Ernst Lindemann
Encyclopedia
Otto Ernst Lindemann was a German
naval captain
. He was the only commander of the battleship
during its eight months of service in World War II
.
Lindemann joined the German Imperial Navy in 1913, and after his basic military training, served on a number of warships during World War I
as a wireless telegraphy
officer. On board , he participated in Operation Albion
in 1917. After World War I, he served in various staff and naval gunnery training positions. One year after the outbreak of World War II, he was appointed commander of the battleship Bismarck, at the time the largest warship in commission anywhere in the world and the pride of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine
).
In May 1941, Lindemann commanded Bismarck during Operation Rheinübung
. Bismarck and the heavy cruiser
—under the command of Admiral
Günther Lütjens
—were to break out of their base in German occupied Poland and attack British merchant shipping lanes in the Atlantic Ocean
. The task force's first major engagement was the Battle of the Denmark Strait
which resulted in the sinking of . Less than a week later, on 27 May, Lindemann and most of his crew lost their lives during Bismarcks last battle.
He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
, an honour that recognised extreme bravery on the battlefield or outstanding military leadership. The medal was presented to his widow, Hildegard, on 6 January 1942.
in the Westerwald
, Rhine Province
. He was the first of three children of Dr. jur. Georg Heinrich Ernst Lindemann and Maria Lindemann, née Lieber. Known as Ernst, Georg Lindemann was a probationary judge (Gerichtsassessor
) and later president of the Prussian Central Land Credit Company, a Prussian credit bank.
Otto Ernst Lindemann was baptised into the Evangelical Church
on 26 April 1894. The family moved to the Charlottenburg
quarter of Berlin, where they lived at 6 Carmer Street,Carmer Street—Carmerstraße in 1895. His younger brother—Kurt—was born in 1896, followed by a second brother, Hans-Wolfgang, in 1900. The family relocated again in 1903, this time to their own house in the Dahlem
quarter of Berlin, near the Grunewald
forest.
In 1910, when Lindemann was 16, his uncle (Captain
) Friedrich Tiesmeyer was in command of the light cruiser
(October 1909–January 1910) of the Imperial Navy, at that time holding the rank of (commander). At a family reunion in Hamelin
, Lindemann talked with his uncle and heard of his seafaring adventures in the Far East
. These conversations gave Lindemann the idea of a naval career.
Lindemann graduated from the Bismarck-Gymnasium (secondary school) in Berlin-Wilmersdorf
with his Abitur
(diploma) late in 1912 with an average-to-good overall rating. For the next six months, he attended the Royal Polytechnic Institution
in Richmond, London.
, a founder of the Confessing Church
, later imprisoned as an anti-Nazi. They had a daughter, Heidi Maria, born on 6 July 1939.
for his medical examination at the Naval Academy at Mürwik. The strong financial background of his parents made him a suitable applicant for the Imperial Navy, as the costs associated with a naval education in 1909 were 800–1,000 Marks
per year for eight years. By comparison, a metal worker earned 1,366 Marks annually and a teacher 3,294 Marks. Only 5 percent of the German population at the time earned more than 3,000 Marks annually. However, the doctor certified him as fit only for limited duties , as pneumonia in childhood had left him unfit for service in U-boat
s. After a second examination, he was accepted on probation, and Lindemann became one of the 290 young men of "Crew 1913" (the incoming class of 1913). He was officially enlisted in the Imperial Navy as a (midshipman
) on 1 April 1913.
In early May 1913, the cadets of Crew 1913 were sent to the training ships , , and . Lindemann was assigned to Hertha with 71 of his comrades. At that time, Hertha was under the command of Captain Heinrich Rohardt, a friend of his uncle Friedrich. Arriving on board on 9 May, they were divided into watches consisting of roughly 18 men each. Hertha left Mürwik and stayed in Kiel
until the end of the month. On 29 May 1913, Hertha headed for Swinemünde
, where she stayed until 15 June. The next stop, via Sassnitz
and Visby
, was Stockholm
, Sweden, arriving on 24 June. The ship remained in Stockholm until 1 July, before leaving for Bergen
in Norway. After a few days, the voyage continued to the Lönne Fjord. Here, Lindemann met his commander-in-chief—Kaiser Wilhelm II—for the first time. Hertha then returned to Germany, arriving in Wilhelmshaven
on 8 August 1913.
One week later, Hertha began a seven-month training cruise (15 August 1913–12 March 1914). The voyage took Lindemann to Dartmouth
in England, Vilagarcía de Arousa
in Spain, Faial Island
in the Azores
and as far as Halifax
in Nova Scotia
. The return trip then went via Vera Cruz
in Mexico, Havana
in Cuba, Port-au-Prince
in Haiti, Kingston
in Jamaica, Port of Spain
in Trinidad and then to the Canary Islands
, Madeira
, and the Spanish mainland, arriving back in Germany in the middle of March 1914, first in Brunsbüttel
and two days later in Kiel. Lindemann was promoted to Fähnrich zur See (Ensign
) on 3 April 1914.
in August 1914, all further training at the naval academy was terminated and the normal compulsory officer examination was skipped. The entire Crew 1913 was assigned to various units in the Imperial Navy. Lindemann was assigned to , a battleship which belonged to the 2nd Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet
under the command of Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral
) Reinhard Scheer
,2nd Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet
— taking on the position of 3rd wireless telegraphy
officer.3rd wireless telegraphy
officer— Lothringen was mostly tasked with patrolling the North Sea
, sailing back and forth between Altenbruch (now part of Cuxhaven) and Brunsbüttel without engaging in combat. Lindemann left Lothringen on 1 June 1915 to attend the wireless telegraphy school at Mürwik.wireless telegraphy school— He successfully completed the course and returned from it in July 1915. He then took over the position of 2nd wireless telegraphy officer and was promoted to Leutnant zur See (Second Lieutenant
) on 18 September 1915.telegraphy officer—
On 19 March 1916, Lindemann was transferred to the newly commissioned battleship (under the command of Captain Max Hahn), with the same rank of 2nd wireless telegraphy officer. Bayern, with her eight 38 cm (15 in) guns, was the most powerful ship of the fleet. Her crew had been largely assigned from Lothringen, which continued to serve as a training ship. Aboard Bayern, now under the command of Captain Rohardt, Lindemann participated in Operation Albion
in September–October 1917. Operation Albion's objective was the invasion and occupation of the Estonian islands of Saaremaa
(Ösel), Hiiumaa
(Dagö) and Muhu
(Moon), then part of the Russian Republic
. At 05:07 on 12 October 1917, Bayern struck a mine
while moving into her bombardment position to secure the landing beaches at Pamerort. Seven sailors were killed. Despite mine damage, Bayern engaged the coast defense battery at Cape Toffri on the southern tip of Hiiumaa. Bayern was released from her duties at 14:00 that day. Preliminary repairs were made on 13 October in Tagga Bay before she returned to Kiel on 1 November 1917.
After the armistice in 1918, Bayern—together with the majority of the German High Seas Fleet—was interned at Scapa Flow
, the home of the British Grand Fleet. Bayern arrived there on 23 November 1918 with a skeleton crew
of only 175 men, including Lindemann, who was then ordered to return to Germany, arriving in Kiel on 12 January. On 21 June 1919, Admiral Ludwig von Reuter
ordered the interned fleet to be scuttled
, and Bayern sank at 14:30.
which was signed on 28 June 1919, the German Navy was downsized to 15,000 men, including 1,500 officers, while the German Navy was renamed the Reichsmarine
in the era of the Weimar Republic
. As Lindemann had finished fifth in the Class of 1913, he stood a good chance of being retained. He served temporarily in the Dahlem Protection Company a part of the Protection Regiment of Greater Berlin (June–July 1919),Dahlem Protection Company—Protection Regiment of Greater Berlin— before he became adjutant
to the newly created chief of the Naval Command Department (1 August 1919 – 30 September 1922),Naval Command Department— at the time under the command of William Michaelis
. The Naval Command Department was directly subordinated to the Admiralty Staff.Admiralty Staff— At the same time, he held the position of adjutant in the Fleet Department.Fleet Department— During this assignment Lindemann was promoted to Oberleutnant zur See (Sub-Lieutenant) on 7 January 1920.
Lindemann's next assignment (1 October 1922–30 September 1924) was aboard the battleship Hannover
, where he served as a watch and division officer. During this assignment, he attended an officers' course at the ships' gunnery school in Kiel between 5 February and 3 May 1924. From here, Lindemann took command of the 1st Artillery Company of the 3rd Coastal Defense Department in Friedrichsort in Kiel from 1 October 1924-26 September 1926.1st Artillery Company—3rd Coastal Defense Department— His commanding officer was Korvettenkapitän (Lieutenant Commander) Otto Schultze
, a former World War I U-boat
commander and later Generaladmiral (general admiral) of the Kriegsmarine. In this position, Lindemann was promoted to Kapitänleutnant (captain lieutenant) on 1 January 1925.
His next assignment (27 September 1926 – 6 September 1929) placed him on the Admiral's staff at the Baltic Naval Station,Baltic Naval Station— first as a staff officer and then as assistant to the chief of the station, which at the time was under the command of Vice Admiral Erich Raeder
. From here, he was transferred to the Elsass serving as the second gunnery officer and Fähnrichsoffizier (officer in charge of cadets), responsible for the on-board training of the officer cadets, from 7 September 1929-25 February 1930. Holding the same rank and position, Lindemann then transferred to the Schleswig-Holstein.
