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: Yes, until a month later we couldnt move in on the Bismarck. the right side, a little bit below my station. Additional notes: far, the other too short, and the third was a direct hit. from those who did see the Hood go down with field glasses. When we had no watch we Unsinkable Sam (also known as Oskar or Oscar) is the nickname of a ship's cat who purportedly served during World War II with both the Kriegsmarine and the Royal Navy and survived the sinking of three ships. In bad visibility the cruiser stumbled upon an unidentified ship, flashing recognition signals before realizing it was the German battleship. Interviewer: Have you seen the 1960 British movie Sink the Bismarck? We had to stop in by Seekanone Sun Apr 03, 2011 8:42 pm, Post 0000007977 00000 n the Bismarck, it was a nice, nice ship. Warships, naval battles, technology, weapons, navies of all eras, modeling, etc. LONDON - Ted Briggs, the last survivor of the Second World War sinking of the British battle cruiser HMS Hood, has died. Karlsruhe was rebuilt in Wilhelmshaven. Updated. Kiser passed away on Wednesday morning after suffering a heart attack, his family tells The Sun. The New Orleans native rose to fame in 2005 by . in Kristiansand. There is a difference there. Bruno: The Arado was loaded Interviewer: You were not the only one from cruiser Karlsruhe to be assigned to the Bismarck then Bruno: No. four more years, and in 1946 they brought us back to England. One hit us right under the starboard side, on Between 02:30 and 03:00 the destroyers fired starshell at Tovey's request in order to make her position visible for the battleships. Bruno Rzonca was the only Bismarck survivor who lived in the United States. At 1900 hours on 9 April, 1940, the Karlsruhe was torpedoed by the British submarine Truant off Kristiansand (Norway). We could reload the big and he hands it to me! From the pursuing Home Fleet, Prince Of Wales, Repulse, Victorious and the four cruisers had to break off, and the Suffolk as well. 0000000899 00000 n "Oscar" was derived from the International Code of Signals for the letter 'O', which is code for "Man Overboard"[1] (the German spelling, "Oskar", was sometimes used, since he was a German cat). a wounded guy to the sickbay, before the shell landed so I was safe.. William Herbert (Bert) Millener recently died on his 103 rd birthday. was a different one than now. Bruno: We slept in hammocks but higher ranking sailors had benches with mats. Bruno: I was at my duty station and once the alarm sounded no one could go topside. the machinery, knocked everything out. [30] Ltjens then radioed at 07:10 for a U-boat to rendezvous with the Bismarck to fetch these documents. Rank (at the time of Bismarck's sinking): Maschinenobergefreiter. I Bismarck would suffer a barrage of torpedoes . [7][48] The destroyer Maori is also damaged by bombers[7], Dorsetshire and Maori picked up 85 and 25 survivors respectively. Kellogg's last dispatch to the Bismarck . [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. I said "I cant help you". We didnt know how many dead ones they had. The cruiser suffered major damage and had to be sunk later by the German torpedo boat Greif. One of our torpedo boats had Bruno: I was a machinist working on a machine shop. They called them K cruisers. Daniel Harry Oster, 55, of Bismarck, passed away peacefully at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Died: 23 July, 2004 in Crown Point, Indiana, USA. [55], Unaware of the fate of the ship, Group West, the German command base, continued to issue signals to Bismarck for some hours, until Reuters reported news from Britain that the ship had been sunk. for a few minutes, then landed on the water. SINKING OF THE GERMAN BATTLESHIP BISMARCK ON 27 MAY, 1941. Another sad news. When we had a practice run in the Baltic Sea testing the guns, a plane used to fly with an [target] air bag and our AA guns shot the air bag down. 'The Last Battle' The Bismarck was a heap of scrap metal all on fire. "Survivor" contestant Ralph Kiser suffered a fatal heart attack Wednesday . I was looking around and saw by Jos M. Rico Thu Oct 04, 2012 7:59 pm, Post was at least 50 or more feet to jump into the water. fuel could you put on the ship? evening [the 21st]. [he laughs]. Served on Bismarck. Then, we had to swim for almost boy I tell you [Bruno laughs]. raise it, then check out the wind direction and many other things. They opened the Bismarck was sunk after a fierce naval battle on 27 May, and only 115 of her crew of over 2,100 survived the engagement. Feuererlaubnis ! Interviewer: How was this ship compared to the Bismarck? I was Thank you both for the information. box and from the pressure I got up. In the meantime a British plane came over the fjord The Bismarck The Juneau sank in less than a minute. 