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Adalbert Schneider

Adalbert Schneider (10 March 1904 – 27 May 1941) was the First Gunnery Officer on board the battleship Bismarck, and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for the sinking of HMS Hood on 24 May 1941 in the Battle of the Denmark Strait. Less than a week later, on 27 May 1941, Schneider and the majority of Bismarck's crew were killed in action during Bismarck's last battle.

Adalbert Schneider
Adalbert Schneider
Born(1904-03-10)10 March 1904
Halle (Saale)
Died27 May 1941(1941-05-27) (aged 37)
Atlantic Ocean
Buried
48°10′N 16°12′W / 48.167°N 16.200°W / 48.167; -16.200
Allegiance Weimar Republic (to 1933)
 Nazi Germany
Service/branch Reichsmarine
 Kriegsmarine
Years of service1922–41
RankFregattenkapitän (posthumously)
UnitSKS Niobe
Berlin
Hannover
"Pocket battleship" Deutschland
Light cruiser Nürnberg
Battleship Bismarck
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Naval career

Adalbert Schneider was born on 10 March 1904 in Halle (Saale) in the Province of Saxony, at the time a province of the Kingdom of Prussia. He joined the German navy on 30 March 1922. He received his first infantry training in the 3rd Company of Coastal Defence Department 3 (3. Kompanie Küstenwehr-Abteilung (K.W.A) III). On 4 October 1922 Schneider went on board Hannover, the first of his ship based trainings. Following Hannover, he went on board SKS Niobe on 4 April 1923 and Berlin on 2 July 1923. He was promoted to Leading Seaman (Matrosengefreiter) on 1 April 1923. Schneider then attended an officer candidate (Fähnrich) course at the Naval Academy Mürwik in Flensburg-Mürwik on 30 March 1924, and was shortly after promoted to midshipman (Fähnrich zur See) on 1 April 1924.[1]

After the officers candidate training, Schneider attended a torpedo course for midshipmen at the Torpedo and Communication School (Torpedo- und Nachrichtenschule) at Flensburg-Mürwik on 1 April 1925, followed by a pathfinder course for midshipmen (Fähnrichs-Sperr-Lehrgang) at the experimental pathfinder and demonstration command (Sperrversuchs- und Lehrkommando) at Kiel-Wik on 3 June 1925.[2]

Operation Rheinübung

The goal of the Operation Rheinübung (Rhine Exercise) was for Bismarck, under the command of Kapitän zur See Ernst Lindemann, and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, under the command of Kapitän zur See Helmuth Brinkmann, to break into the Atlantic and attack Allied shipping. Großadmiral Erich Raeder's orders to the Chief-of-Fleet Admiral Günther Lütjens were that "the objective of the Bismarck is not to defeat enemies of equal strength, but to tie them down in a delaying action, while preserving the combat capacity as much as possible, so as to allow Prinz Eugen to get at the merchant ships in the convoy" and "The primary target in this operation is the enemy's merchant shipping; enemy warships will be engaged only when that objective makes it necessary and it can be done without excessive risk."[3]

At 02:00 on 19 May 1941, Bismarck and Prinz Eugen left Gotenhafen (now Gdynia) and proceeded through the Baltic Sea and out towards the Atlantic. Unbeknownst to Lütjens, the British had intercepted enough communications to infer that a German naval operation might be about to occur in the area. Bismarck and Prinz Eugen passed the Great Belt on 20 May, and around noon the next day the task force dropped anchor in the Grimstad fjord (60°19.49′N 5°14.48′E / 60.32483°N 5.24133°E / 60.32483; 5.24133) at Bergen, Norway. There Prinz Eugen took on fuel from the tanker Wollin. Schneider's brother, Oberfeldarzt (Field Doctor) Dr. Otto Schneider, who was stationed in Norway, briefly visited his brother on board Bismarck. Dr. Schneider was one of the last men to leave Bismarck on the evening of 21 May at around 22:00. Dr. Schneider later claimed that his brother was convinced that Bismarck and Prinz Eugen were being sent on a suicide mission.[4]

On the evening of 23 May at 19:22, the German force was detected by the heavy cruisers HMS Suffolk and Norfolk that had been patrolling the Denmark Strait in the expectation of a German breakout. The alarm was sounded and Bismarck fired five salvos without scoring a direct hit. The heavily outgunned British cruisers withdrew to a safe distance and shadowed the enemy until their own heavy units could draw closer. However, Bismarck's forward radar had malfunctioned as a result of the vibration from the heavy guns firing during this skirmish, and Lütjens was obliged to order Prinz Eugen to move ahead of Bismarck in order to provide the squadron with forward radar coverage.[5]

Battle of the Denmark Strait

 
Turret Anton, the most forward of Bismarck's four dual 38 cm SK C/34 naval gun turrets. Each turret had a crew of 94 men and could fire every 18 seconds.