, came to power in Germany, ushering in a period of naval rearmament. In 1935, the Reichsmarine was renamed the Kriegsmarine
. Between 22 September 1931 and 22 September 1934, Lindemann was a senior lecturer at the Naval Gunnery School in Kiel. He was then posted to the Hessen
under the command of Captain Hermann Boehm
and served as first gunnery officer from 23 September 1933 to 8 April 1934. Ernst Lindemann was promoted to Lieutenant Commander on 1 April 1932. On 9 April 1934, he was ordered to the Wilhelmshaven Shipyard (9 April–11 November 1934) for training in ship construction and familiarisation with the heavy cruiser
, under the command of Captain Wilhelm Marschall
.
On Admiral Scheer, he again served as first gunnery officer, and in this position he participated in the Spanish Civil War
(24 July–30 August 1936). Admiral Scheer had to make ready for the mission on short notice; the order came from Admiral Rolf Carls
on 23 July 1936 at 13:45. The normal 48 hours required to prepare the ship was reduced to 12 hours, demanding a lot of the crew and especially Lindemann. As the first gunnery officer, Lindemann was responsible for handling and storing all munitions. Admiral Scheer and the cruiser left Germany on 24 July at 8:00. Lindemann's main responsibilities included commanding the German landing parties and acting as diplomatic aid and interpreter for Captain Marschall. These landing parties consisted of up to 350 men, which included 11 officers, 15 non-commissioned officers and 266 sailors, or roughly one-third of the crew. On the return voyage to Germany, Admiral Scheer stopped at Gibraltar on the morning of 25 August 1936. Marschall, Lindemann and other officers met with the British Governor and Rear Admiral James Somerville
. After Lindemann returned to Germany, he was promoted to commander on 1 October 1936.
Between 1936 and 1938, he was an adviser and later head of the ship construction department at the Naval High Command,Naval High Command— and at the same time a consultant to and later chief of the Naval Training Department.Naval Training Department—Marineausbildungsabteilung On 1 April 1938, he was promoted to the rank of captain. On 30 September 1939, one month after the outbreak of World War II, Lindemann succeeded Captain Heinrich Woldag as commander of the Naval Gunnery School in Wik in Kiel,Naval Gunnery School— after Woldag took command of the heavy cruiser . Under his command were three training departments, the gunnery training ship and Hektor, numerous gunnery training boats, gun carriers, auxiliary vessels, and occasionally Hitler's state yacht, the Aviso
Grille
.
Lindemann arrived at the Blohm & Voss shipbuilding works in Hamburg
at the beginning of August 1940. Bismarcks keel had been laid on 1 July 1936 and she was launched on 14 February 1939. Burkard Freiherr von Müllenheim-Rechberg joined Bismarck as fourth gunnery officer in June 1940, and he would become the highest ranking officer to survive Bismarcks last battle on 27 May 1941. Much of what is currently known about Bismarck final days is attributed to his account as a witness. Lindemann made Von Müllenheim-Rechberg his personnel adjutant and instructed him to refer to the ship as "he" rather than "she"; Lindemann considered the ship too powerful to be referred to as a female. He commissioned the battleship on 24 August 1940. He showed a great deal of attachment to the ship and was respected by his crew.
Bismarck left the Kiel Fjord
on the morning of 28 September 1940 heading east. After an uneventful voyage through rough seas, Bismarck reached Gotenhafen (now Gdynia
) the next day. Here Bismarck conducted a number of sea trials in the relative safety of the Bay of Danzig (now Gdańsk Bay
). By 30 November 1940, Lindemann had set a number of tests for the crew, which they passed easily. During high speed trials, Bismarck reached a top speed of 30.8 kn (60.4 km/h; 37.5 mph), exceeding the design speed. However, one weakness quickly became apparent: without the rudder
s and using only the screws, Bismarck was almost impossible to steer.
In November 1940, Von Müllenheim-Rechberg was sent to the Naval Gunnery School at Wik to complete his heavy gun training courses, which ended his position as Lindemann's personal adjutant. Lindemann's new adjutant was the signals
officer Second Lieutenant Wolfgang Reiner. Bismarcks heavy guns were first test-fired in the second half of November, and Bismarck was shown to be a very stable gun platform. After the 1940 Christmas celebration on board, Lindemann and the majority of the officers, non-commissioned officers and sailors went on home leave. First gunnery officer Lieutenant Commander Adalbert Schneider
relieved Lindemann as Bismarcks commander during his absence. Lindemann spent his leave with his wife and daughter and returned on 1 January 1941.
On 28 April 1941, the ship and crew were ready, and stores were on board for a three month mission. Lindemann notified Naval High Command (Oberkommando der Marine
), Naval Groups North and West (Marinegruppen Nord und West) and Fleet Command that Bismarck was ready for action. The Chief of Fleet—Admiral Günther Lütjens
—and his fleet staff held drills for the first time on board Bismarck on 13 May, testing the communication chain between Fleet Command and Bismarcks officers.
Adolf Hitler
—accompanied by Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel
, his former naval adjutant Commander Karl-Jesco von Puttkamer
, and his Luftwaffe adjutant Oberst
Nicolaus von Below, among others—visited Bismarck on 5 May 1941. Missing was Grand Admiral Erich Raeder
. Hitler was taken on a tour of the ship by Admiral Lütjens and inspected the various battle stations. Hitler and Lütjens also met in private and discussed the risks of a mission in the North Atlantic. After this meeting, Hitler and the officers of Bismarck had lunch in the officers' mess, where Hitler spoke about America's unwillingness to enter the war. Lindemann openly disagreed with Hitler, expressing his opinion that the possibility of the United States entering the war could not be ruled out.
The goal of Operation Rheinübung
(Rhine Exercise) was for Bismarck and the heavy cruiser
—under the command of Lindemann's Crew 1913 classmate Captain Helmuth Brinkmann
—to break into the Atlantic and attack Allied shipping. Grand Admiral Raeder's orders to the task force commander—Admiral Günther Lütjens—were that "the objective of the Bismarck is not to defeat enemies of equal strength, but to tie them down in a delaying action, while preserving combat capacity as much as possible, so as to allow Prinz Eugen to get at the merchant ships in the convoy" and "The primary target in this operation is the enemy's merchant shipping; enemy warships will be engaged only when that objective makes it necessary and it can be done without excessive risk."
At 02:00 on 19 May 1941, Bismarck and Prinz Eugen left Gotenhafen and proceeded through the Baltic Sea and out toward the Atlantic. Unknown to Lütjens, the British had intercepted enough signals to infer that a German naval operation might occur in the area. The German task force was first encountered by the Swedish seaplane-cruiser on 20 May heading north-west past Gothenburg
. The British Admiralty was informed through a Norwegian officer in Stockholm who had learned of the sighting from a Swedish military intelligence source. Alerted by this report, British Admiralty requested air reconnaissance of the Norwegian coast. A Spitfire
reconnaissance aircraft
found and photographed the German task force in the Grimstad fjord (60°19.49′N 5°14.48′E), near Bergen
, at 13:15 on 21 May. On the evening of 23 May at 19:22, the German force was detected by the heavy cruisers and that had been patrolling the Denmark Strait
in the expectation of a German breakout. The alarm was sounded and Lindemann announced at 20:30 over the intercom: "". (Enemy sighted to port. Engage!) Bismarck fired five salvo
s without scoring a direct hit. The heavily outgunned British cruisers retired to a safe distance and shadowed the enemy until their own heavy units could draw closer. However, Bismarcks forward radar had failed as a result of vibration from the heavy guns firing during this skirmish, and Lütjens was obliged to order Prinz Eugen to move ahead of Bismarck in order to provide the squadron with forward radar coverage.
At the Battle of the Denmark Strait
on 24 May 1941, was sunk, probably by Bismarck. The hydrophone
s on Prinz Eugen detected a foreign ship to port at 05:00. The Germans sighted the smokestacks of two ships at 05:45, which the first gunnery officer Lieutenant Commander Adalbert Schneider initially reported as two heavy cruisers. The first British salvo revealed them to be battleships, but not until the British task force turned to port was their precise identity revealed. The British ships started firing at the German task force at 05:53. Vice-Admiral Lancelot Holland
planned on targeting Bismarck first, but due to the reversed German battle order, and Hood opened fire on the Prinz Eugen instead. The commander of the Prince of Wales—Captain John Leach—detected this error and ordered his guns swung around to fire on Bismarck. The German task force was still waiting for the order to commence firing, which Admiral Lütjens did not give immediately. Two minutes later, after multiple inquiries by Schneider, ""? (Permission to open fire?), an impatient Lindemann responded: "" (I'm not letting my ship get shot out from under my arse. Open fire!) At 06:01, the fifth salvo by Bismarck, fired at a range of about 180 hm (18,000 m; 19,685 yd), was seen to hit Hood abreast her mainmast. It is likely that one 38 cm (15 in) shell struck somewhere between Hood's mainmast and 'X' turret aft of the mast.Hood carried eight 42-calibre BL 15-inch Mark I guns. These guns were mounted in the hydraulically powered Mark II twin turrets which were designated 'A', 'B', 'X' and 'Y' from front to rear. A huge jet of flame burst out from Hood from the vicinity of the mainmast. This was followed by a devastating magazine explosion that destroyed the aft part of the ship. This explosion broke the back of Hood, and she sank in only three minutes, her nearly vertical bow last to descend into the water.
