Great read, thanks for the head's up because I was quite happy to leave it as one lucky hit/good shootin' by Bismarck, and still do!

What precisely is Mr Lawrence infering? That the Battle of Denmark Straight was not Km 1, RN 0, but really a own goal, so we all really can't give the poor old Nazi's anything?

Frothing with revenge, the RN went on a hell-bent-for-leather ship-hunt determined whatever the cost (almost torpedoed one of their own cruisers) to sink the Bismarck, succeeding, and in the process almost killing its entire crew. And with the virtual loss of all of Hood's crew, that's a real lot of men dead because of an absolutely terrible design for a capital ship that should not have been built in the first place and in the end didn't need an enemy to destroy it? War, but too sad!

I'd prefer for commemoration and history's sake just to leave it at 1 - 0 and admire Bismarck's gunnery and the heroic crew of the Hood.

Nevertheless thanks again for the link and also to others who supplied links to this historic naval event. Always a good read.