Bismarck

History

Design

Following the construction of modern Battleships in France and Italy, Germany saw once again the need to counter other navies with their own class of modern fast Battleships.

With a displacement of 39,500 tons when lightly loaded, and 50,400 when fully loaded, these ships were the largest Battleships in Europe during WW2. The official displacement, as a means to not provoke the United Kingdom, was 35,000 tons. The overall length was 250.5m, with a beam of 36m and a maximum draft of 10.2m.

Main battery was initially set out to be caliber 33cm, which at the planned displacement would have allowed for a heavily armored and fast ship. However after the Richelieu class turned out to be carrying 380mm guns, the design was reworked and the armament would consist of eight 380mm guns in four twin turrets. The decision to go back to twin turrets was mostly due to two factors. For one, the German method of Fire Control preferred to have the main battery split into two even groups, so that each group would fire while the other one is reloading, to have shorter breaks between the salvos and to get range data faster. Also, German engineers struggled to develop a sufficient hoist system for triple turrets of that caliber. This 38cm SK/34 gun fired an 800kg heavy projectile at ranges of up to 36.5km, with a theoretical maximum rate of fire of 3.3 rounds per minute and gun. However, those kind of fire rates would stress the ammunition hoists to the point where a mechanical failure is very likely, thus those kind of reloads were rarely executed. Secondary armament consisted of a mixed battery of 15cm and 10.5cm dual purpose guns. The 15cm gun was mounted in three twin turrets on each side of the ship, and would engage targets at ranges up to 23km, while the 10.5cm gun was mounted in four twins on each side with a range against surface units of 17km, and an AA ceiling of 12.5km. Anti Aircraft Armament initially consisted of sixteen twin-mounted 37mm Flakzwilling 30, an accurate but slow firing medium-range weapon. This gun would continue to see service on both Bismarck and Tirpitz until their destruction. Short range AA as design was covered by 18 20mm guns, of which eight were mounted in quads, the rest in single mounts. For Tirpitz this number would be increased throughout her career to at least 78 guns.

The armor protection had to be reduced after the main battery was increased to 38cm, this leads to the main belt being actually thinner on preceding classes. The main armor belt had a thickness of 320mm, although on Tirpitz it was slightly thinner at 315mm. The upper belt designed to defeat Cruiser caliber shells was 145mm strong. Following the belt was the typical turtleback, with a thickness of 110mm at the magazines and 100mm at the machinery, and this was again followed up by a 45mm thick torpedo bulkhead. The horizontal protection consisted of a 50mm strong upper deck, which was increased to 80mm in some locations, and on the citadel another armored deck with 95mm (100mm on Tirpitz) above the magazines, and 80mm above the machinery. The main battery was protected by a 360mm frontal plate, and 220-150mm sides. The barbettes would be 340mm thick above the weather deck, and below it was reduced to 220mm. The secondary turrets were much more vulnerable with only 100mm face plates and 80mm barbettes.

The propulsion on the Bismarck-class was a high-pressure steam plant like it was used on Destroyers and the Scharnhorst-class before. Twelve boilers would create steam with a temperature of up to 480°C, and three turbines with a combined designed power output of 138,000hp would then turn the shafts of the ship. During trials the highest attained speed was 30.1kn at 150,170shp, although Tirpitz never overloaded her engines so her maximum speed remains unknown. A twin rudder was installed to allow maneuvers. When sailing at 15kn, a Cruising range of 8,400 nautical miles was possible.

Like all Scharnhorst-class, the Bismarck-class had aviation facilities. Four Arado AR196 could be carried in the hangers amidships, and be launched via the installed catapults. Fire control did not differ greatly from the preceding Battleships, with numerous optical rangefinders and radar equipment for gunnery. Like on the Scharnhorst-class, the rangefinder mounted in A turret was removed during the winter of 1940/41, as spraywater caused it to be of little use in rough weather conditions.

Service

In the course of the warship's eight-month career under its sole commanding officer, Kapitän zur See Ernst Lindemann, Bismarck conducted only one offensive operation: Operation Rheinübung in May 1941. The ship, along with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, was to break into the Atlantic Ocean and raid Allied shipping from North America to Great Britain. The British Admiralty learned of the sortie and ordered several ships to patrol the three possible break-out points into the Atlantic. Bismarck and Prinz Eugen were detected moving into the Denmark Strait by the HMS Suffolk and Norfolk on 23 May 1941 at approximately 19:22. Bismarck, the lead ship, went to action stations and Captain Lindemann announced at 20:30 to the crew “Feind in Sicht an Backbord, Schiff nimmt Gefecht auf! (Enemy sighted to port. Engage!)”. Bismarck fired several salvos but failed to score a direct hit. Heavily outgunned, the British cruisers retired to a safe distance and shadowed the Bismarck until reinforcements could arrive. Due to heavy vibration from the main guns firing, Bismarck’s forward radar failed. Admiral Lütjens ordered Prinz Eugen to take the lead position and provide radar coverage.

