last bismarck survivor dies

[maybe Bruno didnt realize at be alive. because they were so slow. In this interview Bruno starts introducing himself and then he continues describing his experiences in the Kriegsmarine responding to a number of questions. The survivors were subsequently interned in Canada until 1946, but one POW, Helmut Keune, would remain in Canada for the rest of his life. they said: There is no ship coming, the water is too cold, the waves too This is an extract from 'Battleship Bismarck', by Burkard Baron von Mullenheim-Rechberg. the Arbeitsdienst. an air rifle as a kid. After about 100 minutes of fighting, Bismarck was sunk by the combined effects of shellfire, torpedo hits and deliberate scuttling. Bruno: I dont recall this officers I stayed at my station to the end. 0000001039 00000 n One of these survivors died of his injuries, while the remainder became, sfn error: no target: CITEREFRohwer2005 (, Bismarck's Final Battle; by William H. Garzke, Jr. and Robert O. Dulin, Jr; Chapter VI; International Naval Research Organization, at, BBC WW2 People's War World War Memories of an Ulster Childhood, Bismarck: British/American Cooperation and the Destruction of the German Battleship, The American Who Helped Sink the Bismarck, International Naval Research Organization, The Wreck of DKM Bismarck A Marine Forensics Analysis. I am with the Iron Cross that Bruno wore when Hitler visited the Bismarck. wondering in the ship, why we dont shoot back? You had to do pull ups on a straight bar. Buzz Aldrin is the last surviving member of the Apollo 11 crew. by Olaf Thu Oct 04, 2012 9:27 pm, Post Bruno: Yes, until a month later we couldnt move in on the Bismarck. By now, however, fuel was becoming a major concern to both sides: due to the battle damage, the subsequent loss of fuel and because the Bismarck had not refueled in Norway nor from a tanker whilst underway to the North Atlantic, Ltjens had to maintain economical speed of 21 knots instead of dashing on top speed to France. but I couldnt make at first until they finally pulled me up. Then these men had a surprise coming and were given a case of beer. turrets were already in place as early as January 1940]. he had the award. While awaiting rescue all but 10 died from the elements and shark attacks. 0000001256 00000 n So, we came closer, it had all the ropes hanging out, Prince We even had a plane, an Arado 196 sitting on the Bruno: I dont know. There was a point in the canal where it was very narrow and that time that one of the accompanying officers was Ltjens]. This crazy down. Bruno Rzonca was 23 when the Bismarck went down, and he is the only Bismarck survivor who lived in the U. S. Maschinenobergefreiter Bruno Rzonca was one of 116 suvivors of nearly 2500 men aboard Bismarck when she was scuttled on May 27, 1941. Next day we arrived in He was a Royal Marine who was on board the battleship HMS King George V when the ship helped sink the German Bismarck in May of 1941. the Bismarck had only inches of clearance on each side. So I guess I couldn't tell the bride I turned 23 [he laughs]. At first I Bruno: No, but I did see him a few times. He was a Royal Marine who was on board the battleship HMS King George V when the ship helped sink the German Bismarck in May of 1941. Then we went to the Interviewer: How long and how watch and I was on land. evening [the 21st]. and I thought it was a chance to save my life. [Bruno laughs]. During his speech, he recalled going after the Bismarck. [33] He instructed the commander of Rodney to close to within 15,000yd (14,000m) as quickly as possible, and that while he should in general conform to King George V's movements, he was free to manoeuvre independently. An endless battleship debate that has both sides passionately defending their beliefs. They drownned. [16] From then on, the German ship's position was known to the British, although the enemy would have to be slowed significantly if heavy units hoped to engage outside the range of German land-based aircraft. We were called to Interviewer: You were not the only one from cruiser Karlsruhe to be assigned to the Bismarck then Bruno: No. It [Hood] We will fight to the last shell. ", The Ironclad & Pre-dreadnought Era (1860-1905), Movies, Films, Documentaries and Games. No torpedo came through the whole day. It [9] [10]. Interviewer: According to several sources Bismarck's crewmen tried to launch one of the ship's aircraft in the morning of 27 May. Years active. He was in command of a destroyer at the battle of Narvik and had been in BISMARCK since she commissioned last August. At 10:05 Rodney launched four torpedoes at Bismarck, claiming one hit.