The sinking of the Bismarck German submarine U-556

on 26 may, while returning patrol, low on fuel , having fired torpedoes, u-556 ordered reconnoitre reported position of battleship bismarck.

u-556 , bismarck had been neighbours in ways @ blohm & voss , construction completed @ same time. (bismarck commissioned on 24 august 1940.) in january 1941, u-556 s commissioning ceremony approached, wohlfarth wanted band celebration, not afford hire one. kapitän ernst lindemann, commanding officer of bismarck, lent him ship s band.

wohlfarth s patenschaftsurkunde

as thanks, wohlfarth drew humorous patenschaftsurkunde ( certificate of sponsorship ) promising u-556 protect bismarck. drawing shows wohlfarth knight parzival [percival] (his nickname) on deck of u-556 simultaneously bringing down planes sword , reaching underwater stop torpedo thumb. second drawing shows submarine towing battleship safety.

the text accompanying drawing reads:

wir u556 (500 to) erklären hiermit vor neptun, dem herrscher über ozeane, meere, seen, flüsse, büche, teiche und rinnsale daß wir unserem grossen bruder, dem schlachtschiff bismarck (42.000 to) in jeder lage, zu wasser, unter wasser, zu lande wie in der luft beistehen wollen.

hamburg, den 28. januar 1941
kommandant u
besatzung u556

we, u-556 (500 tons), hereby declare before neptune, lord on oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, brooks, ponds, , rivulets, provide desired assistance our big brother, battleship bismarck (42,000 tons), @ place on water, under water, on land, or in air.

hamburg, 28 january 1941
commander &
crew u556

around 19:50, wohlfahrt saw battlecruiser hms renown , aircraft carrier hms ark royal coming out of mist @ high speed. recorded in log, enemy bows on, 10 degrees starboard, without destroyers, without zigzagging, without torpedoes, submerge , avoid them. wohlfahrt saw activity on ark royal s flight deck, transpired launching of second, fatal attack on bismarck. @ 20:39, wohlfahrt surfaced , transmitted, enemy in view, battleship, aircraft carrier, course 115, enemy proceeding @ high speed. position 48° 20′ n, 16° 20′ w. renown s , ark royal s course toward bismarck coincided own; proceeded on surface @ full speed behind them.

wohlfahrt s war diary contains these entries 27 may 1941:

00:00, (wind) north-west 5, seaway 5, rain squalls, moderate visibility, dark night. surfaced. can bismarck? can see star shells being fired , flashes bismarck s guns. terrible feeling near , not able anything. can reconnoitre , lead in boats have torpedoes. keeping contact @ limit of visibility, reporting position, , sending directional signals call other boats.


03:52: moving around on east side south, in order in direction of activity. reach limit of can in view of fuel supply. otherwise won t home.


04:00: seas rising ever higher. bismarck still fighting. reported weather luftwaffe.

around 06:30 wohlfahrt sighted u-74 , transferred mission of maintaining contact bismarck kapitänleutnant eitel-friedrich kentrat. gave kentrat bismarck s position based on observations of star shells fired during night, adding: have not seen directly. assume contact. have no more fuel. wohlfahrt submerged , did not surface again until noon, time @ radio signals routinely repeated. when heard first time order radioed him between 07:00 , 08:00 pick bismarck s war diary. replied befehlshaber der u-boote ( commander-in-chief submarines ) karl dönitz, asking mission transferred kentrat, received radio order, u-boat kentrat pick bismarck war diary, unable locate bismarck. battleship had been sunk before wohlfahrt had received first message @ noon.

u-556 arrived @ lorient, in occupied france on 30 may 1941 after 30 days @ sea, wohlfahrt received knight s cross (ritterkreuz) dönitz personally.