Wednesday, May 21
Stopover in Norway
German sailors on deck near the aftermost turret “Dora” on Bismarck (German Federal Archives)
Just after midnight at 0058 Admiral Lutjens received the latest reconnaissance reports from the Luftwaffe, informing him that a substantial force was stationed in Scapa Flow. Electing to take advantage of what little time remained under friendly air cover to get in some last minute drills. These commenced at 0300, and wound continue until 0500, while the task force continued to make its way northward.
At 0645 Bismarck received word from German Naval Intelligence (B-Dienst) that the RAF had dispatched reconnaissance units to search for the task force along the Norwegian coast. This was followed at 0705 by a report from Prinz Eugen, whose spotters had sighted four unknown aircraft, which had quickly disappeared again. There was little cause for concern at this time, as the task force was screened by both destroyers and Luftwaffe fighter aircraft, but the detection of the force by the British was becoming apparent.
Bismarck arrives in Norway, as seen from Prinz Eugen (US Navy)
At 1200 the Germans reached their first destination, with Bismarck dropping anchor in the Grimstadfjord, while Prince Eugen moved to the nearby Kalvanes Bay to bunker fuel oil. The escorting destroyers were detached and sent on to the naval base at Bergen.
A Photo Recon Spitfire in flight (Royal Air Force)
Meanwhile, at RAF Wick in Scotland, a Spitfire photoreconnaissance plane took off with Lieutenant Michael Suckling at the controls. After an unfruitful patrol over the Norwegian coast, Lieutenant Suckling decided to do a sweep over the Kriegsmarine base at Bergen before turning back to base. Operating at extreme altitude, the Germans were not able to detect his presence, and after taking photos of the Fjords he made for Wick, landing without incident. Development of the photos was conclusive: Bismarck had been found.
Lieutenant Suckling’s photo of Grimstadfjord, with Bismarck visible on the right (Royal Air Force)
With these photographs the British now confirmed that Bismarck had sortied, and information came later at 1828 from ULTRA that decrypted Enigma transmissions confirmed that the Germans had taken on prize crews. Thus the sortie was confirmed and so was its mission to raid Atlantic convoys.
At 1930 the Germans weigh anchor and sail out of the fjord, Prinz Eugen having topped off her tanks while Bismarck did not. This decision could be risky, but Admiral Lutjens was not one to share his plans even with the captains of his ships. The Bismarck had also been repainted while in Bergen, the disruptive stripes on the hull covered over with standard Kriegsmarine grey, although the false wake near the waterline on the bow was retained. Shortly after the task force departed, RAF bombers attacked the fjord. In the dark of the night, the Germans made course due north, with the last escorting destroyers breaking off at midnight.
Task force sails toward Bergen
Task force puts into the fjords near Bergen to refuel Prinz Eugen. Here they are spotted by an RAF recon plane
Task force sails north to the Arctic