Chapter 1
04:30 24 May 1941
Captain Tennant stared worrisome at the spray and mist washing over the bow of his battlecruiser, the venerable HMS Repulse, or “Repair” as her crew had taken to calling her. Just ahead of them, leading the way, somewhere in the mist was the newly commissioned King George V class battleship, Prince of Wales. And “new” couldn’t have been more of an understatement when it came to PoW, the bloody paint was more or less still drying, her crew was new and inexperienced, and there was bound to be mechanical hiccups along the way, in fact civilian shipyard workers were embarked on her, hoping to iron out any mechanical gremlins along the way. Even though she was new, Admiral Holland had decided to make her his flagship, after some convincing from Admiral Tovey, and a bit of pleading from Tennant, who convinced him that Repulse, was arguably the less capable warship, having thinner belt and deck armor and somewhat less firepower (even though she did have a higher caliber, 6x 15 inch guns to PoW 10x 14inch ones) of the two.
Silently though he was cursing the luck that had fallen upon him, HMS Hood or King George V should be here, not Repulse. Even Repulse's sister ship, Renown, having received a more comprehensive refit would be far better suited for this engagement. Alas, Hood was escorting convoy WS8B and King George V, flagship of Admiral Sir John Tovey was still 300 to 400 miles (480 to 640 km) away as of this morning and Renown was with Force H. Thus Repulse and PoW would have to try and stop Bismarck, or at least slow her down. There wasn’t any doubt in Tennants mind they would achieve that objective, it was just a matter of whether he and his ship would still be around to witness the end of it.
At 05:35, lookouts on Prince of Wales spotted the German ships 17 mi (15 nmi; 27 km) away. The Germans, already alerted to the British presence through their hydrophonic equipment, picked up the smoke and masts of the British ships 10 minutes later. At this point, Holland had the options of joining Suffolk in shadowing Bismarck and waiting for Tovey to arrive with King George V and other ships to attack, or ordering his squadron into action. He chose the latter at 05:37. The rough seas in the Strait kept the destroyers' role to a minimum and the cruisers Norfolk and Suffolk, having not been properly informed by Holland of his battle plans, were too far behind to actively participate. Thus Repulse and PoW would have to take on the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. At 05:53 Prince of Wales opened fire with her 14 inch guns, quickly followed by Repulse roughly a minute later. Already however, trouble was coming home to roost for the PoW’s. One of her forward 14 inch guns unfortunately became unserviceable. Nonetheless though she kept firing her now, 9, 14 inch guns. At 05:56, the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen’s opened fire, Captain Lindemann, refusing to have his brand new battleship “shot out from under his arse”. Initially there was some confusion on which ship to shoot, with Repulse being initially identified as a unmodernised Queen Elizabeth class. Nonetheless, Bismarck decided to target the PoW first, feeling that the more modern and better armed and armored warship should be dealt with. Prinz Eugens target was Repulse respectively.
Aboard Repulse, Captain Tennant saw the muzzle flashes of the German warships and muttered to himself “shit, now we’re in for it”.
Captain Tennant stared worrisome at the spray and mist washing over the bow of his battlecruiser, the venerable HMS Repulse, or “Repair” as her crew had taken to calling her. Just ahead of them, leading the way, somewhere in the mist was the newly commissioned King George V class battleship, Prince of Wales. And “new” couldn’t have been more of an understatement when it came to PoW, the bloody paint was more or less still drying, her crew was new and inexperienced, and there was bound to be mechanical hiccups along the way, in fact civilian shipyard workers were embarked on her, hoping to iron out any mechanical gremlins along the way. Even though she was new, Admiral Holland had decided to make her his flagship, after some convincing from Admiral Tovey, and a bit of pleading from Tennant, who convinced him that Repulse, was arguably the less capable warship, having thinner belt and deck armor and somewhat less firepower (even though she did have a higher caliber, 6x 15 inch guns to PoW 10x 14inch ones) of the two.
Silently though he was cursing the luck that had fallen upon him, HMS Hood or King George V should be here, not Repulse. Even Repulse's sister ship, Renown, having received a more comprehensive refit would be far better suited for this engagement. Alas, Hood was escorting convoy WS8B and King George V, flagship of Admiral Sir John Tovey was still 300 to 400 miles (480 to 640 km) away as of this morning and Renown was with Force H. Thus Repulse and PoW would have to try and stop Bismarck, or at least slow her down. There wasn’t any doubt in Tennants mind they would achieve that objective, it was just a matter of whether he and his ship would still be around to witness the end of it.
At 05:35, lookouts on Prince of Wales spotted the German ships 17 mi (15 nmi; 27 km) away. The Germans, already alerted to the British presence through their hydrophonic equipment, picked up the smoke and masts of the British ships 10 minutes later. At this point, Holland had the options of joining Suffolk in shadowing Bismarck and waiting for Tovey to arrive with King George V and other ships to attack, or ordering his squadron into action. He chose the latter at 05:37. The rough seas in the Strait kept the destroyers' role to a minimum and the cruisers Norfolk and Suffolk, having not been properly informed by Holland of his battle plans, were too far behind to actively participate. Thus Repulse and PoW would have to take on the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. At 05:53 Prince of Wales opened fire with her 14 inch guns, quickly followed by Repulse roughly a minute later. Already however, trouble was coming home to roost for the PoW’s. One of her forward 14 inch guns unfortunately became unserviceable. Nonetheless though she kept firing her now, 9, 14 inch guns. At 05:56, the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen’s opened fire, Captain Lindemann, refusing to have his brand new battleship “shot out from under his arse”. Initially there was some confusion on which ship to shoot, with Repulse being initially identified as a unmodernised Queen Elizabeth class. Nonetheless, Bismarck decided to target the PoW first, feeling that the more modern and better armed and armored warship should be dealt with. Prinz Eugens target was Repulse respectively.
Aboard Repulse, Captain Tennant saw the muzzle flashes of the German warships and muttered to himself “shit, now we’re in for it”.
