germans
Adonis KYT [HTTYD] after all they had so much to be proud of in their defense of their country, it’s truly amazing that their intelligence organization was so good but the rest not so much, and before you start telling me how good they were, didn’t they lose horribly ?
Woah wait, an httyd lover that likes history? COUNT ME IN
The Polish Cruiser that flashed the message “I AM A POLE” was ORP Piorun and was lead by Captain Eugeniusz Pławski, passed 1977.
Destroyer
Absolute madlad
what a danm legend
Damn madlad!
I think you can actually visit her sister ship,ORP Błyskawica
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"I'm just telling them that I'm a Pole."
"O h."
later Poles from Polish 1st armored division liberated part of France, almost whole Belgium and Netherland, took whole North western part of Germany with MAIN BASE OF KRIEGSMARINE in Wilhelmshaven. Germans signed capitulation in front of general Stanisław Maczek, commander of Polish 1st armored division. Poles had even their own ocupation zone in this area. Polish armed forces on eastincluding tank units woth T-34-85 and IS-2 helped soviets took Berlin.
@zepter00 So how many times are you going to Copy and Paste this document from another website until you manage to impress someone?
Because like, I've seen this document five times in different reply sections
69 likes
@@JThompify Agreed. Poles and slavs in general are nationalist fanboys.
"Captain, ready to fire!"
"Hang on, Gunnery, I need to text them real quick."
*I AM A POLE*
Literal insult to injury, that one. Top notch banter from the boys.
You know that was the captain of the destroyer saying "You know what? They're not going anywhere. Let's screw with them a bit."
*One of the biggest pranks on ww2*
@@selfdee7754 Kurwa
@@selfdee7754 good thing for a Pole is to see pain in the ass of people like you
We have a saying.. Your mom is easier than Poland :)
So...that guy who had a son serving on the Bismarck never saw his son again, right? Grim.
You know, I once heard a veteran saying that the first time he killed a man it wasn't the image of dead body that stuck him but a thought that he made someone's mother cry.
One wonders if that guy ever found out that it was his message that gave away their position.
At least the families of the British and American dead knew their kids had accomplished something, and for a heroic cause, too, but what consolation can there possibly be if your kids were burnt up for some murderous tyrant's crazy ideology, completely senseless and futile with a net negative impact on both the world at large and everything they personally cared about?
Олег Козлов that’s deep.
The veteran was simply doing his duty. Yes, it is very sad, but it was war. War is always depressing.
If the general had kept to operational security he might, just might, have seen his son again. There's a reason soldiers are told to look to their front when all hell breaks loose. You fight your own fight; ask after the survivors afterwards.
unless his soon was one of the lucky survivors
Fun Fact: the Polish Destroyer was named the Piorun, she was an N Class destroyer, she was shadowing the Bismarck that day with the HMS Maori, after acquiring the location of the beast the Maori and her went in for a torpedo run. However, a simple torpedo run was not in the Pioruns goal set for that day, no, she charged the Bismarck at full steam, turning broadside and using Flashes and Wireless to spell out “I AM A POLE” as she fired with everything she had, this included her cannons, anti aircraft guns, some accounts even say men fired machine guns and pistols from the deck while others found musical instruments and played the Polish National Anthem as they strafed the Mighty Bismarck. The craziest part is she was never sank, not a single shell damaged her during the battle as she was too fast and nimble to be shot. She would go on to serve until the end of the war taking part in operations such as Overlord and Deadlight before finally being put out of commission and scrapped in 1955.
Unfortunately Piorun did NOT fire "everything she had" She was the only one of the 5 destroyers (HMS Cossack, Maori, Piorun, Sikh & Zulu) of the 4th destroyer flotilla that forgot to fire her main weapon, her torpedoes. Hats off to the Poles though for their eagerness to avenge their country's oppression.
Thanks for a true! ✌🇵🇱 Glory for polish soldiers from ORP "Piorun". 💖🌹👍
It's baisclly going "heck you personlly"
That one pilot who crippled the Bismarck's rudder was John Moffat who sadly passed away in Dec 2016.
Moffat*
Dr Random Truely a Great Moff.
*Wink*
*Grand Moff*
That's another famous person who also died in 2016, the year that had the largest number of famous people pass away.
what a hero
Wow, the navigator was hanging upside down over the side of the plane so he could judge the waves. I hope he got some kind of medal. That was just insane.
It's like something out of a movie.
That really happen btw, if you watch the episode dog fights sink the bismarck, the navigator really did hang upside down, hey thats what the navigator is for 😂😂😂
He might have been polish... apparently they were super hard-core and won the battle of Britain for england
Patrick Degenaar for what I know around 20% of de R.A.F were from other countries (commonwealth, norway and most of them poles)
Insane though it may be, at the time they were probably just glad he did his job that day. Very different culture.
Ok, that Polish Destroyer is now my favorite destroyer-class ship.
Both Grom and Błyskawica were of great progeny - basically, enlarged and upgunned british Tribial class, though bit top heavy as primarily tailored to Baltic and fighting Soviet Navy.
ORP Poirun
Cruiser*
@@davyt0247 The Piorun was a N-class destroyer
To put in perspective the piorun got into a broadside battle with the bismark and we to MACHINEGUN range to fire everything it had at the ship
I'm guessing this is the closest you'll ever get to a real life boss fight
gio why do i hear boss music?