At the Battle of the Denmark Strait on 24 May 1941, HMS Hood was sunk, probably by Bismarck. The hydrophones on Prinz Eugen detected the sounds of an unknown ship to port at 05:00. The Germans sighted the smoke stacks of two ships at 05:45, which triggered the alarm on Bismarck. Schneider initially reported them as two heavy cruisers. The first British salvo revealed them as battleships, but not until the British task force turned to port were their precise identities revealed.[6] The British ships started firing at the German force at 05:53. Vice Admiral Lancelot Holland planned on targeting Bismarck first, but due to the reversed battle order, Prince of Wales and Hood opened fire on the Prinz Eugen instead. The commander of the Prince of Wales, Captain John Leach, detected this error and directed his guns to fire on Bismarck. The German task force was still waiting for the order to commence firing. The commander of the German task force, Admiral Lütjens, did not give this order immediately. Two minutes into the battle and after multiple inquiries by Schneider, "Frage Feuererlaubnis"? (Requesting permission to open fire?) an impatient Lindemann responded: "Ich lasse mir doch nicht mein Schiff unter dem Arsch wegschießen. Feuererlaubnis"!. (I'm not letting my ship get shot out from under my arse. Open fire!). This Lindemann quotation is cited by Burkard Freiherr von Müllenheim-Rechberg who at the time was in the after gun director keeping a watch out for Suffolk and Norfolk and listening to Schneider's commands over the gunnery intercom.[Notes 1] This conversation most likely was passed down by a surviving crew member who overheard the conversation between Schneider and Lindemann.[7] Von Müllenheim-Rechberg, Lindemann's personnel adjutant, would become the highest-ranking officer to survive the Bismarck's last battle on 27 May 1941. A lot of what we know today about the final days of Bismarck is attributed to his account as a witness.[8]

Bismarck fired its first salvo at 05:55, first firing Anton and Bruno turrets and after a while Cesar and Dora turrets, referred to as a "demi salvo".[Notes 2] These shells were reported to have fallen short of the target, so Schneider corrected the range and lateral displacement and ordered a 4 hectometres (400 m; 440 yd) bracket,[Notes 3] observing the long salvo to be "over" and judging the short salvo to be on target. Schneider then ordered a full salvo (broadside), followed by two more broadsides in rapid fire. This fifth salvo of 38 centimetres (15 in) shells fired at 06:01 at a range of about 180 hectometres (18,000 m; 20,000 yd), was seen to hit Hood near her mainmast, and one shell probably struck somewhere between Hood's mainmast and "X" turret, aft of the mast.[9][Notes 4] There was no immediately visible explosion, and Schneider was heard to remark: "Nanu, war das ein Blindgänger? Der hat sich wohl reingefressen." (Was that a dud? It definitely chewed its way in.)[10] Then a huge jet of flame burst out of Hood from near the mainmast, followed by a devastating magazine explosion that destroyed the after part of the ship. This explosion broke the back of Hood, and the last sight of the ship, which sank in only three minutes, was her bow, nearly vertical in the water.[11][12]

Following the explosion HMS Prince of Wales was targeted by both German ships. She disengaged from combat at about 06:09, after seven direct hits; four by Bismarck and three by Prinz Eugen. However, during this brief engagement Prince of Wales had also hit Bismarck three times. One shot struck the commander's boat and put the seaplane catapult amidships out of action. The second shell passed right through the bow from one side to the other. The third struck the hull plates underwater and burst inside the ship, flooding a generator room and damaging the bulkhead to an adjoining boiler room, partially flooding it also. These last two hits allowed 2,000 metric tons (2,000 long tons; 2,200 short tons) of water into the ship.[13]

Bismarck's firing details[14]
Time Salvo fired by turrets Target Result
05:55 1st Anton and Bruno
1st Cesar and Dora
Hood Miss
05:56 2nd Anton and Bruno
2nd Cesar and Dora
Hood Miss
05:57 3rd Anton and Bruno
3rd Cesar and Dora
Hood Hit the fire control tower
05:58 4th Anton and Bruno
4th Cesar and Dora
Hood Miss
05:59 5th Anton and Bruno
5th Cesar and Dora
Hood Hit, Hood explodes
06:00 6th Anton and Bruno
6th Cesar and Dora
Hood Miss
06:01 7th Anton and Bruno
7th Cesar and Dora
Prince of Wales Miss
06:02 8th Anton and Bruno
8th Cesar and Dora
Prince of Wales Hit on compass platform
06:03 9th Anton and Bruno
9th Cesar and Dora
Prince of Wales Two hits, one on ship's stern under the waterline and one on the 133 mm secondary fire control director on the starboard side
06:04 10th Anton and Bruno
10th Cesar and Dora
Prince of Wales Hits the Supermarine Walrus aircraft crane
06:05 11th Anton and Bruno
11th Cesar and Dora
Prince of Wales Miss
06:06 12th Anton and Bruno Prince of Wales Miss
06:07 12th Cesar and Dora Prince of Wales Miss
06:08 13th Anton and Bruno Prince of Wales Miss
06:09 13th Cesar and Dora Prince of Wales Miss

