Destroyer Night Torpedo64 Attacks

The Zulu, after her escape at 2345/26, had steered to the northward, and at about 0030 fell in with the Cossack. Shortly afterwards she sighted the Piorun. On receipt of a signal from Captain D.4, timed 0040, to take any opportunity to fire torpedoes, the Zulu altered to the westward, and at 0100 sighted the Bismarck steering 340°.

The position at this time was roughly as follows: To the northeastward of the enemy,65 the Cossack was working round to the north and west. The Maori, since losing touch, had been making to the westward, and was now to the southwest of the quarry. The Sikh, having received no information as to the Bismarck’s course since the Maori’s report at 0025 had assumed her to be steering 230°, and was some distance to the southward.

At the time of sighting (0100/27) the Zulu was right astern of the enemy. Commander Graham states that his former experience that night had warned him to refrain from using W/T, and to keep altering his bearing. He therefore ran up on her port quarter, zigzagging at 25 knots. She did not appear to have seen the Zulu, who turned in towards her when she bore 090°, the range being estimated as 5,000 yards. The Bismarck, who at some time during this approach had altered course to 040°, at once opened fire with her main and secondary armaments and straddled the Zulu. Four torpedoes were fired at 0121: no hit was observed, and they are believed to have missed ahead. Commander Graham then ran well out to the northward, in order to be clear of other destroyers, and shortly afterwards witnessed a successful attack by the Maori.

The latter ship had seen the Bismarck open fire on the Zulu at 0107: three minutes later she reported the course of the enemy as 040°, and then closed slowly on the port quarter to 4,000 yards apparently undetected. When abeam of the enemy, who then appeared to be altering course to starboard, Commander Armstrong fired a star shell the better to see what he was about. Two minutes later, at 0137, two torpedoes were fired, and course was altered towards the Bismarck, with the intention of attacking again from her starboard bow when she should have steadied on her new course. Whilst the Maori was turning, a hit was observed on the enemy. A bright glow illuminated the water line of the ship from end to end, and shortly afterwards there appeared between the bridge and the stem a very vivid glare, which may have been a second hit. A cheer went up from the men at their action stations, exhilarating to all on the bridge and down below. The enemy immediately opened a very heavy fire with both main and secondary armaments and quick-firing guns. As the Maori was being straddled, she turned away, and increased to full speed; shots continued to fall on both sides of the ship until the range had been opened to 10,000 yards, but she was not actually hit. To quote her Captain’s report, “it was quite an exciting few minutes.” It must have been equally exciting for the Bismarck, for Captain Vian in the Cossack had meanwhile been creeping up from the north-eastward and at 0140, only three minutes after the Maori’s attack, fired three torpedoes from a range of 6,000 yards.

The battleship stood out plainly, silhouetted by the broadsides she was firing at the Maori, and one unmistakable hit was obtained. Flames blazed up on her forecastle visible to all ships after these attacks, though they were quickly extinguished. Probably in consequence of these hits, the enemy now stopped, a fact which was reported by the Zulu at 0148, and did not get under way again until about an hour later. On receipt of this report, Commander Stokes in the Sikh who was closing the scene of action from the southward, decided to carry out a deliberate unseen attack. Accordingly, after verifying by R.D.F. that the Bismarck was indeed stopped, he fired four torpedoes at 0218 at 7,000 yards, which from previous experience that night he judged to be the shortest range from which an attack could be launched undetected. One hit was believed to have been obtained.66 After this attack, the Sikh remained in R.D.F. contact with the enemy until 0359, when she lost touch.

At about 0240, the Bismarck seems to have got under way again, proceeding very slowly to the north-westward. At 0335 another attack on her was made by the Cossack, who fired one torpedo from a position 4,000 yards to the north of her. No hit was claimed and the Cossack coming under a heavy fire, which was seen by the other destroyers, withdrew to the northward under cover of smoke, altering to a westerly course shortly afterwards.

At 0400 all touch with the enemy was lost for a time. The Cossack was then to the west-north-westward of the Bismarck, and the Sikh, Zulu and Maori were between south-west and south-east of her. All the destroyers now endeavoured to regain contact, the Cossack working to the west and south-west, and the remaining three to the north-westward while doing so, in order to get the enemy between them and the eastern horizon before dawn.67

At 0435 the Zulu was illuminated by star-shell, probably fired by one of her consorts: she turned away to the westward but the Bismarck did not open fire.

Touch does not seem to have been regained until shortly before 0600, but Captain Vian was quite confident that the enemy would not be able to elude him, and at 0500 ordered the Piorun, who was short of fuel, to proceed to Plymouth.68 The Piorun had by this time apparently worked round to the south-eastward of the Bismarck, and was then searching in a north-westerly direction. This Commander Plawski continued to do till 0600, before shaping course for harbour.

64. See Appendix C.

65. The Piorun appears also to have been in this vicinity. As there is no record of her track, and the report subsequently received from her contains very few times, it is not possible to state what her actual movements were.

66. In the excitement of the moment, the rating operating the torpedo-firing levers fired without any appreciable spread and with scarcely any interval between the torpedoes. An underwater explosion, however, was heard in the engine room at about the right time for a hit on the enemy.

67. Sunrise was at 0712 B.S.T. Nautical twilight commenced at 0542.

68. In his report to the Commander-in-Chief, Captain Vian makes the following remarks in connection with this order:– “She was short of fuel. She had, with great intrepidity, continued to close the enemy in daylight after first sighting, going into action with her 4-7-in. guns. She had been unable to find the enemy to attack him during the night, and I knew Commander Plawski would certainly go for him as soon as he could find him; conditions as light came on would not be easy, and I was concerned lest a valuable ship and a fine crew should be lost without need. I had no doubt the 7th division unassisted could deliver the enemy to you.”