I was just setting here wondering, was it the Prince of Wales or Hood that Churchill met with Roosevelt off the coast of Newfoundland. I seem to recall reading this account in "Why the Allies Won" and I always wanted one of the two ships in my display.

The more I think about it, I think it was the Prince of Wales.

Steve

Yes it was POW. (I still maintain that ship was doomed from the start. ) FDR was on an American cruiser I believe, USS Augusta I think.

Yes, the Augusta, I was trying to recall the name of that ship.




I'm unfamilure of the history of this ship, other than it was sank shortly after Pearl Harbor. Why do you believe that it was doomed from the start?

The acronym normally used for her was POW, same as prisoner of war. Many of her crew became POWs. She wasn't even really ready for service and yet she was sent out with Hood to go up against Bismarck, with disastrous results. She's fixed up and sent out to Japan, with even worse results. I just think she was bad luck from the get go.

Aahhhhh I see your point.



Thanks Rodger..

Steve

On the other hand, PoW survived the battle of the Denmark Strait with minor damage, and it was a shell from PoW which caused the damage to Bismarck which ultimately doomed it.

Also lucky that day was Esmond Knight

http://www.esmondknight.org.uk/his_life_8.htm

who went on to play Captain Leach of PoW in the film 'Sink the Bismarck' .

Read on here

http://www.esmondknight.org.uk/his_life_16.htm

Thanks for the link David!

A very interesting reading with a familiar face
Very lucky indeed

Skipper

See some archive photographs from the conference here:

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/uk/uksh-p/pow12.htm

One of my favorite Churchill stories involves this conference, and that destroyer that transfered FDR from the Augusta to the Prince of Wales. When the USS McDougal, shown in one of those pictures on that last site you put up David, came alongside the POW for the transfer they needed to tie up. A Chief on the forecastle of the McDougal called over to a lone figure on the POWs fantail for help with the line. "Certainly", the man said and went to work hauling in the line before the horrified crew on the ship could stop him. The "former naval person" was of course Winnie. That might just be an "urban myth" but I really think it says a lot about Churchill.

That was some interesting reading..thank you for posting that.

Steve

Never having researched he subject, but my impression was that the POW suffered a little more than minor damage at the hands of the Bismarck. Of course my only reference is the movie, but in it the PoW HAD to break off contact. According to my old Time Life World War II series it say s PoW was "hit several times in rapid succesion. One shell wrecked her bridge". Now being an old military guy, if you are getting hit like that, it ain't long before KABOOM as the other ship has your range and is going to bring a lot of hurt on you shortly

It would appear after reading the naval history account, that the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen had the range almost right way. What seems to have saved the Prince of Wales was all the focus at the time was on the Hood.

This reminds me of the quote on the first page of "Tin Can Sailors"

"How often does a ship like this sink?"

"Only once."

POW went into battle against the Bismarck with several strikes against her to begin with. She had civilian workmen on board to help get her fixed up for the battle. It was known before she even went into action that one gun could only fire one shot, I've never heard why that was. I'm pretty sure one turret jammed pretty soon in the battle. Those four gun turrets were real beasts. I know she took one major hit to the bridge which killed everybody except Captain Leach. The odds of her scoring a crippling hit against Bismarck, before getting one herself, were pretty low. Nobody knew at the time she had scored a pretty much mission ending hit with the hit on the bow that took out so much of Bismarck's fuel.


What isn't as well known is that even after disengaging Bismarck she engaged later on for a few shots. I believe that was at the time Bismarck turned to take on the cruisers to send Prinz Eugen on her way.

One major thing I think the RN, or at least Admiral Holland, has to explain is why in the world the Suffolk and Norfolk didn't engage? They could have drawn P.E's fire, and I'm pretty sure their torpedoes hadn't been removed at that time, which could threaten Bismarck.