Following the explosion, Prince of Wales was targeted by both German ships and disengaged from combat after seven direct hits, four by Bismarck and three by Prinz Eugen, at about 06:09. During this brief engagement, Prince of Wales had also hit Bismarck three times, first striking the commander's boat and putting the seaplane catapult amidships out of action. The second shell passed right through the bow from one side to the other. The third struck the hull underwater and burst inside the ship, flooding a generator room and damaging the bulkhead of an adjoining boiler room, partially flooding it. The damage caused to Bismarck by these two shots allowed 2000 t (2,204.6 ST) of water into the ship.
Lindemann and Lütjens at this point differed on how best to continue the mission. Lindemann, as commander of a battleship, was guided by the tactical situation, and wanted to hunt down the damaged Prince of Wales. (The Germans did not at that time know the ship to be Prince of Wales, but knew that it was a King George V class
battleship.) Lütjens, apparently mindful of the fleet order to avoid unnecessary contact with similar enemy units, rejected this without discussion. Lindemann and Lütjens also differed on where to take the ship for repairs; Lindemann advocated retracing their route through the Denmark Strait and returning to Bergen
, Norway. Lütjens overruled him and ordered a course set for Saint-Nazaire
, France. In the afternoon, Admiral Lütjens ordered Prinz Eugen to break away from Bismarck and operate independently against the enemy's merchant shipping. Prinz Eugen and Bismarck separated at 18:14 that evening. Prinz Eugen arrived safely at Brest, France
on 1 June 1941. No direct witnesses to this difference of opinion survived the sinking, but Matrosengefreiter (Leading Seaman
) Heinz Staat, the helmsman on the bridge, remembered a telephone call between the First Watch Officer, Commander Hans Oels, and a fleet staff officer which suggested that Lindemann had been trying to persuade Lütjens to pursue the enemy. A messenger returning to his comrades below spoke of "dicke Luft" ("thick air" or a "bad atmosphere") on the bridge.
Bismarck was sunk less than a week later, after a concentrated effort by Britain's Royal Navy
. At 23:30 (local time 19:30) on 24 May an attack was made by a small group of nine Swordfish
biplane
torpedo bomber
s of 825 Naval Air Squadron
under the command of Eugene Esmonde
from the aircraft carrier
. One hit was scored, which killed Oberbootsmann Kurt Kirchberg, but caused only superficial damage to the Bismarcks armoured belt. In mid-morning at 10:30 on 26 May, a RAF Coastal Command
Catalina reconnaissance aircraft
from 209 Squadron RAF
spotted Bismarck roughly 700 nmi (1,296.4 km; 805.5 mi) west of Saint-Nazaire. The British battle group Force H
, under the command of Admiral
James Somerville
, whose main units were the aircraft carrier
, the First World War era battlecruiser
and the cruiser
, was ordered to stop Bismarck. At 19:15 that evening, 15 Swordfish from Ark Royal launched an attack. The air raid alarm was sounded on Bismarck at 20:30. Roughly 15 minutes into the attack Bismarck was possibly hit by one torpedo, and at around 21:00 another single torpedo jammed Bismarcks rudder in a 12° right turn. Damage-control parties laboured to regain steering control and uncoupled and centred the starboard rudder, but failed to free the port rudder. With asymmetric power applied, speed reduced to 8 kn (15.7 km/h; 9.7 mph), Bismarck was on a converging course with the Royal Navy units on the chase. The alarm sounded again at 23:00 when destroyers of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla under the command of Captain Philip Vian
attacked Bismarck. Throughout the night Bismarck was targeted by incessant torpedo attacks by , , , , and ORP Piorun
, denying Lindemann and the crew much-needed rest.
Bismarcks alarm sounded for the last time at 08:00 on the morning of 27 May 1941. Norfolk sighted the Bismarck at 08:15, and the battleship opened fire on Bismarck at 08:48. Bismarck returned fire at 08:49. Further involved in the final battle were the battleship and the cruisers Norfolk and . Torpedo bombers did not participate in the final battle. Bismarcks forward command position was hit at 08:53, and both forward gun turrets were put out of action at 09:02, killing Adalbert Schneider in the main gun director. The after command position was destroyed at 09:18 and turret Dora was disabled at 09:24. Bismarck received further heavy hits at 09:40, resulting in a fire amidships, and turret Caesar went out of action after a hit at 09:50. All weapons fell silent at 10:00. Short of fuel, Rodney and King George V had to disengage prior to Bismarcks sinking. The Germans were preparing to scuttle
Bismarck when three torpedoes fired by Dorsetshire hit the ship's side armour. Bismarck sank at 10:36 at position 48°10′N 16°12′W, roughly 300 nmi (555.6 km; 345.2 mi) west of Ouessant (Ushant
). The cruiser Dorsetshire saved 85 men, and the British destroyer Maori saved 25. A further five sailors were saved by under the command of Captain Lieutenant Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat
and the weather observation ship Sachsenwald. The Befehlshaber der U-Boote
(U-boats Commander-in-Chief) Karl Dönitz
had ordered under the command of Captain Lieutenant Herbert Wohlfarth
to pick up Bismarcks war diary
. Out of torpedoes and low on fuel, Wohlfarth requested that the order be transferred to U-74. U-74 failed to reach Bismarck on time and the war diary was never retrieved.
Lindemann's body was never recovered, and it is thought that he, Lütjens and other officers probably died when shells from the British warships hit Bismarcks bridge at 09:02. When Robert Ballard
discovered the wreck in 1989, he found that most of the forward superstructure
had been blasted away by shellfire and there were more than 50 shell holes around the area of the conning tower
. This may support the theory.
Alternatively, Lindemann may have left his combat position when the ship's controls were rendered inoperable, and prior to the lethal hit on the command position, in order to give the command to abandon the ship. The surviving Matrose Paul Hillen—who had managed to escape to the upper deck in the final phase of the battle, stated that he had seen a group of 20-30 people standing at the bow, among them a man with a white peaked cap. Normally on a German naval vessel at sea, a white cap is worn only by the commanding officer. In addition, the surviving Maschinengefreiter—Rudolf Römer, who at the time was already in the water—claimed that he had seen Lindemann standing on the bow, near Bismarcks forward 38 cm turret, Anton.Bismarck had four 38 cm SK C/34 dual gun turrets. The two forward turrets were Anton and Bruno. The aft turrets were Caesar and Dora. He was said to be with his combat messenger, a leading seaman, and apparently trying to persuade his messenger to save himself. In this account, his messenger took Lindemann's hand and the two walked to the forward flagmast. As the ship turned over, the two stood briefly to attention, then Lindemann and his messenger saluted. As the ship rolled to port, the messenger dropped into the water. Lindemann—continuing his salute while clinging to the flagmast—went down with the ship.
On Wednesday, 28 May 1941 Ernst Lindemann was posthumously mentioned in the daily Wehrmachtbericht
, an information bulletin issued by the headquarters of the Wehrmacht
(the unified armed forces of Germany). To be singled out individually in the Wehrmachtbericht was an honour and was entered in the Orders and Decorations' section of one's Service Record Book.
. He received this high award because the Oberkommando der Marine
felt that his skilled leadership significantly contributed to the destruction of the British battlecruiser Hood and the damage inflicted on the British battleship Prince of Wales. Lindemann was the 94th recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in the Kriegsmarine.
Lindemann's first gunnery officer—Lieutenant Commander Adalbert Schneider
—had been awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 27 May 1941. Traditionally, the commanding officer would have received this award before any other crew member was so honoured. This exception had been criticized by various circles in the Wehrmacht. It is thought likely that Ernst Lindemann's cousin, the former General der Kavallarie
(General of the Cavalry) Georg Lindemann
, intervened. Grand Admiral Erich Raeder
, with whom Lindemann shared a 20-year comradeship dating to the early days of the Reichsmarine, presented the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross to Mrs Lindemann on Tuesday, 6 January 1942, in Dahlem
. Raeder went on to provide moral and emotional support to Lindemann's mother and widow.
To honour the late Captain Lindemann, the heavy naval battery at Sangatte
, between Calais
and Boulogne was christened "Batterie Lindemann" (the Lindemann Battery) on 19 September 1942 by the admiral in command of the Channel Coast Friedrich Frisius
. The battery consisted of three heavy 40.6 cm (16 in) SK C/34 guns housed in casemates. Prior to this, the guns had been referred to as "Batterie Schleswig-Holstein" or "Batterie Groß-Deutschland" and were located in the Hel Peninsula
, Poland. The battery was destroyed by Canadian forces on the evening of 26 September 1944. Today the structure is partly covered by excavated material from the Channel Tunnel
, and only the command bunker with a number of smaller strong points are still visible.
played Captain Ernst Lindemann in the 1960 black-and-white British war film Sink the Bismarck!
The film was based on the novel The Last Nine Days of the Bismarck
by C. S. Forester
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
naval captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
. He was the only commander of the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
during its eight months of service in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Lindemann joined the German Imperial Navy in 1913, and after his basic military training, served on a number of warships during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as a wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy is a historical term used today to apply to early radio telegraph communications techniques and practices, particularly those used during the first three decades of radio before the term radio came into use....
officer. On board , he participated in Operation Albion
Operation Albion
Operation Albion was the German land and naval operation in September-October 1917 to invade and occupy the Estonian islands of Saaremaa , Hiiumaa and Muhu , then part of the Russian Republic...
in 1917. After World War I, he served in various staff and naval gunnery training positions. One year after the outbreak of World War II, he was appointed commander of the battleship Bismarck, at the time the largest warship in commission anywhere in the world and the pride of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
).