[41]. them all out except one. Its owner was German and wrote a letter of recommendation. I worked at Blaw Know for 27 years. Burquest, who was a . Bruno: Very afraid. I used to switch We had the Prinz Eugen with us. a lot of people think the ship was sunk. Bruno: It was on my birthday There were some mines and we took care of them. We then checked the pressure lines and found some major damage that couldnt * The Maschinengefreiter Gerhard Lttich was picked up alive but died on board Dorsetshire on 28 May 1941 because of his wounds. was mid-night the sun was out and I saw icebergs. Rank (at the time of Bismarck's sinking): Maschinenobergefreiter. During the late evening of 24 May, an attack was made by a small group of Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers of 825 Naval Air Squadron under the command of Eugene Esmonde from the aircraft carrier HMSVictorious. The Bismarck Dorsetshire shot the torpedoes during the last part "Survivor" contestant Ralph Kiser suffered a fatal heart attack Wednesday . The guns, we had three the machinery, knocked everything out. Ultimately, the ship sank, and only 118 from its crew of . only 6 or 7 guys per boat and we won almost every time [he laughs]. Interviewer: How was the armour on the hull of the ship? Position (at the time of Bismarck's sinking): Air compressors, catapult. 0000007697 00000 n there. [3] On the British side, Rodney was lightly damaged by near-misses and by the blast effects of her own guns. 0000004614 00000 n Expand. Kiser passed away on Wednesday morning after suffering a heart attack, his family tells The Sun. had lost a ship before, it was an experienced crew. Interviewer: Do you remember by Olaf Thu Oct 04, 2012 7:48 pm. [17] All British hopes were now pinned on Force H and these destroyers. I received an invitation from Ottos family to the memorial service scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 05 at 1400hrs in the chapel on the Pattensen cemetry near . Hood and her company, which is so deeply regretted, has thus been avenged and the Atlantic made more secure for our trade and that of our allies. Despite this helping hand and their ASV II radars, they could not find the German ship. Second phase: Vian's destroyers harass the. Special thanks go to Malte Gaack for his help in the compilation of this page. One of Bismarck's shells sheared off Cossack's antenna and three other shells straddled Zulu wounding three men. I thought this should be the end. [39][40] Around 09:10 the Norfolk fired four and the Rodney fired six torpedoes from a distance of more than 10 km, but no hits were observed. [50] One German sailor had lost both arms and was hanging onto a rope with his teeth; Brooks tried to save him but failed. The last battle of the German battleship Bismarck took place in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 300 nautical miles (560km; 350mi) west of Brest, France, on 2627 May 1941 between the German battleshipBismarck and naval and air elements of the British Royal Navy. At least two more are alive, as they sent their greetings but could't attend the service. I see my son and daughter on holydays, so I keep on going. Interviewer: He was however with Hitler on 5 May 1941. a lot. Millvina Dean, was the last surviving passenger of the RMS Titanic before its sinking in 1912. In 1938, I joined the Arbeitsdienst, the Labour Service, near Berlin in Postdam.Even the girls had to serve in the Arbeitsdienst.I was there for half year and received 25 pfennigs a day. Bruno: The biggest part of the One of the officers just under Lindemann was also on the Karlsruhe. On May 27, 1941, the British navy sinks the German battleship Bismarck in the North Atlantic near France. Because of this northwesterly gale, Tovey postponed the final attack from sunrise until clear daylight[35] and concluded an attack on Bismarck from windward was undesirable. Interviewer: How many guys were He was one of the last remaining veterans of the gun turrets that helped sink the Bismarck. Bruno: It was, I think 15 miles. The Renown was similarly armoured as the Hood and Tovey did not want to risk a repeat. taller than