The German battleship Bismarck reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004
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German battleship Bismarck

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image:tnBismarck.png
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CareerImage:Kmensign.png
Ordered:16 November 1935
Laid down:1 July 1936
Launched:14 February 1939
Commissioned:20 August 1940
Fate:sunk on 27 May 1941
General Characteristics
Displacement:50,900 tons full, 41,700 standard
Length:250.5 m
Beam:36 m
Draft:8.7 m
Engine-power:150,000 hp (110 MW)
Speed:30.8 knots (54 km/h)
Crew:2092
Armament:eight 380 mm guns in four twin turrets, 12 150 mm guns in six twin turrets, 16 105 mm guns, sixteen 37 mm guns in eight twin mounts, 12 20 mm cannon
Aircraft:six aircraft, double-catapult

Bismarck was a German battleship of World War II, named after Otto von Bismarck.

Design of this ship started in 1934. During the design process, Bismarck’s displacement grew to 42,600 tons, well over the 35,000 tons allowed by the naval agreement with Britain. Nonetheless, her keel was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg on 1 July 1936, she was launched on 14 February 1939, and commissioned in August 1940 with Kapitän zur See Ernst Lindemann in command. Her sister ship, Tirpitz, was commissioned in February 1941.

Because of the British numerical superiority in battleships, Hitler ordered the Kriegsmarine to target allied merchant shipping. Bismarck set off on this mission on her maiden voyage, leaving port on 18 May 1941. The Admiralty learnt of her departure from Allied spies who noted her passing the narrow straits between Denmark and Norway. Three days later, she was spotted by Allied reconnaissance aircraft while refueling in a Norwegian fjord and was soon acquired by the patrolling British cruisers Norfolk and Suffolk.

On 24 May 1941, accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, she was found north of Iceland and engaged by the British battlecruiser Hood and the newly commissioned battleship Prince of Wales, which was still being worked up.

The Hood had relatively weak deck armour, and therefore wished to close with the Bismarck as quickly as possible (differences in armour become less significant as range decreases, and at close range the trajectory of the Bismarck's shells would not have been steep enough to hit the Hood's deck armour). However whilst doing this the Hood was fatally hit and quickly sank. The most plausible explanation for Hood's destruction is that one of Bismarck’s shells penetrated its deck armour and struck a powder magazine. Hood exploded and rapidly sank, taking all but three of the 1,418 crewmembers with her. Prince of Wales, half its guns out of action, escaped under a smokescreen, but not before striking the Bismarck three times, one hit causing water to be introduced into fuel storage. Bismarck headed for France and repairs, and although it continued to be shadowed by Norfolk, Suffolk, and Prince of Wales, it eventually broke away and Prinz Eugen detached. The result of the battle with Hood showed, most seriously, the effect of deploying a battlecruiser against a battleship, a role for which it was never designed.

Determined to avenge the sinking of the Hood and hunt down the Bismarck, the British continued to shadow with an increasing number of ships following the Bismarck relentlessly and maintaining radar contact. An attack was made by Swordfish biplane torpedo planes from aircraft carrier Victorious during the early evening of 24 May causing one hit. In subsequent maneuvering, it was able to break contact, though its crew was not aware of this, as they could detect British radar but did not know that the return signals were too weak. Bismarck was relocated, owing partially to her commander, Ernst Lindemann, foolishly transmitting a half-hour radio message. On 26 May, at dusk, she was attacked by British Swordfish torpedo planes from the aircraft carrier Ark Royal. One torpedo hit jammed her rudder and steering gear, and she was rendered unmanoeuvrable. Throughout the following night she was the target of incessant torpedo attacks by the destroyers Cossack, Maori, Piorun (Polish), Sikh, Zulu led by Captain Vian. On the early morning of 27 May 1941 she was engaged in an eighty-eight minute battle with HMS King George V, HMS Rodney, Norfolk, and HMS Dorsetshire. After being struck by in excess of 300 shells and five or six torpedo hits, the crew introduced measures to sink their own ship to prevent capture. The Bismarck finally sank at 10:40 am. As British ships were collecting floating German sailors, German U-boats were detected, stopping the rescue at only 115 of 2,206 German sailors.

The wreck of the Bismarck was discovered on 8 June 1989 by Dr. Robert Ballard, the marine archaeologist also responsible for finding the RMS Titanic. Bismarck rests at depth of approximately 4,700 meters (15,500 ft.) at about 650 kilometres west of Brest, France. Analysis of the wreck showed extensive damage by shelling and torpedo hits, but also indicated that the Germans scuttled the ship to hasten its sinking.

Nearly a hundred ships of all kinds were deployed to operate with, against, or because of Bismarck: