BISMARCK

Bismarck: A German Battleship’s Role in WWII

The Bismarck was one of the most powerful and well-known warships in the German Kriegsmarine. The battleship was officially commissioned into active service in August 1940 with the express goal of challenging the Allies’ naval superiority and making significant inroads into their supply lines in the Atlantic Ocean. It was named after the famous Chancellor of Germany, Otto Von Bismarck, in line with the Nazis’ efforts to take the nation to the top rungs of the world’s superpowers. The Bismarck only had a short career, during which it was involved in a significant raiding sortie known as Operation Rheinübung in May 1941. During the operation, it sank the Hood, a British battlecruiser, before being cornered and sunk a few days later in the Denmark Strait. It is notable that the Bismarck was only completed and in use for about nine days before it went on this raid. This article provides a detailed overview of the Bismarck’s design and unique features, as well as the significant operations it undertook in World War II, with a primary focus on its one sortie in the war.

Design and Construction

Origins

The Bismarck was a Bismarck-class battleship that was constructed by Blohm+Voss in Hamburg, Germany. Work on the ship started with its laying in July 1936, and it was later launched in February 1939. The Bismarck was officially commissioned into active service on August 24, 1940, as Germany continued to improve its fleet of warships in line with the Nazi agenda to rearm Germany against the restrictions that had been imposed on it under the Treaty of Versailles. The Bismarck was designed to counter the British Royal Navy and French naval vessels and was well armed, armored, and fast. The vessel had a standard displacement of 41,700 tons and could take on a full load to get to a full load of 50,300 tons. The length of the warship was 251 meters, and the beam and draught were 36 and 9.9 meters, respectively. The ship was the largest in the world when it was launched in 1939. The total cost of the Bismarck at the time of its completion was 197 million Reichsmarks.

Armament and Propulsion

The Bismarck was well armed with a main battery of eight 38-centimeter (15-inch) SK C/34 guns, which were made up of four twin turrets. These weapons were used for surface targets and could fire 800-kilogram shells at targets up to 36 kilometers away. It was also fitted with a secondary battery for lighter targets and a comprehensive anti-aircraft defense. The secondary battery consisted of a dozen 15-centimeter guns, which could be used to attack smaller vessels such as destroyers and cruisers. The ship also had sixteen 10.5-centimeter anti-aircraft guns and sixteen 3.7-centimeter and twelve 2-centimeter anti-aircraft guns. The ship also had four Arado Ar 196 seaplanes that were used for reconnaissance missions. These aircraft would be launched with the help of a double-ended catapult located in the middle of the ship.

The Bismarck had a comprehensive fire-control system for the main battery and anti-aircraft weapons, with three 10.5-meter rangefinders, two on each side, and one in the front. It also had an early radar, but this was less powerful than the British ones that were in operation at the time. The three Blohm+Voss steam turbines in the ship were powered by twelve Wagner high-pressure boilers to provide a total of 150,170 shaft horsepower. The power gave the ship a maximum speed of 30.1 knots, which was higher than most of the battleships of the period. The triple-screw arrangement of the Bismarck gave it the ability to sail for long distances, and it had a cruising range of 15,000 miles when it was traveling at nineteen knots.

The Bismarck also had heavy armor, and the belt was 320-millimeters thick, while the turret faces were 360-millimeters thick. The deck armor was fifty to 120-millimeters thick. The underwater protection was not very strong and was later exposed as a significant weakness during its last battle.

Crew and Command

The Bismarck had a complement of about 2,065 men, which included 103 officers, when it was in service. The ship was initially commanded by a Kapitän zur See (Captain at Sea) named Ernst Lindemann. The fleet commander of Bismarck was Admiral Günther Lütjens, who oversaw all its operations, although it only made one sortie in the war. The crew of the ship was trained to fight in surface engagements and anti-aircraft defense, but the ship was only active for a few days, and the ship’s crew did not have time to become battle-hardened before it was finally sunk on May 27, 1941. The Bismarck was generally spacious and had better crew habitability than older German warships. This is because the Bismarck was considered a prestige vessel for the Nazis.

What Made the Bismarck Special

Advantages in Speed, Firepower, and Armor

The Bismarck was a special warship that had great speed, better firepower, and armor that made it possible to match many of the battleships that the Royal Navy had at the time. This was particularly so with its primary weapon, which was eight 38-centimeter guns that were as good as or better than many of the Allied ships that were in operation at the time. The Bismarck also had the speed to either outrun or pursue enemy targets at will, as it could cruise at 30 knots, which was a considerable improvement over many other battleships that were in operation at the time. It is also critical to mention that the Kriegsmarine had plans for the Bismarck to primarily be a commerce raider, which it could use to inflict significant damage on Allied merchant ships that were bringing in supplies that Britain desperately needed during the war. In this way, the Bismarck was similar to ships like the Atlantis, which spent most of the war sinking Allied ships. The main difference between the two was the means through which they could catch their targets, with Bismarck being a full-blown warship while Atlantis masqueraded as a Swedish merchant ship.

