The Discovery of the Bismarck

Hardcover 22x29 cm, 232 pages. Where this book differs from the others of Ballard's 'Famous Wreck' titles that I own, is that it is not primarily about events decades beyond the sinking but includes a major slice of the ship's history and details of the battles that caused its loss. The Foreward is written by Ludovic Kennedy who was an officer on board one of the British naval vessels that pursued, caught and then destroyed the ship, as was the late British actor, Esmond Knight who was wounded in the battle and also appeared in the film mentioned above. There are some facts about which Ballard was not aware as they came from German sources, namely an autobiography by one of Bismark's officers. He claimed that extensive damage was caused in the later stages of the battle, sufficient to render the vessel defenseless. Consequently, the Captain ordered that scuttling charges be set. It is therefore contested whether or not those charges or torpedoes released by British aircraft at a similar time caused the vessel to part-capsize. After being abandoned, ship-fired torpedoes were released to sink the hulk. 9780340529768 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd