Bismarck saga -- blasted

HMS Rodney (right) blasts the Bismarck (shrouded in smoke at left)

At 9:02 a.m. the forward turrets on the Bismarck are knocked out and over the next 25 minutes the Bismarck is hit repeatedly large shells from the Rodney and the KGV and 8-inch shells from the heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk..

At 9:15 a.m. the Rodney closes to just 6 miles from the Bismarck, an indication of how ineffective the Bismarck's reurn fire was becoming.

At 9:27 a.m. the Bismarck's "Dora" turret is knocked out.

At 9:30 the Bismarck's guns are silenced and the ship is blazing.

At 9:40 a.m. the heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire joins in the pummeling of the Bismarck.

At 10:15 a.m. Adm. Tovey orders the Rodney and KGV to break off. The battleships are critically low on fuel and have just enough to make it back to port. It's evident that gunfire alone will not be enough to sink the Bismarck, so the Dorsetshire is orderd to use torpedos to finish it off.