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  • Hunt the Bismarck

  • The Pursuit of Germany’s Most Famous Battleship
  • By: Angus Konstam
  • Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
  • Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (208 ratings)
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Hunt the Bismarck

By: Angus Konstam
Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
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Summary

Hunt the Bismarck tells the story of Operation Rheinübung, the Atlantic sortie of the Nazi Germany's largest battleship in May 1941.  

Bismarck entered service in the summer of 1940. She was well-armed, with eight 15-inch guns as well as a powerful array of lighter weapons, while her armored protection earned her the reputation of being unsinkable. This claim was finally put to the test in May 1941, when she sortied into the Atlantic and fought the legendary battle of the Denmark Strait, destroying HMS Hood, the pride of the Royal Navy. Bismarck was now loose in the North Atlantic. However, damage sustained in the battle limited her ability to roam at will, while the Royal Navy deployed the Home Fleet to revenge the Hood. The stage was set for the greatest chase story in the history of naval warfare.  

Drawing on a wealth of first-hand accounts, and intertwining extensive research into a fast-paced narrative, this is the most accurate account of Bismarck's epic voyage ever produced.

©2019 Angus Konstam (P)2019 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Hunt the Bismarck

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Grand & Inspiring.

Extremely interesting and very well written by Angus Konstam. This book gives you a thrilling sense of actually being there, watching as the proudest and mightiest battleships of Britain and Germany's navies clashed in thunderous heavyweight battles across the Atlantic. Expertly narrated by Nigel Patterson it is a book I fully recommend to anyone interested in WW2.

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This isn't fiction; it's fact.

An extremely well researched and written account of the brief sea-life of the first of two great German battle ships. I have done much research into this myself, as it's always been a subject which fascinated me.


I won't say I "enjoyed" the story, but I did enjoy the way that the author and, it needs to be said, the narrator bring this story to life.

There are several audio books on the subject of both of the Bismarck and her equally illustrious successor, tirpitz. Both of them commanded more than a passing respect from the admiralty in London, not to mention the British government itself.

Even the common people of the time knew and feared the Bismarck; she threatened to destroy the main arterial structure of the British war effort during the early summer of 1941. When Bismarck successfully destroyed the pride of the British navy, HMS Hood, of which almost the entire ship's company lost their lives, Bismarck became something of an obsession with the British, and her destruction, when it came, was equally devastating to the German war effort.

Have a listen to this book if you like accurate historical research and excellent presentation. I'm sure you'll find it as fascinating as I do.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Well written, irritating narration

An excellent and well narrated book. However, the narrator's constant and inconsistent use of accents for every foreign proper noun or title is a major irritant. On occasion, it becomes ludicrous, e.g. German titles and French cities in a single sentence (while 'Paris' and other proper nouns are pronounced without any accent).

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tremendous

definitive account of the Battle of the Denmark Strait and the whole. surrounding story of Britain's ageing fleet engagement with a modern adversary

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Accurate and informative from start to finish

No dislike although the preamble went on a bit, it did give a good background.

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A riveting account.

I would highly recommend this book. Reads like a thriller and it is exciting but harrowing at the same time. The loss of life, on both sides, is one of the most shocking parts of this famous battle and pursuit.

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Fascinating

I knew something about the events this book covers, but didn't know how little that really was. This was a fascinating account told, as far as possible, from both sides in the conflict. I'd not appreciated some of the unavoidable practicalities of naval warfare, like building and maintaining the ships, managing a large crew, needing to refuel at sea, the impact of the weather on operations, and even the difficulty of firing naval guns to hit targets several miles away. The final section on what was later found when the wrecks of the Hood and Bismark were found by remote submersibles was a nice way to finish.

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Brilliant

What a brilliant story, I never heard of the Bismarck or what happened to it, because it's a true story makes it all more amazing.

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Excellent

A riveting book about how the navel battle and the sinking of HMS Hook and the Bismarck.

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Gripping

I have listened twice and I was just as gripped the second time. When the swordfish swung in to attack, it was like being there.
Well done Angus and Nigel.

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