Battle of Hood vs. Bismarck (December 1941)

In late 1941, following an abortive attempt at a breakout in May the Bismarck, escorted by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, sortied into the Atlantic. In the Denmark Strait the two German vessels were intercepted by the British battlecruiser Hood and battleship Prince of Wales. The British and German ships closed with each other and the battle of the Denmark Strait began.

Outnumbering the Germans in terms of heavy guns it might have been expected that the Bismarck was overmatched, but the German vessel was brand new, while the British ships, especially the Hood were either ageing or so new as to be suffering teething problems. Early on in the battle the Prince of Wales was hit in her engineering section and brought to a standstill. The Hood closed to avoid plunging fire but the accuracy of the German gunnery was devastating. After less than an hour of fighting the legendary Hood was sunk.

The battle wasn't over however. The combined fire of the British vessels had slowed the Bismarck to a crawl and caused her significant damage. The Prince of Wales and Bismarck, both unable to disengage, now participated in a macabre duel, until finally the Bismarck succumbed, sinking slowly into the cold North Atlantic.

The Prince of Wales, heavily damaged, was not to escape the victor however. Having been largely left unmolested during the battle and sensing the British battleship was unable to manoeuvre, the Prinz Eugen moved in for the kill. At short range she pummled the Prince of Wales until the British battleship was little more than a burning hulk. The remaining crew abandoned her and she sank sometime during the ensuing night.

The battle of the Denmark Strait was viewed as unacceptable to both sides. A gunnery duel between giants that seemed to hark back to the previous war, the battle had left neither side the victor. The Bismarck had been prevented from commerce raiding, but the British had lost two capital ships in the process. It was clear that neither side would accept such an encounter on equal terms again unless they had no choice...

Order of Battle:

Great Britain
 - Battlecruiser Hood SUNK
 - Battleship Prince of Wales SUNK

Germany
 - Battleship Bismarck SUNK
 - Cruiser Prinz Eugen

**Historical note: The Bismarck sunk the Hood but was sunk in turn after the Royal Navy expended all their energies to sink her. In our encounter, the Prince of Wales and Hood managed to take down the mighty German Battleship, with Prinz Eugen finishing off the British!