{"product_id":"bismarck-24-hours-to-doom-9781804363409","title":"Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNow a major television documentary (Channel 4, 2021)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe epic mission to destroy Hitler's flagship.\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Bismarck was now loose in the Atlantic ... we had to find and sink her.'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMay, 1941. The most powerful battleship the world has ever seen, the German Navy's \u003cem\u003eBismarck\u003c\/em\u003e, breaks out into the Atlantic to ravage Allied convoys. Together with the heavy cruiser \u003cem\u003ePrinz Eugen\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eBismarck\u003c\/em\u003e will seek to deliver a killer blow to Britain's war effort.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe British launch an all-or-nothing bid to sink her, with the Home Fleet and other naval units steaming hard from all points of the compass, straining every sinew to trap and destroy \u003cem\u003eBismarck\u003c\/em\u003e. HMS \u003cem\u003eHood\u003c\/em\u003e, the battlecruiser pride of the Royal Navy, is destroyed within eight minutes of engaging \u003cem\u003eBismarck\u003c\/em\u003e on 24 May. However, the brand new battleship HMS \u003cem\u003ePrince of Wales\u003c\/em\u003e lands a pivotal blow on \u003cem\u003eBismarck\u003c\/em\u003e, puncturing a fuel tank, forcing the German battleship to make for refuge in a friendly port.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReeling from the loss of the \u003cem\u003eHood\u003c\/em\u003e, the Royal Navy redoubles its efforts, intent on avenging lost shipmates. Aircraft carrier \u003cem\u003eArk Royal\u003c\/em\u003e, along with battleships \u003cem\u003eKing George V\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eRodney\u003c\/em\u003e, plus cruisers and destroyers, are among those who hunt and pursue the foe over more than 1,700 miles.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is the story of \u003cem\u003eBismarck\u003c\/em\u003e's fateful final twenty-four hours on 26\/27 May 1941: the finale of the hunt and the culminating brutal close-quarters battle as \u003cem\u003eBismarck\u003c\/em\u003e makes a desperate bid to escape the enemy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUsing eyewitness accounts of Royal Navy sailors, Royal Marines and Swordfish torpedo-bomber aviators - including searing testimony gleaned by the author during unique interviews with a 'band of brothers' who were in the thick of the action - Ballantyne brings one of the Second World War's most dramatic events thundering to life. He also draws on new research in museum archives and other accounts from both the British and German side, to present a multi-dimensional, cinematic telling of a legendary episode in naval combat history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn epic story, told with compelling immediacy, it takes readers aboard warships in unforgiving seas, into the cockpits of warplanes in shrapnel-lashed skies and even inside a U-boat under a cruel ocean. Perfect for readers of Richard Hough and Saul David.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePraise for \u003cem\u003eBismarck: 24 Hours to Doom\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A powerful and moving cinematic study devoted to what has to be the most dramatic event of the Second World War at sea'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJulian Stockwin, author of the Thomas Kydd series of naval adventures\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'By drawing on the first-hand experiences of veterans in the thick of the action, Iain Ballantyne has produced a deeply researched and unputdownable account of the hunt for the Bismarck that is at once authoritative, insightful and highly readable'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRowland White, author of \u003cem\u003eHarrier 809\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eVulcan 607\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBallantyne, Iain:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eIain Ballantyne is the award-winning author of military and naval history books, and contributor to television news and documentary programmes, and radio shows. In 2021 his \u003ci\u003eBismarck: 24 Hours to Doom\u003c\/i\u003e was the subject of a major television documentary broadcast in the UK by Channel 4. Iain is a former newspaper reporter and currently Editor of a globally read defence magazine, occasionally writing for other publications. His other books include \u003ci\u003eThe Deadly Trade\u003c\/i\u003e (Weidenfeld \u0026amp; Nicolson), a history of submarine warfare and \u003ci\u003eHunter Killers\u003c\/i\u003e (Orion), covering the Cold War undersea confrontation. He is the host of Warships Pod.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollow him on Twitter @IBallantyn\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Canelo History","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51359054528786,"sku":"9781804363409","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_0fafcb3f-37a2-400a-8608-88742bcea14e.jpg?v=1749577737","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/bismarck-24-hours-to-doom-9781804363409","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}