Happy and Glorious.

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Devolved

Happy and Glorious

continued


'Operation Rheinubung' was the codename for the operation that Admiral Raeder hoped would be both the redemption of the surface fleet and the good name of the Kriegsmarine.

He was livid when he heard that Hollywood had already begun pre production of a movie called 'Worthy of Renown' with Walter Pidgeon cast as the the British Admiral Whitworth and Conrad Veidt as Admiral Lutjens. The movie was supposed to be a 'true account' of the sinking of the Scharnhorst and the fleeing of he Gneisenau!! So far Hitler had not mentioned this in their increasingly short conversations.

He was also aware that the U Boats were coming into their own. Obviously he was pleased about that but he couldn't help but feel uneasy about the effect this was having on the public perception of the surface fleet and above all on Hitler himself.


Aboard HMS Hood Admiral Holland re read the report from HMS Suffolk to make sure he wasn't imagining things. The look through his binoculars confirmed he wasn't.

"Send a messsage to Captain Leach. Tell him we will shadow until the sea calms enough for the aircraft to be launched. Issue new instructions to Wake-Walker of 1st cruiser squadron. Shadow enemy ships, stay close and forget about radio silence they have already seen us"

"Yes sir"

"Wait. Inform Admiral Tovey we have the enemy in sight and they us. Identified two capital ships and one heavy cruiser. Believe them to be Bismarck, Prinz Eugen and Gneisenau. Repeat, Bismarck, Prinz Eugen and Gneisenau"

TBC
 
Cymraeg

Cymraeg

This promises to be a bare-knuckle brawl. If Hood and PoW hang back while the Swordfish go in, then even if just one of the German ships is damaged (and the Kriegsmarine had a great deal of trouble with the welds on the sterns of their ships for some bizarre reason) they'll have to slow down, allowing the Home Fleet to concentrate.
 

sharlin

Banned
Also don't forget the Norfolk and Suffolk. In the OTL battle neither took part but they could have and now with the PoW, Hood, Norfolk, Suffolk and Glorious and any escorting DDs the RN should have enough to be able to deal with the Germans. Barring any golden BB's from the Bismark of course.
 

Devolved

Happy and Glorious

continued


Admiral Wilhelm Marschall had felt an enormous sense of pride as he hoisted his flag aboard the Bismarck and as he put to sea he felt like a true admiral.

The Bismarck was the finest ship afloat (or so he was told) and he knew he (Bismarck couldn't be thought of as a she) could take on any ship the British had. With him he had the finest ships of the fleet. The Gneisenau was behind him and the Prinz Eugen led the way. The Admiral Hipper was set to join him off Iceland. Together they would destroy the Atlantic convoys sink any escorts including any R class British battleship that the Royal Navy were now using as protection and open up the Atlantic to the U Boats as never before.

It was the most powerful naval force Germany had assembled since 1918 and HE was leading them. He tried not to think that if Lutjens were still alive it would be him leading this force but then again if Lutjens were alive and the Scharnhorst still afloat would Admiral Raeder have sent such a large force into the Atlantic? He thought probably not.

He was puzzled that he had not been sent a 'good hunting' message from Hitler. Was the rumour that Hitler didn't know about the mission true? Surely Raeder wouldn't have kept something like this from the Fuhrer!

He received the news of the two British cruisers in silence. He hadn't expected to be found so soon. Perhaps it was just a piece of luck on the part of the British and that the capital ships would still be in Scapa Flow counting seagulls. Then he was told about the Hood and a KGV class ship coming into view.

So, it wasn't a coinincidence. The British knew he was out here in the cold icy waters off Iceland. How many more ships would now be out there waiting for him?

Captain Lindemann had ordered action stations and was keen to get to grips with the British force. Marschall, however, ordered Lindemann not to fire and to alter course with the hope of losing the ships in the coming darkness.

TBC
 

Devolved

sharlin said:
Radar guided night attack coming in perhaps with the Glorious's Swordfish?
Click to expand...

I'm starting to worry. Maybe I am making the coming battle too big.

There's alot of technical stuff to bear in mind and lots of poor sailors going to meet their maker.
 

El Pip

sharlin said:
Radar guided night attack coming in perhaps with the Glorious's Swordfish?
Click to expand...
Depends on the weather and moon. Radar can point the aircraft in the right direction but I believe they'll need moonlight for an attack.

No idea on what the state of the moon and the weather was at that time, so I guess it will be whatever is most convenient for the TL and battle Devolved wants to write. ;)
 

Devolved

El Pip said:
Depends on the weather and moon. Radar can point the aircraft in the right direction but I believe they'll need moonlight for an attack.

No idea on what the state of the moon and the weather was at that time, so I guess it will be whatever is most convenient for the TL and battle Devolved wants to write. ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the radar info. I hadn't thought about a swordfish night attack because although the Taranto raid was at night it was against a fully mapped out harbour with dispositions of the ships already identified in advance. I don't think the RN would launch an air strike at night in rough conditions against a moving target unless it was an emergency.

The battle hasn't yet started so no emergency.
 
Thande

Thande

Donor
This kind of naval scenario is a very longstanding and traditional part of AH, going back to the Soc.history.what-if days. We haven't had it on AH.com for a while, and while it's not my cup of tea, I praise you for bringing it back.

