Battle of Denmark Strait alternative.

Let's suppose the result is reversed and Hood sinks Bismarck with one shot. How does the world react, and what becomes of the rest of the Kriegsmarine's surface fleet?
 
The RN has an extra battlecruiser to scrap or turn into a museum ship postwar.

Reasonably large propaganda failure for the Germans and a propaganda victory for the UK, but I don't see how this particular event would lead to any significant butterflies since OTL Bismarck was sunk like 20 days later anyway. If Bismarck gets sunk immediately it's reasonably likely Prinz Eugen goes with her, which leads to a marginally weaker Germany in the Eastern Front since they're missing a cruiser in the Baltic.
 
Bismarck with a glass jaw is going to have Hitler chewing the carpet in rage. He may follow through on his (later) otl order to scrap the surface fleet. Bismarck going bang within minutes is also going to go a long way to boosting morale after the fall of Greece.
 

SsgtC

Banned
Tirpitz probably isn't nearly as effective as a Fleet in Being since her sister got blown the ef up in the first few minutes of the fight. In OTL, her reputation was significantly enhanced by Bismark killing Hood relatively easily and knocking Prince of Wales around. Without that reputation the RN won't devote nearly as many resources to keeping her bottled up in Norway
 
Let's suppose the result is reversed and Hood sinks Bismarck with one shot. How does the world react, and what becomes of the rest of the Kriegsmarine's surface fleet?
Hood is probably a lot less famous ITTL. Aircraft from Ark Royal never get the opportunity to put the three torpedoes into the Bismarck either.

The RN is then faced with the potential options of either refitting (minor or extensive) or even sending her to the Far East as part of what would become Force Z. I'd say Hood at least gets some TLC if she's planned to go to Singapore - maybe we get Holland instead of Phillips in charge of the Force Z butterflies...

As @SsgtC notes, this probably reduces the physiological and perceived threat value of the Tirpitz as a Fleet-in-Being.
 
Royal Navy does massive dickwaving with Hood while secretly going "bloody hell, we got lucky didn't we?"
Hood probably goes to the US for a refit, renew the boilers, better FC and AA. Maybe stick the deck armour out past the turtleback if she's lucky, but she's not getting much more than that. Presuming she still got hit by PE, get rid of those stupid fucking UPs. All the deck space on Hood for AA and that's what they were wasting it on. Probably misses the whole Force Z nonsense, gets stuck with the Home fleet for a while. Might be there instead of DoY to take down Scharnhorst, but that's just a possibility. Probably does some stuff in the Med too, mahbe helps with D-Day then probably off to the Pacific in 1945.
Postwar probably scrapped, if she's sunk both Bismarck and Scharnhorsts she has a chance but it's still pretty slim. If she's in better shape than Warspite maybe but they wouldn't even preserve Vanguard and she hadn't even been scratched.
 
The most likely Denmark Strait alternative is Norfolk and Suffolk not losing contact; according to Kennedy, Admiral Holland's original plan, in mitigation of the problems he was fully aware of in having an old ship with an obsolescent armour scheme and a new ship with teething issues, was to be guided by the trailing cruisers into a head on interception leading to a close range night melee at about 00:30.

Unfortunately and probably due to slight complacency on Wake-Walker's part, Bismarck shook off her pursuers temporarily, and Admiral Holland chose not to go in blind, instead turning to parallel Bismarck 's course until contact could be regained, which it was too late for anything other than a long tangential approach in dawn light- essentially the worst possible option.

If Holland gets his night action, it becomes a much more likely British victory - all guns in play and German shell hitting belt rather than deck armour, and two heavy cruisers to overmatch Prinz Eugen and bring torpedoes to use on Bismarck.

It probably would be Force H sent out to Singapore then, unfortunately.

Incidentally I think UP missed a trick; ditch the damn cable and parachute nonsense, give them a solid HE- frag warhead and as relatively gently accelerating as rockets are, it should have been easy to fit a working proximity fuse and turn them into a first-time class kamikaze stopper.
 
Let's suppose the result is reversed and Hood sinks Bismarck with one shot. How does the world react, and what becomes of the rest of the Kriegsmarine's surface fleet?

Not as impossible as it may seem

Due to her main director basically being inundated with spray due to its position behind the B turret and in front of the Bridge, Hood was obliged to rely on her smaller Director mounted on the tower - and mis identified Bismarck as Prinz Eugen and so fired on the Cruiser with her first 4 round salvo and achieved a staddle.

Then realising her mistake she changed targets to the Bismarck but had to rework her solution

Had she fired on Bismarck first then maybe that first round straddle achieves a hit?

