Battleship Bismarck by Simon Atack

With her raked bow proudly slicing through the morning swell of Norwegian waters, the mighty 41,000 ton battleship Bismarck leads her consort, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, with destroyers Z-IO, Z-16 and Z-23 among her escorts, into the approaches to Korsfjord near Bergen, at 0800 hrs on 21 May, 1941. Aboard, Bismarck's captain Ernst Lindemann was plotting a voyage that was to result in one of the greatest epics in the annals of naval warfare.

As they steam towards Grimstadtfjord, an Arado Ar 196 A-2 floatplane gives a fly-by salute to the flotilla, this aircraft serving with 1./ Bordfliegerstaffel 196 which, together with 5./196 was responsible for providing aircraft for German naval vessels. Operated by Luftwaffe crews, and affectionately known as "Eyes of the Fleet", the Arado 196 was specially designed for shipboard operation with an airframe sturdy enough to withstand the rigours of catapult launching it was a highly effective armed reconnaissance aircraft. Bismarck carried no fewer than four Arado 196 floatplanes, one always at readiness on the catapult, with three in hangars aft of the funnel. As she sailed, a reconnaissance Spitfire had spotted Bismarck's movements and the British Home Fleet were alerted. The old battle-cruiser Hood and new battleship Prince of Wales were dispatched north-west from Scapa Flow to join the cruisers Norfolk and Suffolk in the Denmark Straits for a possible interception. And the rest is history: as Bismarck entered the Denmark Strait the two forces met. Hood, pride of the Royal Navy, received a direct hit in the ammunition magazine by a shell from Bismarck and sank so quickly that only three of her crew survived. Stunned by such severe loss, Churchill ordered the Bismarck to be sunk at all cost. Hunted down by the Home Fleet, with her rudder damaged and unable to steer, Bismarck was reduced to a mass of twisted steel by British naval gunfire, finally rolling over and sinking at 10:45 in the morning of 27 May. Thus ended one of the most compelling sea chases in naval history.

Simon Atack's expansive painting of the battleship Bismarck conveys all the power and majesty of one of the mightiest warships ever built. The artist's love of ships and the sea shines through in this stunning portrayal, and his expertise with the brush and knowledge of his subject is self evident in what can only be described as a truly magnificent naval maritime painting.

Overall Print Size: 31" wide x 23 1/2" high.

Image Size: 24 1/2" wide x 16" high.

Battleship Bismarck by Simon Atack
500 s/n prints w/ THREE signatures.	US $150

Stoker 1st Class Otto Peters
Born in Hamburg in 1919, Otto Peters joined the Kriegsmarine in April 1939, and attended the Naval Training School at Kiel. Posted to Bismarck in April 1941, he was one of the first to join the crew at the Blohm and Voss shipyard in his hometown of Hamburg. As a leading stoker, engineer Otto was on fire-watch when he heard over Bismarck's internal radio that the Royal Navy had "undertaken all necessary efforts to sink the Bismarck", and recalls that he knew at once that their days were numbered. As Bismarck went down, Otto was one of the piteously few survivors to be rescued, being picked up by the cruiser HMS Dorsetshire. There were only 115 survivors, well over 2000 of his shipmates had perished. He spent the remainder of the war in captivity.

Unteroffizier Heinrich Kuhnt
Heinrich joined the cruiser Karlsruhe in July 1937, and served on her until she was put out of action by the submarine HMS Truant in Kristiansand Fjord. He was immediately sent to join the Bismarck, serving as a Petty Officer in the turbine room, and with Otto Peters he was picked up by the cruiser HMS Dorsetshire. He remained in captivity until the end of the war.

Matrosengefreiter Willi Treinies
Willi was called up into the Kreigsmarine in 1940. After training he was posted to join his first and only ship, the Bismarck, where he served in the ship's 15cm artillery and ammunition magazine, until she was sunk on 27 May, 1941. One of a tiny handful of men from the magazines to survive, Willi spent the remainder of the war as a P.O.W.