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BISMARCK CONQUEROR DIES

War hero John Moffatt who helped sink the Bismarck dies aged 97 as Royal Navy calls him one of its ‘greatest heroes’

The Royal Navy pilot took on the fearsome battleship with only his flimsy Swordfish fighter plane

A BRIT war hero who single-handedly took on Germany's most fearsome warship has died at the age of 97.

Lt Cdr John "Jock" Moffat faced down the Bismarck in his flimsy Swordfish bi-plane in 1941, sending a torpedo hurtling into the great ship.

John Moffatt, who has died aged 97, poses alongside a Swordfish plane like the one he used to help sink the fearsome Bismarck battleship
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John Moffatt, who has died aged 97, poses alongside a Swordfish plane like the one he used to help sink the fearsome Bismarck battleshipCredit: PA:Press Association
The Bismarck had recently sunk the Royal Navy's flagship HMS Hood leading Winston Churchill to declare it must be destroyed at all costs
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The Bismarck had recently sunk the Royal Navy's flagship HMS Hood leading Winston Churchill to declare it must be destroyed at all costsCredit: Alamy
Through John's actions the ship effectively became a sitting duck and was sunk by the British Home Fleet the next day
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Through John's actions the ship effectively became a sitting duck and was sunk by the British Home Fleet the next dayCredit: Alamy

Winston Churchill had warned the Second World War battleship must be destroyed at all costs after it sunk the Royal Navy's flagship HMS Hood.

In a last throw of the dice, John's plane survived a torrent of bullets and shrapnel to deliver its payload in the stormy Atlantic.

His torpedo crippled the Bismarck, destroying its rudder and allowing Royal Navy vessels to steam to the scene and sink her before she reached France.

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Hero John was born in the Scottish down of Kelso in 1919 and signed up for the navy aged 19.

He later became a pilot from the aircraft carrier Ark Royal.

After the war, John went on to become a hotel manager and did not stop flying until he had turned 90.

But his bravery during the notorious hunt for the Bismarck  - named after Germany's founding father Otto von Bismarck - has gone down in British military history.

His role in the attack was later immortalised in classic war film Sink the Bismarck!

Moffatt is said to have flown at barely 50ft above the sea in a bid to avoid the intense gunfire of the ship
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Moffatt is said to have flown at barely 50ft above the sea in a bid to avoid the intense gunfire of the shipCredit: PA:Press Association
The war hero continued to fly into his 90s after a career working in the hotel industry
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The war hero continued to fly into his 90s after a career working in the hotel industryCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd

The young pilot flew at a height of just 50ft in a bid to take down the 250metre behemoth, releasing his torpedo and escaping in his biplane.

Speaking about his act of heroism, he later said: "When Churchill gave the order to sink the Bismarck, we knew we just had to stop her trail of devastation at all costs.

"The great thing about the Swordfish was that the bullets just went straight through.

"After all, it was only made of canvas. It was like David and Goliath."

The Royal Navy described Moffatt's death as "the loss of one of its greatest heroes".

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