Operation Rheinübung Part 3, (May 25th to 28th, 1941)
By mid-morning on the 25th it was clear that the German Battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were heading out to join with Bismarck and Graf Zeppelin. It represented an even greater concentration of combat power in the Atlantic for the Germans than Operation Berlin the previous January to March. With the destruction of Hood along with the crippling of King George V and Prince of Wales only two capital ships capable of over taking the Germans were Renown and Repulse. The success of Graf Zeppelin during the battle of Denmark straight demonstrated for one and all the power of modern aircraft. Ark Royal was steaming north to try to intercept the Germans while Victorious was newly commissioned with only a fraction of her air group. The problems of Prince of Wales were a stark warning against rushing newly commissioned ships into action. There was great debate over how to proceed. In London Churchill broke the deadlock at the Admiralty, the Germans could not be allowed to roam the Atlantic uncontested.
Admiral Tovey with reluctance detaches Victorious and Repulse with orders to join up with Force H that has Ark Royal and Renown under Admiral Somerville. Tovey instructs Somerville to avoid action until his expanded command is concentrated. Back in London Churchill is aggravated by the restriction Tovey has placed but makes no move to override the admiral.
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During the evening of the 25th into the 26th Battlegroup Ciliax encounters the west bound Convoy OB 325. The are 20 merchantmen and five escorts in the convoy. At dawn on the 26th the Germans begin their attack over the next five hours they sink or capture 11 ships total, 9 merchantmen and two escorts. The rest of the convoy scatters. The nearby convoy OB 326 hearing the reports of German warships at once scatters. To the south there is little that Admiral Somerville can do but continue to try to close the distance; the Germans are over 300 miles away when they begin their attack.
Battlegroup Lütjens meets up with tankers on the 26th and refuels. Radio intercepts suggest there are several convoys to the south.
On the 27th scouts from Graf Zeppelin locate a large convoy, it is HX 128 escorted by HMS Revenge with 40 merchantmen. During operation Berlin Scharnhorst and Gneisenau another convoy had been located that also had a battleship escort. Then Lütjens refused to engage but this time he has an aircraft carrier. The two combat missions had cost Graf Zeppelin nine Fi-167s and six Ju-87s lost. Plus, a Bf-109 had landed hard and was down for repair. With other aircraft damaged and several unavailable. At this point the airwing was little more than one gruppe each of dive and torpedo bombers. A strike was readied and as soon as the target was within range was launched. 9 Fi-167, 15 Ju-87 and escorted by 8 Bf-109 conducted the most distant strike for Graf Zeppelin, 120+ miles.
The attack on HX-128 began just after 1 PM local time. The Ju-87s dove out of the clouds. It appeared that the British were surprised as there was little anti-aircraft fire and the battleship was sailing in a straight line. Despite all of these advantages the dreaded Stuka’s failed to land a single direct hit just two near misses. As the bi-plane torpedo bombers began their attack the British now alerted to the danger began to react. Of the nine torpedos dropped only one hit but it did little damage. The rest of the dive bombers scored three hits, one exploded in the upper works and one fails to explode as it smashes through three decks. The worst damage done was by a hit near one of the port twin 4” gun houses. Shrapnel sliced into the gun house setting off ready munitions and creating a blazing fire laced with explosions as 4” shells cooked off. None of German aircraft were lost but several were damaged.
The previous success had driven moral and expectations sky high among the German airmen. With the Great War battleship not in obvious distress beyond the one fire it was a bit of a letdown. As Oberstleutnant Hagan circled at a distance his first impression was one of disappointment but as all of the strike checked in his mood brightened. The Luftwaffe officer gave a salute, “We will see you again…”
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On the way back to Graf Zeppelin Hagan considered the situation. How long to return to the carrier, land, rearm and conduct another attack. The worry would be the return flight from that second attack even in these northern waters in near summer the sun did set for a few hours. There should be enough time.
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Hagan worries ended up being for nothing. A recon flight by a Ar 196 from Prinz Eugen only found a few merchantmen. The convoy had scattered and the British battleship disappeared. Navigation over open water especially at great distant was difficult. The German float plane was in the wrong spot. Plus, in the two hours since the attack HMS Revenge, along with most of the convoy, had gone south at best possible speed.
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On the 28th at last Ark Royal and Victorious were within range of Battlegroup Ciliax. Nine swordfish torpedo bombers from Victorious and sixteen from Ark Royal. The British homed in on a swordfish shadowing the Germans. As the three British torpedo squadrons began their attack their batteries of 128mm guns opened up. One swordfish was lost and another had its torpedo hangup. Twenty three torpedoes were dropped in the water in three waves. Two hits were archived one on Gneisenau and one on a escorting destroyer. The damage to the battleship was minor causing some leaks but the hit on the destroyer blew off the bow just forward of the 128mm gun house.
The destroyer was abandoned and her crew taken off.
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