Literally takes all of britains navy to kill one enemy, sounds like a bossfight to me
Raid boss to be more precise
Dont forget the yamato
Chasing around trying to find the boss
I like how the uboat that came after the sinking of the Bismarck killed more of its men by trying to kill the enemy.
To be fair to the uboat crew. They didn't know the bismark was the one sinking. It is a sad outcome though.
It didn't happen, there was no uboat in the area, The cruiser could only carry so many prisoners... I reckon they were full and the captain has to weigh up all risks.. of prisoners overtaking the ship, of uboats, of other incidents on the high seas...
@@isilder The Uboat being real is contested. They probably thought they saw one, knowing it's a normal method of the hunt.
It is very unlikely there was a U-boot, current theory says it was a false claim to justify leaving the site early, reson of leaving is unknown though
@@martyfight3834 maybe low fuel
"I am a Pole!"
Silly Walpole, everyone knows it was you all along!
Few people know this but it was actually a typo. It was meant to say "I am Walpole"
Isaac DragonDerp
I love how we all act as if Walpole is some sort of immortal demigod influencing history from behind the scenes
spindash64 he is... dont let him hear you
Isaac DragonDerp- Walpole reincarnated as a Polishman full of righteousness vengeance, and is just as extravagantly standoffish as the OG.
Yes it was me
"Once I capture Moscow, everything will be okay.." Narrator: "Everything was not okay."
Yeah,.. never put together a plan that has a middle step of 'conquer russia'.
neeneko if only people would learn that "conquer Russia" is not a middle step, it's the entire plan
Khurelbat Bayanbat Tell that to the Mongols. it was just a hobby for them
Tecnicaly Novgorod never fell to the mongols, so a Russian state survived.
Dain II IronfootKing Under The Mountain Yeah and the ottoman Empire is still around.
I want to hear the German end of it lol “Yea we went straight the entire time, but these dumbasses just couldn’t figure it out”
Where a damaged, leaking out-of-fuel battleship can go? a) ruuun to the nearest friendly port b) rendezvous around the sea
Britsh picked the wrong option xD
If they did I can’t wait for the moment when they see the British attacking their own ship.
@@tehmemezlord2379 yeah like "ha these b*ches are attacking their own ships and were going in a straight line"
Brandon McBadass the germans knew that they were doomed. They knew why the rudder wasn't responding and they also knew that they wouldn't be able to reapair it. In an interview with one of the survivors, he told us that they had all wrote letters for their familiys, which were given to the pilot of one of Bismarck's planes. Sadly the katapult that started the plain jammed and the pilot was doomed to sink with the Bismarck.
Look at dem likes.
Those poor men and boys in the ocean made me really sad. I cannot imagine the pain of seeing the ship sail away.
Im wondering if the U-boat(s) didnt pick some of them up. Should have, if they didnt. It was their own men in the water.
Yea it sucks that he had to leave them but the u boat was there, its really sad that those seaman die on a burning, sinking ship. Even though they are the bad guys, they still need to be honer
U boats aren't meant to transport men, they can only carry enough to crew it, since they travel underwater oxygen use would be a issue
especially the son who was on the bismack
The U Boats wouldn't be able to surface long enough without being sunk by bombers or planes, many Uboat crewmen were scared to surface because they were a sickly sitting ducks
[Long Post Ahead] Hi everyone! I’m Rob Rath, lead writer for Hunting the Bismarck. Because sponsored episodes don’t have a LIES episode, the EH crew decided the best thing would be for me to write them here in the comments.
EPISODE I: THE PRIDE OF GERMANY
• BRITISH PERSPECTIVE: After discussing possible approaches, we chose to tell the story from the British perspective as an hour-by-hour intelligence thriller. This approach had a few big advantages: it was tense, had a propulsive narrative, and allowed us to focus on the British intelligence effort that’s usually glossed over in other documentaries. It also let us communicate the “fog of war” and show how little the British often knew. The downside, though, is it gives short shrift to the Germans-but my hope is that the Bismarck’s side of this story is already well known to most naval history fans.
• WASN’T YAMATO THE BIGGEST?: Yes, the Yamato’s displacement was larger-but it was still under construction when Bismarck sank. Yamato had already been “launched,” but that merely meant that its hull was floating in the water with its superstructure and armaments still under construction. Only after being “commissioned” into active service did it count as a real battleship.
• CANADIAN SUPPLY CONVOYS: Several people pointed out that the Royal Canadian Navy and Merchant Marines played a large role in the Atlantic convoys. This is absolutely true, and I wish we had depicted that. As a form of apology, let me offer this: did you know that four Canadian midshipmen served at the Battle of the Denmark Strait? One served on the Prince of Wales, while three died on the HMS Hood. The Hood crew also included 20 men from Newfoundland, which was not (yet) a part of Canada.
EPISODE II: THE MIGHTY HMS HOOD
• WHY WAS PRINZ EUGEN OUT AHEAD?: It actually wasn’t a strategy. When Bismarck fired at the cruiser Norfolk in Episode I, the concussion of its own guns knocked out its radar array. Prinz Eugen was going first to act as a radar picket.
• DID ALL THAT STUFF IN THE BATTLE REALLY HAPPEN?: Many people thought we took artistic license, but the events in this episode are based on the accounts of veterans and Hood survivors. One caveat: much like the circumstances of Hood’s sinking, there’s significant debate over whether Hood’s B-turret fired one last salvo. Both British and German sailors reported seeing the shot, but that doesn’t necessarily mean someone intentionally fired the guns. It’s possible that ammunition cooked off in the barrel, or that an internal explosion made it appear the guns fired.