The pursuit

 
Bismarck firing at HMS Prince of Wales on 24 May 1941 as seen from Prinz Eugen.

The Bismarck was sunk less than a week later after a concentrated effort by Britain's Royal Navy. At 23:30 (local time 19:30) on 24 May an attack was made by a group of nine Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers of 825 Naval Air Squadron led by Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde from the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious. One hit was scored, causing only superficial damage to the Bismarck's armoured belt, but killing Oberbootsmann Kurt Kirchberg.[15] In mid-morning at 10:30 on 26 May a Coastal Command Catalina reconnaissance aircraft from 209 Squadron RAF spotted Bismarck roughly 700 nautical miles (1,300 km) west of St. Nazaire. The British battle group Force H, under the command of Admiral James Somerville, whose main units were the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, the First World War era battlecruiser HMS Renown and the cruiser HMS Sheffield was ordered to stop Bismarck. At 19:15 that evening, 15 Swordfish from Ark Royal took off to launch an attack. The air raid alarm was sounded on Bismarck at 20:30. Roughly 15 minutes into the attack Bismarck was potentially hit by a torpedo, and at around 21:00 a single torpedo jammed Bismarck's rudder.[16]

At 02:17 on the morning of 27 May 1941, Group West received a transmission from Bismarck recommending Schneider for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. At 03:51 a reply confirmed that the medal had been awarded by Hitler.[17] Matrosengefreiter Adolf Eich later witnessed Admiral Günther Lütjens and Kapitän zur See Ernst Lindemann shaking his hand after the award was made.[18][19] The news that Adalbert Schneider had received the award was announced in the German press on 5 June 1941.[20]

Bismarck's alarm sounded for the last time at 08:00 on the morning of 27 May 1941. Norfolk sighted the Bismarck at 08:15 and the British battleship Rodney opened fire on Bismarck at 08:47. Bismarck returned fire at 08:49. Further involved in the final battle were the battleship HMS King George V and the cruisers Norfolk and Dorsetshire. Torpedo bombers did not participate in the final battle. Bismarck's forward command position was hit at 08:53 and both forward gun turrets were put out of action at 09:02. The after command position was destroyed at 09:18 and turret Dora was disabled at 09:24. Bismarck received further heavy hits at 09:40, resulting in a fire amidships. Turret Caesar was put out of action at 09:50. All weapons went silent at 10:00. Rodney and King George V had to disengage prior to Bismarck's sinking due to lack of fuel. The Germans started preparing for the self destruction of Bismarck when three torpedoes fired by Dorsetshire hit Bismarck's side armour. Bismarck sank at 10:36 at position 48°10′N 16°12′W / 48.167°N 16.200°W / 48.167; -16.200, roughly 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) west of Ouessant (Ushant). The cruiser Dorsetshire saved 85 men, the British destroyer Maori 25 German sailors. A further five sailors were saved by the German submarine U-74 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat and the weather observation ship Sachsenwald.[21]

Death

 
 
Bismarck sunk

Burkard Freiherr von Müllenheim-Rechberg was monitoring the gunnery intercom, and reports on the last minutes of Schneider's life. Schneider reported the heavy and middle guns ready for combat, and gave the order to open fire. The first salvo was fired by Rodney at 08:47 followed by King George V at 08:48. Schneider fired a partial salvo at Rodney since the Bismarck rear turrets could not fire at the appropriate angle. Schneider's aim was good, and he reported the first three salvos as short, on target and over. Schneider continued firing at Rodney. King George V and a little later Rodney turned to pass Bismarck's port side, a maneuver which Bismarck couldn't counter due to the damaged rudders. Bismarck started oscillating around her center axis which threw Schneider's aim off and necessitated continuous lateral displacement corrections of the guns. Bismarck started receiving heavy hits. The main gun director was destroyed, then turrets Anton and Bruno malfunctioned.[22] Schneider was killed at 09:02 when an 8-inch shell from HMS Norfolk hit his combat position in the main gun director.[17][23] Schneider was posthumously promoted to Senior Commander (Fregattenkapitän) with an effective date of 1 May 1941. However this promotion is not on his personnel file.[24]

