Naval History Forums

Hello everybody,

@ Paul Mercer,

I do not doubt that Kpt Lindemann said : " I will not have my ship shot from under my arse " ... but after having said so, ... he still had to wait the orders from Adm Lutjens wheter or not to accept the incoming battle and only after, ... open fire ... accordingly.

The photo we are discussing, ... the Nh 69722, ... shows that it was Prinz Eugen the first German warship opening fire that morning, ... consequently even if Kpt Lindemann said that phrase, ... Bismarck was anticipated by the link Brinkmann+Jasper opening fire from Prinz Eugen, ... compared to the timing needed on Bismarck after he released the permission to fire to Schneider.

Obvioulsy all this happened only after the order released by Adm Lutjens by raising the flag JD ( Jot Dora = permission to open fire when ready ) on the Bismarck mainmast.

The smoke and the fired cartridges on Prinz Eugen main deck leave no doubts ... at least to me.

Hope now all is more clear also for you.

Bye Antonio

Gentlemen,
I'm not sure if this is a myth, but was Lindemannn not heard to say "I will not have my ship shot from under my arse"? If so then it must have been Lutjens who hesitated in opening fire.I have been told that in a sea battle, the Admiral controls the battle but the Captain controls the ship, whether this is true I'm not sure.

One of the problems with this is the information comes from the Baron who got it from another survivor who got it from still someone else. Also, we don't know for sure what the context of the statement was, assuming Lindemann actually said it. If one assumes Luetjens had informed Lindemann he was hoisting JD to Prinz Eugen, and if Lindemann coolly waits a few moments more, then there would have been a lot of tension and fear in the conning tower as men wait for the captain to finally give the word to fire. Perhaps Lindemann, sensing the mood of those around him said that in order to relieve tension, loosen the grip of fear a bit with a humorous statement intended to restore morale. It might not have been said out of his own frustration as is commonly thought.