• DIDN’T MYTHBUSTERS PROVE SHIP SUCTION IS A MYTH?: Mythbusters used a 20-foot boat, which doesn’t reflect the fluid dynamics of a sinking battleship. A large ship going down very fast can experience “downflooding,” where water pours into the large spaces in the hull and ventilation shafts, pulling floating objects down like a drain. In addition, air escaping from the ship creates bubbles and foam at the surface, making the water less dense and able to support bodies. Oil and entangling debris also contribute to dragging sailors down-all three Hood survivors described being pulled down in some way.
EPISODE III: A CHANCE TO STRIKE
• WHY DID THE BRITISH KEEP ATTACKING ALLIES?: During most combat operations, ships tried to maintain radio silence so that listening stations on land didn’t triangulate their signal and inform enemy vessels of their position. This meant a ship’s location wasn’t always clear, and it was hard for pilots to recognize the size and silhouette of a ship when hurtling at it from several miles out. Mistakes were common.
• TIME TRAVELING SHIPS AND ENIGMA ROTORS: We accidentally depicted some ships with post-war modernizations like angled flight decks. We also used the destroyer HMS Sheffield (D80)-which the Argentine Navy famously sunk during the Falklands War-instead of the cruiser HMS Sheffield (C24). Also, we misstated the number of rotors on the Enigma: the standard version had three and the naval version had four.
EPISODE IV: SINKING THE BISMARCK
• WASN’T THE BISMARCK SCUTTLED?: Yes. The crew set scuttling charges, partially because regulations mandated that they be set before an evacuation could take place. But Bismarck was already foundering and most assessments agree that she would’ve sunk within a day or half a day-so really the British sank her, the scuttling just sped it up.
• WHY DID THE ROYAL NAVY KEEP SHOOTING?: According to naval procedure, Tovey couldn’t stop firing until Bismarck struck her colors, which she never did. The feelings about this were very mixed among the British sailors. The HMS Rodney’s chaplain really did beg his captain to stop the shelling.
• WAS THERE REALLY A U-BOAT?: The lookout on the Dorsetshire spotted U-74, which had come to pick up Bismarck’s war diary at the request of Admiral Lütjens. U-74 later rescued three men clinging to a raft.
WALPOLE
In 1732, King George II gifted Walpole the residence at 10 Downing Street, where Winston Churchill lived and worked during WWII.
Too easy? Ok!
The Prinz Eugen was named after Prince Eugene of Savoy, an Italian-French general who served the Austrian Habsburgs. In 1731, Eugene was responsible for hammering out the Second Treaty of Vienna, which reoriented European politics by breaking Britain away from its ally France and instead aligning it with Austria. Who steered this on the British side? WALPOLE.
This is so much better than the LIES episode.
I did find it strange that there was no mention of the scuttling since I had read about it years ago. But like you say it only sped things up. Thank you for the episode; can't wait for the next one
Extra Credits There's even a Walpole section XD
Walpole references are mandated by LAW. :D
Admiral Tovey: "This is a complete waste of human lives, time, and ammunition alike. I wish there was some way to put this damn ship down...wait, do we still have some torpedoes? Those might help."
At the bottom of the ocean the depths of the abyss
They are bound by iron and blood
The flagship of the navy the terror of the seas
His guns have gone silent at last
2000 men and 50000 tons of steel
@RyanGaming 2006 FIRE POWER, FIRE FIGHT!
@RyanGaming 2006 into formation the hunt has begun, death and damntion.
@RyanGaming 2006 holy shit sabaton consumes your soul
Ah, I am guessing you are nightmare moon?
Germany: Hey Japan I'm about to take over Britain
Japan: We're almost done over here in the Pacific
Germany: Nothing can stop us now
Japan: Oh by the way I bombed the U.S.A. so they wouldn't enter the war
Germany: What ._.
U.S.A.: *HI*
Germany: i will attack Russia in retaliation
Japan: Yes, that's a good plan. would you like more drugs- I mean medicine?
Inaccurate af.
You must be fun at parties.
More like bursts in playing the national anthem on a boom box
2:20 "One Polish destroyer flashing the message "I am a Pole" while firing."
That fucking killed me.
So the polish are just flipping the Bismarck as they fire
Oof
later Poles from Polish 1st armored division liberated part of France, almost whole Belgium and Netherland, took whole North western part of Germany with MAIN BASE OF KRIEGSMARINE in Wilhelmshaven. Germans signed capitulation in front of general Stanisław Maczek, commander of Polish 1st armored division. Poles had even their own ocupation zone in this area. Polish armed forces on eastincluding tank units woth T-34-85 and IS-2 helped soviets took Berlin.
PancakeofDeviousness, that is how I feel when I come up next to a battleship in a destroyer and torp them at about, oh decks touching each other in world of warships
Just imagine the Captain of the Polish Destroyer pulling out the Middle Finger at the Bismarck XD
This series really shows you how brutal naval combat really was.
Cheery little cartoons, several thousand dead to fire, explosion or drowning. Extra History is a strange brew.
British and Americans have the craziest luck I've ever heard of, also that one Polish ship man. The Poles just love sticking it to Germans. Even today they love to do that
WWII was basically just a game of how many times could the RNG eff over the Axis and Save the Allies' posterior
I am a pole
GOD favors the righteous.
