Killing the Bismarck

Book excerpt: 'In May 1941, the German battleship Bismarck, accompanied by heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, broke out into the Atlantic to attack Allied shipping. The Royal Navy's pursuit and subsequent destruction of Bismarck was an epic of naval warfare. Nearly seventy years on, 'Killing the Bismarck' radically alters our perception of this legendary episode, by focusing on first-hand accounts of British sailors, marines and carrier aviators. Controversially, the author presents eye-witness testimony that appears to indicate that the stricken Bismarck was trying to surrender. During this action-packed story we go abroad cruisers playing a lethal cat and mouse game as they shadow Bismarck and experience the British battle cruiser Hood's destruction, a disaster that fuelled a thirst for revenge. We fly in Swordfish torpedo-bombers as their valiant aircrews take off in atrocious weather and defy storms of flak during desperate bids to cripple Bismarck. We sail in destroyers as they make daring torpedo attacks, battling mountainous seas.......' (Book jacket)