This article is the 524th original article of the "Burning Islands" by Moskit
The full text is 3522 words, with 14 pictures, it takes 14 minutes to read, and it was first published on June 20, 2021.
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May 1941 was a bad month for U-74 and her captain, Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat. On 8 May 1941 U-74 left Saint-Nazaire for her second combat cruise.
On 21 May, Kentrat was ordered to attack convoy HX-126 in southern Greenland. The attack was unsuccessful and was counterattacked by British escort ships, and the damage caused by the deep bombs to the submarines forced the U-74 to abandon contact with the fleet. After the crew of the U-74 had checked the damage to the submarine, Kentrat decided to return to France for repairs, unaware that the U-74 would be a witness to the tragic history of the German Navy on this return voyage.
Figure 1. Battleship Bismarck, april 1941, on the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen
On the 24th that U-74 was heading to the Bay of Biscay to prepare to attack the HX-126 convoy, a thrilling battleship showdown was taking place in the Danish Strait. The course of the battle is familiar to everyone, Bismarck sank the Hood and wounded the Prince of Wales. During the battle, Bismarck was also wounded and diverted to France in order to obtain repair support. It was an incredibly dangerous journey, as the entire Royal Navy was on its way to encircle Bismarck.
Dönitz demanded that the U-48, U-97, and U-98, which were expected to have access to Bismarck, attack enemy ships along the way to relieve the pressure on Bismarck. But before it was time for the German battleships to make contact with their own submarines, the British naval aviation had already discovered Bismarck. An attacking detachment of 15 Swordfish raided Bismarck and made a single shot in the stern, causing Bismarck's rudder to get stuck at 12 degrees.
It is worth mentioning that in the high sea conditions at that time, taking off to carry out search missions was no different from suicide, and a large number of aviation troops involved in the search were killed ("Victory" and "Royal Ark" lost half of the "swordfish" and one-third of the "Petrels", all lost to the weather), and the British victory was also bought with courage and blood.
But their sacrifice was worth it, and Bismarck could no longer leave the current sea, but could only circle helplessly on the surface of the sea. Dönitz had done everything in his power to save Bismarck—the U-73, the torpedo-ray U-556, and the damaged U-74 were all ordered to rescue the Pride of the Imperial Navy.
Figure 2: The unfortunate battlecruiser Hood
At midnight on May 27, U-74 arrived at the accident area of Bismarck. The floating U-74 found that the surrounding pitch-black sea was illuminated by flashes of flares – Bismarck engaging the destroyers of Philippe Vian's Fourth Fleet, who had come to pursue.
At 4:30, Kentratt noticed the outline of a large ship at a distance of 8,000-10,000 meters from himself, mistaking it for a British battleship and ordering preparations for battle. But the current sea conditions are so bad that U boats can't even maintain a floating state. The U-74 was forced to dive into submarine mode and continued to observe the large warship in the distance until it was full daylight, when she was recognized as "Bismarck".
Kentratt has been trying to establish contact with Bismarck, but due to bad weather the U-74 has never been able to float. Between 9 a.m. and 9:40 a.m., Kentratt witnessed the fierce artillery battles and explosions from bismarck's multiple hits, and he was sure that this was the last moment of the steel behemoth.
Figure 3. U-74 submarine
Two hours earlier, Admiral Lütjens had asked Dönitz to send a submarine to receive bismarck's operational records. Dönitz ordered Herbert Wohlfarth's U-556 submarine to carry out the task, but the latter did not receive a telegram with the order until 11:29, by which time Bismarck had sunk to the bottom of the sea. U-556, unaware of the sinking of Bismarck, contacted the nearby submarine U-74 and handed her over her mission.
Kentrat reported to Dönitz that Bismarck had sunk and that it was impossible to receive the battle records, but that he would search and rescue the survivors. By the evening, although the weather had not improved, the U-74 had found a lifeboat carrying three survivors. These were the anti-aircraft gunners Georg Herzog, Herbert Manthey and Otto Höntzsch.
Figure 4. "Rodney" opened fire on Bismarck
When they saw the U-74, they immediately jumped out of the dinghy and swam to the submarine. Although one of them could not swim at all, the desire to survive was always stronger than the roaring waves, and all three were safely carried onto the submarine. Further searches of the survivors were fruitless, and the crew found only bodies and wreckage around.
After resting the three sailors and recovering from the shock, Kentrat asked them what had happened aboard the Bismarck and recorded the trio's testimony in the U-74's logbook.
Note that these testimonies came from three sailors who fought continuously on a besieged battleship for several days, and both the mental stress of the post and the desperation of waiting for rescue would cause a very large error in their memory, a problem that this type of memoir cannot avoid.
