With the destruction of the new German battleship Bismarck, the first time it has been out of port, a telling blow has been struck at the German navy which has thus lost one-half of its modern capital ships, the Bismarck and the von Tirpitz forming the spearhead of the enemy fleet. H.M.S. Hood has been heavily paid for and it may be safely said that Great Britain gains on the exchange. The story of what occurred during ihe last few days is interesting. Firstly, it demonstrates the close watch which the R.A.F, is able to maintain over the long coastline which Germany now occupies, secondly, the excellent dispositions which "were made to meet the Bismarck and her consort obviously despatched to interfere with the stream of supplies now proceeding across the Atlantic te Great Britain, and. thirdly, the arrangements made to deal with the enemy craft once contact had been made. The teamwork which ultimately wrote finis io the Bismarck's very short career was in every way praiseworthy.
There is one aspect of the whole matter which needs careful consideration. H.M.S.
Hood has been described as the largest war vessel afloat. That is true, but size in this case does not imply strength, and when she encountered the Bismarck she was hopelessly outclassed. She engaged the enemy though her officers and crew knew that fact, and her sinking was the almost inevitable result of that engagement. She was as against the Bismarck relatively no more powerful than was the Jervis Bay against the vessel which attacked her. The scene changed when the heavier vessels of the British Navy swung into action. Obviously the Bismarck was endeavouring to seek the safety of a base on the coast of France, realizing that she in her turn had been out-powered, and that if the British succeeded in effecting and maintaining contact she was doomed. Reduced to those terms, as this lengthy naval action must be, it is to be seen that there was no real ground for the despondency shown over the loss of the Hood any more than there is now for undue jubilation over the fate of the Bismarck.
The relative strengthening of the British Navy as a result of the elimination of the Bismarck is the one important point to be noted. It has been claimed that the ratio of battleship power has now changed from four to one to five to one in Britain's favour, highly significant fact in view of the losses which have been sustained in the battle for Crete, though these are very considerably smaller than the fantastic claims put forward by the enemy. But in this action which has led to such a gratifying success there is also the feature of ce-operation between the fleet and its air arm which has also to be borne in mind. Without the aeroplanes it is possible that the superior speed of the Bismarck would have enabled her to get away, but they not only kept her in sight, but were able to deal the first blows by torpedoes, which crippled her, reduced her speed and robbed her of all chance of reaching safety. It is clear that, with a powerful navy, and &n efficient air force, command of the seas can be maintained, and it is that command which will eventually bring this war to a successful conclusion in favour of Britain and her Allies.
The immediate effect of this important success is that for the time being at least the Atlantic has been freed from a very dangerous surface raider, and the delivery of American war material to Great Britain has been rendered all the surer. It remains to be seen whether Hitler will risk the von Tirpitz on a similar venture. If he does the manner in which the Bismarck has been handled justifies the belief that it would meet with the same fate, for the British dispositions appear to resemble the flinging of a wide net round the Bismarck which ultimately closed in on her. There can be nothing but admiration for the manner in which the German ship met her end. She went down fighting, without thought of scuttling and there will be honour for the brave men who sleep their last sleep within her iron walls. There will be mourning for the men lost in the Hood but that will be tempered by the knowledge that their sacrifice has not been in vain,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.