As Me109s from 3./JG77, and Me110s from ZG76, provide aerial
cover, the pride of the Kriegsmarine – the battleship Bismarck
- together with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, destroyers Z10
Hans Lody (left) and Z16 Friedrich Eckholdt (right), and a supporting
escort fleet break out from Norwegian waters into the open sea
on the evening of 21 May 1941.
Heading for the rich pickings of the North Atlantic convoy routes,
her ill-fated voyage would last only a few days. After a shattering
victory over HMS Hood, Bismarck was caught and sunk by the Royal
Navy’s Home Fleet a few days later on 27 May 1941. There
were just 115 survivors from her complement of over 2000 men.
Signed by ZG76 pilot Karl-Fritz Schlosstein. |