Stefan7litre wrote:Attempting to go back through the Strait would have been bad idea I believe.
Agreed.
Engaging in battle with British Ships was a mistake (damage and fuel leak). If I were Admiral Johann Günther Lütjens, I would have played hide and seek a little longer, maintaining radio silence.
As already just pointed out, Lutjens had the action forced on him, he had no option to turn away and avoid it. I would go further and suggest that Lutjens delay in giving Lindemann permission to fire turned out to be a mistake in the light of Hood blowing up so quickly - had Bismarck opened fire at the same time as or just before Hood opened fire then Prince of Wales would have had less time to fire on Bismarck prior to coming under Bismarck's fire - with the possibility of all three of the POW's hits simply not happening.
The Bismarck would out run anything the British had at the time.
Not quite. KGV and Repulse could match Bismarck's speed. But had Lutjens fully fuelled Bismarck at either Bergen or from the Weissenburg then the fuel situation post wngagement with Holland would not have been such a problem.
''Give me a Ping and one Ping only'' - Sean Connery.