BS at 14° West

[costas]

This is a VERY hypothetical scenario, borders with mythology/fantasy, but let's explore one more "what if" case:

Let's suppose that:
1. despite the jammed rudders the Bismarck somehow manages to reach the 14° West, i.e. the edge of the air coverage.
(e.g. the wind direction changed, adjusting propeller rpms etc. etc.)
AND
2. The pursuing fleet(s) are able to catch up with Bismarck and could reach the 14°West but the fuel situation is exactly
the same as it was in reality in the 27 May 1941.

In short, suppose that the final battle took place at 48º 10' North, 14º 00' West instead of 48º 10' North, 16º 12' West and
everything else remains unchanged.

Then:
a. Would it be possible (or in other words worth the risk) to attempt to sink the Bismarck?
b. Could Bismarck be saved if she could reach 14°W? ("saved" in this context means afloat/not sunk, no matter the damage)

[lwd]

IMO
a) Yes it would still be possible and worth the risk to sink the Bismarck.
b) It's possible she could have been saved in this scenario but it would take a considerable amount of luck.

[costas]

OK, possible, but why 'a considerable amount of luck' ?

At that point the Bismarck was within the range of Bombers and other planers, I think Tovey's forces couldn't stay there for long,
or at least not for long enough (more that 35 to 45 minutes) to wait to see the Bismarck sink.

IMO if Bismarck could reach the 14°W then, probably, she would be safe or at least not in danger of sinking/scuttling.
I speculate that Bismarck was a valuable ship and the Luftwaffe Chiefs could afford the airplanes needed to support Bismarck.
I speculate that Tovey wouldn't put his forces in danger for more time than necessary.
I can substantiate none of the above and I haven't taken in to account the position of any British submarines in the area.

[alecsandros]

One big problem would be to actualy bring BS to port.
Historicaly, she was doing 7kts and had both rudders jamed. I think the ship needed to be towed, somehow, from 14* West to Brest. She would probably be in range of British bombers and torpedo planes throughout the journey to Brest... Which could last a few looong days.

So the luck factors, IMO, would comprise of:
- not being catastrophicaly damaged by Rodney/KGV/heavy cruisers group
- not being sunk by British planes

[lwd]

I seem to recall reading that there were usually British subs stationed off Brest as well. I'm not at all convinced the LW at that range could keep the British ships off Bismarck. They likely would have inflicted some damage but not enough to prevent Bismarck receiving considerably more. The RN could have launched at least one more torpedo strike vs Bismarck as well. Whether the LW could intercept it would also be a matter of some luck.

[dunmunro]

I seem to recall reading that there were usually British subs stationed off Brest as well. I'm not at all convinced the LW at that range could keep the British ships off Bismarck. They likely would have inflicted some damage but not enough to prevent Bismarck receiving considerably more. The RN could have launched at least one more torpedo strike vs Bismarck as well. Whether the LW could intercept it would also be a matter of some luck.

Ark Royal could also provide CAP with her Fulmars.