Bernhard Heuer, the last surviving crewmember of the infamous German battleship, the Bismarck passed away Thursday 8 March 2018 at the age of 95. Heuer was the last living member of 114 Kriegsmarine sailors to survive the sinking of the Bismarck and its last living crewmember. He was an 18 year old Matrose (Sailor) at the time of the sinking of the ship and was rescue by crewmembers of the British warship HMS Dorsetshire. Following the Battle of Denmark Strait, the Royal Navy closed in on the Bismarck and opened fire on the Bismarck. By 1000 Bismarcks guns were silenced. Nearly 3,000 shells were fired at Bismarck during the fight. Most of Bismarcks crew were trapped inside as the battleship rolled over. 400 German sailors would make it off the Bismarck. The Dorsetshire would rescue 85 men, HMS Maori rescued 25 more before rescue operations were abandoned when lookouts spotted what they believed was a German U-Boat. A U-Boat did later venture upon the scene and rescue three and a trawler rescued two more. Of the original 2,200 man crew, 400 made it into the water and only 114 survived.
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