Prince of Wales damage

[SK]

Hi,

I would like to see some photos of damage the HMS Prince of Wales from Denmark strait battle and some information about this damage. Please where I can see this (www)?
Many thanks

SK

[Karl Heidenreich]

I saw photos in this very forum or in the HMS Hood forum early this year (2006). Don´t know precisely where in the forum.

[SK]

I saw photos in this very forum or in the HMS Hood forum early this year (2006). Don´t know precisely where in the forum.

Thanks Karl,

I saw same photos on HMS Hood´s pages too, but link is not funkcion now. ..

Nobody don´t have any other links about demage Prince of Wales?

[WGarzke]

There are some photographs of the damage to Prince of Wales from shells of Bismarck and Prinz Eugen in Battleships, Allied Battleships in World War II by Robert Dulin and myself published by the Naval Institute Press. This book is no longer in print, however. In the section of the book dedicated to Prince of Wales there are about five or six photographs including diagrams where some of these shells hit.

I have also been in contact with Vice Adm D.B.H. Wildish who was the damage control officer aboard Prince of Wales to assess the seriousness of the damage. Fortunately for the British battleship, one 380-mm shell with an underwater trajectory landed in the side protective system near Y magazine without exploding. That shell was discovered by then LCDR Wildish when the vessel was docked in Rosyth.

[Karl Heidenreich]

WGarzke:

I have also been in contact with Vice Adm D.B.H. Wildish who was the damage control officer aboard Prince of Wales to assess the seriousness of the damage. Fortunately for the British battleship, one 380-mm shell with an underwater trajectory landed in the side protective system near Y magazine without exploding. That shell was discovered by then LCDR Wildish when the vessel was docked in Rosyth.

Hey, the Bismarck was closer to achieve a double play that morning than what I first believed.

[Antonio Bonomi]

Ciao all,

@ Bill Garzke,

nice to hear from you, always a pleasure to talk with such a competent person my friend.

I have that Rosyth report, ...... with all the PoW photos that were once posted on HMS Hood website too.

@ all

Here some infos out of that :

viewtopic.php?t=666&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Ciao Antonio

[Lutscha]

I have also been in contact with Vice Adm D.B.H. Wildish who was the damage control officer aboard Prince of Wales to assess the seriousness of the damage. Fortunately for the British battleship, one 380-mm shell with an underwater trajectory landed in the side protective system near Y magazine without exploding. That shell was discovered by then LCDR Wildish when the vessel was docked in Rosyth.

Wasn't this hit only possible due to a defective shell fuze? As far as I know the shell would have exploded long before it hit PoW due to the long underwater travel which was only possible because the fuze malfunctioned.

[Tiornu]

The shell appears to have started whirling after it hit the water. From memory, the fuze itself initiated but failed to detonate the shell. This is not necessarily indicative of a defect; the tiny mechanisms in a shell are not designed to withstand the forces of suddenly being twirled around underwater.
If the shell had nonetheless functioned, yes, it probably would have exploded before hitting the ship's side.

[José M. Rico]

If the shell had nonetheless functioned, yes, it probably would have exploded before hitting the ship's side.

Didn't the 14" shell from POW that hit Bismarck on section XIV after following an underwater trajectory explode against the inner torpedo bulkhead and not against the ship's side?

[Tiornu]

Yes. Each shell would fuze upon hitting the water. If the shell does not hit very close to the ship, the fuze action will take place before encountering the hull. The hit on Bismarck must have landed right alongside the target. The Japanese wanted to maximize the chances for hits like these, and they found it necessary to use fuze delays that were ten times as long as those in other navies.

[SK]

Ciao all,

@ Bill Garzke,

nice to hear from you, always a pleasure to talk with such a competent person my friend.

I have that Rosyth report, ...... with all the PoW photos that were once posted on HMS Hood website too.

@ all

Here some infos out of that :

viewtopic.php?t=666&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Ciao Antonio

Hi Antonio,

I can´t find this photos on Hood webside. Please can you give me a funkcional web link or send me this photos by email (warships@zoznam.sk) ?

Many thanks

Radoslav

[Antonio Bonomi]

Ciao Radoslav and all,

those images were posted on HMS Hood website :

http://www.readybb.com/hmshood/viewtopi ... =1182#1182

now the link to them seeems not functioning anymore, but I am sure that if you write to the HMS Hood webmaster ha can fix it and allow not only you but everybody else to see the photos of all the damages suffered by PoW during Denmark Strait battle.

Maybe also Jose' can find a place to post them here on this website, even if one place only should be more than enough I suppose.

In case it will not work, but I doubt knowing the guys , we will see what could be done.

Ciao Antonio

[Karl Heidenreich]

Hi Antonio!

I was wondering if there is a plan of the hits received by PoW at DS like the one there is of Hood? It would be interesting to see those hits that way.

Best regards.

[Antonio Bonomi]

Ciao Karl and all,

of course there is and I have it on my article too.

Jose' posted the article text here in while on HMS Hood website they posted also the drawings and some other stuffs of my article.

So it is enough to link here to see it and download it too :

http://hmshood.com/history/denmarkstrai ... trait1.htm

http://hmshood.com/history/denmarkstrai ... trait2.htm

http://hmshood.com/history/denmarkstrai ... trait3.htm

on page 3 you have the PoW drawing and the received hits positions.

I can anticipate to you that it is perfectly reproducing the Rosyth CONFIDENTIAL document by Royal Navy on the received damages suffered.

Ciao Antonio

[Karl Heidenreich]

Again, Hi Antonio!

Thanks a lot! Of course I had your article but my version didn´t had all those plans and graphics (by already having the article I never checked the HMS Hood website one of yours, sorry).
From it we can appreciate the fact that PoW was really hit during a very short time: 7 hits (4 from Bismarck and 3 from PE) in less than quarter of hour. Nice shooting from Bismarck´s artillery officer Schneider.
If I may, Antonio, What´s your opinion of this particular officer and his performance?

Very best regards!