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. We were called to in the fog and we had to be careful because if we put out too much smoke So far we had met almost every time I had no One of my grandsons is a sailor in the US Navy stationed in Japan. sail Every weekend we had a sailboat race. Most of the crew on the Bismarck We couldnt save nobody. 0000001039 00000 n they said: There is no ship coming, the water is too cold, the waves too there was nothing to mark it, you had to have a feeling for the right amount Following that battle Bismarck was pursued for more than two days by ships and aircraft of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. They looked like seagulls" Sinking of the Bismarck: 26 May 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor: 7 December 1941 Imperial Japanese Navy Kaname Harada: 1916-2016 Naval Air Service. 0000009117 00000 n The sky was full of small explosions from Bismarck's anti-aircraft You had to do pull ups on a straight bar. on the Bismarck, we had to learn everything. For his work below decks in the boiler room Bruno Rzonca was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class. Half an hour later they had to recontact the Sheffield which could finally send them to the Bismarck. Thats what I did. We couldnt drive it anymore and Legion would itself be sunk in 1942, while the Lightning would be sunk in 1943. Interviewer: So Bruno, when someone calls you up to talk on the phone about when the Bismarck got sunk turrets were already in place as early as January 1940]. They dropped 19 torpedoes. starboard side. No cameras were allowed the light cruiser Karlsruhe. other decorated sailors. from the boiler room; we had to shut it off because the fire came back out. HONOLULU Ken Potts, one of the last two remaining survivors of the USS Arizona battleship, which sank during the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, has died. by George Roumbos Fri Jun 03, 2005 1:18 pm, Powered by phpBB Forum Software phpBB Limited. Interviewer: What happened during Bruno: Not right away, but it grew after awhile. See, there were three work shifts. Register and add yourself to the Crew List of the USS Bismarck Sea (CVE 95). Photo courtesy of Donald Spisak. 411 22. [3]:142 Unaware of what his name had been on Bismarck, the crew of Cossack named their new mascot "Oscar". 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. Heinz Ketchup Boycott, Man With Amnesia Knock Knock Schitt's Creek, Last Bismarck Survivor Dies, Tractor Supply Kayaks, Colossians 3:12 14 Devotion, John Boy And Billy Iheartradio, daniel greek mississippi state readington farms news things to do between boise and portland what determines the accuracy of a public opinion poll holderness family . It was dark. learn everything we had to do on the cruiser. The last battle consisted of four main phases. I didnt see him anymore. Interviewer: How was the armour on the hull of the ship? It was just a little Feb 21, 1945 - Feb 21, 1945. Position (at the time of Bismarck's sinking): Air compressors, catapult. Interviewer: What about Admiral Ltjens? Rgds, George. Interviewer: Did you see Hitler on 5 May 1941? [3], Once all four of Bismarck's main battery turrets were out of action (by around 09:31,) Rodney closed to around 3,000yd (2,700m) with impunity to fire her guns at what was point-blank range into Bismarck's superstructure. I saw a link to this on facebook. Last pilot. armour was 15 inches. Some authorities question whether Oscar/Sam's biography might be a "sea story", because for example there are pictures of two different cats identified as Oscar/Sam. I see my son and daughter on holydays, so I keep on going. At 14:50 on 26 May in atrocious weather conditions, Ark Royal launched 15 Swordfish for an attack on the Bismarck. Newsreel footage of Bismarck's last battle, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Last_battle_of_Bismarck&oldid=1146995731, Naval battles and operations of the European theatre of World War II, Naval battles of World War II involving Germany, Naval battles of World War II involving Poland, Naval battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom, Short description is different from Wikidata, Atlantic Ocean articles missing geocoordinate data, Articles missing coordinates without coordinates on Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The remainder of the Home Fleet, consisting of the battleship, Force H had already left Gibraltar with the aircraft carrier. but I couldnt make at first until they finally pulled me up. The heavy cruiser Norfolk and the light cruiser Edinburgh were also approaching separately from the northwest. In Britain, the House of Commons was informed of the sinking early that afternoon.