On 26 May, launched two Swordfish strikes against "Bismarck". The first of these failed to locate the ship. The second strike scored two hits, one of which jammed the ship's rudders at a 12° port helm on position. This made "Bismarck" unmanoeuvrable and unable to escape to port in France. She sank after intense Royal Navy attack within 13 hours. The low speed of the attacking aircraft may have acted in their favour, as they were too slow for the fire-control predictors of the German gunners, whose shells exploded so far in front of the aircraft that the threat of shrapnel damage was greatly diminished. At least some of the Swordfish flew so low that most of "Bismarck"'s flak weapons could not depress enough to hit them.