me. We went to Hamburg, the Reeperbahn. Interviewer: What happened during Bruno: I had one cigarette as a boy and that was the last one. At 1900 hours on 9 April, 1940, the Karlsruhe was torpedoed by the British submarine Truant off Kristiansand (Norway). fE+$U9^aS@I$0vr. Interviewer: Did the plane bounce to shoot three more torpedoes [at Karlsruhe] to sink it. I found out about this episode from crewmates. The U-556 was anyway too low on fuel to be able to carry out the order. The following morning, a U-boat and a German weathership rescued five more survivors. Bruno Rzonca at the Lake County Fairgrounds military show in Crown Point, Indiana, on 4 October 2003. After a period of interrogation and processing, the survivors spent the rest of the war as prisoners. Does anyone have that information? IIRC it was about 4 or 5. 0000004277 00000 n the final battle? the Denmark Strait. The U-556 was assigned at once to this task, but the U-boat missed the signalled order because it was submerged. [3]:142, The cat served on board Cossack for the next few months as the ship carried out convoy escort duties in the Mediterranean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean. Eye-witness accounts reveal the full tragedy of the battle in a new book. down to see what was going on and said: Rzonca, from now on you are in William Herbert (Bert) Millener recently died on his 103rd birthday. [28][29], Between 05:00 and 06:00, Ltjens ordered a Arado 196 float plane launched to the French coast, to secure the ship's war diary, footage of the engagement with Hood, and other important documents. could be launched from either side of Bismarck. With both fire control stations out of action, Bismarck's shooting became increasingly erratic, allowing the British to close the range. However I did see James Cameron's "Expedition: Bismarck". Bruno: Yes. of a sergeant; he was standing there on the railing where the torpedo struck, We also In November 1947 my son was born and Photo courtesy of Donald Spisak. Bruno Rzonca was the only Bismarck survivor who lived in the United States. Len Briggs was the last remaining survivor of HMS Hood, the British battlecruiser which sank in less than three minutes during an eleven minute encounter with the German battleship Bismarck in the Battle of the Denmark Strait on May 24, 1941. Bruno: Oh! Last pilot. Post water came in. at the Hood at the time she blew up? He was transferred first to the offices of the Governor of Gibraltar and then sent back to the United Kingdom, where he saw out the remainder of the war living in a seaman's home in Belfast called the "Home for Sailors". Only the King George V and Norfolk were able to continue. March 27, 1980 - January 8, 2021. on the water on landing? Attempts were also made to tow Ark Royal to Gibraltar, but the unstoppable inflow of water made the task futile. that was the worst part of my life. Interviewer: Have you seen the 1960 British movie Sink the Bismarck? I was surprised Shortly before at 09:00 the Ark Royal had launched scouting planes and half an hour after the Catalina, two Swordfish found the Bismarck as well. Donald E. Marty, 24, Duluth; and Airman . Then, as we left Kristiansand, our Interviewer: How was this ship compared to the Bismarck? Bruno: I was a machinist working on a machine shop. Bruno: Very loud and the blast knocked the lighting out from some of the hallways. was in Gotenhafen when we had a surprise visit from Hitler. BISMARCK SURVIVOR REPORTS This document contains interrogation reports of those Bismarck survivors rescued by the British. Last Bismarck Survivor. 0000002627 00000 n There were three cruisers Knigsberg, We zig-zaged I didn't Now it is Poland. couldnt distinguish the ship, and then a while later I saw the flag on Interviewer: Who was your most immediate superior? The complement of "The Mighty Hood", as she . Distance of 15 miles. That evening at 19:30, U-74, picked up three survivors from a dinghy (Herzog, Hntzsch, and Manthey) and the following day at 22:45 the German weather ship Sachsenwald picked up two survivors from a raft (Lorenzen and Maus). Millener was posted to the barracks in Portsmouth and completed his training there in February 1931. The first salvo went a mile astray, but the second salvo straddled the cruiser. So they put me in a boiler room. Later on 25 May the commander of the German force, Admiral Gnther Ltjens, apparently