 At 06 : 05 Captain Leach decided to disengage and laid down a heavy smokescreen to cover Prince of Wales 's escape . Following this , Leach radioed the Norfolk that the Hood had been sunk and then proceeded to join the Norfolk roughly 15 to 17 miles astern of the Bismarck . Throughout the day the British ships continued to chase the Bismarck until at 18 : 16 when Suffolk sighted the Bismarck at 22 @,@ 000 yards . Prince of Wales then proceeded to open fire on Bismarck at an extreme range of 30 @,@ 300 yards , she fired twelve salvos but owing to the range all of them missed . At 01 : 00 on 25 May Prince of Wales once again regained contact and proceeded to open fire at a radar range of 20 @,@ 000 yards , after observers believed that she had scored a hit on Bismarck , Prince of Wales 's " A " turret temporarily jammed , leaving her with only six operational guns . After losing the Bismarck owing to poor visibility and after searching for twelve hours , Prince of Wales headed for Iceland and would take no further part in actions against the Bismarck . 
