After dismissing his destroyer escort, Lutjens announced that he would use the Denmark Strait. Intelligence about the Battle of Crete suggested that British forces might be occupied elsewhere. The idea that this included Force H is questioned because sending it east would require abandoning the western Mediterranean and crossing to the other end of the sea. Norfolk and Suffolk then appeared near the Greenland ice, withdrew from German gunfire, and continued shadowing by radar. The shock of Bismarck firing her heavy guns disabled her search radar, so Prinz Eugen took the lead. During that change of position, Bismarck's steering control jammed and a collision was narrowly avoided before control was restored. Lutjens later attempted a 180-degree reversal in a rain squall, but the British cruisers detected it and withdrew. Their ability to see the manoeuvre despite poor visibility led him to suspect an unfamiliar type of radar.
Notable Point · 2:25:08-2:29:14
Radar shadowing and Bismarck's early steering failure
British radar defeated an attempted German reversal, while Bismarck's damaged search radar and a separate steering malfunction complicated the passage.