Shhh don't let Afghanistan hear that.
At least big' ol Bismarck did something in the war unlike some big ships that served as a big target.
*cough* Yamato *cough*
Yamato did accomplish something. She made the tin cans of Taffy 3 famous xD
Lmao
Eh Bismarck isn't that good either, sank on her 1st mission and become big target also.
@@cardiv5zuikaku944 but Bismarck did sink the pride of the British navy
@@cardiv5zuikaku944 She was alone
"I am a pole"
-polish destroyer
literally and verbally
*"I AM A POLE"*
-ORP Piorun,1941
Thats only thing they can do i guess
@@Wollheinze oh they did much more
Respect to that guy who said "I am a Pole".
173 likes
Hm seems familiar
he is an absolute gigachad
"Oh well, I can forget about England's Navy until I conquer Russia."
Every part of what you just said, is wrong.
The words conquer and russia should not be close to each other, it's impossible.
British Navy.
@@Faun471 The Mongols disagree.
@@rogerogue7226 oof I kinda forgot about them, lmao
@@Faun471 Everyone does, which is why it's more important to remember the one time Russia did get conquered. Mongols be awesome yo!
Britain: "Finally, we sunk the Bismarck."
Germans: pull out Tirpitz.
RAF: Biggles, get the Tallboy.
@@anananandsdsdsds3486 "Humongous bombs?! My only weakness! How did you know?!" -Tirpitz, probably.
And they learned their lesson with Tirpitz; they left her sitting around at port so the British wouldn't have to go through all that trouble to bomb her. That was nice of them.
UK: Bruh
You forgot the Admiral Graf Spree
1:18 Got to give that guy credit; he had some balls
Man, that series was incredible. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Top-notch RUclips content.
Robin Lange Please tell me which series it is......i want to watch it
This has been my favorite series yet, and I've loved all of them. The writing is so engaging that I'm always on the edge of my seat! Great work, thank you for this!
Olexi Petrov plus lots of updates on the artworks as well as tensions rising.
We all know the Bismarck sank and yet, here we are exploring all those precious days and lives lost to set their foot on history.
The tension was perfect, we wanted the British to win yet with hope jumping overboard how did they win? One of their best ships met Davey Jones with only 3 men left standing and yet we expect the British to win?
Goosebumps on every corner at every command and every chess piece move slowly did theh win.
I watched the intro portion, and I was thinking "get 'em boys!" Funny how I am cheering on people from 75 years ago.
It's entertainment, certainly; but I have a hard time thinking of it as propaganda. After all, that segment talking about how the Royal Navy cruiser was forced to leave behind hundreds of men to drown is more likely to inspire pity and horror than patriotic fervor. And in any case, the war is long over. What point is there to propaganda when both combatants (Britain and Germany) are on the same side now?
Allright, you have a point there. It's entertainment rather than a documentary.
One ship against a navy :O
@@syaondri lol
And it almost won...
@@LuizAlexPhoenix But the ship was a legend in its time
Imagine if there were two Bismarck ships
@@edwardkenway148 There was... Her name was Tirpitz... She just didn't get out much.
8:40 is the cutest render of an instrument of death ive ever seen lol
7:30 And this is why you don't attack an enemy ship conducting rescue operations of YOUR OWN PEOPLE!
It's a u-boat though, they don't need to declare intention of harm, in fact if they did they would be horrible at their job.
Yeah, no clearly the U-boat came by for a friendly cup of tea. -_-
Scorponox93 U-74's captain recorded he attempted to torpedo the British ships. If the British ships spot a U-boat in attack position that is intention of harm.
The U-boat heard a ship sinking and saw vessels stationary in the water. It would have been safe to assume they were picking up survivors.
Isn't that a war crime?
It's almost a shame that big battleships are obsolete. They were just so awesome.
I think you would like Star Wars dreadnoughts and naval combat
Like the eclipse
Can't wait for dual universe to come out.. can't wait I'm gonna a have a giant Bismarck super carrier
It's hard to say. Development of battleships basically stopped after WWI due to treaties, while other classes and aircraft carriers continued on. With rocket guided artillery projectiles, ship structures and subsystems designed against modern battlefields we probably could have effective battleships today. However, all the countries that have the money and engineering to develop such a ship today doesn't really have a target for them.
@@JohnSmith-wx9wj they would still be obsolete , the problem is that you rely on stealth and good AAW capability to stay alive at sea these days because planes and missiles are so accurate.
Battleships would take a massive amount of damage even today but eventually they would sink.
@@Jasontvnd9
Other than a couple of brand new frigates what is stealth today?
British ships spent 2800 shells on Bismarck
Bismarck: I can keep this up all day!
[Squatterloki] I am honored to be the sixty ninth like
The Bismarck was hit over 400 times, pal.
@@benlaskowski357 Poor aiming on the British.
@@SquatterLoki Not true. That's pretty normal accuracy for warships. In the Denmark Strait the Bismarck hit Hood only four times. It's not how many shots you fire that matters: it's the hits, and what they do.
@@benlaskowski357 Ah, so you validated my statement and then some.
aaand we're live! Enjoy the final episode!
how can you use code if you already have wargaming acc
You can't. Wargaming doesn't like to give already-invested players freebies. This sort of thing is intended to bring in heaps of new players with the hopes that a handful of them will also turn out to be cash cows and buy all the premiums and loot available.
i never played thier other games except for world of tanks
Wargaming Europe Wasn't the Bismarck sunk by its own crew???
