The Commander-in-Chief was confident that the enemy could never get back to harbour, and as the battleships were running short of fuel and as further gunfire was unlikely to hasten the Bismarck’s end, the Commander-in-Chief signalled the King George V and Rodney to steer 027° at 1015 in order to break off the action and return to their base. At 1036, he directed the Dorsetshire to use her torpedoes, if she had any, on the enemy. In the meantime, the Norfolk had been closing the target but owing to the movements of the King George V and Rodney, had withheld her torpedoes until 1010 when four were fired at 4,000 yards and two possible hits were reported. The Dorsetshire was then approaching a mile or so, to the southward, and anticipating the Commander-in-Chief’s signal at 1025 fired two torpedoes at 3,600 yards into the enemy’s starboard side. One exploded under the forebridge and the other is thought to have struck further aft. She then steamed round the Bismarck’s bow and at 1036 fired another torpedo into her port side at a range of 2,600 yards. This was the final blow; the great German battleship heeled over quickly to port and commenced to sink by the stern. The hull turned over keel up and disappeared at 1040.
The Dorsetshire closed and signalled to one of the Ark Royal’s aircraft to carry out a close submarine patrol whilst she picked up survivors, at the same time directing the Maori to assist in this difficult task. The ship was rolling heavily in a very steep sea, but rafts, buoys, hawsers and life lines were thrown over the side. After about 80 men had been hauled onboard, a suspicious smoky discharge was observed about 2 miles away on the leeward beam. In view of this and other indications that hostile aircraft and submarines were probably in the vicinity,78 the Dorsetshire reluctantly left the scene of the sinking. A total of 110 survivors including four officers were picked up by the Dorsetshire and Maori. A further 100 are said to have been picked up by the German fishing vessel Sachsenwald, operating as a weather reporting ship from Bordeaux. The Spanish cruiser Canarias also proceeded to the spot but found only floating bodies.
78. See S.35, footnote.