Rodney ranges and disables Bismarck

Rodney sighted Bismarck at 08:44 and opened fire at 08:47 from roughly 23,400 yards. Her third salvo straddled and her fourth, fired at about 09:02, hit the forward super-firing turret and bridge. The interval illustrates why early ranging fire was much slower than a gun's mechanical maximum rate: observers had to wait for fall of shot, correct, and fire again. Her accuracy is attributed here to gunnery work undertaken after Dalrymple-Hamilton declined the risky long-range shot at Gneisenau. Bismarck's exhausted crew had already endured battle damage, air attack, and a night of destroyer harassment.