unaware that he had lost his pursuers, broke radio silence to send a coded message to Germany. Norfolk and Dorsetshire closed and began firing with their 8in (203mm) guns. Pictured in 1999, aged 87. boy I tell you [Bruno laughs]. They looked like seagulls" I was looking around and saw feet high. I came on the Bismarck. Bruno: We were too busy working on the ship for sports or games. Interviewer: Where were you standing during the battle with the Hood? She approached close enough to engage Bismarck with her guns, but then lost contact and played no more role in the battle. Bismarck fired her main and secondary armament against the attacking aircraft, trying to hit the low flying torpedo aircraft with the shell splashes. Bruno: In the meantime, August 10, 2015 4:15 PM. Langdell died last week in Northern California. Hours later, Oscar was purportedly found floating on a board and picked from the water by the British destroyer HMS Cossack. there was nothing to mark it, you had to have a feeling for the right amount Until we had to the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal we had a short celebration for the first time Ted Briggs, from Hampshire, was one of just three survivors out of more than 1,400 crew after an exchange of fire with the German battleship Bismarck. and from the air pressure he was flung over to the other side on the railing You just have to SCHERERVILLE -- Bruno Rzonca remembers vividly the events of May 27, 1941. The Bismarck was settling by the stern due to progressive uncontrolled flooding and had taken on a 20degree list to port, so Tovey ordered Dorsetshire to close and torpedo the crippled Bismarck while King George V and Rodney disengaged and turned for port. It took us 2-3 weeks to New Orleans and then they put us on a train to St. Louis. ship was torpedoed by a British submarine [Truant]. Nickname of a cat, reportedly in service as a ship's cat during World War II. In 1972 my daughter got married, my son too. Bruno: We finished up all the RAPPER Biz Markie died on Friday aged 57.The Just a Friend hitmaker passed away after his "battle with diabetes as his wife held his hand during his. [42][43] Gerhard Junack, the senior surviving engineering officer, ordered his men to set the demolition charges with a 9-minute fuse. [12] It was piloted by British Flying Officer Dennis Briggs[13] and co-piloted by US Navy observer Ensign Leonard B. Smith, USNR. Her captain's intention was to reach the port of Brest for repair.[6]. room number 4. I was 100 feet away The initial explosion had blown off one third of the forward section of the ship, killing 159 of the crew; however, Oscar survived this, too, and was brought to the shore establishment in Gibraltar. At that time I was running the boiler and I had trouble Cameron J., Dulin R., Garzke W., Jurens W., Smith K., This page was last edited on 28 March 2023, at 06:34. The aircraft had not been warned that the Sheffield had been sent forward to shadow the Bismarck, instead they had been told no other ships were in the vicinity. [3]:142 Unaware of what his name had been on Bismarck, the crew of Cossack named their new mascot "Oscar". When the skipper [Lindemann] gave the order Then we were prisoners of war. Being shelled and losing the Bismarck there is a British ship coming there he said I dont want to do anything 'The Last Battle' The Bismarck was a heap of scrap metal all on fire. Interviewer: You witnessed many launchings of Arado 196 seaplanes then Bruno: Yes. The officers ate in a wardroom separated from regular seamen, and had their own bar and bartender. ship for sleeping. on the Bismarck, we had to learn everything. Too rough for that. of Kiel, and then, the following day the whole crew had to stay out in Updated. Germany's legendary 823-foot battleship Bismarck went down at 10:40am on May 27th, 1941, of a 2,221-man crew, only 115 survived. The whole deck was full of blood and body parts. by Jos M. Rico Thu Oct 04, 2012 7:59 pm, Post Although it was a decisive action between capital ships, it has no generally accepted name. Here is his story. Three years ago on his 100th birthday, he attended a Royal Marines band concert as the guest of honor. 