Quote:
Originally Posted by Igo kyu
Yeah, except that the Bismark, being crippled, was scuttled to avoid capture, not sunk by enemy (British) fire. Shared credit in a crippling doesn't sound quite so glamourous, but it was enough.
I wonder what we'd have done with a captured Bismark?
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The Bismarck had lost all its fire control, gun turrets and was a floating hulk. It had no defence. The fact it was was scuttled is irrelevant to its defeat. The German crew may have done the deed, but the ship would have been captured otherwise.
As far as the Swordfish were concerned, they were instrumental in the destruction of the ship. One of the torpedos they launched hit Bismarck's rudder and steering geer and jammed it. The ship then circled helplessly while the British pursuers caught up, and was unable to maneuver effectively to avoid the British fire. Without the Swordfish torpedo hit, the Bismarck would likely have escaped to a French port.
The Swordfish may have been obselescent in terms of its performance, but it had an ability to land or takeoff in weather and sea conditions which would have been impossible for other Torpedo planes. This was a function of its extremely low stall/landing/takeoff speed. During the launch of the Swordfish's last attack on Bismarck, sea state was 5, wave height was 4 meters, and wind was blowing 50 kph.
The Swordfish had its greatest moment at Taranto when it sank or disabled 3 Italian Battleships and one Cruiser. The negative result of this event was the Japanese were inspired to try the same technique at Pearl Harbour.