John Wheeler, who played a part in the sinking of the Bismarck, has died at the age of 97.
Born in the St Pancras area of London, Mr Wheeler, known as Jack, was educated at the Royal Hospital School in Greenwich before becoming a Royal Navy electrical artificer apprentice.
He passed out as an artificer 5th class and was posted to HMS Dorsetshire.
Four years later, the same ship would deliver the final blows to the Bismarck, sending it to the floor of the North Atlantic in 1941.
HMS Dorsetshire hit the German battleship with three torpedoes and picked up survivors but they had to leave many behind, after being warned of the approach of U-boats and enemy aircraft.
Mr Wheeler later wrote of the incident: “The Bismarck sank and it was a dreadful sight to see the survivors leaping into the sea to escape the inferno.
“Out of an estimated 2,000, we picked up 96 survivors and a small number by another vessel.”
In danger of being sunk itself, HMS Dorsetshire steamed away, “leaving a thousand or so bobbing heads in the water.”
He added: “I shall never forget their cries, especially as within a year I was in similar circumstances.”
In March 1942, HMS Dorsetshire and HMS Cornwall were sent to the Indian Ocean in search of a Japanese fleet.
On Easter Sunday afternoon, the ships were attacked by about 50 Japanese planes, resulting in disaster for both vessels.
“Only a quarter of an hour had elapsed since the start, both ships sunk and about 250 of our crew had died,” wrote Mr Wheeler.
“It was a sight I shall never forget as the ship, my home for four years and 10 months, dramatically disappeared beneath the sea, leaving us bobbing up and down in the waves.
“Wounded were crying out, dead bodies were pushed to one side yet an awful silence.”
Along with the other survivors, Mr Wheeler was stranded in shark-infested waters for 30 hours before being rescued by two Royal Navy destroyers.
In 1943, he was posted to the submarine depot ship HMS Forth at Dunoon. His work on the Forth earned him the British Empire Medal.
During his time in Dunoon, he met film stars Deborah Kerr and Glynis Johns and director Sir Alexander Korda.
It was his reward for replacing a piece of equipment that had been lost over the side of HMS Forth, which was used as a location for the British drama Perfect Strangers.
In 1944, he met Betty Galloway in Dunoon Pavilion and the couple were married the following year.
After the war, he worked for the Ministry of Labour and on retirement moved to St Andrews.
He spent his final years at Levenglen Nursing Home in Kinross.
He is survived by wife Betty, children Ian and Anne, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.