In May 1941, the German battleship Bismarck, accompanied by heavy
cruiser Prinz Eugen, broke out into the Atlantic, to attack Allied
shipping. The Royal Navy's pursuit and subsequent destruction of
Bismarck was an epic of naval warfare. In this new account of those
dramatic events at the height of the Second World War, Iain Ballantyne
draws extensively on the graphic eye-witness testimony of veterans, to
construct a thrilling story, mainly from the point of view of the
British battleships, cruisers and destroyers involved. He describes the
tense atmosphere as cruisers play a lethal cat and mouse game as they
shadow Bismarck in the icy Denmark Strait. We witness the shocking
destruction of the British battlecruiser Hood, in which all but three of
her ship's complement were killed; an event that filled pursuing Royal
Navy warships, including the battered battleship Prince of Wales, with a
thirst for revenge. While Swordfish torpedo-bombers try desperately to
cripple the Bismarck, we sail in destroyers on their own daring torpedo
attacks, battling mountainous seas. Finally, the author takes us into
the final showdown, as battleships Rodney and King George V, supported
by cruisers Norfolk and Dorsetshire, destroy the pride of Hitler's
fleet.
This vivid, superbly researched account portrays this epic saga through
the eyes of so-called 'ordinary sailors' caught up in extraordinary
events. Killing the Bismarck is an outstanding read, conveying the
horror and majesty of war at sea in all its cold brutality and awesome
power.
