Ciao Bob and all,
I am glad I was able to diverge your current attention from an old map of mine ( that is what I thought due to your statements ) to a current one I am working on.
YES, you got the key points changed correctly now.
That old map, and the whole Denmark Strait re-construction posted on the website you referred to is now to be considered obsolete.
Soon I will be able to provide the English translation of my current version which as been printed on STORIA MILITARE last December in Italian, ( with updates available on next April issue ), so everybody will be able to see my latest map you have and read the whole story.
Initially, I thought like almost everybody that Bismarck was sailing on Prinz Eugen port side on this phase of the battle ( 05.55 till 06.03 ).
My erroneous assumption was mainly due to my first evaluation of Nh 69730 ( the flash effect photo ), and I think this is probably still valid for you currently.
This photo :
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/imag ... h69730.jpg
But after we ( it was not my initial finding ) discovered that on the photo there is the Prinz Eugen wake clearly visible ( from Bismarck bow till the right end of the photo on the horizon line ).
This finding of course changed completely the position of Prinz Eugen compared to Bismarck, and the positioning of the photo during the battle.
The Prinz Eugen 105 mm gun barrels analysis ( done by another person, so it was a team work ) confirmed the evaluation and helped the assesment that Prinz Eugen was really sailing from right to left on that photo, according to her own battle map at 06.08 more or less.
Without that photo there was nothing else to be used to assume that on that battle phase ( 05.55 till 06.03 ) Bismarck was sailing on Prinz Eugen port side.
Sorry, but on PoW salvo plot map there is NOT the reference of Bismarck track compared to Prinz Eugen.
So you cannot use it to position the Bismarck track showed in there in relation to Prinz Eugen track showed only on his own battle map.
Otherwise I was never going to make the earlier mistake of course.
This said, that discovery opened the possibilities to any of the 3 available run done by Bismarck following Prinz Eugen astern : on Port side, directly on the wake of Prinz Eugen or starboard side astern !
Just as I showed time ago as well on a map called ' the 3 options map '.
Than last May on Bundesarchiv-Koblenz I found that B/W photo, showing Ltnt Schmitz-Westerholt painture.
That explained to me the whole scenario
.
Ulrich Rudofsky after was able to bring out also the colour version and the painture story and the very important related informations that do provide the highest credibility to the painture itself
.
Here the link to the post we wrote time ago :
viewtopic.php?t=280
That painture is as important as a photo
.
It as been made by a battle witness at work on board Prinz Eugen for that pourpose and owned by such important personalities ( OberKommando of Kriegsmarine and after Admiral Lutjens family ).
I read above that you now realized were Bismarck is positioned compared to Prinz Eugen at 06.00 when Hood exploded as the painture shows.
That painture is simply excellent as Ltnt Schmitz-Westerholt positioned the view point behind Bismarck, astern starboard, in order to be able to show the whole battle scenario, with all the key 4 ships ( Bismarck, Prinz Eugen, Hood and Prince of Wales ) clearly showed at 06.00.
But as you easily realize now, for us what counts is the Bismarck position compared to Prinz Eugen, that was my doubt on the 3 options map.
Without any doubt, as Prinz Eugen wake is clearly painted on Bismarck port side, Bismarck sailed on Prinz Eugen starboard side astern.
So thanking a painture of a battle witness telling us how things really went, we can now make our selection and correctly position the 2 German ship tracks.
There are several post you probably missed to read were this is explained, but it is not a problem, now you got it right as said.
Now I am sure you understand better my current evaluation of this battle phase written above .
At 05.55 I assume 2300-2500 meters between Prinz Eugen on the lead and Bismarck on her wake astern moving to starboard.
Than I assume a Bismarck starboard run ( with zig-zag to avoid shells as PoW salvo plot shows 212, than 195, than 226, than 272 degrees course by Bismarck ), and I assume a 'theoretical straight ' run on graphics as I do not know really what happened ( I could have placed the exact PoW plot Bismarck track in scale, but on that small graphic map we decided not to do it ).
And finally as I wrote you I am currently assuming a 1500-1600 meters distance between Prinz Eugen and Bismarck when the PG Rheinubung film starts and photos like Nh 69728 were taken, at 06.04.
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/imag ... h69728.jpg
With both German ships on course 270 west as you can verify on my map and as PoW salvo plot you refer to shows as well.
But now I have found other 2 Prince of Wales official battle maps showing that 270 course track as well.
Summarizing, 2300-2500 minus 1500-1600 makes a delta of 700 ( best case 2300-1600 ) or 1000 ( worst case 2500-1500 ) meters between my 2 evaluation points.
Sorry for some not precise proportions on the map, but you can easily realize the graphic needs, the map is very small and not done for this purpose.
Now you have a gap of 700-1000 meters compensated by delta speed of 27 vs 30+ knots within 9-10 minutes by Bismarck on Prinz Eugen.
As said the 2 ships were surely not running a straight course, but doing zig-zag to avoid enemy salvoes ( PoW salvo plot shows some from Bismarck confirming it ).
You can read on PoW gunnery report that British ships obviously were doing exactly same things
:
'' It had been decided after Prince of Wales' last firing to use a 200-yard as opposed to a 100-yard zigzag, as the spreads were in the nature of 350 yards ''.
http://www.hmshood.org.uk/reference/off ... 9guns.html
So now the real evaluation comes down to realize what Prinz Eugen under Hood main guns fire did as zig-zag, what Bismarck really did for zig-zag, and how that played on the overall ' theoretical straight ' run on 220 course closing ratio till the starboard turn at 06.03 on course 270 west due to the torpedo ALARM by Prinz Eugen.
You know like I do that at 27 knots ( Prinz Eugen speed ) versus 30 knots ( for Bismarck speed ) the delta closure is 93 meters each minute, so on 10 minutes 930 meters.
As you can see well inside the gap we need to explain.
I am still using Bismarck at 30 knots when Bismarck could have sailed a bit faster.
But I wanted you to have my current whole scenario clear.
That is why I added the zig-zag surely occurred, and be sure that in order NOT to be hit by Hood, the very ' worried ' Kpt Brinkmann ( and I justify him completely
) not only used the depth charges as I have demonstrated with the photos, but turned a lot and succesfully to confuse both Hood spotters and first artillery director and avoid the 15 inches ( 380 mm ) directed to his cruiser.
As you can see no discrepancies from my side, clear distances and explanations for every evaluation than translated to a map ( with normal graphic limits tolerances ).
Margins are still available like Bismarck speed and best vs worst distances scenario.
I have no need nor intention to distort anything to protect my previous works, and as you can easily realize yourself there is embedded the confirmation of some initial failures from my side.
This is the true spirit of an history researcher, not blindly defend what you realize been wrong because you made it time ago, but update your work according to verified evidences and continue the research.
Who does the work can fail, who does nothing do not run this risk.
I am on the first group
.
Any clever person will understand and I am not afraid of any judgement on my works as they are all done with the correct spirit and intentions.
I am sure we are not finished, and as I wrote you just on 2 months I had some corrections to be made on my December article due to new recent findings.
But I am sure this is also your spirit and after having evaluated all the new evidences you have obtained recently you will be able to evolve your way to look at this battle too.
Ciao Antonio