Plunging Fire

78 Years ago today…

Germany had a brand new and powerful battleship, the Bismarck. While Britain’s Royal Navy had so many more ships, nothing terrified the British more than the Bismarck. She was believed to outclass everything Britain had.

When the Bismarck tried to breakout into the Atlantic, The Royal Navy began scrambling their best units to try to stop her. Waiting for Bismarck in the Denmark Strait what is their newest battleship Prince of Wales, and the 22-year-old Pride of Britain, the Hood.

Hood was the largest and most powerful ship Britain had. Commissioned after world war one ended, she was the pinnacle of the battle cruiser – elegant, fast and graceful. Originally designed with less armor and more speed based on the disastrous lessons learned at the battle of Jutland, her design was improved and her armored belt thickened.

Her deck armor was slated for thickening just before World War II begin… but by then she couldn’t be spared.

Admiral Lancelot Holland flew his flag from hood when they engaged Bismarck, and steamed towards the German battleship at flank speed.

Holland knew Hood well. Her armament of eight 15 inch guns equaled Bismarck’s, so she could match the German ship for range, but Hood’s belt was her armor’s strength, not her deck armor.

At range, the guns had to be elevated. They fired high so the shells would rain down from above, as opposed to directly in a straight line to strike belt armor.

Bismarck opened fire 15 miles away. Hood swung to port briefly to bring all eight of her main guns to bear, and to avoid risking too straight and predictable a path. But it was too late.

Witnesses on the nearby HMS Prince of Wales said Hood went up like a Roman Candle and exploded. Bismarck’s Plunging Fire pierced her deck armor and her magazine detonated. 1418 men died within minutes. Three survived.

Plunging Fire is the worst. It’s infuriating when you have the same guns as your opponent, but they can hit you from range, like cowards. You could respond in kind, but what good would that do?

Stand tall. Close the distance. Board them if you can, but at least don’t let yourself get blown apart at range. Make sure that if they’re going to pull the trigger they see your face.

Hood, even as she was broken in half and sinking to her grave, fired one last salvo blindly from her forward turret.

Defiant to the end.

Screw Plunging Fire.