Hunt the Bismarck: The pursuit of Germany's most famous battleship by Angus Konstam
Hunt the Bismarck, now available in paperback, tells the story of Operation Rheinubung, the Atlantic sortie of the Nazi Germany's largest battleship in May 1941. Bismarck entered service in the summer of 1940. She was well-armed, with eight 15- inch guns as well as a powerful array of lighter weapons, while her armoured protection earned her the reputation of being unsinkable. This claim was put to the test in May 1941, when she sortied into the Atlantic and fought the legendary battle of the Denmark Strait, destroying HMS Hood, the pride of the Royal Navy. Bismarck was now loose in the North Atlantic. However, damage sustained in the battle limited her ability to roam at will, and the Royal Navy had deployed the Home Fleet to avenge the Hood. The stage was set for the greatest chase story in the history of naval warfare. Drawing on a wealth of first-hand accounts and intertwining extensive research into a fast-paced narrative, this is the most readable and accurate account of Bismarck's epic pursuit ever produced.