Awards

Promotions

1 April 1923: Matrosengefreiter (seaman 2nd class)
1 April 1924: Fähnrich zur See (Midshipman)
1 October 1926: Leutnant zur See (Second Lieutenant at sea)
1 July 1928: Oberleutnant zur See (First Lieutenant at sea)
1 October 1934: Kapitänleutnant (Captain Lieutenant)
1 August 1938: Korvettenkapitän (Corvette Captain)
1 May 1941: Fregattenkapitän (Frigate Captain), not in his personnel file[24]

Notes

  1. ^ Regarding personal names: Freiherr is a former title (translated as Baron). In Germany since 1919, it forms part of family names. The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin.
  2. ^ Bismarck had four dual 38 centimetres (15 in) SK C/34 gun turrets. Its two forward turrets were Anton and Bruno. The aft turrets were Caesar and Dora.
  3. ^ Bracketing is a method for determining range by firing shells both beyond and short of a target.
  4. ^ Hood carried eight 42 calibre BL 15-inch Mark I guns. These guns were mounted in the hydraulically powered Mark II twin turrets which were designated 'A', 'B', 'X' and 'Y' from forward to aft.

References

Citations

  1. ^ Dörr 1996, pp. 212, 214.
  2. ^ a b c d e Dörr 1996, p. 213.
  3. ^ Boyne 1997, pp. 53–54.
  4. ^ Grützner 2010, pp. 172–175.
  5. ^ Grützner 2010, p. 179.
  6. ^ Freiherr von Müllenheim-Rechberg 1980, pp. 94–96.
  7. ^ Grützner 2010, p. 180.
  8. ^ Grützner 2010, pp. 144–145.
  9. ^ Grützner 2010, p. 181.
  10. ^ Freiherr von Müllenheim-Rechberg 1980, pp. 96–97.
  11. ^ Freiherr von Müllenheim-Rechberg 1980, pp. 97–98.
  12. ^ Boyne 1997, p. 60.
  13. ^ Grützner 2010, p. 184.
  14. ^ John Asmussen. . Bismarck. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  15. ^ Grützner 2010, pp. 186–187.
  16. ^ Grützner 2010, pp. 190–191.
  17. ^ a b Jackson 2002, p. 91.
  18. ^ Ballard 1990, p. 120–121
  19. ^ Freiherr von Müllenheim-Rechberg 1980, pp. 169, 182.
  20. ^ Dörr 1996, p. 212.
  21. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr and Steinmetz 1990, p. 81.
  22. ^ Freiherr von Müllenheim-Rechberg 1980, pp. 189–191.
  23. ^ Ballard 1990, p. 126.
  24. ^ a b c Dörr 1966, p. 214.
  25. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 384.
  26. ^ Fellgiebel 2003, p. 312.
  27. ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 675.

Bibliography

  • Ballard, Robert D. (1990). Bismarck: Germany's Greatest Battleship gives up its secrets. Toronto: Madison Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7858-2205-9.
  • Boyne, Walter (1997). Clash of Titans: World War II at Sea. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-83914-1.
  • Dörr, Manfred (1996). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine—Band 2: L–Z [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Surface Forces of the Navy—Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2497-6.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 – The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer; C. F., Colton; Rogers, Duncan (2003). Elite of the Third Reich: the recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, 1939–45. Helion & Company Limited. ISBN 978-1-874622-46-8.
  • Grützner, Jens (2010) (in German). Kapitän zur See Ernst Lindemann: Der Bismarck-Kommandant – Eine Biographie. Zweibrücken, Germany: VDM Heinz Nickel. ISBN 978-3-86619-047-4.
  • Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert; Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1990). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe. Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart. (10 Bände) (in German). Mundus Verlag. ASIN B003VHSRKE.
  • Jackson, Robert (2002). The Bismarck: Weapons of War. London: Spellmount. ISBN 1-86227-173-9.
  • Müllenheim-Rechberg Freiherr von, Burkard (1980) (in German). Schlachtschiff Bismarck 1940/41—Der Bericht eines Überlebenden. Berlin, Frankfurt/M, Wien: Ullstein. ISBN 3-550-07925-7.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

