Photos of Bismarck sinking emerge

A collection of photographs from a young sailor who served on a Second World War aircraft carrier involved in the run-up to the sinking of the Bismarck has emerged.

John Spurr, from Morley in Yorkshire, collected the pictures on HMS Victorious. Before he died he passed them to his grandson Jason Spurr.

One picture shows a plane leaving an aircraft carrier, with "First off for Bismarck" written on the back, and he said others record a visit from King George VI to the aircraft carrier.

Other photographs include a shot of aircraft lined up to take off, and the Bismarck, a German battleship, apparently sighted from the Victorious before its final battle.

Jason Spurr, from Stirlingshire, said his grandfather told him that one of the pictures could show the moment the Bismarck was destroyed.

Just 115 people from a crew of around 2,200 survived when the massive ship sank 71 years ago in 1941 in one of the most decisive naval actions of the war. The ship's rudder was damaged in a torpedo attack which slowed the vessel, allowing Royal Navy warships to intercept and sink her.

Another photograph shows a ship on the horizon with smoke billowing into the sky, with "Victorious torpedo hits Bismarck" noted in pencil on the back.

British naval historian, Professor Andrew Lambert, from the department of war studies at King's College London, said Mr Spurr had a "great collection" of photographs but questioned whether they showed the final moments of the German ship.

According to him, the Bismarck sank on a "thick cloudy day", with no explosion.

"There are some great pictures there but it's not clear enough to show anything significant. It shows a large warship but it has too many funnels to be the Bismarck. And even if it was, it is not the Bismarck on the right day.

"There is some great stuff there, and if the Victorious had sunk the Bismarck it would rewrite the entire history of the Second World War.

"The crew of the Victorious was truly heroic. They took off in the most appalling conditions. They went way beyond the call of duty and carried out a substantial blow, but they weren't there at the end."

Mr Spurr keeps a 1940s newspaper clipping with the pictures, referring to his grandfather's return from battle with a "a fine collection of which he had taken when on board ship".

The photographs were taken from HMS Victorious - meaning the carrier may have been present during the battle - instead of leaving to refuel before the end, Mr Spurr said.

On May 23, three days before the German ship was defeated, HMS Victorious aircrews fired a torpedo into the battleship's mid-ship section. It was then sent to Iceland to refuel.

Mr Spurr recalls his grandfather telling him: "Don't believe what you hear about the Bismarck. We were there and we helped sink it", shortly before he joined the Army.

He said: "That one photo, 'Victorious torpedo hits Bismarck', was taken at the start of the final battle on the last day, from the Victorious, corresponding with what my grandfather said.

"Why the Victorious has had no mention even being there on the last day, well, people can come to their own conclusion about that."