A Swordfish torpedo attack from Ark Royal jammed Bismarck's rudders and steering gear on the evening of 26 May. Lindemann believed repairs were possible, while Lutjens began preparing a message to shore before the full damage assessment was available. The fleet engineers might have helped the ship's officers, but Lutjens initially occupied his staff with that message. Divers could not clear the damage in the rough sea, and a proposal to use aircraft hangar doors as improvised rudders came to nothing. Adjusting propeller revolutions provided only limited steering, with speed reduced to about seven knots and the ship effectively circling. Cossack, Sikh, Maori, Zulu, and the Polish destroyer Piorun then attacked through the night and kept Bismarck under pressure.
Notable Point · 2:45:19-2:47:28
Why Bismarck could not recover her steering
Rough seas prevented divers from clearing Bismarck's rudder damage, and improvised steering left the ship slow and unable to escape.