Well they just did loose the Prinz due to airpower so they've seen airpower in action, thus my question.
Hecatee,
Huh?
Prinz Eugen survived the war and was served as a target at Bikini Atoll during the Able and Baker drops in Operation
Crossroads.
As for AA layouts, assuming
Prinz Eugen and
Bismarck immediately reversed course for Norway after sinking
Hood and either sinking or driving off
PoW,
Victorious most certainly would have been able to launch against them as would Coastal Command. Those air attacks could have very well tipped the Germans to both vessels' deficiency in AA armament and layout. Whether they would have turned back is another question and there's a good reason why
Prinz Eugen and
Bismarck wouldn't have turned around.
You see, in the OTL, the
PoW's fuel bunker hit on
Bismarck immediately scrubbed that battleship's commerce raiding mission. Simply put, Lutjen's mission was over in Denmark Straits and he knew that in Denmark Straits. With the mission now canceled, Lutjens would have to put into port for repairs and he correctly chose to head for France. His pursuers were "behind" him and turning around would have let the Royal Navy catch him more easily. By going forward towards France, he could spoil or avoid more of the RN's chances to intercept him. Turing back was a far worse choice tactically than going on ahead.
As for armor I understand well that it would be a rather huge refit, but since the ship will be going to drydock anyway and that Tirpitz isn't finished yet, it could be decided by the Reich authorities that it is a worthwhile investment.
First, the Germans wouldn't have any reason to correct
Bismarck's poor armor disposition because it's flaws wouldn't have shown up during the Denmark Strait battle. Second,
Tirpitz was not only afloat she was already in commission.
The lack of knowledge regarding
Bismarck's poor armor disposition holds true for the KM's faulty base-fused shells. They'd have no reason to doubt the shells' worth because they'd just sunk
Hood and sunk or drove off
PoW. When the Royal Navy's analysis of the damage to
PoW revealed that Germany's shells weren't operating as designed, you'd best bet that they kept such information top secret. Let me explain.
During WW1, Germany realized after Jutland that the RN's shells were faulty too and Britain only learned of that thanks to a series of unlikely cocktail parties. Apparently HSF officers had bragged about faulty RN shells during a party in which a Swedish naval officer was present. That officer in turn told the story over drinks when he was visiting Britain a few months later. The RN immediately ordered tests and, when the faults were revealed, a redesign of the shells. The fleet didn't get the redesigned shells until the summer of 1918. There's no way in hell you're going to let slip that your enemy's shells aren't working correctly and, if Britain didn't know that already, her experience in WW1 would have taught it to her.
Also, does the battle lead to any other improvements in the ships (i.e. radar systems, fire control system, training procedures, ... ?) and will they draw from the now battle hardenned crew to provide backbone to the Tirpitz' crew ?
Not really because
Bismarck - if she makes it back to port after turning around, something I find unlikely - would have won her battle. Her fire control and everything worked as advertised. There would have been a few improvements suggested by actual use in combat of those systems, but nothing major.
As for
Bismarck's crew acting as cadre for
Tirpitz, that second battleship was already in commission. She just hadn't finished working up yet and would become operational in
Bill