Bismarck class

2023-02-01 -

BISMARCK

The Kriegsmarine was not satisfied with just building the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. It wanted a class of ship that would represent the might of the Reich and outshine any other vessel on the high-seas in terms of power, speed and size. For this reason old design plans on large modern battleships were brought up-to-date which would ostensibly be of 35,000 tonnes, which was not permissible under the Treaty of Versailles before

1935. As a result the Bismarck class was planned which comprised of a pair of fast battleships which were the largest and most powerful warships ever built for the Kriegsmarine. Two ships, the Bismarck and the Tirpitz were laid down in 1935 and 1936 respectively. Both vessels were almost identical to each other, but it was the Bismarck that would be the more famous of the two ships in the history of World War II naval warfare.

The Bismarck was ordered under the name Ersatz Hannover (Hannover replacement), a replacement for the old pre-dreadnought SMS Hannover, under contract 'F'. The contract was awarded to the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, where the keel was laid on 1 July 1936 at Helgen IX.

The boat was launched on 14 February 1939 and christened by Dorothee von Löwenfeld, granddaughter of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the ship’s namesake. Adolf Hitler made the christening speech. Fitting-out work commenced thereafter with major works replacing the original straight stem with a raked Atlantic bow. Over the coming weeks and months the ship was built into, what was considered to be, an impregnable battleship of the Kriegsmarine. It was very impressive and boasted eight 15in SK C/34 guns arranged in four twin gun turrets. Two of them were super firing turrets forward known as Anton and Bruno, and the two aft, were named Caesar and Dora. The secondary armament weapons composed of 12 x 5.9in L/55 guns, mounted in side turrets. An anti-aircraft battery of 16 x 4.1in dual purpose L/65 guns, 16 x 1.5in L/83 guns, and 12 x 0.79in guns and were also carried. The ship featured four Arado Ar 196 reconnaissance floatplanes in a double hangar amidships and two single hangars abreast the funnel, with a double-ended catapult.

The boat’s turbine engines were capable of displacing more than 41,000 metric tons (40,000 long tons) of horsepower and capable of a top speed of 30 knots (35mph). The side protection of the vessel was some 16ft deep, and the armour was 12in at its thickest. The armoured deck was 5in thick at its strongest parts. The vessel's water tight doors were big and strong and German propaganda newsreels claimed that the ship was unsinkable.

The Bismarck was commissioned into the fleet on 24 August 1940 for sea trials, which it was worked up into full efficiency in the Baltic, which was the traditional training ground of the Kriegsmarine in war time. Following a series of high speed runs and testing of its manoeuvrability in Kiel Bay, and the Gulf of Danzig in September, main battery guns were first test-fired in late November. Trials lasted until December and the vessel then returned to Hamburg, arriving on 9 December, for small alterations and the completion of the fitting-out procedure.

The ship would not be prepared for Atlantic operations until March 1941 due to delays returning to Kiel and this included being tied down for five weeks because of bad weather. When it finally arrived on 7 March the crew stocked ammunition, supplies, fuel and applied dazzle paint to camouflage her.

On 17 March Bismarck, escorted by the ice breaker Schlesien, made its way steadily through frozen seas to Gotenhafen where she was put through a series of combat training practices in readiness to set-sail into the Atlantic.

The Naval High Command (Oberkommando der Marine or OKM) planned that the Scharnhorst and

Bismarck

Class : Bismarck

Displacement: 41,700 tonnes

Length: 251m (823ft 6in)

Beam: 36m (118ft 1in)

Draft: 9.3m (30ft 6in)

Speed: 30 knots

Range: 16,430km (10,209 miles)

Crew: 1,962 men

Armament: 8 × 38cm SK C/34 • 12 x 15cm SK C/28 • 16 x 10.5cm SK C/33 • 16 × 3.7cm SK C/30 • 12 x 2cm FlaK 30

Armour: Decks – 100mm-120mm (3.94in-4.72in), Waterline belt - 320mm (12.6in)

TIRPITZ

Tirpitz was one of two Bismarck-class battleships built before the outbreak of the war in 1939. It was named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). The vessel, along with her sister ship, the Bismarck, were both designed in the mid-1930s by the German Kriegsmarine. Their size secretly exceeded the figure initially set-out by the Treaty of Versailles of 35,000 tonnes. When the building contract was placed on 14 June 1936 the Tirpitz displaced 42,200 tonnes.

