A biplane dropped a torpedo that irreparably damaged the rudder on the Bismarck, or she would have made it into the protective umbrella of the Luftwaffe. As it turns out, it likely would have been sunk later as its sister the Turpitz was. Until that point in the sea battle, the ship was doing quite well.
Germany, as a continental power didn't use carriers like its ally or its enemy. Its naval strength lay in its U-boats, which succumbed or lost effectiveness to airpower.
And then only because we knew where they were operating because Bletchley Park cracked the Engima code.