On May 26, 1941, Bismarck, the German battleship, was heading towards France for repairs, after she sustained minor damage during the Battle of the Denmark Strait; the battle in which Bismarck, with the help of the battleship Prinz Eugen, sank the British battlecruiser, HMS Hood.
The British had been tailing Bismarck for the following two days, and on the night of May 26, began their attack.
A group of torpedo planes were sent to strike Bismarck, and although, when released, most of the torpedoes missed the ship entirely, one managed to hit Bismarck's stern and disable her rudder, preventing the battleship from continuing on her course.
British ships began closing in on Bismarck, who was now incapable of outmaneuvering them.
The following morning, the British began their final assault by firing hundreds of shells into the Bismarck, who, tried to retaliate, but due to her broken rudder, was unable to maintain a steady course, which prevented her guns from firing accurately at the enemy ships.
Soon, the relentless shelling began to seriously damage the battleship, and she began taking on water.
With the fate of Bismarck now certain, the commanding officer gave the order to abandon ship; the crew then primed scuttling charges and jumped overboard.
Shortly thereafter, Bismarck sank beneath the Atlantic waves, taking the vast majority of her crew down with her.