adalbert, schneider, march, 1904, 1941, first, gunnery, officer, board, battleship, bismarck, awarded, knight, cross, iron, cross, sinking, hood, 1941, battle, denmark, strait, less, than, week, later, 1941, schneider, majority, bismarck, crew, were, killed, a. Adalbert Schneider 10 March 1904 27 May 1941 was the First Gunnery Officer on board the battleship Bismarck and was awarded the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross for the sinking of HMS Hood on 24 May 1941 in the Battle of the Denmark Strait Less than a week later on 27 May 1941 Schneider and the majority of Bismarck s crew were killed in action during Bismarck s last battle Adalbert SchneiderAdalbert SchneiderBorn 1904 03 10 10 March 1904Halle Saale Died27 May 1941 1941 05 27 aged 37 Atlantic OceanBuried48 10 N 16 12 W 48 167 N 16 200 W 48 167 16 200Allegiance Weimar Republic to 1933 Nazi GermanyService wbr branch Reichsmarine KriegsmarineYears of service1922 41RankFregattenkapitan posthumously UnitSKS NiobeBerlinHannover Pocket battleship DeutschlandLight cruiser NurnbergBattleship BismarckBattles warsWorld War II Atlantic War Operation Rheinubung Battle of the Denmark Strait Last battle of the battleship Bismarck AwardsKnight s Cross of the Iron Cross Contents 1 Naval career 1 1 Operation Rheinubung 1 2 Battle of the Denmark Strait 1 3 The pursuit 1 4 Death 2 Awards 3 Promotions 4 Notes 5 References 5 1 Citations 5 2 BibliographyNaval career EditAdalbert Schneider was born on 10 March 1904 in Halle Saale in the Province of Saxony at the time a province of the Kingdom of Prussia He joined the German navy on 30 March 1922 He received his first infantry training in the 3rd Company of Coastal Defence Department 3 3 Kompanie Kustenwehr Abteilung K W A III On 4 October 1922 Schneider went on board Hannover the first of his ship based trainings Following Hannover he went on board SKS Niobe on 4 April 1923 and Berlin on 2 July 1923 He was promoted to Leading Seaman Matrosengefreiter on 1 April 1923 Schneider then attended an officer candidate Fahnrich course at the Naval Academy Murwik in Flensburg Murwik on 30 March 1924 and was shortly after promoted to midshipman Fahnrich zur See on 1 April 1924 1 After the officers candidate training Schneider attended a torpedo course for midshipmen at the Torpedo and Communication School Torpedo und Nachrichtenschule at Flensburg Murwik on 1 April 1925 followed by a pathfinder course for midshipmen Fahnrichs Sperr Lehrgang at the experimental pathfinder and demonstration command Sperrversuchs und Lehrkommando at Kiel Wik on 3 June 1925 2 Operation Rheinubung Edit The goal of the Operation Rheinubung Rhine Exercise was for Bismarck under the command of Kapitan zur See Ernst Lindemann and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen under the command of Kapitan zur See Helmuth Brinkmann to break into the Atlantic and attack Allied shipping Grossadmiral Erich Raeder s orders to the Chief of Fleet Admiral Gunther Lutjens were that the objective of the Bismarck is not to defeat enemies of equal strength but to tie them down in a delaying action while preserving the combat capacity as much as possible so as to allow Prinz Eugen to get at the merchant ships in the convoy and The primary target in this operation is the enemy s merchant shipping enemy warships will be engaged only when that objective makes it necessary and it can be done without excessive risk 3 At 02 00 on 19 May 1941 Bismarck and Prinz Eugen left Gotenhafen now Gdynia and proceeded through the Baltic Sea and out towards the Atlantic Unbeknownst to Lutjens the British had intercepted enough communications to infer that a German naval operation might be about to occur in the area Bismarck and Prinz Eugen passed the Great Belt on 20 May and around noon the next day the task force dropped anchor in the Grimstad fjord 60 19 49 N 5 14 48 E 60 32483 N 5 24133 E 60 32483 5 24133 at Bergen Norway There Prinz Eugen took on fuel from the tanker Wollin Schneider s brother Oberfeldarzt Field Doctor Dr Otto Schneider who was stationed in Norway briefly visited his brother on board Bismarck Dr Schneider was one of the last men to leave Bismarck on the evening of 21 May at around 22 00 Dr Schneider later claimed that his brother was convinced that Bismarck and Prinz Eugen were being sent on a suicide mission 4 On the evening of 23 May at 19 22 the German force was detected by the heavy cruisers HMS Suffolk and Norfolk that had been patrolling the Denmark Strait in the expectation of a German breakout The alarm was sounded and Bismarck fired five salvos without scoring a direct hit The heavily outgunned British cruisers withdrew to a safe distance and shadowed the enemy until their own heavy units could draw closer However Bismarck s forward radar had malfunctioned as a result of the vibration from the heavy guns firing during