In May 1941, Lindemann commanded Bismarck during Operation Rheinübung
Operation Rheinübung
Operation Rheinübung was the sortie into the Atlantic by the new German battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen on 18–27 May 1941, during World War II...
. Bismarck and the heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
—under the command of Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Günther Lütjens
Günther Lütjens
Günther Lütjens was a German Admiral whose military service spanned almost 30 years. Lütjens is best known for his actions during World War II, primarily his service as admiral of the squadron comprising and her consort, , during the Operation Rheinübung sortie.-Early career:Günther Lütjens was...
—were to break out of their base in German occupied Poland and attack British merchant shipping lanes in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. The task force's first major engagement was the Battle of the Denmark Strait
Battle of the Denmark Strait
The Battle of the Denmark Strait was a Second World War naval battle between ships of the Royal Navy and the German Kriegsmarine, fought on 24 May 1941...
which resulted in the sinking of . Less than a week later, on 27 May, Lindemann and most of his crew lost their lives during Bismarcks last battle.
He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
, an honour that recognised extreme bravery on the battlefield or outstanding military leadership. The medal was presented to his widow, Hildegard, on 6 January 1942.
Early life
Otto Ernst Lindemann was born on 28 March 1894 in AltenkirchenAltenkirchen
Altenkirchen is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, capital of the district of Altenkirchen. It is located approx. 40 km east of Bonn and 40 km north of Koblenz. Altenkirchen is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde Altenkirchen.-References:...
in the Westerwald
Westerwald
The Westerwald is a low mountain range on the right bank of the River Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhine Massif...
, Rhine Province
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
. He was the first of three children of Dr. jur. Georg Heinrich Ernst Lindemann and Maria Lindemann, née Lieber. Known as Ernst, Georg Lindemann was a probationary judge (Gerichtsassessor
Gerichtsassessor
In the German legal system, the obsolete designation Gerichtsassessor was held by judges or federal prosecutors, whose employment status today would be "on probation". Attainment of the second state legal qualification was always a pre-requisite...
) and later president of the Prussian Central Land Credit Company, a Prussian credit bank.
Otto Ernst Lindemann was baptised into the Evangelical Church
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
on 26 April 1894. The family moved to the Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, named after Queen consort Sophia Charlotte...
quarter of Berlin, where they lived at 6 Carmer Street,Carmer Street—Carmerstraße in 1895. His younger brother—Kurt—was born in 1896, followed by a second brother, Hans-Wolfgang, in 1900. The family relocated again in 1903, this time to their own house in the Dahlem
Dahlem (Berlin)
Dahlem is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in southwestern Berlin. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a part of the former borough of Zehlendorf. Dahlem is one of the most affluent parts of the city and home to the main campus of the Free University of Berlin with the...
quarter of Berlin, near the Grunewald
Grunewald
Grunewald is a locality within the Berliner borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Famous for the homonymous forest, until 2001 administrative reform it was part of the former district of Wilmersdorf.-Geography:The locality is situated in the western side of the city and is separated from...
forest.
In 1910, when Lindemann was 16, his uncle (Captain
Captain at Sea
Captain at Sea, is a naval rank corresponding to command of a ship-of-the-line or capital ship....
) Friedrich Tiesmeyer was in command of the light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
(October 1909–January 1910) of the Imperial Navy, at that time holding the rank of (commander). At a family reunion in Hamelin
Hamelin
Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 ....
, Lindemann talked with his uncle and heard of his seafaring adventures in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
. These conversations gave Lindemann the idea of a naval career.
Lindemann graduated from the Bismarck-Gymnasium (secondary school) in Berlin-Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf is an inner city locality of Berlin, formerly a borough by itself but since Berlin's 2001 administrative reform a part of the new borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.-History:...
with his Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
(diploma) late in 1912 with an average-to-good overall rating. For the next six months, he attended the Royal Polytechnic Institution
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
in Richmond, London.
Personal life
Ernst Lindemann met Charlotte Weil (née Fritsche; 1899–1979), a Berlin singer, in the spring of 1920. The couple married on 1 February 1921, and they had a daughter, Helga Maria, born on 26 February 1924. Lindemann's job as a naval officer demanded that he be away from his family for long periods of time. This proved to be too demanding on the marriage, and they were divorced in 1932. Lindemann was engaged again on 20 July 1933 to his youngest brother's sister-in-law, Hildegard Burchard. Hildegard was 14 years younger than Lindemann. They married on 27 October 1934 in the St Annen Church in Berlin–Dahlem. The ceremony was performed by Martin NiemöllerMartin Niemöller
Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller was a German anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor. He is best known as the author of the poem "First they came…"....
, a founder of the Confessing Church
Confessing Church
The Confessing Church was a Protestant schismatic church in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to nazify the German Protestant church.-Demographics:...
, later imprisoned as an anti-Nazi. They had a daughter, Heidi Maria, born on 6 July 1939.
Imperial Navy
On 26 March 1913, Lindemann traveled with his parents to FlensburgFlensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
for his medical examination at the Naval Academy at Mürwik. The strong financial background of his parents made him a suitable applicant for the Imperial Navy, as the costs associated with a naval education in 1909 were 800–1,000 Marks
German gold mark
The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914.-History:Before unification, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16⅔ grams of pure silver...
per year for eight years. By comparison, a metal worker earned 1,366 Marks annually and a teacher 3,294 Marks. Only 5 percent of the German population at the time earned more than 3,000 Marks annually. However, the doctor certified him as fit only for limited duties , as pneumonia in childhood had left him unfit for service in U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s. After a second examination, he was accepted on probation, and Lindemann became one of the 290 young men of "Crew 1913" (the incoming class of 1913). He was officially enlisted in the Imperial Navy as a (midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
) on 1 April 1913.
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
until the end of the month. On 29 May 1913, Hertha headed for Swinemünde
Swinoujscie
Świnoujście is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. It is situated mainly on the islands of Uznam and Wolin, but also occupies smaller islands, of which the largest is Karsibór island, once part of Usedom, now separated by a Piast...
, where she stayed until 15 June. The next stop, via Sassnitz
Sassnitz
Sassnitz is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the Federal State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2007 was 10,747....
and Visby
Visby
-See also:* Battle of Visby* Gotland University College* List of governors of Gotland County-External links:* - Visby*...
, was Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden, arriving on 24 June. The ship remained in Stockholm until 1 July, before leaving for Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
in Norway. After a few days, the voyage continued to the Lönne Fjord. Here, Lindemann met his commander-in-chief—Kaiser Wilhelm II—for the first time. Hertha then returned to Germany, arriving in Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
on 8 August 1913.
One week later, Hertha began a seven-month training cruise (15 August 1913–12 March 1914). The voyage took Lindemann to Dartmouth
Dartmouth, Devon
Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...
in England, Vilagarcía de Arousa
Vilagarcía de Arousa
Vilagarcía de Arousa is a port town situated on the firth of Arousa in Galicia, 45km south of Santiago de Compostela. Vilagarcía has a population of almost 37,000 inhabitants, so it is the eighth largest town in Galicia....
in Spain, Faial Island
Faial Island
Faial Island , also known in English as Fayal, is a Portuguese island of the Central Group of the Azores....
in the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
and as far as Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. The return trip then went via Vera Cruz
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
in Mexico, Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
in Cuba, Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
in Haiti, Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
in Jamaica, Port of Spain
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
in Trinidad and then to the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
, and the Spanish mainland, arriving back in Germany in the middle of March 1914, first in Brunsbüttel
Brunsbüttel
Brunsbüttel is a town in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany that lies on the mouth of the Elbe river, near the North Sea. It is the location of the western entrance to the Kiel Canal, the eastern entrance being located at Kiel-Holtenau...
and two days later in Kiel. Lindemann was promoted to Fähnrich zur See (Ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
) on 3 April 1914.
World War I
With the German declaration of warWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in August 1914, all further training at the naval academy was terminated and the normal compulsory officer examination was skipped. The entire Crew 1913 was assigned to various units in the Imperial Navy. Lindemann was assigned to , a battleship which belonged to the 2nd Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
under the command of Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
) Reinhard Scheer
Reinhard Scheer
Reinhard Scheer was an Admiral in the German Kaiserliche Marine. Scheer joined the navy in 1879 as an officer cadet; he progressed through the ranks, commanding cruisers and battleships, as well as major staff positions on land. At the outbreak of World War I, Scheer was the commander of the II...
,2nd Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
— taking on the position of 3rd wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy is a historical term used today to apply to early radio telegraph communications techniques and practices, particularly those used during the first three decades of radio before the term radio came into use....
officer.3rd wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy is a historical term used today to apply to early radio telegraph communications techniques and practices, particularly those used during the first three decades of radio before the term radio came into use....
officer— Lothringen was mostly tasked with patrolling the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, sailing back and forth between Altenbruch (now part of Cuxhaven) and Brunsbüttel without engaging in combat. Lindemann left Lothringen on 1 June 1915 to attend the wireless telegraphy school at Mürwik.wireless telegraphy school— He successfully completed the course and returned from it in July 1915. He then took over the position of 2nd wireless telegraphy officer and was promoted to Leutnant zur See (Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
) on 18 September 1915.telegraphy officer—
Operation Albion
Operation Albion was the German land and naval operation in September-October 1917 to invade and occupy the Estonian islands of Saaremaa , Hiiumaa and Muhu , then part of the Russian Republic...
in September–October 1917. Operation Albion's objective was the invasion and occupation of the Estonian islands of Saaremaa
Saaremaa
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...
