(By ROBERT BUNNELLE .) London, May 27 (CP)_'It was the hottest fire I've ever been under," said the Royal Air Force pilot of one of the Catalina long-range flying boats which shadowed the 35,000-ton German loattleship Bismarck to her fatal rendezvous with the British Fleet today . The pilot looked thoughtfully tonight at the several holes in the hull of his boat-holes put there by the terrific salvos from the Bismarck during the brief interval that the plane slipped from one cloud to another. Even so, the plane continued her dogged pursuit for ten hours after an overall flight of twenty-four hours, the Air Ministry's news service said. The United States-built Catalina planes relieved British Sunderland flying boats in the chase, which originated when otter Americanbuilt planes, Hudsons, spotted the mighty Bismarck in a Norwegian fjord. "There was lots of cloudy weather 'Bismarck's A i r B jai r r a 9 e Hoffesf !'Ye Ever Been In,' Says Pi/of Who Shadowed Her and a misty haze," related the Catalina's pilot . "We had ducked into a cloud and were trying to edge around the Bismarck. "Suddenly we came to the end of our cloud and found ourselves bang over the ship, which was only 400 yards away. "I thought they had us. The Bismarck put up the worst barrage I've ever seen . She seemed one big flash from bow to stern and must have been turning loose on us everything she had. "The Bismarck apparently thought we were going to bomb her, because she turned a full 90 degrees 4 off course when we ran out of the clouds and opened fire as she turned. "I really don't know how we managed to dodge all the stuff she threw up. "It was a ticklish moment, and we were lucky to get back into a cloud, but the Catalina went on flying despite the holes the Bismarck put in .liar hull._ "I had several members of the crew stopping holes so the would not sink when we landed at our water base ." The, pilot of another Catalina described the Bismarck's anti-aircraft fire as "very unhealthy." "We tried to approach as close as possible to the Bismarck," he ,said, "but whenever we came in she opened up with a shattering barrage . We were too close to those shells for comfort. "Despite the haze, the Bismarck was an impressive sight, doing n-tore than 20 knots in a heavy sea which often had the bow running under water." The Air Ministry's news service gave this description of the role enacted by Catalina planes in the trapping of the Bismarck , "Dodging anti-aircraft fire every time they showed themselves out of a cloud, American-built Catalina flying boats of the R Coastal . .F .A Command, together with Sunderlands, shadowed the German battleship Bismarck day and night until she was sunk by ships of the Royal Navy . "The Catalinas quartered the sea, so there was the scantest possibility of the Bismarck avoiding detection for any length of time. Cloud cover was used with the greatest effect so that shadowing and reporting could be done without the aircraft themselves being detected . . . . "But the Catalinas had a break in the clouds now and then . Their crews paid high testimony to the anti-aircraft armament and skill of the German gunners. A flying boat might leave a cloud for only a few seconds, but that would be sufficient for the enemy guns to come into action and surround the aircraft with bursting shells . First Attacked by Hudsons. f "The story begins when the Bismarck was discovered in Norwegian fjords and liras attacked in a storm by American-built Hudsons. "Later on, when sighted again by ships of the Royal Navy in the North Atlantic, shadowing was taken up by a Sunderland flying boat, which subsequently witnessed the first engagement between the British and German forces . "This Sunderland Seas reliever! by a Catalina, which - continued to shadow the Bismarck as she fled southward. "From this tune onward, Catalina flying boats of the Coastal Command co-operated with His Majesty's ships in keeping .vatch on the Bismarck's every movement and every device to evade close action. "Toward the end of the Bismarck's run she repeatedly launched her own aircraft in 'attempts 1:o drive off the shadowing Catalinas, 'but each time the Catalinas disappeared into clouds, only to return a few moments later to resume their un" relenting watch ."