this skirmish and Lutjens was obliged to order Prinz Eugen to move ahead of Bismarck in order to provide the squadron with forward radar coverage 5 Battle of the Denmark Strait Edit Turret Anton the most forward of Bismarck s four dual 38 cm SK C 34 naval gun turrets Each turret had a crew of 94 men and could fire every 18 seconds At the Battle of the Denmark Strait on 24 May 1941 HMS Hood was sunk probably by Bismarck The hydrophones on Prinz Eugen detected the sounds of an unknown ship to port at 05 00 The Germans sighted the smoke stacks of two ships at 05 45 which triggered the alarm on Bismarck Schneider initially reported them as two heavy cruisers The first British salvo revealed them as battleships but not until the British task force turned to port were their precise identities revealed 6 The British ships started firing at the German force at 05 53 Vice Admiral Lancelot Holland planned on targeting Bismarck first but due to the reversed battle order Prince of Wales and Hood opened fire on the Prinz Eugen instead The commander of the Prince of Wales Captain John Leach detected this error and directed his guns to fire on Bismarck The German task force was still waiting for the order to commence firing The commander of the German task force Admiral Lutjens did not give this order immediately Two minutes into the battle and after multiple inquiries by Schneider Frage Feuererlaubnis Requesting permission to open fire an impatient Lindemann responded Ich lasse mir doch nicht mein Schiff unter dem Arsch wegschiessen Feuererlaubnis I m not letting my ship get shot out from under my arse Open fire This Lindemann quotation is cited by Burkard Freiherr von Mullenheim Rechberg who at the time was in the after gun director keeping a watch out for Suffolk and Norfolk and listening to Schneider s commands over the gunnery intercom Notes 1 This conversation most likely was passed down by a surviving crew member who overheard the conversation between Schneider and Lindemann 7 Von Mullenheim Rechberg Lindemann s personnel adjutant would become the highest ranking officer to survive the Bismarck s last battle on 27 May 1941 A lot of what we know today about the final days of Bismarck is attributed to his account as a witness 8 Bismarck fired its first salvo at 05 55 first firing Anton and Bruno turrets and after a while Cesar and Dora turrets referred to as a demi salvo Notes 2 These shells were reported to have fallen short of the target so Schneider corrected the range and lateral displacement and ordered a 4 hectometres 400 m 440 yd bracket Notes 3 observing the long salvo to be over and judging the short salvo to be on target Schneider then ordered a full salvo broadside followed by two more broadsides in rapid fire This fifth salvo of 38 centimetres 15 in shells fired at 06 01 at a range of about 180 hectometres 18 000 m 20 000 yd was seen to hit Hood near her mainmast and one shell probably struck somewhere between Hood s mainmast and X turret aft of the mast 9 Notes 4 There was no immediately visible explosion and Schneider was heard to remark Nanu war das ein Blindganger Der hat sich wohl reingefressen Was that a dud It definitely chewed its way in 10 Then a huge jet of flame burst out of Hood from near the mainmast followed by a devastating magazine explosion that destroyed the after part of the ship This explosion broke the back of Hood and the last sight of the ship which sank in only three minutes was her bow nearly vertical in the water 11 12 Following the explosion HMS Prince of Wales was targeted by both German ships She disengaged from combat at about 06 09 after seven direct hits four by Bismarck and three by Prinz Eugen However during this brief engagement Prince of Wales had also hit Bismarck three times One shot struck the commander s boat and put the seaplane catapult amidships out of action The second shell passed right through the bow from one side to the other The third struck the hull plates underwater and burst inside the ship flooding a generator room and damaging the bulkhead to an adjoining boiler room partially flooding it also These last two hits allowed 2 000 metric tons 2 000 long tons 2 200 short tons of water into the ship 13 Bismarck s firing details 14 Time Salvo fired by turrets Target Result05 55 1st Anton and Bruno1st Cesar and Dora Hood Miss05 56 2nd Anton and Bruno2nd Cesar and Dora Hood Miss05 57 3rd Anton and Bruno3rd Cesar and Dora Hood Hit the fire control tower05 58 4th Anton and Bruno4th Cesar and Dora Hood Miss05 59 5th Anton and Bruno5th Cesar and Dora Hood Hit Hood explodes06 00 6th Anton and Bruno6th Cesar and Dora Hood Miss06 01 7th Anton and Bruno7th Cesar and Dora Prince of Wales Miss06 02 8th Anton and Bruno8th Cesar and Dora Prince of Wales Hit on compass platform06 03 9th Anton and Bruno9th Cesar and Dora Prince of Wales Two hits one on