Matthafiou MtW yup its confirmed
Very good story telling, even though most people familiar with the Bismarck know how it all ended. However I would really like to see more of the more German side of this story, if there is enough material about it that is.
A sad annecdote: there were four floatplanes aboard the Bismarck, and near the end of the battle, one was still operational. Men wrote farewell letters and gave them to the pilot that was supposed to fly off, he entered the cockpit, but the engine wouldn't start...
That pilot's name. Abraham Lincoln. You really believe anything people will tell you huh?
@@JC-fy8wh there a numerous sources on this. Although the catapult was at fault and not the Aircraft’s Engine.
If someone doesn't make a movie about this, it will be a truly missed opportunity.
AJW There was a movie in 1960.
AJW there is a song and a movie about it
thats one retro sounding movie, we definitely need a modern one using today's rendering technology to really bring this epic battle to light.
Eh, I thought the crude cartoon drawings and historical recount did a pretty good job. Who needs hollywood honestly
Nah.... Tora! Tora! Tora! much better movie than Pearl Harbor....
I'm kinda conflicted. As a Brit it's cool to hear how the Royal Navy worked around their weaknesses to sink a stronger opponent but the Bismarck's crew didn't deserve that.
As I'm typing, London Bridge was just attacked by what's likely to be terrorists... humanity kinda sucks for me at the moment.
Bismarcks crew didn't deserve that yeah. U-74 basically killed them all when it tried to attack rescue efforts.
docterfantazmo If there was a u-boat it was the correct call. A captains forst priority is to its own crew.
Wow
It's Human nature to root for the underdogs, but don't let it cloud your judgement. They're Nazis, or otherwise fighting for them.
We fight with honor because it sets us apart from them. When an enemy goes to low blows, we hold ourselves to a higher standard of honor and nobility. That's part of why Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan lost, the world was fighting for peace and freedom.
Tirpitz:
I'm gonna pretend I didnt see that
Tirpitz:
Yes I didn't see my sister die
@@friedrichdergroe6361 *Brother, K.M.S Bismarck was called a he
@@ivangenov6782 and ships were mostly called she and because I play azur lane I also call Bismark she
@@friedrichdergroe6361 yes however, his captain insisted upon calling K.M.S Bismarck a he due to all the power, wether it's untraditional or not, you still gotta refer to him as a he
BOMBS AWAY.
"Hey we have this amazing ship!"
"Great, send it out to combat situations with little support; try and keep it unsupported if possible."
"That's a fantastic idea!"
The sad thing is that the Japanese would make the same mistake with the Yamato
the yamato would die exactly like the Bismark in my opinion even 1 torpedo in the right place can sink a decently sized ship or heavily damage a giant ship
Bismark achieved more than she should in the time of airplanes. Honor and pride killed those navy man as much as the battle itself.
Overkillius Yamato had destroyers and some Shimakaze-class cruisers by its side
At that point the Japanese had been cornered very hard. They had few resources left and their war machines were pretty much breaking down (due to literal schoolchildren being hired to construct them due to a lack of manpower), as well as a lack of properly trained soldiers. They knew the Yamato was going to get dunked, that was the whole point, but they wanted to slow down American advances into the mainland.
The capital ship drinking fuel with a curly straw.
Yes.
Has to be one of the MOST exciting war stories of all time.
Told excellently by EXTRA HISTORY!
My second time watching
“I AM A POLE” that will get stuck in my head for ever, RIP Bismarck
"He'd have plenty of time to deal with the troublesome English once he'd captured Moscow."
And then he got involved in a land war in Asia.
MoronicAcid1 No one has successfully invaded Russia in winter... Except the Mongols [Mongoltage goes here]
t. dumfuk who never read
Christopher Ver Hoef At least he never went in with a Sicilian when death was on the line
So the biggest ship in the world was disabled by planes made of rags and scaffolding. Add one to the 'British luck is insane' count!
That is kinda why battleships fell out of use. Once torpedos and airplanes were effective, battleships became really big, really vulnerable targets.
Rolling a nat 20 when it counted
neeneko
And so the Aircraft Carrier became the new dominant force of the navy, as would be proven in 1942
They were sometimes called "Ragbags".
Stringbags not Ragbags :)
🎶We found the German battleship was makin' such a fuss
We had to sink the Bismarck 'cause the world depends on us
We hit the decks a-runnin' and we spun those guns around
We found the mighty Bismarck and then we cut her down🎶
There's a new, improved, version of this song.
Out of the mist, a shape, a ship is taking form...
The hood found the Bismarck, and on that very day.
The Bismarck started firing 15 miles away!
"We gotta sink the Bismarck!" was the Battlesound! But when the smoke had cleared away the mighty good went down...
“He was made to rule the waves across the seven seas
To lead the war machine
To rule the waves and lead the Kriegsmarine
The terror of the seas
The Bismarck and the Kriegsmarine”
Sabaton!!!!
@@akirarose3947 that's not part of the lyrics!