(Ösel), Hiiumaa
Hiiumaa
Hiiumaa is the second largest island belonging to Estonia. It is located in the Baltic Sea, north of the island of Saaremaa, a part of the West Estonian archipelago. Its largest town is Kärdla.-Name:...
(Dagö) and Muhu
Muhu
Muhu , is an island in the Baltic Sea. With an area of 198 km² it is the third largest island belonging to Estonia, after Saaremaa and Hiiumaa....
(Moon), then part of the Russian Republic
Russian Provisional Government
The Russian Provisional Government was the short-lived administrative body which sought to govern Russia immediately following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II . On September 14, the State Duma of the Russian Empire was officially dissolved by the newly created Directorate, and the country was...
. At 05:07 on 12 October 1917, Bayern struck a mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
while moving into her bombardment position to secure the landing beaches at Pamerort. Seven sailors were killed. Despite mine damage, Bayern engaged the coast defense battery at Cape Toffri on the southern tip of Hiiumaa. Bayern was released from her duties at 14:00 that day. Preliminary repairs were made on 13 October in Tagga Bay before she returned to Kiel on 1 November 1917.
After the armistice in 1918, Bayern—together with the majority of the German High Seas Fleet—was interned at Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
, the home of the British Grand Fleet. Bayern arrived there on 23 November 1918 with a skeleton crew
Skeleton crew
A skeleton crew is the minimum number of personnel needed to operate and maintain an item at its most simple operating requirements, such as a ship or business, during an emergency and, at the same time, to keep vital functions operating.- Uses :...
of only 175 men, including Lindemann, who was then ordered to return to Germany, arriving in Kiel on 12 January. On 21 June 1919, Admiral Ludwig von Reuter
Ludwig von Reuter
Ludwig von Reuter was a German admiral during World War I, who commanded the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet when it was interned at Scapa Flow at the end of the war. On 21 June 1919 he ordered the scuttling of the fleet to prevent the British from seizing the ships.-Early life:Reuter was...
ordered the interned fleet to be scuttled
Scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow
The scuttling of the German fleet took place at the Royal Navy's base at Scapa Flow, in Scotland, after the end of the First World War. The High Seas Fleet had been interned there under the terms of the Armistice whilst negotiations took place over the fate of the ships...
, and Bayern sank at 14:30.
Between the wars: Reichsmarine
When Ernst Lindemann returned to Germany, it was uncertain whether he could remain on active military service. As a result of the Treaty of VersaillesTreaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
which was signed on 28 June 1919, the German Navy was downsized to 15,000 men, including 1,500 officers, while the German Navy was renamed the Reichsmarine
Reichsmarine
The Reichsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the Reichswehr, existing from 1918 to 1935...
in the era of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
. As Lindemann had finished fifth in the Class of 1913, he stood a good chance of being retained. He served temporarily in the Dahlem Protection Company a part of the Protection Regiment of Greater Berlin (June–July 1919),Dahlem Protection Company—Protection Regiment of Greater Berlin— before he became adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
to the newly created chief of the Naval Command Department (1 August 1919 – 30 September 1922),Naval Command Department— at the time under the command of William Michaelis
William Michaelis
William Otto Ernst Michaelis was a German viceadmiral and head of the Naval Command within the Ministry of the Reichswehr in the Weimar Republic.- Biography :...
. The Naval Command Department was directly subordinated to the Admiralty Staff.Admiralty Staff— At the same time, he held the position of adjutant in the Fleet Department.Fleet Department— During this assignment Lindemann was promoted to Oberleutnant zur See (Sub-Lieutenant) on 7 January 1920.
Lindemann's next assignment (1 October 1922–30 September 1924) was aboard the battleship Hannover
SMS Hannover
SMS Hannover was the second of five Deutschland-class pre-dreadnoughts of the German Imperial Navy . Hannover and the three subsequently constructed ships differed slightly in both design and construction from the lead ship in their propulsion systems and slightly thicker armor...
, where he served as a watch and division officer. During this assignment, he attended an officers' course at the ships' gunnery school in Kiel between 5 February and 3 May 1924. From here, Lindemann took command of the 1st Artillery Company of the 3rd Coastal Defense Department in Friedrichsort in Kiel from 1 October 1924-26 September 1926.1st Artillery Company—3rd Coastal Defense Department— His commanding officer was Korvettenkapitän (Lieutenant Commander) Otto Schultze
Otto Schultze
Otto Schultze was a Generaladmiral with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and a recipient of the Pour le Mérite during World War I. The Pour le Mérite was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I...
, a former World War I U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
commander and later Generaladmiral (general admiral) of the Kriegsmarine. In this position, Lindemann was promoted to Kapitänleutnant (captain lieutenant) on 1 January 1925.
His next assignment (27 September 1926 – 6 September 1929) placed him on the Admiral's staff at the Baltic Naval Station,Baltic Naval Station— first as a staff officer and then as assistant to the chief of the station, which at the time was under the command of Vice Admiral Erich Raeder
Erich Raeder
Erich Johann Albert Raeder was a naval leader in Germany before and during World War II. Raeder attained the highest possible naval rank—that of Großadmiral — in 1939, becoming the first person to hold that rank since Alfred von Tirpitz...
. From here, he was transferred to the Elsass serving as the second gunnery officer and Fähnrichsoffizier (officer in charge of cadets), responsible for the on-board training of the officer cadets, from 7 September 1929-25 February 1930. Holding the same rank and position, Lindemann then transferred to the Schleswig-Holstein.
Between the wars: Kriegsmarine
On 30 January 1933, the Nazi Party, under the leadership of Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, came to power in Germany, ushering in a period of naval rearmament. In 1935, the Reichsmarine was renamed the Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
. Between 22 September 1931 and 22 September 1934, Lindemann was a senior lecturer at the Naval Gunnery School in Kiel. He was then posted to the Hessen
SMS Hessen
SMS Hessen"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" was the third of five pre-dreadnought battleships of the Braunschweig class. She was laid down in 1902, launched the following year, and commissioned into the German Imperial Navy in 1905. She was named after the state of Hesse. Her sister ships...
under the command of Captain Hermann Boehm
Hermann Boehm (admiral)
Hermann Boehm was a German naval officer who rose to the rank of General Admiral during the Second World War.-Military service:...
and served as first gunnery officer from 23 September 1933 to 8 April 1934. Ernst Lindemann was promoted to Lieutenant Commander on 1 April 1932. On 9 April 1934, he was ordered to the Wilhelmshaven Shipyard (9 April–11 November 1934) for training in ship construction and familiarisation with the heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
, under the command of Captain Wilhelm Marschall
Wilhelm Marschall
Wilhelm Marschall was a German admiral during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Pour le Mérite which he received as commander of the German U-boat during World War I...
.
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
(24 July–30 August 1936). Admiral Scheer had to make ready for the mission on short notice; the order came from Admiral Rolf Carls
Rolf Carls
Rolf Hans Wilhelm Karl Carls was the Generaladmiral of the Kriegsmarine during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
on 23 July 1936 at 13:45. The normal 48 hours required to prepare the ship was reduced to 12 hours, demanding a lot of the crew and especially Lindemann. As the first gunnery officer, Lindemann was responsible for handling and storing all munitions. Admiral Scheer and the cruiser left Germany on 24 July at 8:00. Lindemann's main responsibilities included commanding the German landing parties and acting as diplomatic aid and interpreter for Captain Marschall. These landing parties consisted of up to 350 men, which included 11 officers, 15 non-commissioned officers and 266 sailors, or roughly one-third of the crew. On the return voyage to Germany, Admiral Scheer stopped at Gibraltar on the morning of 25 August 1936. Marschall, Lindemann and other officers met with the British Governor and Rear Admiral James Somerville
James Somerville
Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Fownes Somerville GCB, GBE, DSO was one of the most famous British Admirals of World War II.-Early career:...
. After Lindemann returned to Germany, he was promoted to commander on 1 October 1936.
Between 1936 and 1938, he was an adviser and later head of the ship construction department at the Naval High Command,Naval High Command— and at the same time a consultant to and later chief of the Naval Training Department.Naval Training Department—Marineausbildungsabteilung On 1 April 1938, he was promoted to the rank of captain. On 30 September 1939, one month after the outbreak of World War II, Lindemann succeeded Captain Heinrich Woldag as commander of the Naval Gunnery School in Wik in Kiel,Naval Gunnery School— after Woldag took command of the heavy cruiser . Under his command were three training departments, the gunnery training ship and Hektor, numerous gunnery training boats, gun carriers, auxiliary vessels, and occasionally Hitler's state yacht, the Aviso
Aviso
An aviso , a kind of dispatch boat or advice boat, survives particularly in the French navy, they are considered equivalent to the modern sloop....
Grille
German aviso Grille (1935)
The Aviso Grille was ordered as Flottentender "C" and her keel was laid down in June 1934 at the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. She was built to be the official German State yacht in 1935....
.