Figure 5. Battleship Bismarck, 24 May 1941
Battle of Bismarck (from the end of the battle in the Danish Strait, the information in parentheses is added by the translator)
05.24.41. 12:00. The Commander of the Fleet (Lütjens) conveyed the message that he was disengaged from the Prince of Wales
At 13:00 on the same day. It was discovered by British aircraft, the type of "Caterina" seaplane
Figure 6. Swordfish on the deck of the carrier Victory
On the same day at 23:00. The attack from the Swordfish bombers (the attacks of the Swordfish from the 825 Squadron of the aircraft carrier Victory) was subsequently broadcast: 5 Swordfish were shot down, one of the 16 torpedoes fired at the ship was detonated by a secondary gun, one hit the side armor belt, and the rest were lost. The damage from the torpedo was very small, but one crew member was killed. (All 8 Swordfish actually dropped mines returned safely without loss, and the crew member killed was Captain Kurt Kirchberg Kurt Kirchberg.)
Figure 7. The battleship Bismarck, photographed by Squadron 825 during the attack, noticed that it was very close to the polar circle, and the high latitude was very late at sunset in the summer half a year, about one o'clock in the middle of the night
05/25/41. Nothing happened (in fact, this day was The 52nd birthday of Lütjens, celebrated by the officers on the ship)
05/26/41. Spotted by aircraft. Judging from the intercepted radios, the aircraft ("Swordfish") took off from aircraft carriers.
Same day at 20:30. Air raids begin. A large number of aircraft surrounded the ship. The ship's broadcast reported that 7 Swordfish had been shot down and the ship had been hit by two torpedoes – one or two violent explosions in the stern (steering gear). The rudder jammed on the starboard side. Cabin Eight or Seven may have been hit once (not a single Swordfish was actually shot down). The rudder could be repaired in half an hour, and we maintained a speed of 24 knots (at this time, "Bismarck" had been circling the sea because the rudder was stuck)
Fig. 8: Painting showing "swordfish" attacking "Bismarck"
On the same day at 23:00. The crew was restless. The enemy destroyer attack was quickly repulsed (the attacking destroyers were the Cossacks, Zulus, Maori, Sikhs, and Piolam of the Fourth Destroyer Fleet). The destroyer fired flares at us, one of which landed on the foredeck but did not catch fire. The speaker reported sinking one destroyer and the rest of the enemy ships retreating after another fire (the actual result was that shrapnel wounded the "Cossacks")
Figure 9: Ussack destroyer
05/27/41. The crew remains restless
Same day at 06:30. The ship's broadcast announced the discovery of the Rodney and the cruisers and destroyers accompanying her. The main and secondary guns opened fire, and the enemy began to return fire, and it was clear that they were drawing closer to better aim. The ship was completely encircled, the superstructure was hit very badly, and the stern on the starboard side was also hit. Turret D (Dora) was no longer functioning, and the secondary gun fire was gradually weakened. Enemy destroyers came to a very close distance, and you could even see people on the other deck. The order to abandon the ship came through the anti-aircraft telephone network, and we prepared inflatable lifeboats on the upper deck.
Fig. 10 Bismarck shelled by British ships
Same day 07:30-08:00. We jumped into the water with our dinghy ready to escape. The turret continued to fire (possibly referring to the main guns of enemy battleships).
At 13:00 on the same day. The main deck of the "Bismarck" has been submerged in water. A lifeboat was rescued by a destroyer (British destroyer)
Picture 11: The sinking "Bismarck", photographed by the British cruiser Dorset, 10:36-10:38
Herzog, Mante sea and Hohenzch hid behind the already defunct Dora turret to hide from shells fired by the British. As they tried to put the lifeboats into the water, a storm from the explosion of a large-caliber shell threw most of the lifeboats and some into the sea. The three of them managed to find another ship, accompanied by a war correspondent who did not abandon his tapes and cameras even in a matter of life and death. But the fierce sea conditions first hit his tape into the sea, followed by himself. In the afternoon, a Fw200 Vulture flew over the area but no survivors were found. At night, when the members without food and water were close to despair, U-74 miraculously appeared.
We can see that these memories from the survivors do point out some of the details, but their memories of the last day of the battle are completely confused – the battleship's gun battle took place at 8:47-10:16, and bismarck's turret dud did not begin with the Dora turret. The crew was unable to form clear memories in high tensions, let alone struggle for 12 hours in terrifying sea conditions.
Fig. 12: Sailors on the "Bismarck" captured by the British army
The British knew more about the operation of Bismarck, who rescued 110 sailors, including three officers, after the "Bismarck" sank. In any case, the knowledge of Bismarck in later generations basically came from the memories of the sailors on the ship, which also applied to the three sailors on the U-74. The U-74 and U-556 were the last German ships to contact Bismarck, and they also witnessed the last moments of this steel beast in helplessness and despair.
Figure 13. The underwater wreckage of the bow of the Bismarck
Figure 14. The underwater wreckage of the Hull of the Bismarck, note that the stern is missing
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