@@davidkueny2444 lol
Admiral Tovey & British Fleet: *nope lol* 6:53
2000 men and 50000 tons of steel
Set a course for the Atlantic
And the allies on their heel
I had to pause just to say I lost it at the "I am a Pol" light signal while firing. That's gotta be the navy's equivalent of teabagging right there 😂😂
That Polish signaller is an absolute legend and madlad
the bastard was brave af for teasing the biggest warship possiby ever
*shooting a german battleship*
*does small damage or doesnt at all*
"I AM A POLE, I AM A POLE!!.."
and so began the blitzkreig of the german navy ft. poland
@@Zainano why everyone thinks Poles are bad?!?! Poles are brave and have amazing history
pan drzewko *POLISH-LITHUANIAN COMMONWEALTH: FINALLY SOMEONE CAN RECOGNIZE ME WINGED HUSSARS*
@@pandrzewko2780 i know the stories and love them, but you can be both heroic AND weak at the same time... Poland just didnt have enough modern airplanes, else they might have stopped the germans.
@@sjonnieplayfull5859 i am from poland. And i know a lot about my country and world
@@Zainano contrary to you, the Poles have a life other than online games
All of the Rodney's guns were in the front, because she was so slow they figured it would always be chasing what it was shooting at.
It did allow for Rodney to have better turret protection then even Bismarck however.
And the amount of firepower Rodney had led some to speculate it could have fucked up Bismarck single-handedly.
Wings of Darkness Well as long as the Bismarck was as fucked up as it was.
crazycracka Rodney took out most of Bismarcks turrets on a single salvo. Bismarcks turrets were untouched before that point
That is not really true, from memory of my history research studies, (albeit some thirty odd years ago), the Rodney was designed to carry four or five sixteen inch gun turrets, (with one or two sixteen inch turrets at her stern), however, the ship was 'downsized' to accommodate the displacement treaties that the Bismark breached, hence it looked like it had been made a third too short, which was why she looked very awkward
However, The Rodney could only ever be used a part of a concerted effort, as just about any German battleship or battle cruiser could chase her down from behind, where she only had, from memory, six or perhaps eight inch gun turrets, so she was not a stand alone threat like the Hood or The Prince of Wales, as she was awesome up front, but even the lightweight Eugen could have had the better of her from the stern, and the Scharnhorst would eaten her alive in a chase, let alone what the Bismark would have done to her.
What you have to appreciate, is that the Germans were adept at understanding that battleship warfare had changed since WW1, in that the traditional broadside attacks ala the Battle of Jutland, (basically an arm wrestle), were outdated, and that mortar style fire was the future, and therefore the Germans built their ships with very thick deck armour, unlike the British, who had older ships not fit for anything other than broadside battles or sheer ship numbers dominance on the battle arena.
The Bismark, and her sister ship, The Tirpitz, were so far advanced compared to the Royal Navy's fleet, that it would be like a comparing Mike Tyson to Sugar Ray Leonard in a straight fight, quite simply, the British had no heavyweights to go one on one with either of the two German battleships, hence the requirement for an all out assault on the Bismark once she was out of hiding.
"I am a pole!"
-Unknown Polish Man, 1941
Swordfish: "I want to attack the Bismarck".
DM: "Make an attack roll then. But remember that you are not suited for this at all."
Swordfish: "Nat 20"
DM: "wtf. well..."
Winston Churchill : "B5"
Adolf Hitler : "Battleship sunk..."
(cut to that famous bunker scene)
"At the bottom of the ocean, the depths of the abyss. They are bound, by iron and blood. The flagship of the navy, the terror of the seas. Its guns, have gone silent at last."
Man those lil Swordfish when old is bizarrely effective
Makes one remember a certain Cessna that flew right through through USSR's tightest air defense net and landed in Moskow.
Just because it's old, it doesn't mean it is useless.
But still, 175 hits.
Colin Cramer
British luck
Everyone makes it's own luck. Plane were extremely effective vs big capital ships. That is why they went out of use or were used as support for carriers. This attack would have never happend if Bismark have had a carrier. Also thoose swordfish planes weren't that old. Biplane doesn't mean old and useless.
Well, metal and wood are great in their own rights. The Spitfire vs. Hurricane Debate proves that.
You want wood and cloth I give you the de Havilland Mosquito, now that was a great crate!
I wanna say, even with the knowledge that its quite possible that these comments dont get read, that this particular series of Extra history has gone above and beyond the others. The art is better, the scripting is better, even Dan's narration is more emotive and engaging. This is top quality RUclips content.
Agreed. I actually couldn't wait to see each part.
1:19 The real MVP of the hunt
Great series! The suspense was really great. Didn't even notice I just watched 40 minutes of content.
considering how long it took to take her down im surprised they didnt go fuck it and capture the ship. it sounds like an amazing war asset
Well it was a blazing hellfire, Capturing it would be difficult.
it is call "hate" and its irrasional
good point
Crystal_ignition I believe the surviving crew ordered the ship scuttled, so they placed charges. Bismarck didn't surrender because it took a while to figure out who was in charge after the captain and most senior officers died.
Imagine towing a ship that is already heavily damaged, almost breaking apart that has not formally surrendered, limited and fuel and without direct command to do so. Why would one lead alone multiple captains disobey their orders and do something insane instead?
Thats amazing, "I am a Pol" best naval thing ever
I was holding back the tears as you were describing the last moments when the Royal Navy was firing on the Birsmarck.
The chaplin, the cocoa and rum. And finally having to abandon the sailors in the water brought a such sadness.
What else could the Royal Navy do, they HAD to sink her.
2:22 Imagine you were on the Bismarck and you saw the Morse message "I am a Pol"
Pole*
That's amazing. Flashing I am a Pole while destroying the pride other German navy.
"I am a Pole while firing." Damn.
