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> Naval architects were astonished by the way the Bismarck stood up under punishment. Bismarck's crew were convinced she was unsinkable, and they were almost right. She absorbed at least 20 16-in. shells from the Rodney, 15-in. shells from the Hood, and 14-in. shells from the Prince of Wales and King George V; three torpedoes launched from aircraft, two from destroyers, one from a battleship and three from cruisers; and about three hundred 8-in. shells, 4.7-in. shells and other small stuff. PArtly this wonderful shock-worthiness was due to her thick, modern alloy-steel armor, partly to an intricate system of cellular compartments, "blisters," "torpedo bulkheads" — all contributing to her great 118-ft. beam and calculated to isolate and minimize each hole in her skin. But the crew's faith in her buoyancy was betrayed. The British rescued about 100 of them, but had to move off when submarines were reported nearby.
> Luck has contributed a spectacular share to the naval encounters of World War II. When the British knocked out the fire-control tower of the Admiral Graf Spee and when the Germans dropped a bomb smack down on the plane elevator shaft of the Illustrious, something more than skill was involved. Considering the fact that the average number of hits in sea battle at long range comes to little more than 2% of rounds fired, the hit on one of Hood's magazines from extreme range of nearly 13 miles was fantastically lucky. And the British had their share of solid luck when one of their torpedo planes crippled a propeller and the steering mechanism of the Bismarck.
> But the main lesson was the need for coordination of all the weapons of sea warfare. Near Crete neither side was properly coordinated: Britain, lacking aircraft, lost ships, and Germany, lacking ships, lost men. But in holing the Bismarck the British used almost uncanny coordination. And the Bismarck, without planes to scout and destroyers to screen, was helpless once she was caught. British coordination was almost too keen. In its determination to catch the fat prize, the Royal Navy took a long risk — neglected convoys, deserted Gibraltar, sent out the Home Fleet, left Britain's normal supply lines and normal defenses almost naked of ships. Over 100 vessels were said to be involved in the hunt.
> When Napoleon planned the invasion of Britain, he dreamed of just such a stripping as this, and sent his fleet as a decoy to the West Indies to try to accomplish it; but then only Nelson and the Mediterranean squadron entered the chase. With the Bismarck gone, the Germans still have her sister, the Tirpitz. If the German Navy, knowing what certain death it would be, nevertheless sent the Tirpitz out on a similar sweep, it might be a tipoff for invasion.