ship s stern under the waterline and one on the 133 mm secondary fire control director on the starboard side06 04 10th Anton and Bruno10th Cesar and Dora Prince of Wales Hits the Supermarine Walrus aircraft crane06 05 11th Anton and Bruno11th Cesar and Dora Prince of Wales Miss06 06 12th Anton and Bruno Prince of Wales Miss06 07 12th Cesar and Dora Prince of Wales Miss06 08 13th Anton and Bruno Prince of Wales Miss06 09 13th Cesar and Dora Prince of Wales MissThe pursuit Edit Bismarck firing at HMS Prince of Wales on 24 May 1941 as seen from Prinz Eugen The Bismarck was sunk less than a week later after a concentrated effort by Britain s Royal Navy At 23 30 local time 19 30 on 24 May an attack was made by a group of nine Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers of 825 Naval Air Squadron led by Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde from the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious One hit was scored causing only superficial damage to the Bismarck s armoured belt but killing Oberbootsmann Kurt Kirchberg 15 In mid morning at 10 30 on 26 May a Coastal Command Catalina reconnaissance aircraft from 209 Squadron RAF spotted Bismarck roughly 700 nautical miles 1 300 km west of St Nazaire The British battle group Force H under the command of Admiral James Somerville whose main units were the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal the First World War era battlecruiser HMS Renown and the cruiser HMS Sheffield was ordered to stop Bismarck At 19 15 that evening 15 Swordfish from Ark Royal took off to launch an attack The air raid alarm was sounded on Bismarck at 20 30 Roughly 15 minutes into the attack Bismarck was potentially hit by a torpedo and at around 21 00 a single torpedo jammed Bismarck s rudder 16 At 02 17 on the morning of 27 May 1941 Group West received a transmission from Bismarck recommending Schneider for the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross At 03 51 a reply confirmed that the medal had been awarded by Hitler 17 Matrosengefreiter Adolf Eich later witnessed Admiral Gunther Lutjens and Kapitan zur See Ernst Lindemann shaking his hand after the award was made 18 19 The news that Adalbert Schneider had received the award was announced in the German press on 5 June 1941 20 Bismarck s alarm sounded for the last time at 08 00 on the morning of 27 May 1941 Norfolk sighted the Bismarck at 08 15 and the British battleship Rodney opened fire on Bismarck at 08 47 Bismarck returned fire at 08 49 Further involved in the final battle were the battleship HMS King George V and the cruisers Norfolk and Dorsetshire Torpedo bombers did not participate in the final battle Bismarck s forward command position was hit at 08 53 and both forward gun turrets were put out of action at 09 02 The after command position was destroyed at 09 18 and turret Dora was disabled at 09 24 Bismarck received further heavy hits at 09 40 resulting in a fire amidships Turret Caesar was put out of action at 09 50 All weapons went silent at 10 00 Rodney and King George V had to disengage prior to Bismarck s sinking due to lack of fuel The Germans started preparing for the self destruction of Bismarck when three torpedoes fired by Dorsetshire hit Bismarck s side armour Bismarck sank at 10 36 at position 48 10 N 16 12 W 48 167 N 16 200 W 48 167 16 200 roughly 300 nautical miles 560 km 350 mi west of Ouessant Ushant The cruiser Dorsetshire saved 85 men the British destroyer Maori 25 German sailors A further five sailors were saved by the German submarine U 74 under the command of Kapitanleutnant Eitel Friedrich Kentrat and the weather observation ship Sachsenwald 21 Death Edit Bismarck sunk Burkard Freiherr von Mullenheim Rechberg was monitoring the gunnery intercom and reports on the last minutes of Schneider s life Schneider reported the heavy and middle guns ready for combat and gave the order to open fire The first salvo was fired by Rodney at 08 47 followed by King George V at 08 48 Schneider fired a partial salvo at Rodney since the Bismarck rear turrets could not fire at the appropriate angle Schneider s aim was good and he reported the first three salvos as short on target and over Schneider continued firing at Rodney King George V and a little later Rodney turned to pass Bismarck s port side a maneuver which Bismarck couldn t counter due to the damaged rudders Bismarck started oscillating around her center axis which threw Schneider s aim off and necessitated continuous lateral displacement corrections of the guns Bismarck started receiving heavy hits The main gun director was destroyed then turrets Anton and Bruno malfunctioned 22 Schneider was killed at 09 02 when an 8 inch shell from HMS Norfolk hit his combat position in the main gun director 17 23 Schneider was posthumously promoted to Senior Commander Fregattenkapitan with an effective date