(Vanilla) KMS Bismarck, May 1941
This ship will become a preset ship in the future.
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.
Although it has been almost eight decades since her sinking, Bismarck continues to fascinate new generations of history enthusiasts. Her history was short and violent, filled with glory, horror, tragedy and reversal of fortune, experienced by both adversaries: the German Kriegsmarine and British Royal Navy. Bismarck’s first and last combat mission, Operation Rheinübung, was one of the most important events in the Battle of the Atlantic and became an example of the cruelty and volatility of naval warfare in World War II. Once the largest and proudest warship in the world, Bismarck now lies at the bottom of the ocean, but her history is not forgotten.
This ship was built entirely according to the original drawings in the BAMA digital archive and corrected errors in some widely circulated reference materials.
(Data as of May 1941)
Displacement (standard) 43,980 tonnes
Displacement (full load) 51,760 tonnes
Displacement (maximum) 53,490 tonnes
Length (overall) 251m
Length (waterline) 241.5m
Beam 36m
Draught (at standard displacement) 9.33m
Draught (at maximum displacement) 10.55m
Boilers 12 Wagner-type high-pressure boilers (450°C, 55atm)
Turbines 3 Blohm & Voss turbine sets
Maximum machinery output 150,170shp
Maximum speed 30.1 knots
Fuel capacity 8294 tonnes
Electrical plant output 7,910kW
Range 9,280nm at 16 knots
8,900nm at 17 knots
8,525nm at 19 knots
6,640nm at 24 knots
4,500nm at 28 knots
Armament 8 x 38cm SK C/34 (4 x II)
12 x 15cm SK C/28 (6 x II)
16 x 10.5cm C/33 (8 x II)
16 x 3.7cm C/30 (8 x II)
8 x 2cm C/38 (2 x IV)
12 x 2cm C/30 (12 x I)
2 x WBD depth charge rack
Armour Upper armour belt: 145mm
Main armour belt: 320mm tapering to 170mm below
Decks: upper deck 50-80mm; main armour deck 80–95mm, main armour deck slopes 110–120mm
Torpedo bulkhead: 45mm
Fore and aft transverse bulkheads: 145–220mm
Main artillery turrets: front 360mm, sides 150–220mm, rear 320mm, roof 130–180mm
Main artillery barbettes: 220–340mm
Secondary artillery turrets: front 100mm; sides and rear 40mm, roof 20–35mm
Secondary artillery turret barbettes: 80mm
Conning tower: sides 350mm, roof 220mm
Radar equipment 3 x FuMO 27 radar
Aircraft 4 x Arado Ar-196 floatplanes
Complement About 2,220 officers and men
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