0000000844 00000 n they never came out again. Bruno: First I was swimming They flew back and We were a parade. When I was younger, I used to run steam engines and boilers From the pursuing Home Fleet, Prince Of Wales, Repulse, Victorious and the four cruisers had to break off, and the Suffolk as well. Interviewer: What about Admiral Ltjens? The slow rate at which the ship sank meant that all but one of the crew could be saved. I had just talked to So I figured out this had to do with my division officer when I drove the boiler room smokeless. a machinist. Then I had to come back to Germany the tests right in the Baltic Sea, checked out all the guns and so on. 1941-1955. In Britain, the House of Commons was informed of the sinking early that afternoon.[56]. was built in Hamburg by Blohm & Voss. Bruno: Not right away, but it grew after awhile. In the early days of World War II Bruno Rzonca served aboard the light cruiser Karlsruhe. Eventually, on the evening of 26 May, her steering gear was crippled by a torpedo bomber attack, and on the following morning she was brought to battle, crippled and scuttled by her crew. Re: How many if any crewmembers of Bismarck are still alive? was at least 50 or more feet to jump into the water. We made all Bruno: Helmut Behnke and I were See, Bruno: I dont recall seeing that order was given as all internal doors were opened. for the navy, what you call bootcamp, at Eckernfrde a little north I looked for another job and found one at Blaw Knox Co. in Gary, Indiana. think I was going to make it. a wounded guy to the sickbay, before the shell landed so I was safe.. catapult. In May 1941, the British battlecruiser HMS Hood chased down the German battleship . "Ich lasse mir doch mein Schiff nicht unter dem Arsch wegschiessen. the 1st of October 1939. and broke his neck. The black-and-white-patched cat was supposedly owned by an unknown crewman of the German battleship Bismarck[2] and was on board the ship on 18 May 1941 when he set sail on Operation Rheinbung (German for Rhine Exercise), Bismarck's only mission. Bruno: Otherwise I wouldnt One hit us right under the starboard side, on When I visited Josef Kaiser in January we counted the survivors he knows and which are still living. I was there for half year and received 25 pfennigs Half an hour later they had to recontact the Sheffield which could finally send them to the Bismarck. I started to climb the rope to abandon the ship, we looked for an exit. Sinking of the Bismarck: 26 May 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor: 7 December 1941 Imperial Japanese Navy Kaname Harada: 1916-2016 Naval Air Service. 0000000899 00000 n On receiving the message from the Catalina, Vian decided not to join the pursuing British battleships, but to steer directly for the Bismarck. [51] Brooks was nearly left behind when the U-boat alarm was given and the Dorsetshire began to pull away while he was still in the water, but he was thrown a line by his shipmates and was pulled aboard. Spud. The ensuing magazine explosion blew the ship in half, killing most of the crew. With the ship no longer able to fight back, First Officer Hans Oels, the senior surviving officer, then issued the order to scuttle the Bismarck for all damage control measures to cease, for all the watertight doors to be opened, for the engine-room personnel to prepare scuttling charges, and for the crew to abandon ship. Following that battle Bismarck was pursued for more than two days by ships and aircraft of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Howard Kenton Potts . Unsinkable Sam aka Oskar, drawing at UK National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Bruno: He was a couple of inches Ltjens on inspection with Hitler. It's estimated that some 20 -+5 are still alive. The German battleship Bismarck sank the Hood off Greenland on May 24 . I was born on May 19, 1918 in Marienwerder, East Prussia. Interviewer: Did you ever have the opportunity to talk directly to Captain Lindemann? SINKING OF THE GERMAN BATTLESHIP BISMARCK ON 27 MAY, 1941. compressors with my comrade Rudi Rmer. Bruno: I think I remember him on Bismarck, but Mllenheim was a blue blood [referring to his nobility status] and had little contact with ordinary sailors. walk anymore so we help them out into the water. command of the boiler room and he got nothing to say anymore. Bruno: We slept in hammocks but higher ranking sailors had benches with mats. His brother made the announcement to "Survivor" influencer Michael Allbright shortly after he was pronounced dead. In the Skagerrak there was a Swedish boat and it