This is the German battleship Bismarck, which was sunk by the Royal Navy on 27 May 1941. The ship had a brief career - sent out on a sortie to attack Allied shipping in the Atlantic, it almost immediately sank the battlecruiser HMS Hood in the Battle of Denmark Strait - in this picture Bismarck is seen firing just afterwards, at Hood's companion ship HMS Prince of Wales.
Bismarck was then hunted down by many Royal Navy ships, and after its steering was crippled by an air strike, was sunk on 27 May in an action lasting three hours, with the loss of most of its crew of over 2,000 men. This photo shows it under fire in its last moments before sinking.
The commander of the Royal Navy fleet, Admiral Sir John Tovey, said 'The Bismarck had put up a most gallant fight against impossible odds worthy of the old days of the Imperial German Navy, and she went down with her colours flying'