Psychological and Material Effect of Size

The Bismarck was also a significant ship, both in terms of physical size and psychological effect. This is because it was extremely large, and it also had a massive reputation even before it was commissioned into service. The Bismarck’s large size and heavy armament and armor meant that it was a tough opponent, and many of its opponents were extremely cautious of it when it first set out to sea. This is not least because the Bismarck’s size had a direct and severe psychological effect on both the Germans and the Allies. The former was given a tremendous morale boost and the latter was quite demoralized, meaning that both sides took risks that were related to the Bismarck’s deployment into the Atlantic. In this way, the Bismarck was used to divide the Royal Navy’s forces and make it easy for the German U-boats to hunt for and sink Allied ships in a relatively restricted area, which was quite good for the Germans.

Legacy

The Bismarck was also a potent symbol of Nazi Germany’s industrial and military might. In many ways, this is why it was launched with great pomp and fanfare, which showed the world that Germany was back as a naval power and that the Kriegsmarine was just as good as the Royal Navy. However, the Bismarck’s short service life also showed the problems associated with sustaining such ships in the face of overwhelming Allied airpower and naval power.

Key Roles in Battles and Operations

Operation Rheinübung (May 1941)

The first operation that the Bismarck was involved in was Operation Rheinübung, which was a commerce raiding operation that was supposed to start on May 18, 1941. The operation was officially led by Admiral Günther Lütjens, and the Bismarck was paired with Prinz Eugen, which was a heavy cruiser at the time. The Bismarck was supposed to sail through the North Sea and Norway to the Atlantic Ocean to sink as many Allied merchant ships as it possibly could. This would force the Royal Navy to disperse its forces, which would leave supply lines unguarded and vulnerable to attacks by German U-boats and submarines. The Germans began their journey from Gotenhafen (Gdynia) on the Baltic, and as the German ships set sail, they began their journey through Norwegian waters, which was well-known to German forces at the time. As such, it was safe, and the two ships stopped at Bergen to refuel on May 21 before moving out into open sea and en route to the Atlantic. By this time, the German ships were camouflaged with gray paint and heading for the northern Atlantic. They were eventually spotted by Swedes and Norwegians, and they immediately notified the British of the movements of the German ships.

Battle of the Denmark Strait (May 24, 1941)

On May 23, the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen finally moved into the Denmark Strait to get to the open Atlantic. This was a dangerous move by Lütjens, but the Royal Navy knew where the Bismarck was and so it sent two powerful ships to meet them. These were the battlecruiser HMS Hood and the battleship HMS Prince of Wales. These ships were under the command of Vice-Admiral Lancelot Holland, and so when they reached the Denmark Strait on May 24 at 0535, the British ships located the German ships quickly and they were able to lock their radars on them. The Hood and the Prince of Wales decided to get into position for a quick assault and they were within striking range by 0552. The Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen also opened fire after two minutes, although they targeted the Hood because of its firepower. The German fleet, which had more ships, was aiming for the Hood because of the symbol that it was for the Royal Navy. The Bismarck had been engaging in battles with the German forces and had seen action before the battles in Norway.

At 0600, one of the 38-centimeter shells fired by the Bismarck hit the Hood’s magazine, and it caused an explosion that sent the British ship underwater in a matter of minutes, killing a total of 1,415 of the 1,418 men who were on board. The Prince of Wales, on the other hand, was crippled and still not fully ready to go to war, and so the Bismarck did a lot of damage to the ship in a similar way that it did to the Hood. The Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen only sustained three hits from the Prince of Wales, although one of the hits was below the waterline, which meant that the Bismarck started to list and flood a boiler room and several fuel tanks. The flooding meant that the ship’s speed dropped to 28 knots, which was not ideal, but it was still faster than many of the ships that were in operation at the time. Lütjens was quick to send out the Prinz Eugen ahead while he headed for Brest, which was the nearest major German port, in order to carry out repairs and take on supplies. The German ships had won a resounding victory over the Royal Navy.

The sinking of the Hood, which was one of the Royal Navy’s proudest warships, sent waves throughout the naval community in Britain and it gave the government an opportunity to regroup and look for a way to sink the Bismarck. This also meant that the entire Royal Navy was dedicated to sinking the German ship, even if it would take time. This also showed that the Bismarck had great firepower and was quite accurate, although the Royal Navy’s ships showed that it was quite vulnerable to damage below the waterline. This is the most critical vulnerability on warships, and it later played a role in the Bismarck’s demise.

