IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM PHOTO
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on board Prince of Wales during his journey to North America to meet with President Roosevelt. The four 14inch guns of Y turret are visible in the background.
Lütjens, had inexplicably neglected three opportunities to top off the battleship’s fuel bunkers before her sortie into the Atlantic. Now, 14-inch shells from HMS Prince of Wales ruptured fuel tanks aboard the German battleship, and damaged boiler and turbo-generator rooms. She began to leave a trail of oil, but even worse, could no longer access the 1,000 tons of fuel in her forward tanks, which had either become unreachable due to damage or contaminated by salt water. Not only had HMS Prince of Wales ended Bismarck’s mission to raid British convoys, but by depriving her of fuel, had left the admiral only one option: to make for a
French port for repairs. HMS Prince of Wales then shadowed Bismarck, along with RN cruisers and destroyers, until other RN forces could close in. While HMS Prince of Wales had to break off the action in order to refuel and repair her damage, she had done her job. Bismarck was engaged and destroyed while fleeing for the French coast. Hosting Winston Churchill After being repaired at Rosyth, HMS Prince of Wales played another important role in carrying Prime Minister Winston Churchill to Argentia,
HMS Prince of Wales
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