Killing the Bismarck, Iain Ballantyne
Killing the Bismarck, Iain Ballantyne
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Killing the Bismarck
Destroying the Pride of Hitler’s Fleet

Author: Iain Ballantyne

Narrator: Traber Burns

Unabridged: 11 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/17/2017


Synopsis

In May 1941, the German battleship Bismarck, accompanied by heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, broke out into the Atlantic to attack Allied shipping. The Royal Navy’s pursuit and subsequent destruction of the Bismarck was an epic of naval warfare. In this new account of those dramatic events at the height of the Second World War, Iain Ballantyne draws extensively on the graphic eyewitness testimony of veterans to construct a thrilling story, mainly from the point of view of the British battleships, cruisers, and destroyers involved.He describes the tense atmosphere as cruisers play a lethal cat-and-mouse game as they shadow Bismarck in the icy Denmark Strait. We witness the shocking destruction of the British battle cruiser HMS Hood, in which all but three of her ship’s complement were killed, an event that fueled pursuing Royal Navy warships, including the battered battleship Prince of Wales, with a thirst for revenge. While Swordfish torpedo-bombers try desperately to cripple the Bismarck, we sail in destroyers on their own daring torpedo attacks, battling mountainous seas. Finally, the author takes us into the last showdown, as battleships Rodney and King George V, supported by cruisers Norfolk and Dorsetshire, destroy the pride of Hitler’s fleet.This vivid, superbly researched account portrays this epic saga through the eyes of so-called “ordinary sailors” caught up in extraordinary events. Killing the Bismarck is an outstanding book, conveying the horror and majesty of war at sea in all its cold brutality and awesome power.

About Iain Ballantyne

Iain Ballantyne is a journalist and much published author of nonfiction works about naval warfare. He has spent time at sea in most types of warship, from nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers, to destroyers and frigates, in assignments from the Arctic to minefields in poisoned waters off war-torn Kuwait and a foray into the Bosnian war zone. In 2010, his book Killing the Bismarck won a Mountbatten Maritime Award Certificate of Merit for best literary contribution. His work in the maritime arena was saluted with a Special Recognition Award from the British Maritime Charitable Foundation for his contribution to raising maritime awareness. He is the founding editor of the global naval news magazine Warships IFR and the Guide to the Royal Navy.

About Traber Burns

Traber Burns worked for thirty-five years in regional theater, including the New York, Oregon, and Alabama Shakespeare festivals. He also spent five years in Los Angeles appearing in many television productions and commercials, including Lost, Close to Home, Without a Trace, Boston Legal, Grey’s Anatomy, Cold Case, Gilmore Girls, and others.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Boudewijn on August 30, 2022

A gripping account of the sinking of the Bismarck, as seen through the eyes of the participating British sailors In May 1941 the Bismarck, up until then the most modern battleship and the pride of the Kriegsmarine, set out on the Atlantic to challenge the Royal Navy. Together with the Prinz Eugen the......more

Goodreads review by Cold War Conversations Podcast on June 17, 2014

A gripping account of the chase and final destruction of the Bismarck. Told from the view of the officers and men of the Royal Navy this book gave more insight into the stresses of naval warfare than other books I have read on the subject mainly due to extensive use of first hand accounts. To paraphr......more

Goodreads review by Simon on September 05, 2016

As with a lot of people my age, I came to the story of Bismarck through the Kenneth More film Sink the Bismarck, made when memories of the event were still fresh (More also played Lightoller in 1958's A Night to Remember, the film about Titanic that was shot with the most number of survivors still a......more

Goodreads review by C. G. on April 26, 2019

Lacking some flavor. The author set about retelling the oft told tale of the Bismarck/Prinz Eugen sortie, but his angle was to tell the story almost entirely from the RN's point of view. I found this angle to be severely limiting in appreciating the cat and mouse nature of the hunt for Bismarck as we......more

Goodreads review by Nikola on August 27, 2023

"Pre svega, pre bitke obucite čisto donje rublje." Ima ovde interesantnih anegdota o životu mornara - o tome koliko te more kvasi na razaračima, koliko je ispod palubna mraka i koliko smrada na povraćanje. Pre 2. svetskog rata, Kraljevska mornarica jeste bila najveća evropska pomorska sila, ali je p......more


Quotes

“An excellent account…A suspenseful narrative that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.” WWII History magazine

“Energetically moves readers through the action, using perspectives from sailors aboard the many British warships and in the cockpits of the Swordfish torpedo-bombers.” Nautical Research Journal


Awards

  • Mountbatten Maritime Award