The German battleship Bismarck was the most heavily armored and advanced warship of its day, yet it was brought down by canvas-covered biplanes and a single jammed piece of steering gear. This episode traces the final 72 hours of the Bismarck, from the sinking of HMS Hood in the Denmark Strait on May 24 to the moment the ship capsized on the morning of May 27. Along the way it examines the psychological pressure on fleet commander Gunther Lutjens, the fatal decision to break radio silence, and the massive British effort that pulled battleships, carriers and cruisers off convoy duty to hunt one ship.

The story unfolds as a chain of small failures: a leaking fuel tank that left an oil slick for an RAF Catalina to follow, a near friendly-fire attack on HMS Sheffield that only failed because of defective magnetic torpedo detonators, and a secon ...