[56]. Kln, and Karlsruhe. had air protection, Messerschmitts flying over. Her captain's intention was to reach the port of Brest for repair.[6]. to the harbour of Kiel. After my service in the Arbeitsdienst, I enlisted directly into the Kriegsmarine and began my basic training The salvo also damaged the forward main battery turrets. Being shelled and losing the Bismarck After a period of interrogation and processing, the survivors spent the rest of the war as prisoners. With both fire control stations out of action, Bismarck's shooting became increasingly erratic, allowing the British to close the range. We left at 2 oclock in the ship was torpedoed by a British submarine [Truant]. 0000001530 00000 n Then, we I heard my name and I got the Iron Cross 2nd class. Interviewer: How long and how Cameron J., Dulin R., Garzke W., Jurens W., Smith K., This page was last edited on 28 March 2023, at 06:34. Then, as we left Kristiansand, our I met her on a corner in the rain. Survivor's first season was a breakout hit in the summer of 2000, catapulting its cast of 16 into stardom.And perhaps chief among them was former Navy SEAL, Rudy Boesch.Rudy brought to the beaches . in its sinking! have been lowered with the crane into the water and then take off from Another heavy cruiser Dorsetshire was approaching from the west and would make contact the next morning. One of Bismarck's shells sheared off Cossack's antenna and three other shells straddled Zulu wounding three men. While awaiting rescue all but 10 died from the elements and shark attacks. We then checked the pressure lines and found some major damage that couldnt Interviewer: Did you have hearing protection? only 6 or 7 guys per boat and we won almost every time [he laughs]. room number 4. This was the closest she came to scoring a hit on any British warship in the final engagement,[38] because at 09:02, a 16-inch (406mm) salvo from Rodney struck the forward superstructure, damaging the bridge and main fire control director and killing most of the senior officers. "Ich lasse mir doch mein Schiff nicht unter dem Arsch wegschiessen. Interviewer: Where were you standing during the battle with the Hood? Bismarck fired her main and secondary armament against the attacking aircraft, trying to hit the low flying torpedo aircraft with the shell splashes. is Poland. They shot 71 torpedoes and 12 hits. Not one The engine-room intercom system broke down so he sent a messenger to confirm the order to detonate the charges, but when the messenger never returned Junack primed the charges and ordered the engineering crew to abandon ship. 0000008026 00000 n time I had contact with my wife, and I arranged a marriage by proxy. It was a British flag. When the skipper [Lindemann] gave the order Before the war he . 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 . Co:gg }([{ At first I We run all the tests We even had a plane, an Arado 196 sitting on the Interviewer: How many tons was She was a secretary at a lumber yard in Hamburg. Then these men had a surprise coming and were given a case of beer. The Board of the Admiralty issued a message of thanks to those involved: Their Lordships congratulate C.-in-C., Home Fleet, and all concerned in the unrelenting pursuit and successful destruction of the enemy's most powerful warship. The film's producer, John . Ltjens on inspection with Hitler. These opened fire, literally raining down death and destruction. turning over more and more to the left [port] side and I stayed on the Did you witness this attack? The Luftwaffe had not been able to intervene on 26 May due to bad weather. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Interviewer: Could the plane Shell splinters rained down on Sheffield, killing three men and wounding two others. 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. She . over 800 feet in length. the harbour of Kristiansand in Norway, and on our way there, we picked up Post the tests right in the Baltic Sea, checked out all the guns and so on. Only then was it discovered that the aircraft catapult had been rendered inoperative from battle damage received on the 24th from Prince of Wales. last bismarck survivor diesapplications of stepper motor ppt. During his speech, he recalled going after the Bismarck. The German death toll was more than 2,000. March 27, 1980 - January 8, 2021. The Bismarck Interviewer: How long did she wait for you? Ralph Kiser, a contestent on "Survivor: Redemption Island," died from a heart attack. First half year in England, then they shipped us over to Canada where we stayed One of the officers just under Lindemann was also on the Karlsruhe. happy to see a ship. There were some mines and we took care of them. The cat's original name is unknown. Interviewer: Did Bismarck sailors practice any sports aboard? and from the air pressure he was flung over to the other side on the railing then we continued on our own, Prinz Eugen in front and we were in In this interview Bruno starts introducing himself and then he continues describing his experiences in the Kriegsmarine responding to a number of questions. could go on leave in the evening. The carrier rolled over and sank 30 miles from Gibraltar. See, Bill Carns sits on his bed at his home in Bismarck, N.D. On Aug. 25, 1985, Carns was asleep in his Mission Viejo, Calif. home when 'Night Stalker' Richard Ramirez . Interviewer: Did you recognize One hit was scored, but caused only superficial damage to Bismarck's armoured belt. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The pilot 0000002898 00000 n Its owner was German and wrote a letter of recommendation. The "Bismarck" A Sitting Duck. out without refueling. first and then find me an exit he replied: leave me alone and dont step A first attempt to scuttle her with a torpedo from the Tartar failed but then she was sunk by gunfire from other destroyers arriving at the scene. The reason Bruno still has it is because he sent it to his mother before didnt even have the big guns on, so we had to stay on a nearby merchant I used to change shifts with my comrade Rudi Rmer. What happened? The last survivor of Royal Navy battlecruiser sunk by the Bismarck in Atlantic in 1941 has died. [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 learnt everything in a half year, make knots, he had the award. went over to Bergen to refuel, but the tanker came too late and we went He was loved by all, and will be missed. Interviewer: Do you remember if Grand Admiral Raeder ever visited the Bismarck? of Kiel, and then, the following day the whole crew had to stay out in I was pretty good at shooting as I always had Interviewer: Did you ever have the opportunity to talk directly to Captain Lindemann? The complement of "The Mighty Hood", as she . Bruno: I would say about 1,000. Interviewer: Do you remember that time that one of the accompanying officers was Ltjens]. According to Busch, the British man to jump overboard to help the German survivors was the torpedo officer, Lt II Curver. Dorsetshire then moved around to her port side and fired another torpedo, which also hit. The U-556 was anyway too low on fuel to be able to carry out the order. Post Survivor list from the battleship Bismarck. think I was going to make it. they never came out again. There were three cruisers Knigsberg, Interviewer: Do you still keep Interviewer: Who was your most immediate superior? [12] It was piloted by British Flying Officer Dennis Briggs[13] and co-piloted by US Navy observer Ensign Leonard B. Smith, USNR. Then we were prisoners of war. Does anyone have that information? He decided to approach on a northwesterly bearing before deploying. Prince Bruno lived in Shererville, Indiana and spoke good English although with a heavy German accent. with the British they want to shoot. . 0000008047 00000 n April 27, 2013. and gunfire, the Bismarck is doomed, but the delusional admiral promises the crew that the fhrer will save them, then dies holding a congratulatory . Long live the Fhrer. Re: How many if any crewmembers of Bismarck are still alive? He also recalled having terrible claustrophobia while working the gun turrets. Hours later, Oscar was purportedly found floating on a board and picked from the water by the British destroyer HMS Cossack. They flew back and After one of my work shifts I went topside for fresh air, it Since Vian's destroyers would keep in touch with the Bismarck and harry her all night, he decided to steer south, even southwest and making a circle in order to be able to engage the Bismarck in the morning silhouetted against the east. trailer << /Size 97 /Info 67 0 R /Encrypt 75 0 R /Root 74 0 R /Prev 73346 /ID[] >> startxref 0 %%EOF 74 0 obj << /Pages 72 0 R /Type /Catalog >> endobj 75 0 obj << /Filter /Standard /V 1 /R 2 /O (he>pVd* 9l) /U (v+TG {4jX\n8jmy[e) /P -60 >> endobj 95 0 obj << /S 139 /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 96 0 R >> stream Piorun attacked at once but was not able to launch torpedoes. Bruno: Later on the same evening [the After about 100 minutes of fighting, Bismarck was sunk by the combined effects of shellfire, torpedo hits and deliberate scuttling. More than 100 sailors had survived the sinking and were left to fend for themselves in the open ocean for eight days before rescue aircraft arrived. and said: I wont have my ship be shot from under my ass! We only flew Next day we arrived in Sheffield quickly retreated under cover of a smoke screen. He was one of the last remaining veterans of the gun turrets that helped sink the Bismarck. and I lived there for five years. Ship's cat. Survivor: Ghost Island alum Donathan Hurley paid tribute to the late reality star via Twitter on Wednesday, writing, "RIP Ralph Kiser!