Those only happen when something valuable or dangerous gets hit, like a magazine or an engine. There's virtually nothing of consequence in the bow of a ship, so the damage is fairly superficial.
The shell didn't go through. Its at the bottom of the crater it made in the side armor. (otherwise we'd be able to see through a hole if there was one)
Those only happen when something valuable or dangerous gets hit, like a magazine or an engine. There's virtually nothing of consequence in the bow of a ship, so the damage is fairly superficial.
It's not immediately fatal, but that doesn't mean it's just superficial - significant bow damage (especially below the waterline) will cripple the ship's speed just by pure loss of hydrodynamic streamlining, and their ability to make maneuvers is severely limited if they don't want the obviously damaged structural integrity to fail.
Trying to sail with what was initially relatively minor damage below the waterline is part of why Bismarck sank - going (the new) maximum speed making evasive maneuvers with damage can cause failures to the internal bulkheads that spread the flooding. From the wikipedia article:
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Although Bismarck had been damaged in the engagement and forced to reduce speed, she was still capable of reaching 27 to 28 knots (50 to 52 km/h; 31 to 32 mph), the maximum speed of Tovey's King George V. Unless Bismarck could be slowed, the British would be unable to prevent her from reaching Saint-Nazaire. Shortly before 16:00 on 25 May, Tovey detached the aircraft carrier Victorious and four light cruisers to shape a course that would position her to launch her torpedo bombers.[83] At 22:00, Victorious launched the strike, which comprised six Fairey Fulmar fighters and nine Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers of 825 Naval Air Squadron, led by Lt Cdr Eugene Esmonde. The inexperienced aviators nearly attacked Norfolk and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Modoc on their approach; the confusion alerted Bismarck's anti-aircraft gunners.[84]
Bismarck also used her main and secondary batteries to fire at maximum depression to create giant splashes in the paths of the incoming torpedo bombers.[85] None of the attacking aircraft were shot down. Bismarck evaded eight of the torpedoes launched at her, but the ninth[84] struck amidships on the main armoured belt, throwing one man into a bulkhead and killing him and injuring five others.[86] The explosion also caused minor damage to electrical equipment. The ship suffered more serious damage from manoeuvres to evade the torpedoes: rapid shifts in speed and course loosened collision mats, which increased the flooding from the forward shell hole and eventually forced abandonment of the port number 2 boiler room. This loss of a second boiler, combined with fuel losses and increasing bow trim, forced the ship to slow to 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). Divers repaired the collision mats in the bow, after which speed increased to 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), the speed that the command staff determined was the most economical for the voyage to occupied France.[87]
