I have retyped part of Brooke's description to remind people of what was actually seen, but it is still being ignored to be replaced by constructed/imagined "mist":
Having sailed in high latitudes I can personally confirm this kind of gin-clear atmosphere is not unusual. In Busch's account is described the sight of mountains of Greenland as seen from PG, lifted by the cold water mirage (still being denied by some) and which must have been many tens of miles away. So it is not true to say:Something suddenly came up over the horizon to grow slowly but distinctly ; the top of a mast. Then a little to its left something else. I shall never forget the thrill of that moment. A squat grey lump on a stalk, with bars protruding each side- the Bismarck's main armament director.
Dunmunro's point that since Brooke knew afterwards that the first thing he saw was Bismarck and that the forward director tracked Bismarck from its higher position is also clear. He did not need to see two German ships together to know that the right hand one, the first one which became visible to him, as so graphically described, was Bismarck.even when visibility is very good, mist is not totally absent
From the plans I have looked at, PoW's crow's nest is not at 50m above sea level, that is masthead level, where the Type 271 radar aerials are. The unfortunate Knocker White would have had his gonads microwaved up there. One unidentified vessel was initially reported, and the first vessel Brooke saw was the one which continued to be his target, Bismarck.
Once again a speculative track for Bismarck, with a speculative speed...…………………...
is supposed to prove the single unidentified ship of the first report could not be Bismarck. If the supposed speed is wrong it could have been, if the course adopted was not arrow straight, it could have been. The only evidence to support this is two entirely different bearing pairs on different objects both logged, although not necessarily occurring, at 06:00 and one of which is not even recorded numerically, but derived from a useless and worthless map, one which was supposed to have been replaced over its inaccuracies. This mathematically derived opinion/speculation, based on an assumption of an arrow straight track on one side and unknown timing of course changes and consequent speed loss is supposed to overturn the direct witness statement of Geoffrey Brooke, the man who had Bismarck in his gunsight.when traced back for 23 minutes until 05:37 with a straight line at average 27-28 knots speed will be at around 337° T bearing from the PoW position at 05:37, ... based on the PoW known sailed track at 28 knots average
Whilst we are discussing this matter here, lurking below the horizon, like Prinz Eugen's invisible topmast is the unproven assertion that large parts of the factual reports (only of course the British ones) of what happened are actually deliberately falsified.
Evidence of the quality of the mathematical geometrical rigour being applied is a pair of derived bearings expressed to a tenth of a degree which do not even point at the centres of the rather crude triangular or square representations of their targets on an explanatory sketch created months later without any pretence at such mathematical precision.just as we did with the mirage occurrence time ago, ...to discover later that the mirage effect was an invention and Capt Ellis with his warship was in a very different situation on that moment based on his own autobiography,
Looking forward with enthusiasm to what we may discover in the New Year especially if the mysteries and inconsistencies of the Denmark Straits are made clearer when/if Jasper 's real gunnery report becomes available.
All the best
wadinga