Bismarck
Sunk
| Type | Battleship |
|---|---|
| Class | Bismarck |
| War | Second World War |
| Main guns | 8 × 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 (4 × 2) |
The largest warship Germany had yet built. On her first sortie, Operation Rheinübung, she sank Hood in the Denmark Strait on 24 May 1941 and was hunted across the Atlantic. A torpedo from one of Ark Royal's Swordfish jammed her rudders, and on 27 May King George V and Rodney wrecked her with gunfire; she went down after British torpedoes and her own scuttling charges, and only 114 of more than 2,200 men aboard were saved.
Armament and specifications
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)
| Builder | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
|---|---|
| Laid down | 1 July 1936 |
| Launched | 14 February 1939 |
| Commissioned | 24 August 1940 |
| 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 |
| Speed | 30.01 knots (55.58 km/h; 34.53 mph) during trials |
| Complement | 103 officers 1,962 enlisted men |
As built, from the ship's Wikipedia article. Figures there may cover later refits too.
Career
Launched
14 February 1939
Battle of the Denmark Strait
Damaged
24 May 1941
Lütjens's flagship; a fuel tank holed
24 May 1941
One torpedo hit on her belt
26 May 1941
Rudders jammed
26–27 May 1941
27 May 1941
More than 2,000 killed; 114 survivors