German battleship Bismarck

Bismarck in 1940
History
Nazi Germany
Name	Bismarck
Namesake	Otto von Bismarck
Builder	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Laid down	1 July 1936
Launched	14 February 1939
Commissioned	24 August 1940
Fate	Scuttled following incapacitating battle damage, 27 May 1941 in the North Atlantic 48°10′N 16°12′W / 48.167°N 16.200°W / 48.167; -16.200
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Bismarck-class battleship
Displacement	41,700 t (41,000 long tons) standard 50,300 t (49,500 long tons) full load
Length	241.6 m (792 ft 8 in) waterline 251 m (823 ft 6 in) overall
Beam	36 m (118 ft 1 in)
Draft	9.3 m (30 ft 6 in) standard[a]
Installed power	12 × Wagner superheated boilers 148,116 shp (110,450 kW)
Propulsion	3 × geared turbines 3 × screw propellers
Speed	30.01 knots (55.58 km/h; 34.53 mph) during trials[1][b]
Range	8,870 nmi (16,430 km; 10,210 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement	103 officers 1,962 enlisted men
Sensors and processing systems	FuMO 23 Seetakt radar Hydrophone
Armament	8 × 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 (4 × 2) 12 × 15 cm (5.9 in) SK C/28 (6 × 2) 16 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/33 (8 × 2) 16 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 (8 × 2) 12 × 2 cm (0.79 in) FlaK 30 (12 × 1)
Armour	Belt: 320 mm (12.6 in) Turrets: 360 mm (14.2 in) Main deck: 100–120 mm (3.9–4.7 in)
Aircraft carried	4 × Arado Ar 196 floatplanes
Aviation facilities	1 double-ended catapult

Bismarck was the first of two Bismarck-class battleships built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched in February 1939. Work was completed in August 1940, when she was commissioned into the German fleet. Bismarck and her sister ship Tirpitz were the largest battleships ever built by Germany, and two of the largest built by any European power.

In the course of the warship's eight-month career, Bismarck conducted only one offensive operation that lasted 8 days in May 1941, codenamed Rheinübung. 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 two ships were detected several times off Scandinavia, and British naval units were deployed to block their route. At the Battle of the Denmark Strait, the battlecruiser HMS Hood initially engaged Prinz Eugen, probably by mistake, while HMS Prince of Wales engaged Bismarck. In the ensuing battle Hood was destroyed by the combined fire of Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, which then damaged Prince of Wales and forced her retreat. Bismarck suffered sufficient damage from three hits by Prince of Wales to force an end to the raiding mission.

The destruction of Hood spurred a relentless pursuit by the Royal Navy involving dozens of warships. Two days later, heading for occupied France for repairs, Bismarck was attacked by fifteen Fairey Swordfish 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, the already-crippled Bismarck was engaged by two British battleships and two heavy cruisers, and sustained incapacitating damage and heavy loss of life. The ship was scuttled to prevent her being boarded by the British, and to allow the ship to be abandoned so as to limit further casualties. Most experts agree that the battle damage would have caused her to sink eventually.

The wreck was located in June 1989 by Robert Ballard, and has since been further surveyed by several other expeditions.

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