All that being said a first round hit destroying Bismarck is unlikely (And hood was hit several times before she was destroyed) but she did seem to have a glass jaw - maybe one of those fat green boys hits between Anton and Bruno knocking both guns out and halving Bismarck's firepower - and the ratio of 17 bigs guns verses 8 goes down to 17 verses 4 - and things go rapidly downhill for Bismarck from there.

Bismarck is lamed with her main guns knocked out and Prinz Eugen attempts a torpedo run but is rapidly put down by concentrated fire from both British ships before they turn their attention back to Bismarck wrecking her upper works - the Cruisers and DDs arrive and carry out close range torpedo runs sealing the German ships fate.

The surviving crew scuttle and abandon ship with hundreds being pulled from the water by the DDs and CCs before the cold takes them.

Hood having taken several hits during the battle is finally taken out of the line and given her long needed 'large repair' although it is likely that she would be given a lesser overhaul - possible by the West Ponders along the lines of the refit the Standards got post Pearl Harbour and obviously HMS Rodney does not have to break off her journey to the East Coast for her planned refit so starts it slightly earlier.

Pearl Harbour finds Hood working up on the East coast and then moving to join Warspite on the West coast.

After it becomes clear that the Japanese are not going to follow up with an attack on the West coast of the USA both ships complete their working up and Hood returns to the Home fleet

During the Summer HMS Hood remains in touch with the convoy PQ17 after Adm Pound detaches USS Washington and HMS Duke of York to intercept Tirpitz which had sortied to intercept - there had been talk of scattering the convoy but with Hood able to ride shotgun it is decided to keep the convoy together

Tirpitz does not press home her attack and returns to her base but 11 of the convoys ships are sunk by Submarine and air attack for the loss of 15 aircraft and 2 Uboats (interestingly both sides considered the convoy battle a loss at the time - with the British using it as an excuse to halt Arctic convoys until the winter)

When Arctic convoys do resume Hood is often part of the heavy escort and is present at the battle of North Cape where she is part of the SAG that sinks the Scharnhorst.

With a refitted Hood and Bismarck and Gneisenau sunk/crippled the on off construction of HMS Vanguard is stopped and this means more resources to throw at the last 2 Armoured Carriers possibly allowing them to enter service months earlier and subsequent all 4 Audacious class are 'built' by VJ day.

As for the KM surface fleet - they experience much the same fate as OTL (RAF Bombing the heck out of the German ships in the French ports and then the op Cerberus retreat to Germany when their baseing becomes untenable) except that the Germans are more wary of challenging the British - and this along with an extra heavy 'fast' unit in the home fleet results in 'safer' arctic convoys.

Hood worn out by Arctic convoy escort missions is given a refit in late 44 before joining the BPF in 45

Paid off into reserve in 1946 she is decommissioned and scrapped in 1948
 
Ironically if Hood sinking Bismarck with one or two shots leads to the British being less impressed with Tirpitz, it is possible there is no Force Z at Singapore because a big part of Churchill’s logic trail for the deterrent effect of Force Z was the brooding menace of Tirpitz in Norway.
 
Ironically if Hood sinking Bismarck with one or two shots leads to the British being less impressed with Tirpitz, it is possible there is no Force Z at Singapore because a big part of Churchill’s logic trail for the deterrent effect of Force Z was the brooding menace of Tirpitz in Norway.
Hmmmm, might that mean the overall British force in the Indian Ocean/Australia in 1942 is actually better off if the OTL units/+ Hood are dispatched after December 1941? I've not read many TLs where that's happened.
 
Hmmmm, might that mean the overall British force in the Indian Ocean/Australia in 1942 is actually better off if the OTL units/+ Hood are dispatched after December 1941? I've not read many TLs where that's happened.

I am thinking that. There isn’t the pressure to deploy the fleet forward at Singapore so maybe local commanders can concentrate what heavy assets they have at Ceylon in early December 1941.
 
I am thinking that. There isn’t the pressure to deploy the fleet forward at Singapore so maybe local commanders can concentrate what heavy assets they have at Ceylon in early December 1941.
Hood, PoW, Repulse is a potent addition to (what would become OTL's) Force A for operations in that theatre. Coupled with butterflies impacting what happens with ABDA assets it makes the naval situation v.interesting.
 
Not as impossible as it may seem

Due to her main director basically being inundated with spray due to its position behind the B turret and in front of the Bridge, Hood was obliged to rely on her smaller Director mounted on the tower - and mis identified Bismarck as Prinz Eugen and so fired on the Cruiser with her first 4 round salvo and achieved a staddle.

Then realising her mistake she changed targets to the Bismarck but had to rework her solution

Had she fired on Bismarck first then maybe that first round straddle achieves a hit?

