Bismarck in 1940990 viewsThe Bismarck was the lead ship of the two-strong class whose other unit was the Tirpitz, and these were the only German battleships completed in the lifetime of the Third Reich. The ships were visually impressive and exercised a horrid fascination on the minds of the British Admiralty despite the fact that they had an unfortunate propulsion arrangement, possessed a considerable weight of armour that was not particularly well disposed, and had a cluttered deck arrangement in its combination of secondary and tertiary gun batteries (due to the German navy's lack of dual-purpose guns and fire-control systems).The specification for the Bismarck included a full-load displacement 50,900 tons, length of 81 3ft 8in (248.0m), armament of eight I5in (380mm) guns in four twin turrets, twelve 5.9in (150mm) guns in six twin turrets, eight 4.1 in (105mm) anti-aircraft guns in four twin mountings and sixteen 37mm anti-aircraft guns in single mountings, protection in the form of a I2.6in (320mm) belt, I4.2in (360mm) turrets, I 3,8in (350mm) conning tower and 4.7in (120mm) deck, propulsion in the form of geared steam turbines delivering I38,000hp (I02,895IkW) to three shafts for a speed of 29 knots, and complement of 2,400.
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Tirpitz in c1941833 viewsThe Tirpitz was the sister-ship of the Bismarck, from which it differed only in details such as a full-load displacement of 52,600 tons, length of 823ft 6in (25 1,0m) and the addition of eight 21 in (533mm) torpedo tubes. The ship was launched in April 1939 and completed in February 1941, and its sole success in World War II (apart from tying down large numbers of British capital ships) was a bombardment of Spitsbergen in September 1943.The ship was damaged by British midget submarine attack later in that month, damaged by aircraft attack in April 1944 (with the loss of 122 men after being hit by 14 bombs), rendered unseaworthy by-further aircraft bombs in September I943 and finally sunk in November 1944 when the ship capsized with the loss of 902 men after being hit by ‘Tallboy’ bombs.
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