Voyage Into Destiny

Leaving the port of Gdynia on May 18, 1941, two large German warships stealthily zigzagged their way up the coast of Norway at the outset of what was to become one of the shortest, most fiercely fought naval contests of the Second World War. "Operation Rheinubung" was under way. With Fleet Commander Admiral Lutjens on the bridge, the brand new battleship Bismarck would leave the relative safety of the Norwegian fjords, destined for the busy shipping lanes in the Atlantic.

After refueling, and in company with the battlecruiser Prinz Eugen, on May 21 the two heavily armed warships headed for the Denmark Strait and out into wide expanse of the Atlantic. Bound for the active convoy routes, Bismarck would play havoc with vital Allied merchant shipping. Faster than almost any warship afloat, the magnificent new 42,000 ton monster's awesome firepower would prove no match for the lightly protected merchantmen or their escorts, as they laboriously plied their desperately needed cargo across the ocean towards Europe. It seemed she was invincible.

Within three days of sailing, Bismarck's first encounter was a triumph! Intercepted south west of Iceland by the British Home Fleet, the German battleship's gunners went into action for the first time, their second and third salvos striking the battlecruiser Hood. She exploded and sank in three minutes. But Bismarck's success brought the wrath of the Royal Navy upon her and just three days later, on morning of May 27, with her rudder damaged by a torpedo, the pride of the German Navy fell to the guns of the British Home Fleet. Outnumbered, she fought bravely, but succumbed, the magnificent new battleship's active war lasting less than a week.

Robert Taylor's atmospheric painting shows Bismarck off the coast of Norway at the start of "Operation Rheinubung". Under the watchful eye of Jagdeschwader 77's Me109 fighters, in company with the battlecruiser Prinz Eugen, and destroyers Hans Lody and Z23, Germany's magnificent new battleship Bismarck is seen maneuvering near Korsfjord Bergen on May 21, 1941. That evening, with Prinz Eugen, she will leave for Arctic waters, the Denmark Strait, the Atlantic, and destiny. Within days the pride of the German Kriegsmarine will have passed into history.

Joining celebrated artist Robert Taylor in hand-signing each print in pencil, every copy is authenticated by two highly respected Luftwaffe pilots who flew in the Norwegian Theater, together with a veteran survivor from the battleship Bismarck.

Hauptmann Hugo Dahmer
Hugo Dahmer scored his first victory in May 1940 when he was a young Unteroffizier with 6./JG26 on the Channel front., and was one of II Gruppes most successful pilots. In February 1941 he transferred to 1./JG77 in Norway, later re-named JG5 and was awarded the Knight's Cross in this northern theater in August 1941. Briefly rejoining JG26 again on the Channel Front in December 1942, he transferred to III./JG2 in early 1943. In October of that year he was seriously wounded and withdrew from active combat, becoming a top instructor specializing in R4/M Rockets. Awarded the Knight's Cross, he flew a total of 307 combat missions and scored 57 victories.

Oberleutnant Ernst Scheufele
Joining the Luftwaffe in October 1940, Ernst Scheufele went straight into pilot training. On gaining his wings he was posted, in June 1942, to 4./JG5 in Norway. There, flying the Messerschmidt Bf109, he carried out a total 67 escort missions for the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, and later for the Tirpitz. In October 1943 he joined II./JG5, flying over Arctic waters, in Finland, and on the Russian Front, before transferring in June 1944 to defense of the Reich. On 3 December 1944 he was shot down by an American flak battery near Saxony, wounded and taken prisoner. He had scored a total of 18 victories.

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.