How do the British know the Germans are coming--radar, ULTRA intercepts?
 

sharlin

Banned
After Jutland the RN practiced like mad on night fighting and the swordfish was able to be guided by ASV in night attacks. The RN practiced a lot and Glorious was one of the carriers where the pioneering work was carried out.
 

Devolved

Thande said:
This kind of naval scenario is a very longstanding and traditional part of AH, going back to the Soc.history.what-if days. We haven't had it on AH.com for a while, and while it's not my cup of tea, I praise you for bringing it back.

How do the British know the Germans are coming--radar, ULTRA intercepts?
Click to expand...

OTL the Swedish attache, then the Norwegian resistance plus ULTRA...I think. Then a spitfire flew over the Norwegian fjord where the Bismarck was waiting to make its move. I think the spitfire reconaissance photograph was a cover so that they wouldn't have to explain ULTRA. I see no reason to tamper with that. I could be mischevious and say that Admiral Canaris sent a telegram to Churchill but I won't.
 

El Pip

sharlin said:
After Jutland the RN practiced like mad on night fighting and the swordfish was able to be guided by ASV in night attacks. The RN practiced a lot and Glorious was one of the carriers where the pioneering work was carried out.
Click to expand...
The ASV radar at the time had a minimum range of 1mile, nearer than that it didn't work. So its good enough to get the general location, but going in blind from 1 mile out against a moving target in the dark just isn't going to work.

A Swordfish attack would need moonlight (or a target kind enough to leave running lights on) to have a reasonable chance of success. Not that just anyone could launch a night attack even with the moon on side, it still takes a lot of practice and skill, but early radar was not a magic bullet.
 

Devolved

El Pip said:
The ASV radar at the time had a minimum range of 1mile, nearer than that it didn't work. So its good enough to get the general location, but going in blind from 1 mile out against a moving target in the dark just isn't going to work.

A Swordfish attack would need moonlight (or a target kind enough to leave running lights on) to have a reasonable chance of success.
Click to expand...

I won't send them in.
 

sharlin

Banned
Get within a mile and then use flare dropping Swordfish, that will give you the illumination you need. Bloody risky for the flare droppers mind.
 

Devolved

sharlin said:
Get within a mile and then use flare dropping Swordfish, that will give you the illumination you need. Bloody risky for the flare droppers mind.
Click to expand...

Yes quite. I also think that the squadron leader might ask "Can't it wait until morning?"
 

Devolved

Happy and Glorious

continued


Gneisenau opened fire on the Suffolk at 11.35pm. It was the first shot of what would be one of the most gruelling sea battles seen since the days of Nelson. Thousands of men would never see home again.

The Gneisenau ceased firing after 10 minutes without scoring a hit as the Suffolk turned away and pulled out of range.

Admiral Marschall had been concerned about a night attack by destroyers ever since the Hood and POW had decided to shadow instead of engage. The gunfire from the Gneisenau set his heart beating a little faster until a message informed him that they were just firing warning shots at a heavy cruiser that had strayed too close.

On the Prince of Wales Captain Leach had been frantically putting his crew through their paces. The turret crews were a worry to him. The quadruple turrets were a nightmare to operate and the crew were not up to full readiness in his opinion. He hoped that it wouldn't prove to be a decisive factor when the time comes.

On the Glorious the swordfish were being checked over. The pilots were being briefed on their mission. They knew what they had to do. Attack the Bismarck and cripple or sink it. Then return rearm and attack Gneisenau. The plan was to make sure those ships never got home. They knew they had the time and the training to do the job.

Admiral Holland had changed his battle plan twice before deciding on the following:

Swordfish torpedo attack on the Bismarck followed by a surface engagement. Dispositions were to be as follows.

Norfolk and Suffolk would engage Prinz Eugen. This would entail them working their way into position. At the moment they were closest to Gneisenau.

Prince of Wales to engage Gneisenau.

Hood engage Bismarck.

The destroyers were to make their way into the battle as best they could and attack as opportunities presented themselves.

He was told Admiral Tovey was on his way with King George V. Rodney and the carrier Victorious were also being diverted to the Denmark Strait.

Holland was as happy as he could ever be in this situation but he also had many worries. There was Prince of Wales. She was not ready for this. Then there were the swordfish. They were obsolete and would the torpedoes be enough to bring down a beast like the Bismarck. Finally there was the Hood.

The 'mighty' Hood wasn't all that mighty anymore. Admiral Holland knew this. He knew the Hood was due for a refit when the war broke out and was vulnerable to plunging fire. He wished he were sailing in the Renown. With his plans set he decided to take a short nap.

At 1.17 Holland was interrupted. He returned to the bridge and was given some disquieting news.

His destroyers were under fire from the south east. At 1.34 he was told that the ship was a heavy cruiser.

It was the Admiral Hipper. The Admiralty had said nothing about the Hipper being on the loose. Her position was just 9 miles from HMS Glorious.

TBC.
 

sharlin

Banned
Oh dear, the Glorious is either in serious trouble or she might be lucky. If the Hipper does not spot her and is driven off by gunfire then she'll be fine. If not..

She'll end out looking like this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_100710-N-4281P-799_The_ex-USS_New_Orleans_%28LPH_11%29_takes_fire_from_a_line_of_surface_combat_ships_from_four_countries_during_a_sinking_exer.jpg

One minor edit, the Rodney was not at Scapa, she was escorting a convoy at the time, only the KGV and Victorious were available.
 
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