Did Bismarck use her smoke generators?

I have never read anything yet that said she did during her final battle, although I am not an expert by no means.

If she did not, why didn't she?

Was it because she was so crippled from not being able to steer that it would do no good?

Would the smoke in Bismarck's situation blind her own gunners?

 

I've been slacking on the Bismarck book I am/was reading (Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship, Zetterling and Tamelander) due to reading on german armor in the last days of the war (again)...

But, I did a bit of searching and found:
http://www.kbismarck.com/archives/survivor-reports.pdf

Reading that over, it sounds like the smoke generators weren't used. But due to the damage to the steering gears and hence relative immobility of the Bismarck, and with the Bismarck already being shadowed by the planes from the Ark Royal, I'm guessing it just wasn't thought of. Sounds like massive efforts were spent on trying to get the steering gears working again. A shell took out the main control center, and it sounds like panic set in pretty quick. Page 16 of the above-linked document makes it sound like things got so bad as to be close to widespread mutiny.

I'm thinking that during this, it was a simple matter of no-one thought to fire up the smoke generators.

I'll remember this thread, and if anything turns up in the book noted above, I'll post said info.

 

The damage she had suffered, loss of steering and being down at the bow due to flooding from Prince of Wales' earlier hit, meant that no matter what they did, the ship continued heading roughly NW, into the wind and seas. Smoke would have trailed astern/SE and would not have hidden her from her two opponents to the west, on her port side. For the same reason it would not affect her own gunners or gunnery control positions, the forward ones at least.

There were two ways of making smoke. Injecting oil into the funnel gases would make black smoke which might impact the aft gunnery control position - or the turrets if they were in local control. Chemical smoke generators (not sure if the Germans used them) were usually on the fantail for precisely this reason and usually make whitish smoke.

Unable to steer is another good point. Unless the wind is just right, a ship tends to leave its own smoke behind and usually has to maneuver to place the smoke between herself and the enemy. Depends on the exact situation of course.

 

I might be completely off base here, but weren't the "smoke generators" dependent on bunker oil? If so that was the one of the things the Bismarck was limited upon.

If that is true then using bunker oil to produce "smoke" as you circled in a given area could be seen as counter-productive.

 

Thanks CrazyD and Carronade! I kind of figured it was something like that.

I never even thought about it, but could that area of the ship where the generators were have been damaged any by the torpedo hit? Mullenheim Rechburg stated that the steering compartment had water coming in and out with the rise and fall of the ship. So I wonder if anything above it was damaged as well?





Here is a little passage from: http://www.bismarck-class.dk/technicallayout/smoke_generator/smoke_generator.html

 

Great photo, Ulithi! Never seen or heard of that little detail. It certainly seems likely that the torpedo impact might have affected the smoke generators.

Funnel smoke did use bunker oil, but a very small amount compared to the needs of the ship's boilers. If it was otherwise advantageous to make smoke, the amount of fuel used would not be an issue.

 

I have recently read a book on the expedition of the Bismarck, and it showed underwater pictures. It looked like the only area affected on the bow was a small hole where the anchor was on the starboard side.

If I can remember, I will look up the name of the book and author when I get home.

 

You mean the stern?

 

Oops! I apparently rushed through that post. I even thought for a brief sec why they would post the bow, but got busy at work and didn't pay enough attention.

I will still look for the name of the book.

 

No, these openings had nothing to do with the flooding of the steering compartment. The men stationed there escaped out the top of the compartment and secured the armored hatch behind them.

 

Another photo of the stern taken during the Bismarck's time in drydock.
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 193-30-5-34A, Schlachtschiff Bismarck.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Drawing showing the battle damage of the Bismarck.
http://www.navweaps.com/index_inro/no21993-pic6.jpg

 

I just re-read that portion of the book, called Robert Ballard's BISMARCK, who was the leader of the expedition team that found it in the 1980's.

According to reports from some of the men who were rescued, the Captain of the ship didn't realize that the British Navy had lost contact with the Bismark, and "somewhat" gave up the idea of trying to lose their tale.

Once they were spotted again, a British torpedo had blasted a hole near the stern below the steering gear rooms, jamming the rudder mechanism. Bismarck tried to limp off, but left a trail of oil in her wake.

I do recommend this book if you can find it. It goes into great detail.

When they found the ship, they stern was broke off, so they couldn't tell if the damage came from the bombing or the sinking.

 

That is a good book. I got my copy from a family friend when I was ten. It was one of the first books that got me into WWII. Ballard was kind of my hero as a kid, as he found the Titanic. I have an autographed photo of him that he sent me when I wrote him in first grade.

Two of my personal favorite Bismarck books are Battleship Bismarck By Bukard Baron Von Mullenheim Rechburg, and Pursuit by Ludovic Kennedy.