"I am a Pole" while firing
"but mostly they're keeping their distance"
ORP Piorun while circle strafing the Bismarck at point blank range: I'm sorry, what?
"I am a pole"
What a sense of humor hahaha
3:13
Congratulations, you pronounced Dorsetshire correctly.
It's easy to pronounce tbh
But not Norfolk
They weren't a million miles away with Norfolk, more of an accent than a mispronunciation.
@@itxi If by accent you mean mispronunciation, yeah
Although I knew how this story would end, it's really nice hearing it again and with the Extra history lean. I had not heard about the polish ship or the American pilots on catalinas but it's those extra details that really flesh it out.
Tiny details but interesting.
This is movie worthy! Great job! As a German, I also see this story from the german side. Both the Royal Navy and the Kriegsmarine lost many sailors in this Battle just so one power hungry little man with a small moustache could do his thing. Just Sad.
Obv you haven't studied WW2.
More WWII stuff! This and Kursk are so good...
Kursk was Wargaming sponsored too, IIRC. Maybe we'll have a Battle of Britain series to represent the air war, lol.
"I AM A POLE"
Me: Goddammit Walpole
Np... citizens of country what defended France, Norway, UK, liberated part of France, almost whole Belgium and Netherlands.. and took north wester part of nezo germany with MAIN BASE of kriegsmarine in Wilhelmshaven.
hahaha
If you guys want something from the perspective of the German sailors, I'd recommend Robert Ballard's book on the Bismarck. He was the guy who explored the Titanic, and he also explored the wreck of the Bismarck. He also took the time to interview five survivors, four sailors and one officer, about the Bismarck, and the tone is sympathetic since his own son had died around the same age as many of those sailors on the Bismarck.
Very good but it's too bad we don't hear anything from the Kriegsmarine perspective - particularly the messages from Lutjens to his men after Hood or the torpedoing or Hitler's final transmission to the Bismark (which we have from the survivors like Mullenhem-Rechberg)
You seem to know these facts; care to share some? :) I'd find that interesting too
Well, most of the crew of Bismarck were sunk. And this totally original quote goes along the lines of "History is written by the Victors"
So most perspectives on this battle are British
Have a book written by one of the survivors, Ill have to dig it up from the book shelf, but All four crew from the rear gunnery tower survive and with a friend from an anti air battery live in Canada.
I mean I would love to see that perspective too but all but 114 soldiers serving on the Bismarck died. And they probably died before they had a chance to get interviewed.
🎼The flagship of the navy,
the terror of the seas
his guns have gone silent at last...🎼
Mad respect to that Polish ship and that British navigator pilot who hung upside down from a flying plane to aim a shot. Respect.
A simple destoyer against the mightiest ship on the world? One measly destroyer against The Pride of Germany?
I AM A POLE
one Measly destroyer protected by two British Battleships, but yes.
TheBlackBaron later Poles from Polish 1st armored division liberated part of France, almost whole Belgium and Netherland, took whole North western part of Germany with MAIN BASE OF KRIEGSMARINE in Wilhelmshaven. Germans signed capitulation in front of general Stanisław Maczek, commander of Polish 1st armored division. Poles had even their own ocupation zone in this area. Polish armed forces on eastincluding tank units woth T-34-85 and IS-2 helped soviets took Berlin.
I'd be scared. The Poles are scary when they are on the offensive and serving another nation. *Simeoserria flashbacks*
There were multiple destroyers attacking together. The Polish one just decided to go that extra mile.
@@IkarusFD 2:20
To anyone who was worried about the Bismarck’s crew that was left behind, 5 more men were rescued by that same U-boat that scared away the ship that sunk the Bismarck
"Flashing i am a pole while firing" what a legend
"I am a Pole" is a great troll :D
These videos gave so much detail in such a dynamic way. I learned things that I had not been aware of before, and I thought I had studied the battle of the Bismarck in depth!
Didn't the captain of the Bismarck scuttle it with charges to prevent the British from capturing it?
Also, as a more morbid note, the spotting of a U-boat was a false alarm, and when a German U-boat finally did reach the scene, it was only able to pick up another 3 sailors(which, along with 2 more from a German trawler, are counted into the 114 survivors)
if I understand correctly the command structure was pretty broken, with the captian and officers out of commision.
ocadioan What source is the U-boat spotting a false alarm? Because U-74 actually reported trying to sink British fleet units in the area after Bismarck sunk, the bad swell meant keeping its periscope depth was impossible. Likely uncovering its hull briefly in the mean time and getting spotted. uboat.net/history/u74-bismarck.htm
At 10.36 am the sonar crew heard sinking sounds but they weren't certain whether it was Bismarck or a British ship. Detonations were also audible. Later U-74 went to periscope depth and Kentrat saw battleships and cruisers directly in front of him. He tried to get into an attack position but the weather was too bad, the seas too high to remain on periscope depth or to shoot a torpedo.
Crag_r My mistake. I read that the U-boat(U-74 apparently) arrived later, which I then inferred as meaning that it had not been there before, meaning that either another U-boat would have had to be there and then left the sailors, or it was a false alarm.
Even if it's a false alarm, you don't take chances. WW2's biggest mistakes were mainly caused by mistrusting/mishandling of intel. The Soviets lost many ground early in Barbarossa because Stalin didn't trust his spies in Switzerland. Pearl Harbor happened because of somebody mismanaged the intel about the Japanese fleet. French military command ignored intel about the Germans in the Ardennes and it cost them the war.