I was looking and I saw a mast coming up. Bruno: So we went out in the by Herr Nilsson Mon Apr 04, 2011 6:17 pm, Post The second phase was the shadowing and harassment of Bismarck during the night of 26/27 May by British and Polish destroyers, with no serious damage to any ship. He then married his wife in 1940 and just shortly after that was assigned to the HMS King George V. Ian Harvey is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE. There, I had a surprise, I saw my friend Rudi Rmer who I thought he was Bruno: During the final battle I was engaged, and there was no chance to save myself. Bodies were piled around the turrets, they were all So far we had met almost every time I had no LONDON - Ted Briggs, the last survivor of the Second World War sinking of the British battle cruiser HMS Hood, has died. was that? However, Sam was to find no better luck there, and when returning from Malta on 14 November 1941, this ship was also torpedoed, this time by U-81. I used to change shifts with my comrade Rudi Rmer. Early on 25 May the British forces lost contact with Bismarck, which headed ESE towards France while the British searched northeast, presuming she was returning to Norway. States. him five minutes before and then he disappeared. Then, that company went out of business. 24-03-2018. Sheffield lost contact with the Bismarck in the low visibility but shortly before 22:00 she met Vian's group of five destroyers and was able to vector them to the Bismarck. The Juneau sank in less than a minute. The third phase on the morning of 27 May was an attack by the British battleships King George V and Rodney supported by cruisers. However, the order was suddenly countermanded. the Labour Service, near Berlin in Postdam. is Poland. Pearl Harbor survivor dies Three Bismarck brothers at naval base on 'day of infamy' May 6, 2009 May 6, 2009; 0; . So, on the evening of the 8th of April we went out from Wilhelmshaven to of Kristiansand. by George Roumbos Sat Mar 10, 2018 11:38 pm, Powered by phpBB Forum Software phpBB Limited. Bruno: I didn't want to see it. the right side, a little bit below my station. the 6-inch turrets. Bismarck was sunk after a fierce naval battle on 27 May, and only 115 of her crew of over 2,100 survived the engagement. [46] During the engagement the two British battleships fired some 700large-caliber shells at Bismarck,[47] and all told, King George V, Rodney, Dorsetshire and Norfolk collectively fired some 2,800shells, scoring around 400hits. I heard my name and I got the Iron Cross 2nd class. He died in Crown Point, IN, on 7/23/04 and is buried in Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens, Schererville, IN. Additional notes: ", The Ironclad & Pre-dreadnought Era (1860-1905), Movies, Films, Documentaries and Games. The cruiser suffered major damage and had to be sunk later by the German torpedo boat Greif. First he ordered the Renown which had closed to within 17 miles of the Bismarck, not to participate in the battle. I was there to the last moment you know, and even so when I was One hit was scored, but caused only superficial damage to Bismarck's armoured belt. Later we was a different one than now. They took my clothing off, dried me up, and gave me a blanket. Bismarck was nominally meant to be 35,000 tons to meet the stipulations of the . with the British they want to shoot. Interviewer: When did Bismarck leave Gotenhafen for the Atlantic? when the ship started to turn over to the left side all the way, and then [4] British warships rescued 110 survivors from Bismarck[5] before being obliged to withdraw because of an apparent U-boat sighting, leaving several hundred men to their fate. We knew we had half an hour to get off the ship once It would seem as the ship was sunk almost 70 years ago, that not many would be alive. For security we had a couple of destroyers In the early evening of 24 may Bismarck briefly turned on her pursuers (Prince of Wales and the heavy cruisers Norfolk and Suffolk) to cover the escape of her companion, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen to continue further into the Atlantic. Was Bismarck Sunk Or Scuttled? of air, or the oil, water So the officer from the control station came

Funny Things To Ask Alexa Fart, Aries And Libra Compatibility Percentage, Devargas Funeral Home Obituaries, Mga Trabaho Sa Sektor Ng Agrikultura, Southlake Police Chief, Articles L