Tirpitz was ordered under the cover name of Ersatz Schleswig-Holstein as a replacement for the old predreadnought Schleswig-Holstein, using the contract name 'G'. By September

1936 the Kriegsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven was awarded the contract, and on 2 November the ship was laid down on Slipway 2, construction number ‘S 128’. Three years later on 1 April 1939 the hull received the customary launching ceremony and the ship was christened by Ilse von Hassell, the daughter of Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the ship’s namesake. Adolf Hitler also attended the ceremony.

Fitting out of the ship was delayed numerous times due to British bombing attacks in the ship's harbour. But despite these attack construction work continued and the vessel was finally commissioned into the fleet on 25 February 1941 for sea trials, which were conducted in the Baltic under the Captain Karl Topp.

Identical to the Bismarck's weaponry, Tirpitz boasted a fine array of guns which included eight 15in SK C/34 L/52 guns arranged in four twin-gun turrets. Two of them were super firing turrets forward known as Anton and Bruno, and the two aft, were named Caesar and Dora. The secondary armament weapons composed of 12 x 5.9in L/55 guns, mounted in side turrets. In order to give the boat powerful anti-aircraft capability there was an antiaircraft battery of 16 x 4.1in dual purpose L/65 guns, 16 x 1.5in L/83 guns and 12 x 0.79in guns carried.

By the time Tirpitz was made operational following her sea trials German land forces had already launched their momentous invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. For this reason it was imperative that the Baltic Sea was strengthened by German naval fire power to prevent any sortie of the Soviet fleet, based in Leningrad. Operations off the coast of Norway were also suggested as it would tie down British naval assets and deter an Allied invasion of Norway. However, initially Tirpitz was sent to the Baltic where it became flagship of the Baltic Fleet under the command of Vizeadmiral Otto Ciliax. In September 1941 she remained off Aaland Island with the heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer, the light cruisers Köln, Nürnberg, Emden, Leipzig, destroyers Z25, Z26, Z27, and torpedo boats T2, T5, T8, T11.

Whilst operating in the Baltic, British naval activity off the coast of Norway grew. This prompted the Kreigsmarine to propose attacking British convoys in Norwegians waters. At first, a sortie of this kind especially after the loss of Bismarck, did not appeal to Hitler, but then as further threats to Norway increased, he agreed to the proposal. The Tirpitz was then withdrawn from the Baltic Fleet and sailed into Wilhelmshaven dock for modifications for the deployment. For next two months until January 1942 the ship was overhauled and strengthened.

The 4.1in guns on the superstructure next to the catapult were moved outboard to give the boat additional firepower. The refit also saw two quadruple torpedo tube mounts installed. When Tirpitz was ready to set sail the destination was concealed from the crew. It was sent to Trondheim, Norway in order to deter a possible allied invasion, and to attack the Russia-bound Arctic convoys. The Germans knew that her mere presence would force the Allies to maintain a large presence in Scapa Flow that could have been otherwise employed in other theatres of operations. However, in spite her dominance Tirpitz’s was hindered during operations in Norway.

One of the most difficult tasks the ship had to deal with was shortages of fuel and the withdrawal of the German destroyer forces to support operations through the English Channel. It was here in the North Sea that Tirpitz and Admiral Scheer, along with a number of other destroyers and a couple of torpedo boats operated with the intention of attacking homebound convoy QP8 and the outbound Convoy PQ12. At the same time the British were determined to damage or sink the Tirpitz. The battleship was dubbed ‘the beast’ by Winston Churchill and Tirpitz posed a major threat to Allied shipping in the Atlantic and Arctic convoys to the northern Soviet Union. He declared her destruction to be ‘of utmost importance’.

Through March 1942, a number of RAF sorties were made to locate and attack Tirpitz, but she evaded any damage. However, Tirpitz operations during