of 1 May 1941 However this promotion is not on his personnel file 24 Awards EditDienstauszeichnung 4th Class 2 October 1936 2 Dienstauszeichnung 3rd Class 2 October 1936 2 Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary 20 August 1938 2 Iron Cross 1939 2nd Class 30 July 1940 2 1st Class High Seas Fleet Badge 1941 24 Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross on 27 May 1941 as Korvettenkapitan and 1st Gunnery Officer on the battleship Bismarck 25 26 27 Promotions Edit1 April 1923 Matrosengefreiter seaman 2nd class 1 April 1924 Fahnrich zur See Midshipman 1 October 1926 Leutnant zur See Second Lieutenant at sea 1 July 1928 Oberleutnant zur See First Lieutenant at sea 1 October 1934 Kapitanleutnant Captain Lieutenant 1 August 1938 Korvettenkapitan Corvette Captain 1 May 1941 Fregattenkapitan Frigate Captain not in his personnel file 24 Notes Edit Regarding personal names Freiherr is a former title translated as Baron In Germany since 1919 it forms part of family names The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin Bismarck had four dual 38 centimetres 15 in SK C 34 gun turrets Its two forward turrets were Anton and Bruno The aft turrets were Caesar and Dora Bracketing is a method for determining range by firing shells both beyond and short of a target Hood carried eight 42 calibre BL 15 inch Mark I guns These guns were mounted in the hydraulically powered Mark II twin turrets which were designated A B X and Y from forward to aft References EditCitations Edit Dorr 1996 pp 212 214 a b c d e Dorr 1996 p 213 Boyne 1997 pp 53 54 Grutzner 2010 pp 172 175 Grutzner 2010 p 179 Freiherr von Mullenheim Rechberg 1980 pp 94 96 Grutzner 2010 p 180 Grutzner 2010 pp 144 145 Grutzner 2010 p 181 Freiherr von Mullenheim Rechberg 1980 pp 96 97 Freiherr von Mullenheim Rechberg 1980 pp 97 98 Boyne 1997 p 60 Grutzner 2010 p 184 John Asmussen The History The Battle of the Denmark Strait Bismarck Archived from the original on 15 March 2018 Retrieved 14 April 2013 Grutzner 2010 pp 186 187 Grutzner 2010 pp 190 191 a b Jackson 2002 p 91 Ballard 1990 p 120 121 Freiherr von Mullenheim Rechberg 1980 pp 169 182 Dorr 1996 p 212 Hildebrand Rohr and Steinmetz 1990 p 81 Freiherr von Mullenheim Rechberg 1980 pp 189 191 Ballard 1990 p 126 a b c Dorr 1966 p 214 Fellgiebel 2000 p 384 Fellgiebel 2003 p 312 Scherzer 2007 p 675 Bibliography Edit Ballard Robert D 1990 Bismarck Germany s Greatest Battleship gives up its secrets Toronto Madison Publishing ISBN 978 0 7858 2205 9 Boyne Walter 1997 Clash of Titans World War II at Sea New York Simon amp Schuster ISBN 978 0 684 83914 1 Dorr Manfred 1996 Die Ritterkreuztrager der Uberwasserstreitkrafte der Kriegsmarine Band 2 L Z The Knight s Cross Bearers of the Surface Forces of the Navy Volume 2 L Z in German Osnabruck Germany Biblio Verlag ISBN 978 3 7648 2497 6 Fellgiebel Walther Peer 2000 Die Trager des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 1945 Die Inhaber der hochsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile The Bearers of the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 1945 The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches in German Friedberg Germany Podzun Pallas ISBN 978 3 7909 0284 6 Fellgiebel Walther Peer C F Colton Rogers Duncan 2003 Elite of the Third Reich the recipients of the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 45 Helion amp Company Limited ISBN 978 1 874622 46 8 Grutzner Jens 2010 in German Kapitan zur See Ernst Lindemann Der Bismarck Kommandant Eine Biographie Zweibrucken Germany VDM Heinz Nickel ISBN 978 3 86619 047 4 Hildebrand Hans H Rohr Albert Steinmetz Hans Otto 1990 Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe Biographien ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart 10 Bande in German Mundus Verlag ASIN B003VHSRKE Jackson Robert 2002 The Bismarck Weapons of War London Spellmount ISBN 1 86227 173 9 Mullenheim Rechberg Freiherr von Burkard 1980 in German Schlachtschiff Bismarck 1940 41 Der Bericht eines Uberlebenden Berlin Frankfurt M Wien Ullstein ISBN 3 550 07925 7 Scherzer Veit 2007 Die Ritterkreuztrager 1939 1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer Luftwaffe Kriegsmarine Waffen SS Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbundeter Streitkrafte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives The Knight s Cross Bearers 1939 1945 The Holders of the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army Air Force Navy Waffen SS Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives in German Jena Germany Scherzers Militaer Verlag ISBN 978 3 938845 17 2 Portals Battleships Biography Military of Germany World War II Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Adalbert Schneider amp oldid 1130196231, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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