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Auction: 22001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 285

'I actually saw the back of the [Bismarck's] B turret explode when one of the shells hit her. It just flipped up in the air, spinning like a penny … I was on the port side of the ship. We'd go up the port side firing at her, turn around and then the starboard side would have a go at firing. We would be in a bit of a lull on the port side. I saw Bismarck burning from stem to stern and she was a beautiful ship, beautiful schooner bows on her.'

Len Nicholl, a Royal Marine in one of H.M.S. Rodney's 6-inch gun turrets, recalls the Bismarck's demise.

A Second World War campaign group of five awarded to Warrant Steward C. P. Wells, Royal Navy, who was present in the battleship H.M.S. Rodney at her memorable clash with the Bismarck in May 1941

On that occasion, Rodney closed her adversary to point-blank range and fired a staggering total of 378 16-inch and 706 6-inch shells, her subsequent torpedo strike being credited with the only occasion on which one battleship successfully torpedoed another

1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Pacific Star; War Medal 1939-45; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.VI.R., 1st issue (L. 13856 C. P. Wells, P.O. Std., H.M.S. Drake), mounted as worn, good very fine (5)

Cuthbert Philip Wells was born at Oxford on 28 January 1905 and entered the Royal Navy as a Boy Servant in July 1921.

Awarded his L.S. & G.C. Medal in March 1938, he was serving as a Petty Officer Steward in the battleship H.M.S. Rodney on the outbreak of hostilities in September 1939, and he remained similarly employed until October 1941. He was therefore present at the famous Bismarck action of May 1941, in which Rodney played a major role.

Moreover, as a Petty Officer Steward, we may be sure his duties regularly brought him into contact with Rodney's officers and her captain, Sir Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton, R.N.

Sink the Bismarck!

Rodney first sighted Bismarck at about a quarter to nine on the morning of the 27 May 1941 and was the first to open fire on her adversary, just ahead of her consort, King George V. Bismarck responded in kind, shell splinters causing casualties and damage to Rodney but not before the latter's fourth salvo caused Bismarck greater damage to her bridge and forward gun turret.

In subsequently bringing her main armament to bear, Rodney once again exposed herself to Bismarck's guns, and was heavily straddled. At 9.31 a.m., however, Rodney moved in for the kill, her accurate gunnery blowing off the left barrel of Bismarck's lower aft gun. Then, in the company of King George V, and the heavy cruisers Norfolk and Dorsetshire, she contributed to the knocking out of all Bismarck's main guns.

In fact, Rodney closed her mighty adversary to point-blank range, firing full broadsides on a virtually flat trajectory, in addition to losing off three torpedoes at a range of about 3,000 yards. One of those torpedoes is believed to have found its mark and, according to the well-known author and broadcaster Ludovic Kennedy, who was a witness to the action, 'if true, [it was] the only instance in the history of one battleship torpedoing another.'

In total, Rodney fired a remarkable tally of 378 16-inch shells and 706 6-inch shells during the engagement. Ironically, the use of her main guns at such a low elevation caused her greater damage than the Bismarck's guns: the force of their blast buckled and cracked her deck plates, broke main water-pipes and flooded various compartments. But she managed to reach Greenock safely on the 29th.

Postscript

Sadly, available records do not reveal Wells' subsequent wartime service, but we do know that he was commissioned as a Temporary Acting Warrant Steward in July 1944. Therein, no doubt, lies another story.


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