German Bismarck Ship has earned the superlative since 24 May 1941. When bismarck wreck the venerable battlecruiser HMS Hood, the “pride of the Royal Navy,”. And drove off the new British battleship Prince of Wales in the Battle of the Denmark Strait. It has been praised for. , a battle scene. At the time, the Bismarck Ship was widely considered to be the most powerful ship at sea. And the largest, fastest, and most protected warship in the world. But how do these claims stand up to scrutiny
Size, Speed, and Protection
The 1922 Washington Naval Treaty set a weight limit for capital ships at 35,000 tons. And this limit was set in 1930 and the London Naval Treaty of 1936. Bismarck Ship and her sister Tirpitz were larger than modern warships built under the 35,000-ton limit. Germany, which was not a signatory to the treaty but was bound by the 35,000-ton limit. Under the 1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement, ignored this fact. Bismarck Ship standard displacement was 41,700 tons.
Completed in 1920, Hood had a standard displacement of 42,037 tons and was comparable in size to the Bismarck. The later British battleship class King George V was built under contract terms, and her standard displacement was 36,727 tons. The 4,444 treaty-era U.S. warships included two North Carolina-class ships of standard displacement of 35,000 tons. And four South Dakota-class ships of the same displacement. Among the other contracted battleships, the two French Richelieu-class battleships. Had a standard displacement of 37,832 tons, and the three Italian Vittorio
Veneto-Class Battleships
Veneto-class battleships had a standard displacement of 40,516 tons. But Benito Mussolini’s Fascist government had a standard displacement of 35,000 tons. The only warships larger than the Bismarck ships were the American Iowa-class battleships. Built in 1943, with a standard displacement of a 48,425 tons, and the two even larger Japanese Yamato-class battleships. These were laid down in 1937 and 1938 after Japan’s withdrawal from the treaty regime. And the standard displacement was 65,027 tons. With an maximum sustained speed of 30 knots. Bismarck was faster than most warships of her era, but the battleships Richelieu and Vittorio Veneto were equally fast. The armor protection of most, if not all, of her 35,000-ton battleships built after 1937 was about the same. However, given Bismarck’s size and the difficulty of ultimately sinking her from shells and torpedoes. Bismarck’s defenses were probably better due to her more compartmentalized hull.
Another Story
Firepower is a complex subject that includes factors such as fire control equipment, gun length, muzzle velocity, rate of fire, armor penetration depth, and explosive power. However, simple comparisons of the firepower of different ships are often based solely on the total weight of a steel. And explosives that can be delivered to an enemy ship with fire from each side. It is calculated by multiplying the weight of the main armor-piercing projectile of the main gun by the maximum number of main guns that can simultaneously attack an enemy ship.
Bismarck wreck had a relatively low armor-piercing round weight of 1,764 lb (800 kg), which meant that each salvo from their eight 15-inch/47-caliber guns only exposed her to 14,112 lb (6,400 kg) of steel and explosives. Could not be fired. In contrast, the seven much older U.S. battleships of World War I fired broadside fire from smaller caliber but numerous 14-inch guns and could inflict 15,300 to 16,800 pounds on the enemy. I did. Four Japanese battleships built during World War I were equipped with twelve 14-inch/45-caliber guns capable of firing an even greater broadside weight of 17,820 pounds. The new King George V class, including the Prince of Wales, carried only ten of her 14-inch/45 guns but still outpowered Bismarck.
Gun Specification
Comparing only the number and caliber of their guns, 11 older British warships, including the battlecruisers Hood and Richelieu, each carried eight of her 15-inch guns, as did the Bismarck. Gun length was 45 caliber (56 feet, 3 inches), and Bismarck’s gun length was 47 caliber (58 feet, 9 inches), but the total broadside weight of the shells exceeded that of Bismarck. Her 1,248 tons outweighed her by 1,480 pounds. 16 battleships with her 16-inch guns fought in World War II, each of which could provide greater broadside weight than the Bismarck. Japan’s Yamato and Musashi, the largest and most powerful battleships in history, were built in secret.
