The Hunt for Bismarck
During Hitlers quest to create massive superweapons his navy received the Bismarck class, the biggest battleships Europe had ever seen
While much is said about Germany rebuilding its ground and air force in the interwar period the same happened with the Kreigsmarine. Hitler’s navy was rebuilt with the crown jewel being the Bismarck. Named after Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck, this battleship and her sister ship the Tirpitz would become a deciding factor in naval operations and became a thorn in the side of the British navy which recognized it as the biggest threat to their survival in the Atlantic.
When launched in 1939 it was the most powerful warship the world had seen. Yet the behemoth would never release its full potential as it would only sail one mission, during which she would be the subject of Winston Churchills’ nightmares.
Construction
Laid down in July 1936 in Hamburg the KMS Bismarck was the first of its class promptly followed by her sistership KMS Tirpitz introducing a new fast battleship class. Launched in 1939 captained by Captain Otto Ernst Lindermann weighing in at over 50,000 tons when fully loaded and carrying a complement of over 2,000 men she was a display of force not yet seen by the Allies at that point on the…
