It was the culmination of Operation Rheinübung where the attempt of two German ships to disrupt the Atlantic convoys to the United Kingdom failed with the scuttling of the Bismarck.

The first phase late on 26 May consisted of air strikes by torpedo bombers from the British aircraft carrier Ark Royal, which disabled Bismarck's steering gear, jammed her rudders in a turning position and prevented her escape.

The third phase on the morning of 27 May was an attack by the British battleships King George V and Rodney, supported by the heavy cruisers Norfolk and Dorsetshire.

[3] British warships rescued 110 survivors from Bismarck before being obliged to withdraw because of an apparent U-boat sighting, leaving several hundred men to drown.

In the final phase, the withdrawing British ships were attacked the next day on 28 May by aircraft of the Luftwaffe, resulting in the loss of the destroyer HMS Mashona.

In the resulting Battle of the Denmark Strait on 24 May, Bismarck's fuel tanks were damaged and several machinery compartments, including a boiler room, were flooded.

[4] Determined to avenge the sinking of the "Pride of the Navy" HMS Hood in the Battle of the Denmark Strait, the British committed every possible unit to hunting down Bismarck.

During the late evening of 24 May, an attack was made by a small group of Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers of 825 Naval Air Squadron under the command of Eugene Esmonde from Victorious.

Later on 25 May the commander of the German force, Admiral Günther Lütjens, apparently unaware that he had lost his pursuers, broke radio silence to send a coded message to Germany.

This faux-pas would prove critical, as the British overheard the communique, and subsequently were able to triangulate the approximate position of Bismarck, logic leading them to deduce that the German battleship had set a course for France, for re-armament and repairs.

All things considered, Lütjens chose to maintain an economical speed of 21 knots, to conserve fuel, with the hope of reaching France before the Allied flotilla could detect and intercept them.

[10] It was piloted by the British Flying Officer Dennis Briggs[11] and co-piloted by the US Navy observer Ensign Leonard B. Smith, USNR.

[12] Smith was at the controls when he spotted Bismarck[13] (via a trailing oil slick from the ship's damaged fuel tank) and reported her position to the Admiralty.

Shortly before at 09:00 Ark Royal had launched scouting planes and half an hour after the Catalina, two Swordfish found Bismarck as well.

[16] At 19:50 Force H ran into U-556, which obtained a perfect shooting position to hit both the Ark Royal and Renown, but the U-boat had expended all her torpedoes on previous operations and could not attack.

After collecting her airplanes Ark Royal and Force H first kept north of Bismarck, but during the night sailed south and remained in the vicinity.

[26][27] Between 05:00 and 06:00, Lütjens ordered an Arado 196 float plane launched to the French coast, to secure the ship's war diary, footage of the engagement with Hood, and other important documents.

[31] He instructed the captain of Rodney to close to within 15,000 yd (14,000 m) as quickly as possible, and that while he should, in general, conform to King George V's movements, he was free to manoeuvre independently.

[33] At 08:43, lookouts on King George V spotted Bismarck, some 25,000 yd (23,000 m) away; Rodney opened fire first at 08:47, followed quickly by King George V. Bismarck was unable to steer due to the torpedo damage to the rudders, and the consequent unpredictable motions made the ship an unstable gun platform and created a difficult gunnery problem.

This was the closest she came to scoring a hit on any British warship in the final engagement,[36] because at 09:02, a 16-inch (406 mm) salvo from Rodney struck the forward superstructure, damaging the bridge and main fire control director and killing most of the senior officers.

King George V remained at a greater distance to increase the possibility that her plunging shells would strike Bismarck's decks vertically and penetrate into the ships's interior.

Based on subsequent examination of the wreck, the last torpedo appears to have detonated against Bismarck's port side superstructure, which was by then already underwater.

In the morning of 27 May one Heinkel He 111 missed Ark Royal with a few bombs and only four bombers found the British battleships but failed to score a hit.

On 28 May the destroyers Mashona and Tartar were heading for Northern Ireland at economical speed due to their low fuel stocks and were attacked on 28 May in the morning by bombers.

At 11:40 a lookout on the Dorsetshire thought he spotted a periscope and the rescue effort was abandoned whilst hundreds of Bismarck's survivors were still in the water.

[50][51] After the sinking, Admiral John Tovey said, "The Bismarck had put up a most gallant fight against impossible odds worthy of the old days of the Imperial German Navy, and she went down with her colours flying."

The Board of the Admiralty issued a message of thanks to those involved: Their Lordships congratulate C.-in-C., Home Fleet, and all concerned in the unrelenting pursuit and successful destruction of the enemy's most powerful warship.

From the information at present available to Their Lordships there can be no doubt that had it not been for the gallantry, skill, and devotion to duty of the Fleet Air Arm in both Victorious and Ark Royal, our object might not have been achieved.

When the British interrogated the survivors of the Bismarck, it was clear that morale aboard the vessel before it sank was very low because Lutjens was driving them to despair in regards to preparing to die.