Commander of the battleship Bismarck
Ernst Lindemann was frustrated by the fact that—as commander of the Naval Gunnery School—he would never come into direct contact with the enemy. When he received the news that he had been selected to be the first commander of the battleship , he was honoured by the trust that had been bestowed on him but doubted that he would be able to get Bismarck ready for action before the war was over. His doubts suggest that he was confident the war would end in a favourable outcome for Germany by mid-1940. Prior to commanding Bismarck, Lindemann had never held any shipboard command, a situation rare if not unique in the Kriegsmarine. Nevertheless, Lindemann had served exclusively on ships with a gun calibre of at least 28 cm (11 in), and he was Germany's leading gunnery expert. In 1940, he ranked second out of Crew 1913 and was considered an outstanding leader.Lindemann arrived at the Blohm & Voss shipbuilding works in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
at the beginning of August 1940. Bismarcks keel had been laid on 1 July 1936 and she was launched on 14 February 1939. Burkard Freiherr von Müllenheim-Rechberg joined Bismarck as fourth gunnery officer in June 1940, and he would become the highest ranking officer to survive Bismarcks last battle on 27 May 1941. Much of what is currently known about Bismarck final days is attributed to his account as a witness. Lindemann made Von Müllenheim-Rechberg his personnel adjutant and instructed him to refer to the ship as "he" rather than "she"; Lindemann considered the ship too powerful to be referred to as a female. He commissioned the battleship on 24 August 1940. He showed a great deal of attachment to the ship and was respected by his crew.
Bismarck left the Kiel Fjord
Kiel Fjord
Kiel Fjord is an approximately long fjord or firth of the Baltic Sea along the shores of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Formed by glacial movement during the last Ice Age, it lies between the Danish Wold and Wagria. It originates at the Hörn in centre-city Kiel and merges into the Bay of Kiel.The...
on the morning of 28 September 1940 heading east. After an uneventful voyage through rough seas, Bismarck reached Gotenhafen (now Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
) the next day. Here Bismarck conducted a number of sea trials in the relative safety of the Bay of Danzig (now Gdańsk Bay
Gdansk Bay
Gdańsk Bay or the Bay of Gdańsk or Danzig Bay is a southeastern bay of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the adjacent port city of Gdańsk in Poland and is sometimes referred to as a gulf.-Geography:...
). By 30 November 1940, Lindemann had set a number of tests for the crew, which they passed easily. During high speed trials, Bismarck reached a top speed of 30.8 kn (60.4 km/h; 37.5 mph), exceeding the design speed. However, one weakness quickly became apparent: without the rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
s and using only the screws, Bismarck was almost impossible to steer.
Military communications
Historically, the first military communications had the form of sending/receiving simple signals . Respectively, the first distinctive tactics of military communications were called Signals, while units specializing in those tactics received the Signal Corps name...
officer Second Lieutenant Wolfgang Reiner. Bismarcks heavy guns were first test-fired in the second half of November, and Bismarck was shown to be a very stable gun platform. After the 1940 Christmas celebration on board, Lindemann and the majority of the officers, non-commissioned officers and sailors went on home leave. First gunnery officer Lieutenant Commander Adalbert Schneider
Adalbert Schneider
Adalbert Schneider was the first Gunnery Officer on board the battleship Bismarck, and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for the sinking of HMS Hood on 24 May 1941 in the Battle of the Denmark Strait. The Knight's Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or...
relieved Lindemann as Bismarcks commander during his absence. Lindemann spent his leave with his wife and daughter and returned on 1 January 1941.
On 28 April 1941, the ship and crew were ready, and stores were on board for a three month mission. Lindemann notified Naval High Command (Oberkommando der Marine
Oberkommando der Marine
The Oberkommando der Marine was Nazi Germany's Naval High Command and the highest administrative and command authority of the Kriegsmarine. It was officially formed from the Marineleitung of the Reichswehr on 11 January 1936. In 1937 it was combined with the newly formed Seekriegsleitung...
), Naval Groups North and West (Marinegruppen Nord und West) and Fleet Command that Bismarck was ready for action. The Chief of Fleet—Admiral Günther Lütjens
Günther Lütjens
Günther Lütjens was a German Admiral whose military service spanned almost 30 years. Lütjens is best known for his actions during World War II, primarily his service as admiral of the squadron comprising and her consort, , during the Operation Rheinübung sortie.-Early career:Günther Lütjens was...
—and his fleet staff held drills for the first time on board Bismarck on 13 May, testing the communication chain between Fleet Command and Bismarcks officers.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
—accompanied by Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Bodewin Gustav Keitel was a German field marshal . As head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and de facto war minister, he was one of Germany's most senior military leaders during World War II...
, his former naval adjutant Commander Karl-Jesco von Puttkamer
Karl-Jesco von Puttkamer
Karl-Jesco Otto Robert von Puttkamer was a German rear admiral who was naval adjutant to Nazi Germany's leader Adolf Hitler during World War II.-Biography:...
, and his Luftwaffe adjutant Oberst
Oberst
Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
Nicolaus von Below, among others—visited Bismarck on 5 May 1941. Missing was Grand Admiral Erich Raeder
Erich Raeder
Erich Johann Albert Raeder was a naval leader in Germany before and during World War II. Raeder attained the highest possible naval rank—that of Großadmiral — in 1939, becoming the first person to hold that rank since Alfred von Tirpitz...
. Hitler was taken on a tour of the ship by Admiral Lütjens and inspected the various battle stations. Hitler and Lütjens also met in private and discussed the risks of a mission in the North Atlantic. After this meeting, Hitler and the officers of Bismarck had lunch in the officers' mess, where Hitler spoke about America's unwillingness to enter the war. Lindemann openly disagreed with Hitler, expressing his opinion that the possibility of the United States entering the war could not be ruled out.
Operation Rheinübung
Operation Rheinübung
Operation Rheinübung was the sortie into the Atlantic by the new German battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen on 18–27 May 1941, during World War II...
(Rhine Exercise) was for Bismarck and the heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
—under the command of Lindemann's Crew 1913 classmate Captain Helmuth Brinkmann
Helmuth Brinkmann
Helmuth Brinkmann was a Vice Admiral in the Kriegsmarine during the World War II who captained the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. Prior to World War II he commanded the Aviso Grille, Adolf Hitler's state yacht. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
—to break into the Atlantic and attack Allied shipping. Grand Admiral Raeder's orders to the task force commander—Admiral Günther Lütjens—were that "the objective of the Bismarck is not to defeat enemies of equal strength, but to tie them down in a delaying action, while preserving combat capacity as much as possible, so as to allow Prinz Eugen to get at the merchant ships in the convoy" and "The primary target in this operation is the enemy's merchant shipping; enemy warships will be engaged only when that objective makes it necessary and it can be done without excessive risk."
At 02:00 on 19 May 1941, Bismarck and Prinz Eugen left Gotenhafen and proceeded through the Baltic Sea and out toward the Atlantic. Unknown to Lütjens, the British had intercepted enough signals to infer that a German naval operation might occur in the area. The German task force was first encountered by the Swedish seaplane-cruiser on 20 May heading north-west past Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
. The British Admiralty was informed through a Norwegian officer in Stockholm who had learned of the sighting from a Swedish military intelligence source. Alerted by this report, British Admiralty requested air reconnaissance of the Norwegian coast. A Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
reconnaissance aircraft
Reconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft is a manned military aircraft designed, or adapted, to carry out aerial reconnaissance.-History:The majority of World War I aircraft were reconnaissance designs...
found and photographed the German task force in the Grimstad fjord (60°19.49′N 5°14.48′E), near Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, at 13:15 on 21 May. On the evening of 23 May at 19:22, the German force was detected by the heavy cruisers and that had been patrolling the Denmark Strait
Denmark Strait
The Denmark Strait or Greenland Strait |Sound]]) is an oceanic strait between Greenland and Iceland...
in the expectation of a German breakout. The alarm was sounded and Lindemann announced at 20:30 over the intercom: "". (Enemy sighted to port. Engage!) Bismarck fired five salvo
Salvo
A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute.Troops armed with muzzleloaders required time in which to refill their arms with gun powder and shot...
s without scoring a direct hit. The heavily outgunned British cruisers retired to a safe distance and shadowed the enemy until their own heavy units could draw closer. However, Bismarcks forward radar had failed as a result of vibration from the heavy guns firing during this skirmish, and Lütjens was obliged to order Prinz Eugen to move ahead of Bismarck in order to provide the squadron with forward radar coverage.
At the Battle of the Denmark Strait
Battle of the Denmark Strait
The Battle of the Denmark Strait was a Second World War naval battle between ships of the Royal Navy and the German Kriegsmarine, fought on 24 May 1941...
on 24 May 1941, was sunk, probably by Bismarck. The hydrophone
Hydrophone
A hydrophone is a microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening to underwater sound. Most hydrophones are based on a piezoelectric transducer that generates electricity when subjected to a pressure change...
s on Prinz Eugen detected a foreign ship to port at 05:00. The Germans sighted the smokestacks of two ships at 05:45, which the first gunnery officer Lieutenant Commander Adalbert Schneider initially reported as two heavy cruisers. The first British salvo revealed them to be battleships, but not until the British task force turned to port was their precise identity revealed. The British ships started firing at the German task force at 05:53. Vice-Admiral Lancelot Holland
Lancelot Holland
Vice Admiral Lancelot Ernest Holland, CB commanded the British force in the Battle of Denmark Strait in May, 1941 against the German battleship Bismarck. Holland was killed during the battle.-Early life:...
planned on targeting Bismarck first, but due to the reversed German battle order, and Hood opened fire on the Prinz Eugen instead. The commander of the Prince of Wales—Captain John Leach—detected this error and ordered his guns swung around to fire on Bismarck. The German task force was still waiting for the order to commence firing, which Admiral Lütjens did not give immediately. Two minutes later, after multiple inquiries by Schneider, ""? (Permission to open fire?), an impatient Lindemann responded: "" (I'm not letting my ship get shot out from under my arse. Open fire!) At 06:01, the fifth salvo by Bismarck, fired at a range of about 180 hm (18,000 m; 19,685 yd), was seen to hit Hood abreast her mainmast. It is likely that one 38 cm (15 in) shell struck somewhere between Hood's mainmast and 'X' turret aft of the mast.Hood carried eight 42-calibre BL 15-inch Mark I guns. These guns were mounted in the hydraulically powered Mark II twin turrets which were designated 'A', 'B', 'X' and 'Y' from front to rear. A huge jet of flame burst out from Hood from the vicinity of the mainmast. This was followed by a devastating magazine explosion that destroyed the aft part of the ship. This explosion broke the back of Hood, and she sank in only three minutes, her nearly vertical bow last to descend into the water.
