 On 24 May 1941 , the Battle of the Denmark Strait was fought between the German ships Bismarck and <unk> <unk> and the British ships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Hood . Hood was sunk and the damaged Prince of Wales was forced to retire . Bismarck , also damaged , ordered her consort to proceed independently while she headed for the French port of St Nazaire , which was the only port on the Atlantic coast with a dry dock able to accommodate a ship of her size . She was intercepted by the British and sunk en route . 