“You know, there’s getting a concussion, and then there’s having your body partially phase into a different dimension. I think that’s the point you’re supposed to throw in the towel.”
- Admiral Tovey, probably
Rooney hit Bismarck's bridge early on in the fight. They was an independent attempt by someone to surrender however some of it's guns were still firing at the same time.
Communication across the ship had been lost and there was uncertainty about who was in command.
Who else felt bad for the hundreds of German men left behind after the ship sank?
Why though Peter? The vast majority of German soldiers were innocent and had loving families, almost all unaware of the holocaust, and only small branches of the military could be considered 'evil'.
brits killed and eslaved millions of people nearly 4 times the ammount of people the germans killed
me :(
The crew of the Dorsetshire did, at least. But the U-Boat would probably have sunk her if she'd stayed
Sure as hell not me. Don't get me wrong, I know they were human beings just like us, and most probably weren't nearly as gung ho for all the mass murder and destruction Hitler wanted. The fact that one of the father's of the Bismarck's sailors was concerned for the life of his son is a pretty big pointer for that.
However... Did they really expect anything else go happen? They sank the Hood, one of the most prized British vessels, and were planning to attack supply ships. When that U-Boat appeared near the sunken Bismarck, it should've been obvious instantly that the British would choose to flee and live rather than help the very men who'd been trying to kill them and had already killed their comrades. They knew the risks and should've known that mercy from the Brits would be incredibly small, if at all.
this series was amazing, i was actually on the edge of my seat as i was watching this series. Thank you so very much!
anybody find it funny that the polish flashed "I am a pole" when they were shooting at the ship
hey you frogot that one of the surivers of the Sinking of the Bismarck was a Cat!
My ancient brother hahah
Look up photos of Bismarck's shipwreck, it's amazing how intact she still is, despite taking a pounding from the Royal Navy and the immense water pressure of those depths.
My wife and I found her grand-dads flight logs from the Fleet Air Arm from World War II. One page detailed a flight shadowing the Bismarck, next page Torpedo run on the Bismarck; he was a swordfish pilot
1:35 That swordfish navigator is a mad lad and a legend
Bismark they needed 2 Battleships and a 2 cruisers to sink me in 50 minutes.
Nagato: Hold my beer.
And Yamato
yeah yamato needed more planes then took part in pearl harbour
@@LordInter Both Yamato and Musashi each took more hits than entire American battlefleet in in Pearl Harbor and mostly heavier ones as Americans had heavier bombs with stronger explosives.
@@piotrd.4850 not sure how many bombs like 20-30 but like 19 torpedoes hit the Musashi alone
Well, if you're fighting a fair fight something's gone wrong. Also, Bismarck destroyed as a capable fighting unit pretty early in fight, so what's the point of a ship that can't sink very easily if can't effectively back for most of the time it's afloat.
2:20
That Polish destroyer, the Prion, actually has a crazy story in this fight, it actually ended up engaging in a long range gun-dual with the Bismarck for over an hour, firing literally every gun it had at the ship and more while continuing to signal "I am a Pole, 3 salvoes for the honor of Poland" and ignoring orders to withdraw. It survived the battle and the war, but was later scrapped by the Royal navy
Post-battle analytics show that the Bismarck performed so poorly in its final engagement with force H partially cause of crew exhaustion, thanks to one angry Polish destroyer keeping them up all night
More gushing nonsense. Here's the real story.
ORP Piorun was one of the 5 ships of the RN's 4th Destroyer Flotilla, the other British ships being HMS Cossack, Maori, Sikh & Zulu. The commander of the flottilla was Captain Philip Vian.
On discovering that contact had been temporarily lost with Bismarck, Vian ordered his 5 destroyers to "fan out" and search for her. Purely by chance Piorun's search "finger" crossed Bismarck's path first. Ignoring Vian's orders to wait for all 5 to make a co-ordinated attack together, Piorun charged in alone to take part in a gun duel with Bismarck, Piorun's six 4.7 inch guns Vs Bismarck's eight 15 and twelve 6 inchers, Whilst simultaneously flashing its now famous signal "I AM A POLE".
After Bismarck landed a couple of main gun straddles close to Piorun, Piorun withdrew and managed to lose contact with Bismarck, taking no further part in the action that carried on through the night of 26/27th May.
Luckily the other 4 ships of the flotilla (Cossack, Maori, Sikh & Zulu) had now made it to the scene and then engaged Bismarck in unison, also with their 4.7 inch guns, but with the added tactic of synchronised torpedo attacks (Which Piorun had forgotten to use). In the rapidly falling light and difficult sea conditions the torpedo attacks are not thought to have landed any hits, but as you say the 4 remaining ships of the flotilla did engage Bismarck all night, and exhaust her crew.... while Piorun remained out of contact.
P.S HMS Cossack was sunk by a U-boat in Oct 1941, HMS Maori was sunk during axis air attacks on Valletta harbour in Malta in Feb 1942, While both HMS Sikh & Zulu were sunk by coastal artillaery during a commando raid on Tobruk in the Mediterranean in Sept 1942. Life on a WW2 destroyer was a dangerous affair.
royal navy VS 1000 degree Bismarck
It's 11:42
Summer is almost over but Extra Credits uploads the sinking of the Bismarck so screw sleeping
ultraboy222 I'm from the Southeast not America.
probably Australian or something
Whaaaat? There are 4 seasons - 4 quaters of the year: December-January, March-May, June-August, September-November.