I’m always more impressed more by one the Bismarck’s companion ships, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. Survived WWII and two atomic bomb blasts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cruiser_Prinz_Eugen
Interesting stuff:
Early on 25 May the British forces lost contact with Bismarck, which headed ESE towards France while the British searched NE, presuming she was returning to Norway. Later on 25 May Admiral Lütjens, apparently unaware that he had lost his pursuers, broke radio silence to send a coded message to Germany. This allowed the British to triangulate the approximate position of the Bismarck and aircraft were dispatched to hunt for the German battleship. She was rediscovered in the late morning of 26 May by a Catalina flying boat from No. 209 Squadron RAF and subsequently shadowed by aircraft from Force H steaming north from Gibraltar.
The final action consisted of four main phases. The first phase late on the 26th consisted of air strikes by torpedo bombers from the British aircraft carrier Ark Royal, which disabled Bismarck’s steering gear, jamming her rudders in a turning position and preventing her escape...