Pursuit and Air Attacks (May 24–26, 1941)

After the Battle of the Denmark Strait, the British mobilized their entire navy to search for the Bismarck, and they were joined by an entire generation of British warships. These included such ships as the battleship HMS King George V and HMS Rodney, the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious, the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, and other British warships such as cruisers and destroyers. The British ships only got to the German ships on May 24, when Swordfish torpedo bombers from the HMS Victorious attacked the Bismarck. The British planes scored a direct hit that did only a little damage, and so the Bismarck’s anti-aircraft guns forced them to disengage and they were not able to do much else to the ship. However, the Royal Navy was in hot pursuit of the German ships, and Lütjens’ decision to keep communication with Berlin at all times was the thing that brought it all down. This is because the British had sophisticated direction-finding stations in Berlin, which meant that all the radio communication was recorded and later used to pinpoint the position of the Bismarck, which could have been out of range at the time. This shows that the German’s effort to maintain communication with the mainland came at a heavy price.

On May 25, the Bismarck was able to get some respite from its pursuers because it managed to change course, and the Royal Navy ships did not expect it to do so. The Bismarck’s change of course almost made it impossible to find. However, on May 26, one of the Royal Navy Catalina flying boats was able to find the position of the Bismarck, and so when night fell that evening, Swordfish bombers from HMS Ark Royal were ordered to make a final attack on the Bismarck. At 2055, two torpedoes from the British planes found their way into the Bismarck, with one jamming the ship’s rudders at a 12-degree angle. This means that the ship was no longer able to control its course and so it was doomed. The ship could only sail in circles, which made it an easy target for British ships that were slowly advancing. It tried to fight the battle, and the ship’s crew also made several attempts to repair the rudders, but this was not successful.

Final Battle and Sinking (May 27, 1941)

The final battle between the Bismarck and the Royal Navy started on the morning of May 27, 1941. The Bismarck was not in great shape, but it did still have some means to engage with the British ships. However, it was only 300 miles from the French city of Brest when the Royal Navy, which had more ships, started to engage with it. The HMS King George V and the HMS Rodney opened fire on the Bismarck at 0843, and it was later joined by two cruisers, HMS Norfolk and HMS Dorsetshire. Bismarck returned fire, but it was no longer the dominant force in the battle. The Royal Navy ships also caused a lot of damage on the ship, and by 0915, it was clear that the Bismarck had been completely overwhelmed by the Royal Navy ships. Its main turrets had been silenced by this time, and its forward turrets had been destroyed while the aft turrets were jammed. The Royal Navy ships also showed no mercy as they bombarded the ship from long range, and most of the superstructure was destroyed in the process. Hundreds of the crew members on the Bismarck were killed or wounded, and even Admiral Lütjens was among the casualties. At 1015, with the ship on fire and with a large list, Captain Lindemann gave the order to use the scuttling charges on the Bismarck to prevent it from falling into British hands. At 1039, the Bismarck sank to the bottom of the sea with the captain’s grave marked with one bloom. Reports indicate that between 2,000 and 2,100 of the men on board were killed in the battle. The Dorsetshire and destroyer Maori rescued a total of 114 crew members, although a large number of them were left behind as the British were afraid of U-boat attacks.

The Bismarck was a major loss for the Kriegsmarine, which lost a critical asset after just nine days of combat operations. The sinking of the ship highlighted its vulnerabilities, even though it was the most well-armored and armed German warship of the time, which could no longer contend with air power.

Aftermath and Legacy

The Bismarck’s effect on the naval war was quite significant, although some of these were not immediately felt. The sinking of the Hood by the Bismarck was a big psychological victory for the Germans, but the subsequent sinking of the Bismarck by the Royal Navy showed that the British were going to spare no expense and effort in making sure that the Bismarck was destroyed. The entire Royal Navy had deployed over 100 of its ships to pursue and sink the Bismarck, and this was a massive drain on Britain’s resources. However, the sinking of the Bismarck by the Royal Navy put an end to German surface raids in the Atlantic, and the Kriegsmarine turned its attention to U-boats. The search for the Bismarck ended in the north and the Royal Navy had to direct its focus to other regions where Allied forces were struggling against the Germans. The Bismarck’s wreck was discovered by Robert Ballard in 1989. It was located in about 4,790 meters under the sea, and it showed that the ship was scuttled with several battle scars. The wreck also helped to quell some of the debate about how the Bismarck was finally sunk and destroyed.

The Bismarck’s legacy is related to the fact that it was a massive battleship that showed what battleships could do even at their peak. It was also involved in one of World War II’s most iconic battles, with the Battle of the Denmark Strait being as famous as any other battle in that war.

final thoughts

The Bismarck was an extremely powerful warship that was just as fast, powerful, and well-armored as its British and American counterparts at the time. It was also specifically designed to hunt and sink Allied merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean, and it did just that when it went on its final voyage. Its sinking of the Hood was a key moment in the war and showed its capabilities, although its own sinking a few days later by the Royal Navy showed the determination and dedication that was going to be used to make sure that it was destroyed. Its brief career only saw one significant sortie, and this was made in an attempt to raid Allied supply lines in the Atlantic, with the goal of dispersing the Royal Navy’s assets. The Bismarck was finally sunk in the Denmark Strait, with more than half of its crew members being killed or wounded. This was just the start of a series of major naval battles between the British and Germans in 1941.