Ah, yes. If no Swedish sighting, then …. But let us be lenient. Let there be the sighting in Norway then.
There are actually a lot of different things in this:
Timing is of essence. Britain had everything on the look-out for Bismarck. Wiki says:
"
To meet the threat from German surface ships, the British had stationed at Scapa Flow the new battleships King George V and Prince of Wales as well as the battlecruiser Hood and the newly commissioned aircraft carrier Victorious. Elsewhere, Force H at Gibraltar could muster the battlecruiser Renown and the aircraft carrier Ark Royal; at sea in the Atlantic on various duties were the battleships Revenge, Rodney and Ramillies and the battlecruiser Repulse. Cruisers and air patrols provided the fleet's 'eyes'. At sea, or due to sail shortly, were 11 convoys, including a troop convoy."
But if Bismarck is sighted late can PoW and Hood get there fast enough? It was a bit touch and go as it were in terms of picking up Bismarck.
So with full tanks and no hole in the bow, Bismarck might have sailed off into the sunset and played havoc with the convoys as sea.
Bismarck could maybe have sailed for the South Atlantic? Shooting up Simonstown in South Africa is not a bad suggestion either (although a bit left-field).
Let us face it: Bismarck had a lot of bad luck and bad decisions. With just a typical venture with a bit of bad luck/good luck on both sides, Bismarck could have got to Brest with a few victories.
Ivan