Following the explosion, Prince of Wales was targeted by both German ships and disengaged from combat after seven direct hits, four by Bismarck and three by Prinz Eugen, at about 06:09. During this brief engagement, Prince of Wales had also hit Bismarck three times, first striking the commander's boat and putting the seaplane catapult amidships out of action. The second shell passed right through the bow from one side to the other. The third struck the hull underwater and burst inside the ship, flooding a generator room and damaging the bulkhead of an adjoining boiler room, partially flooding it. The damage caused to Bismarck by these two shots allowed 2000 t (2,204.6 ST) of water into the ship.
Lindemann and Lütjens at this point differed on how best to continue the mission. Lindemann, as commander of a battleship, was guided by the tactical situation, and wanted to hunt down the damaged Prince of Wales. (The Germans did not at that time know the ship to be Prince of Wales, but knew that it was a King George V class
King George V class battleship (1939)
The King George V-class battleships were the most modern British battleships used during World War II. Five ships of this class were built and commissioned: King George V , Prince of Wales , Duke of York , Howe , and Anson .The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 limiting all of the number,...
battleship.) Lütjens, apparently mindful of the fleet order to avoid unnecessary contact with similar enemy units, rejected this without discussion. Lindemann and Lütjens also differed on where to take the ship for repairs; Lindemann advocated retracing their route through the Denmark Strait and returning to Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, Norway. Lütjens overruled him and ordered a course set for Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
, France. In the afternoon, Admiral Lütjens ordered Prinz Eugen to break away from Bismarck and operate independently against the enemy's merchant shipping. Prinz Eugen and Bismarck separated at 18:14 that evening. Prinz Eugen arrived safely at Brest, France
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
on 1 June 1941. No direct witnesses to this difference of opinion survived the sinking, but Matrosengefreiter (Leading Seaman
Leading Seaman
Leading seaman is a junior non-commissioned rank or rate in navies, particularly those of the Commonwealth. When it is used by NATO nations, leading seaman has the rank code of OR-4. It is often equivalent to the army and air force rank of corporal and some navies use corporal rather than...
) Heinz Staat, the helmsman on the bridge, remembered a telephone call between the First Watch Officer, Commander Hans Oels, and a fleet staff officer which suggested that Lindemann had been trying to persuade Lütjens to pursue the enemy. A messenger returning to his comrades below spoke of "dicke Luft" ("thick air" or a "bad atmosphere") on the bridge.
Bismarck was sunk less than a week later, after a concentrated effort by Britain's Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. At 23:30 (local time 19:30) on 24 May an attack was made by a small group of nine Swordfish
Fairey Swordfish
The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during the Second World War...
biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
torpedo bomber
Torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...
s of 825 Naval Air Squadron
825 Naval Air Squadron
825 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier-based squadron formed on 8 October 1934 from the aircraft and personnel of 824 Naval Air Squadron...
under the command of Eugene Esmonde
Eugene Esmonde
Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde VC DSO, F/Lt, RAF, Lt-Cdr RN was a distinguished pilot who was a posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded to members of Commonwealth forces...
from the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
. One hit was scored, which killed Oberbootsmann Kurt Kirchberg, but caused only superficial damage to the Bismarcks armoured belt. In mid-morning at 10:30 on 26 May, a RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive...
Catalina reconnaissance aircraft
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
from 209 Squadron RAF
No. 209 Squadron RAF
No. 209 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force was originally formed from a nucleus of "Naval Eight" on 1 February 1917 at Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, France, as No. 9 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service and saw active service in both World Wars, the Korean War and in Malaya...
spotted Bismarck roughly 700 nmi (1,296.4 km; 805.5 mi) west of Saint-Nazaire. The British battle group Force H
Force H
Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in 1940 to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean that had been removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany....
, under the command of Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
James Somerville
James Somerville
Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Fownes Somerville GCB, GBE, DSO was one of the most famous British Admirals of World War II.-Early career:...
, whose main units were the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
, the First World War era battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
and the cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
, was ordered to stop Bismarck. At 19:15 that evening, 15 Swordfish from Ark Royal launched an attack. The air raid alarm was sounded on Bismarck at 20:30. Roughly 15 minutes into the attack Bismarck was possibly hit by one torpedo, and at around 21:00 another single torpedo jammed Bismarcks rudder in a 12° right turn. Damage-control parties laboured to regain steering control and uncoupled and centred the starboard rudder, but failed to free the port rudder. With asymmetric power applied, speed reduced to 8 kn (15.7 km/h; 9.7 mph), Bismarck was on a converging course with the Royal Navy units on the chase. The alarm sounded again at 23:00 when destroyers of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla under the command of Captain Philip Vian
Philip Vian
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Philip Louis Vian, GCB, KBE, DSO & Two Bars was a British naval officer who served in both World Wars....
attacked Bismarck. Throughout the night Bismarck was targeted by incessant torpedo attacks by , , , , and ORP Piorun
ORP Piorun (G65)
ORP Piorun was an used by the Polish Navy during the Second World War. The name is Polish for "Thunderbolt".-History:The ship was built by John Brown & Company of Clydebank, Glasgow. She was laid down in July 1939, launched on 7 May 1940 and completed on 4 November 1940...
, denying Lindemann and the crew much-needed rest.
Bismarcks alarm sounded for the last time at 08:00 on the morning of 27 May 1941. Norfolk sighted the Bismarck at 08:15, and the battleship opened fire on Bismarck at 08:48. Bismarck returned fire at 08:49. Further involved in the final battle were the battleship and the cruisers Norfolk and . Torpedo bombers did not participate in the final battle. Bismarcks forward command position was hit at 08:53, and both forward gun turrets were put out of action at 09:02, killing Adalbert Schneider in the main gun director. The after command position was destroyed at 09:18 and turret Dora was disabled at 09:24. Bismarck received further heavy hits at 09:40, resulting in a fire amidships, and turret Caesar went out of action after a hit at 09:50. All weapons fell silent at 10:00. Short of fuel, Rodney and King George V had to disengage prior to Bismarcks sinking. The Germans were preparing to scuttle
Scuttling
Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull.This can be achieved in several ways—valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives...
Bismarck when three torpedoes fired by Dorsetshire hit the ship's side armour. Bismarck sank at 10:36 at position 48°10′N 16°12′W, roughly 300 nmi (555.6 km; 345.2 mi) west of Ouessant (Ushant
Ushant
Ushant is an island at the south-western end of the English Channel which marks the north-westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and is in the traditional region of Bro-Leon. Administratively, Ushant is a commune in the Finistère department...
). The cruiser Dorsetshire saved 85 men, and the British destroyer Maori saved 25. A further five sailors were saved by under the command of Captain Lieutenant Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat
Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat
Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat was a Korvettenkapitän with the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
and the weather observation ship Sachsenwald. The Befehlshaber der U-Boote
Befehlshaber der U-Boote
Befehlshaber der U-Boote was the title of the supreme commander of the Kriegsmarines U-boat Arm during World War II. The term also referred to the Command HQ of the U-boat arm itself....
(U-boats Commander-in-Chief) Karl Dönitz
Karl Dönitz
Karl Dönitz was a German naval commander during World War II. He started his career in the German Navy during World War I. In 1918, while he was in command of , the submarine was sunk by British forces and Dönitz was taken prisoner...
had ordered under the command of Captain Lieutenant Herbert Wohlfarth
Herbert Wohlfarth
Heinrich Wilhelm Herbert Wohlfarth was a successful World War II U-boat commander. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.-Naval career:Herbert...
to pick up Bismarcks war diary
War diary
A war diary is a regularly updated official record kept by military units of their activities during wartime. The purpose of these diaries is to both record information which can later be used by the military to improve its training and tactics as well as to generate a detailed record of units'...
. Out of torpedoes and low on fuel, Wohlfarth requested that the order be transferred to U-74. U-74 failed to reach Bismarck on time and the war diary was never retrieved.
Death
Burkard von Müllenheim-Rechberg saw Lindemann for the last time at around 08:00 on the command bridge just prior to the final battle. Von Müllenheim-Rechberg described the normally intelligent, humorous and optimistic Lindemann now as pessimistic and withdrawn. Von Müllenheim-Rechberg tried to talk to him and was ignored, and later wondered whether this was due to combat fatigue or whether the disagreements with Lütjens had worn him down.Robert Ballard
Robert Duane Ballard is a former United States Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology. He is most famous for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985, the battleship Bismarck in 1989,...
discovered the wreck in 1989, he found that most of the forward superstructure
Superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...
had been blasted away by shellfire and there were more than 50 shell holes around the area of the conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
. This may support the theory.