All that being said a first round hit destroying Bismarck is unlikely (And hood was hit several times before she was destroyed) but she did seem to have a glass jaw - maybe one of those fat green boys hits between Anton and Bruno knocking both guns out and halving Bismarck's firepower - and the ratio of 17 bigs guns verses 8 goes down to 17 verses 4 - and things go rapidly downhill for Bismarck from there.

Bismarck is lamed with her main guns knocked out and Prinz Eugen attempts a torpedo run but is rapidly put down by concentrated fire from both British ships before they turn their attention back to Bismarck wrecking her upper works - the Cruisers and DDs arrive and carry out close range torpedo runs sealing the German ships fate.

The surviving crew scuttle and abandon ship with hundreds being pulled from the water by the DDs and CCs before the cold takes them.

Hood having taken several hits during the battle is finally taken out of the line and given her long needed 'large repair' although it is likely that she would be given a lesser overhaul - possible by the West Ponders along the lines of the refit the Standards got post Pearl Harbour and obviously HMS Rodney does not have to break off her journey to the East Coast for her planned refit so starts it slightly earlier.

Pearl Harbour finds Hood working up on the East coast and then moving to join Warspite on the West coast.

After it becomes clear that the Japanese are not going to follow up with an attack on the West coast of the USA both ships complete their working up and Hood returns to the Home fleet

During the Summer HMS Hood remains in touch with the convoy PQ17 after Adm Pound detaches USS Washington and HMS Duke of York to intercept Tirpitz which had sortied to intercept - there had been talk of scattering the convoy but with Hood able to ride shotgun it is decided to keep the convoy together

Tirpitz does not press home her attack and returns to her base but 11 of the convoys ships are sunk by Submarine and air attack for the loss of 15 aircraft and 2 Uboats (interestingly both sides considered the convoy battle a loss at the time - with the British using it as an excuse to halt Arctic convoys until the winter)

When Arctic convoys do resume Hood is often part of the heavy escort and is present at the battle of North Cape where she is part of the SAG that sinks the Scharnhorst.

With a refitted Hood and Bismarck and Gneisenau sunk/crippled the on off construction of HMS Vanguard is stopped and this means more resources to throw at the last 2 Armoured Carriers possibly allowing them to enter service months earlier and subsequent all 4 Audacious class are 'built' by VJ day.

As for the KM surface fleet - they experience much the same fate as OTL (RAF Bombing the heck out of the German ships in the French ports and then the op Cerberus retreat to Germany when their baseing becomes untenable) except that the Germans are more wary of challenging the British - and this along with an extra heavy 'fast' unit in the home fleet results in 'safer' arctic convoys.

Hood worn out by Arctic convoy escort missions is given a refit in late 44 before joining the BPF in 45

Paid off into reserve in 1946 she is decommissioned and scrapped in 1948
Actually Hood fired her torpedoes at the Germans very shortly before she was sunk, the Germans had been force to turn away which might be saved PoW from a further battering.
Maybe those torpedoes hit Bismarck?
 
Actually Hood fired her torpedoes at the Germans very shortly before she was sunk, the Germans had been force to turn away which might be saved PoW from a further battering.
Maybe those torpedoes hit Bismarck?

Was that true?
 
Actually Hood fired her torpedoes at the Germans very shortly before she was sunk, the Germans had been force to turn away which might be saved PoW from a further battering.
Maybe those torpedoes hit Bismarck?

What was the range when she was sunk 16000 odd Yards?

Range of the MK IV carried by Hood was 8000 yards at 35 Knots and 13,500 Yards at 25 Knots

1x twin 21" tt on each side

So yes - it's possible if Hood get a good hit in early and closes the range
 
Was that true?
What was the range when she was sunk 16000 odd Yards?

Range of the MK IV carried by Hood was 8000 yards at 35 Knots and 13,500 Yards at 25 Knots

1x twin 21" tt on each side

So yes - it's possible if Hood get a good hit in early and closes the range
http://www.kbismarck.com/denmark-strait-battle.html
"The Prince of Wales was at a clear disadvantage, and at 0603 launched a smoke screen and retreated from the combat after being hit a total of four times by the Bismarck and three more by the Prinz Eugen.5 At this time the German ships began executing a series of avoidance manoeuvres after torpedoes had been erroneously detected by hydrophones and bubble trails spotted from the bridge of Prinz Eugen. These sudden course alterations undoubtedly affected the shooting of the Germans that didn't get anymore hits on the enemy. The British battleship, in turn, fired three more salvoes with "Y" turret under local control while retreating, but did not obtain any hits either. At 0609 the Germans fired their last salvo and the battle ended"
Only one british ship there in range with torpedoes
 

SsgtC

Banned
Interestingly, while I was looking at photos of Hood's wreck earlier, the expedition that located her found one of her torpedoes in the debris field. Or rather, they found half of one:

Screenshot-20191107-191912-Chrome.jpg
 
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