These giant ships carried her nine 18-inch/45 guns, the largest ever mounted on a battleship, and their broadside weight was more than twice that of her Bismarck guns. In summary, her 35 battleships that participated in World War II fired armor-piercing a shells heavier than the Bismarck, and 51 battleships were able to fire broadside shells heavier than the German battleships. Almost any armor-piercing shell of 14 inches or larger in caliber could sink Hood and inflict about as much damage on Prince of Wales as Bismarck’s 15-inch shells.
Bismarck vs. American Battleships
North Carolina-class battleships and South Dakota-class battleships were approximately 18% smaller in displacement. Than Bismarck-class battleships but had 72% more firepower than German battleships. In a one-on-one battle, these American ships could theoretically defeat a Bismarck-class battleship. Zeiss optics used in a German naval rangefinders and other naval fire control equipment were unparalleled in quality. While U.S. naval rangefinders and other Bausch & Lomb optics were considered to be of comparable quality. The optical systems used were not a distinguishing factor when comparing the firepower of American and German battleships. As both navies used stereoscopic rangefinders rather than the split-image type favored by the British. Bismarck-class battleships were equipped with her four twin guns, but other nations’ smaller battleships were much more heavily armed. The Bismarck could have been equipped with nine 16-inch guns in three triple. Gun mounts, as was used in North Carolina and South Dakota.
The Prince Under Fire
Completed in 1920, the battlecruiser Hood had a speed of 32 knots, much faster than modern battleships. But the thickness of her belt armor meant that even at its maximum. She was 12 inches, which should have been enough to stop 12 knots. Inch shells fired by battleships in the early days of World War I were fired. In contrast, the Prince of Wales and other King George V class battleships had her 15-inch armor belt.
During the Battle of the Denmark Strait, four 15-inch shells fired from Bismarck hit HMS Prince of Wales, but only one exploded. The first shell hit the ship’s starboard side underwater without exploding, causing light flooding. Two shells hit the ship’s superstructure but did not explode. One shot penetrated the Compass platform, killing or wounding almost everyone in the area and destroying much of the equipment there, and the other shot hit the forward line of fire control support at long range, disabling it into bismarck wreck.
Prince Of Wales
The fourth shell to hit the Prince of Wales first struck and disabled the starboard crane, then exploded on the boat’s deck, causing extensive fragmentation damage to the aft shaft, nearby boats, and Various electrical wiring in the area. However, bismarck wreck four hits on the Prince of Wales had no effect on her main gun fire. Despite sustaining fire from the German battleship and her heavy cruiser, Prinz Eugen, she maintained a continuous rate of fire in bismarck wreck.
Two underwater hits by her Prinz Eugen’s 8-inch shells further flooded Prince of Wales. And reduced her overall speed by 1-2 knots. Continuous bombardment from both German warships confused the Prince of Wales’s guns, and the combination of being attacked by both ships and apparently unable to do any damage to the enemy led to the British battleship’s self-destruction. became a target and eventually had to retreat from the scene. Prince of Wales scored three hits on Bismarck, two in the water and one from the bow, which went unnoticed by the British gunners.
Since the Prince of Wales’s main armament and her machinery were still intact, she was able to quickly reverse her course and join up with the heavy cruisers Norfolk and Suffolk, which led her to lead the German squadron. I followed it to the Atlantic Ocean. Several hours after repairing bismarck wreck damage and restoring some of her functionality, the Prince of Wales reported that Bismarck was operational again. Her battleships continued to pursue Bismarck and even exchanged gunfire with German battleships. When the Bismarck escaped her pursuers that night, the Prince of Wales took part in the initial search efforts for her but was eventually forced to return to Rosyth, Scotland, for permanent repairs. I headed to a shipyard.
