As the battleship Bismarck neared completion in 1940, her neighbor on the Blohm & Voss slipways was the Type VIIC U-556. When U-556 launched, Bismarck lent her marching band to celebrate the occasion. In gratitude, the sub commander presented Bismarck's captain with pic related.
>We, U-556 (500 tons), hereby declare before Neptune, Lord over oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, brooks, ponds, and rivulets, that we will provide any desired assistance to our Big Brother, the battleship Bismarck (42,000 tons), at any place on the water, under water, on land, or in the air.
Hamburg, 28 January 1941
Commander & Crew U556
The cartoons depict U-556 defending Bismarck from aerial torpedo attack and towing her to safety.
On May 26, 1941, Bismarck, her North Atlantic breakout thwarted, was fleeing south for the safety of the French Coast. Though wounded by naval gunfire and air attack, she was still mobile, and had broken contact with the British pursuit force.
Both admiralties scrambled to save or sink the Bismarck. On the British side, Force H - the battlecruiser HMS Renown and the carrier Ark Royal - sortied from Gibraltar to cut off Bismarck's line of retreat. The Kriegsmarine had one vessel in the area: U-556, Bismarck's sworn protector, returning from her maiden patrol.
By chance, U-556's course intersected Force H's northward approach. The submarine commander was astonished to find Ark Royal and Renown alone - desperate to avenge HMS Hood, the British capital ships had outrun their escorts in order to gain position. Ark Royal, the last obstacle between Bismarck and safety, was defenseless in U-556's sights.
But U-556's magazine was empty. She could do only watch as the carrier's air wing left the deck on the fatal run.
On the horizon, Bismarck's guns flashed against the failing light. U-556 lost track of her big brother in the dark. She did not hear Bismarck's final transmission: "Ship unmaneuverable. We will fight to the last shell. Long live the Fuhrer."