The Bismarck battleship was a world-famous German battleship in World War II, the first ship of the Bismarck class. The origin of the name was 19th-century German Iron-Blooded Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck, and bismarck became famous for sinking the battlecruiser Pride Hood, known as the Royal Navy, Hmong Hood, during the Battle of the Danish Strait in May 1941, when she was ordered to "sink Bismarck" by then British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and was later sunk after 27 May in pursuit by the Royal Navy.
Otto Von Bismarck (1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), Prussian Chancellor and Foreign Minister, was a prominent politician and diplomat in germany's recent history, known as the "Iron-Blooded Prime Minister".
Bismarck was an important figure in germany's recent history.
As the most famous politician and diplomat of the Prussian German Juncker bourgeoisie, he was the representative of the top-down unification of Germany (excluding Austria).
The battleship Bismarck was named after him.
The Bismarck battleship was one of the main surface combat ships of the Nazi German Navy in World War II, the first ship of the Bismarck class battleships, and the most powerful battleship built by Germany during World War II.
Bismarck's first and only mission was the Rheinübung operation on 18 May 1941, accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen.
During the Battle of the Danish Strait, within 6 minutes of the start of the battle, the British Navy's spiritual symbol was struck, and the ammunition depot of the battlecruiser HMS Hood, which was served in world war I to the present day, caused its martyrdom and sinking.
On Sunday, 24 May, at 5 a.m., as the German fleet prepared to leave the Danish Channel, the sonar of Prinz Eugen detected two unidentified ships on the starboard side. The German ships were immediately ready for battle.
The British interceptor fleet consisted of the newly completed battleship Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser HMS Hood, commanded by Vice Admiral Lancelot Holland.
The British formation was led by HMS Hood and reared by the Prince of Wales. HMS Hood was seen as the pride of the Royal Navy and was the largest battlecruiser in the world at the time, but its weakness was that the deck armor was rather weak.
At 5:55 a.m., the German formation returned fire and concentrated its fire on the Hood.
Bismarck fired a third salvo, hitting the middle of the Hood, causing a fire on the lifeboat deck and spreading rapidly.
Lieutenant General Holland now realized that he was at a disadvantage and ordered the left rudder twenty degrees to unleash his full firepower.
At exactly 6:00 a.m., the Hood had just completed its turn, and Bismarck made its fifth salvo, and one (2 rounds) of shells penetrated the Hood's weak deck armor, detonating the main ammunition depot.
The Hood instantly broke in half and quickly sank into the sea, killing only 3 of the 1418 officers and men, including Lieutenant General Holland.
As Bismarck struck the british Navy's spiritual symbol within 6 minutes of the battle in the Danish Strait, the ammunition depot of the battlecruiser HMS Hood, which served until now during World War I, caused it to explode and sink.
The Royal Navy therefore sent a large number of warships to intercept Bismarck.
More than 60 warships of various types and several types of aircraft of the Royal Navy, led by the battleships "King George V", "Rodney", "Victory" and "Royal Ark", participated in the siege of Bismarck.
On 26 May 1941, Bismarck was again attacked by the Swordfish torpedo bombers of the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, and was hit by three torpedoes, one of which hit the stern, and the heavy structure was damaged and pressed downward to the steering gear, causing bismarck's rudder angle to get stuck at 15 degrees.
This made bismarck unable to avoid the attack of the British fleet (under the influence of currents and winds, Bismarck could only advance north and west, which was the center of the British encirclement network), and the speed was reduced again, and it was difficult to control the course.
On the morning of 27 May 1941, the main British pursuing fleet arrived, including the battleships King George V and Rodney, as well as HMS Norfolk and HMS Dotsy county, took turns attacking the malfunctioning Bismarck with shells and torpedoes.
At about eight o'clock Bismarck entered the battleship's main gun range, and the two ships quickly approached and bombarded Bismarck with its 16- and 14-inch main guns.
Bismarck, the front and rear fire control stations were broken, and even the two main guns on the bow of the ship were scrapped in the first 20 minutes.
In fact, bismarck attacked rodney only from the beginning of the battle to the end of the battle, but the 15-inch gun could not penetrate the Nelson-class battleship Rodney in the "BIG SEVEN", which was known for its shocking protective ability.
Bismarck was hit by a handful of dozens, if not hundreds, of large-caliber armor-piercing shells and hundreds of small-caliber shells, plus at least one torpedo.
The last 16-inch shell was fired at extremely close ranges (about 3,000 yards).
But bismarck was still unsinknished until 10:25 a.m., and even the engine was still running.
In the absence of hope, the Germans began to prepare to blow up and sink the warships on their own to avoid capture.
The British heavy cruiser Dorset then fired 3 torpedoes at close range, all of which hit.
At 10:36, Bismarck finally sank 400 nautical miles west of Brest. The "unsinkable battleship" sank, and the Atlantic Sea became its underwater grave.
Before and after, the Royal Navy sent a large number of warships to intercept Bismarck, including as many as 8 battleships and battlecruisers, and 2 aircraft carriers, about half of the Royal Navy's forces, before finally sinking Bismarck.
British commander Admiral Tovey said after the battle: "Like the German Imperial Navy in World War I, Bismarck fought one of its bravest battles, resisting an enemy several times larger than her own, so much so that her flag was still flying when she sank."