73 Years ago,today...

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RNfanDan
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73 Years ago,today...

Post by RNfanDan »

Bismarck met her end on this date, 27 May, after a short but very eventful service career.
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frontkampfer
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Re: 73 Years ago,today...

Post by frontkampfer »

May they Rest in Peace!
"I will not have my ship shot out from under my ass!"
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Alberto Virtuani
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Re: 73 Years ago,today...

Post by Alberto Virtuani »

Today I stand up to remember all the German sailors who died on board the BS (as well as the British ones who died on board the Hood and the PoW on May 24).

May they rest in peace and may peace be preserved !

Bye, Alberto
"It takes three years to build a ship; it takes three centuries to build a tradition" (Adm.A.B.Cunningham)

"There's always a danger running in the enemy at close range" (Adm.W.F.Wake-Walker)
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Dave Saxton
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Re: 73 Years ago,today...

Post by Dave Saxton »

...As well as the Commonwealth men who gave their lives in this episode. May young Germans and young Brits never go to war as foes again. If they ever do need to go to war again, let it be as comrades in the pursuit of peace, justice, and mercy.
Entering a night sea battle is an awesome business.The enveloping darkness, hiding the enemy's.. seems a living thing, malignant and oppressive.Swishing water at the bow and stern mark an inexorable advance toward an unknown destiny.
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Antonio Bonomi
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Re: 73 Years ago,today...

Post by Antonio Bonomi »

Hello everybody,


:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:


Bye Antonio :D
In order to honor a soldier, we have to tell the truth about what happened over there. The whole, hard, cold truth. And until we do that, we dishonor her and every soldier who died, who gave their life for their country. ( Courage Under Fire )
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paulcadogan
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Re: 73 Years ago,today...

Post by paulcadogan »

Remembering that over 3,500 men died over those several days - on Hood, Bismarck, Prince of Wales, Sheffield, and not to forget Mashona.

We honour those who died, we give thanks for those who lived to tell the tale so we can know and feel what happened.

We remember all the AWESOME ships, the likes of which will never be seen again....
Qui invidet minor est - He who envies is the lesser man
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paulcadogan
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Re: 73 Years ago,today...

Post by paulcadogan »

Hi all,

I have something I'd like to share with you all.

Over the past week and a half, for family and friends, I did a blow-by-blow, running e-mail accounting of the Bismarck chase with daily updates of what happened in 1941.

(You may or may not have realized that the days of the week this year are the same as they were then - e.g May 27, 1941 was a Tuesday etc. - so it made it even more interesting.)

One friend could not bear the "suspense" - with the "To Be Continued" at the end of each day's update. Another said the story was simply riveting...

But my 99-year old father - for whom I printed the daily updates - who lived through those days here in Kingston, Jamaica and remembers the total shock and disbelief here when the news of Hood's destruction broke, wrote this commentary:
As her "last days" came upon her, the Bismarck was traveling at low speed with her rudders stuck in one direction, with her deck structures and her turrets smashed and useless, her stern section broken and letting in the sea - all showing the "end" was near. The defiant crew began to work the scuttling device and began abandoning ship. It was over.

Bismarck was all alone and facing the onslaught of the British ships - King George V, Rodney, Norfolk, Dorsetshire charging down with their big guns, while the Ark Royal with her Swordfish planes was near and Renown with sundry destroyers was in the offing. They were all intent on ONE THING - YOU'VE GOT TO SINK THE BISMARCK.

So it was that the doomed Bismarck sank and went deeper and deeper into the depth of the ocean, down to some 15,000 feet to rest at length on the side of an undersea mountain, with her battered hull still in shape.

How Bismarck came to her death shows the formidable "Ship of War" she was made to be. Her design and structure and the durable material from which she was made, and the quality and quantity of her equipment must all be considered to be at the level of excellence. Further, the management and efficiency of her crew as challenged and drawn out by that excellence.

But as the basic universal is that there is an END for all BEGINNINGS, and there is DEATH to end LIFE, this "wonder ship" Bismarck had to come to her end sooner or later. She had her life, its service, its purpose, its execution for which it was built and for which there would be an end. When the end came it was woe and regret for her German nation and for the British and their Allies it was gladness and satisfaction.
Claude L. Cadogan, May 28, 2014
Qui invidet minor est - He who envies is the lesser man
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