Alternatively, Lindemann may have left his combat position when the ship's controls were rendered inoperable, and prior to the lethal hit on the command position, in order to give the command to abandon the ship. The surviving Matrose Paul Hillen—who had managed to escape to the upper deck in the final phase of the battle, stated that he had seen a group of 20-30 people standing at the bow, among them a man with a white peaked cap. Normally on a German naval vessel at sea, a white cap is worn only by the commanding officer. In addition, the surviving Maschinengefreiter—Rudolf Römer, who at the time was already in the water—claimed that he had seen Lindemann standing on the bow, near Bismarcks forward 38 cm turret, Anton.Bismarck had four 38 cm SK C/34 dual gun turrets. The two forward turrets were Anton and Bruno. The aft turrets were Caesar and Dora. He was said to be with his combat messenger, a leading seaman, and apparently trying to persuade his messenger to save himself. In this account, his messenger took Lindemann's hand and the two walked to the forward flagmast. As the ship turned over, the two stood briefly to attention, then Lindemann and his messenger saluted. As the ship rolled to port, the messenger dropped into the water. Lindemann—continuing his salute while clinging to the flagmast—went down with the ship.
On Wednesday, 28 May 1941 Ernst Lindemann was posthumously mentioned in the daily Wehrmachtbericht
Wehrmachtbericht
The Wehrmachtbericht was a daily radio report on the Großdeutscher Rundfunk of Nazi Germany, published by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht regarding the military situation on all fronts of World War II....
, an information bulletin issued by the headquarters of the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
(the unified armed forces of Germany). To be singled out individually in the Wehrmachtbericht was an honour and was entered in the Orders and Decorations' section of one's Service Record Book.
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Lindemann's comrades of Crew 1913 all contacted the young widow after his death. The former head of Crew 1913, Captain Klüber, contacted Mrs Lindemann in the fall of 1941 and offered her an honorary membership. Shortly after Christmas on 27 December 1941, exactly seven months after the sinking of Bismarck and the death of its commander, Captain Ernst Lindemann received a posthumous Knight's Cross of the Iron CrossKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
. He received this high award because the Oberkommando der Marine
Oberkommando der Marine
The Oberkommando der Marine was Nazi Germany's Naval High Command and the highest administrative and command authority of the Kriegsmarine. It was officially formed from the Marineleitung of the Reichswehr on 11 January 1936. In 1937 it was combined with the newly formed Seekriegsleitung...
felt that his skilled leadership significantly contributed to the destruction of the British battlecruiser Hood and the damage inflicted on the British battleship Prince of Wales. Lindemann was the 94th recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in the Kriegsmarine.
Lindemann's first gunnery officer—Lieutenant Commander Adalbert Schneider
Adalbert Schneider
Adalbert Schneider was the first Gunnery Officer on board the battleship Bismarck, and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for the sinking of HMS Hood on 24 May 1941 in the Battle of the Denmark Strait. The Knight's Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or...
—had been awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 27 May 1941. Traditionally, the commanding officer would have received this award before any other crew member was so honoured. This exception had been criticized by various circles in the Wehrmacht. It is thought likely that Ernst Lindemann's cousin, the former General der Kavallarie
General of the Cavalry (Germany)
General of the Cavalry or General der Kavallerie was a rank of general in the Imperial Army, Reichswehr or Wehrmacht - the second-highest regular rank below Generaloberst. Artillery officers of equivalent rank were called general of the artillery, and infantry officers of equivalent rank general...
(General of the Cavalry) Georg Lindemann
Georg Lindemann
Georg Heinrich Lindemann was a German cavalry officer and field commander who served in the German army during World War I and World War II . He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves...
, intervened. Grand Admiral Erich Raeder
Erich Raeder
Erich Johann Albert Raeder was a naval leader in Germany before and during World War II. Raeder attained the highest possible naval rank—that of Großadmiral — in 1939, becoming the first person to hold that rank since Alfred von Tirpitz...
, with whom Lindemann shared a 20-year comradeship dating to the early days of the Reichsmarine, presented the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross to Mrs Lindemann on Tuesday, 6 January 1942, in Dahlem
Dahlem (Berlin)
Dahlem is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in southwestern Berlin. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a part of the former borough of Zehlendorf. Dahlem is one of the most affluent parts of the city and home to the main campus of the Free University of Berlin with the...
. Raeder went on to provide moral and emotional support to Lindemann's mother and widow.
Awards and honours
- Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(1914)- 2nd Class
- 1st Class (27 September 1919)
- Gallipoli Star (Türkischer Eiserner HalbmondGallipoli Star (Ottoman Empire)The Ottoman War Medal , better known as the Gallipoli Star, or the Iron Crescent was a military decoration of the Ottoman Empire which was instituted by the Sultan Mehmed Reshad V on 1 March 1915 for gallantry in battle...
) - Honour Cross for CombatantsHonour Cross for CombatantsThe Honour Cross for Combatants was one of three versions of the Cross of Honor to be awarded.- Recipients :* Walther von Brauchitsch* Wilhelm Keitel* Günther von Kluge* Erwin Rommel* Albert Kesselring* Erwin von Witzleben* Erich von Manstein...
(6 December 1934) - Service AwardWehrmacht Long Service AwardThe Wehrmacht Long Service Award was a military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a given years of military service...
(Dienstauszeichnung) 2nd to 4th Class (2 October 1936) - Service Award (Dienstauszeichnung) 1st Class (16 March 1938)
- Spanish Naval Merit Cross (Cruz del Mérito Naval) 3rd Class (6 June 1939)
- Spanish Naval Merit Cross in White (Cruz Naval con distintivo Blanco) (21 August 1939)
- Spanish Naval Merit Cross in Gold (Cruz Naval con distintivo Amarillo) 3rd Class (21 August 1939)
- Swedish Royal Order of the SwordOrder of the SwordThe Order of the Sword is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Order of the Seraphim and the Order of the Polar Star.Awarded to officers, and originally intended as an award for bravery and particularly long or useful service, it...
(Kungliga Svärdsorden) (11 January 1941) - War Merit CrossWar Merit CrossThe War Merit Cross was a decoration of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel...
2nd Class with Swords (20 January 1941) - Clasp to the Iron CrossClasp to the Iron CrossThe Clasp to the Iron Cross was a metal medal clasp displayed on the uniforms of German Wehrmacht personnel who had been awarded the Iron Cross in World War I. It was displayed on the uniforms of many high ranking officers during World War II as most had also served in World War I...
(1939)- 2nd and 1st Class (May 1941)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron CrossKnight's Cross of the Iron CrossThe Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
on 27 December 1941 (posthumously) as captain and commander of battleship Bismarck - Mentioned in the WehrmachtberichtWehrmachtberichtThe Wehrmachtbericht was a daily radio report on the Großdeutscher Rundfunk of Nazi Germany, published by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht regarding the military situation on all fronts of World War II....
on Wednesday, 28 May 1941 - High Seas Fleet BadgeHigh Seas Fleet BadgeHigh Seas Fleet Badge is a German military decoration awarded for service to the crews of the High Seas Fleet, mainly of the battleships and cruisers, but also those ships that supported them operationally for which there was no other award...
(posthumously 1 April 1942)
Reference in the Wehrmachtbericht
| Date | Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording | Direct English translation |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, 28 May 1941 | As reported yesterday, the battleship Bismarck, after its victorious battle near Iceland, was on 26 May hit by a torpedo from an enemy aircraft and left unmanoeuvrable. True to the last radio message from Chief of Fleet Admiral Lütjens, the battleship was defeated by overwhelming enemy forces and sank with flag flying together with its commander Captain Lindemann and its brave crew, on 27 May before noon. |
Lindemann Battery
Sangatte
Sangatte is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department on the northern coast of France on the English Channel.Like many place names in French Flanders, the name is of Flemish origin and means "gap in the sand".-Engineering:...
, between Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
and Boulogne was christened "Batterie Lindemann" (the Lindemann Battery) on 19 September 1942 by the admiral in command of the Channel Coast Friedrich Frisius
Friedrich Frisius
Friedrich Frisius was a German naval commander of World War II.-Life:...
. The battery consisted of three heavy 40.6 cm (16 in) SK C/34 guns housed in casemates. Prior to this, the guns had been referred to as "Batterie Schleswig-Holstein" or "Batterie Groß-Deutschland" and were located in the Hel Peninsula
Hel Peninsula
Hel Peninsula |Nehrung]]) is a 35-km-long sand bar peninsula in northern Poland separating the Bay of Puck from the open Baltic Sea. It is located in Puck County of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.- Geography :...
, Poland. The battery was destroyed by Canadian forces on the evening of 26 September 1944. Today the structure is partly covered by excavated material from the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
, and only the command bunker with a number of smaller strong points are still visible.
In popular culture
Austrian actor Carl MöhnerCarl Möhner
Carl Möhner was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in over 40 films between 1949 and 1976. He was born in Vienna, Austria, and died in McAllen, Texas from Parkinson's disease.-Selected filmography:...
played Captain Ernst Lindemann in the 1960 black-and-white British war film Sink the Bismarck!
Sink the Bismarck!
Sink the Bismarck! is a 1960 black-and-white British war film based on the book, the "Last Nine Days of the Bismarck" by C. S. Forester. It stars Kenneth More and Dana Wynter and was directed by Lewis Gilbert. To date, it is the only movie made that deals directly with the operations, chase, and...
The film was based on the novel The Last Nine Days of the Bismarck
The Last Nine Days of the Bismarck
The Last Nine Days of the Bismarck , also published as Hunting the Bismark , was written by C.S...
by C. S. Forester
C. S. Forester
Cecil Scott "C.S." Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith , an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of naval warfare. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen...
.