The following morning, Prinz Eugen detected a ship by hydrophone and at 05:45 sighted two ships which were initially misidentified as cruisers. The two ships were, in fact, the battlecruiser HMS Hood, pride of the Royal Navy, and HMS Prince of Wales, the newest battleship in the British arsenal (she was so new that she still had a variety of shipyard personnel on board testing and maintaining her machinery). At 05:53 the British battleships opened fire on the two German ships. The British admiral on board Hood had intended on targeting Bismarck first, but due to the change in the German battle line Hood targeted Prinz Eugen instead. The German force — on the orders of Admiral Lütjens — did not open fire. After roughly two minutes of fire, Captain Lindemann grew tired of not being given the order to open fire and issued the following directive: "Ich lasse mir doch nicht mein Schiff unter dem Arsch wegschießen. Feuererlaubnis! (I'm not letting my ship get shot out from under my arse. Open fire!)". At 06:01, the fifth salvo fired by Bismarck at a range of 18,000 meters (20,000 yards) struck Hood near her mainmast. The 380mm (15-inch) shell plunged through her decks and caused a magazine detonation. The resulting explosion broke Hood into three sections; she sank in a mere three minutes, taking all but three of her crew with her.

Bismarck and Prinz Eugen then turned their attention to the bewildered Prince of Wales. During this part of the engagement, Bismarck landed seven hits and took three damaging hits in return. Prince of Wales disengaged from the battle and the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen continued their mission. This engagement of 24 May 1941 became known as the Battle of the Denmark Strait and was an unqualified disaster for the Royal Navy.

The damage caused to Bismarck dictated that she return for repairs and that Prinz Eugen continue on into the open Atlantic to commence raiding. It has been reported that Admiral Lütjens and Captain Lindemann argued about which port to return to, with Lindemann advocating a course back through the Denmark Strait to return to Bergen, Norway. Lütjens overruled him and ordered a Bismarck to make for Saint Nazaire, France.

The destruction of Hood spurred a relentless pursuit by the Royal Navy involving dozens of warships, with Prime Minister Winston Churchill demanding that the Bismarck be sunk. Two days later, heading for the relative safety of occupied France, Bismarck was attacked by obsolescent Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal; one scored a hit that rendered the battleship's steering gear inoperable. In her final battle the following morning, Bismarck was neutralized by a sustained bombardment from a British fleet led by the British battleships HMS King George V and HMS Rodney. Bismarck was eventually scuttled by her crew, and sank with heavy loss of life. Most experts agree that the battle damage would have caused her to sink eventually, regardless.

The remains of Bismarck lie beneath 15,800 feet (4,800 meters) of water approximately 400 miles (650 km) west of Brest, France. The wreck was located in June 1989 by famed naval archaeologist Robert Ballard, and has since been further surveyed by several other expeditions. An expedition led by filmmaker in 2002 noted that despite the torpedo damage to Bismarck’s outer hull, none of the torpedoes that struck her had actually penetrated her protective torpedo bulkhead.

Historical Inaccuracies

• Hull (B) is ahistorical; Bismarck’s anti-aircraft complement was never upgraded.
• The 37 mm Flak LM/42 anti-aircraft gun entered service in autumn 1943; Bismarck was sunk in May 1941.
• "The Last Conquest" camouflage has two large swastika on red banners on the deck of Bismarck (replaced with an Iron Cross for legal reasons): one on the bow and another on the stern. These markings were actually painted over prior to Operation Rheinübung.

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  The wappen (coat of arms) of Bismarck.

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  Launching ceremony of Bismarck, 14 February 1939.

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  Bismarck on trials in the summer of 1940; the rangefinders had not yet been installed.

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  Bismarck in 1940.

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  Bismarck in port in Hamburg.

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  3D rendering of Bismarck during Operation Rheinübung, May 1941.

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  Bismarck in the Baltic Sea — as seen from Prinz Eugen — departing Gotenhafen (now Gdynia, Poland), 19 May 1941.

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  Bismarck, photographed from Prinz Eugen, in the Baltic at the outset of Operation Rheinübung, 19 May 1941.

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  A British aerial reconnaissance photo taken by Flying Officer Michael Suckling shows Bismarck anchored in Norway, 22 May 1941.

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  Bismarck as seen from Prinz Eugen during the Battle of the Denmark Strait, 24 May 1941.

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  Bismarck firing her main battery during the Battle of the Denmark Strait, 24 May 1941.

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  A Swordfish returns to HMS Ark Royal after making a torpedo attack against Bismarck.

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  HMS Rodney firing on Bismarck, which can be seen burning in the distance, 27 May 1941.

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  HMS Dorsetshire picking up survivors following the sinking of Bismarck, 27 May 1941.

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  Painting by Ken Marschall depicting Argo exploring the wreck. Famed naval archaeologist Robert Ballard discovered the wreck of Bismarck in June 1989.

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  A 150mm turret, similar to those installed as secondary batteries aboard Bismarck.