1939, Germany
Bismarck and her sister ship Tirpitz were the two largest battleships ever built by Germany or any other European Navy.
Built in Hamburg and launched in 1939, Bismarck (named after chancellor Otto von Bismarck) was the first of two Bismarck-class battleships built for the German Kriegsmarine. She was commissioned to ...
1939, Germany
Bismarck and her sister ship Tirpitz were the two largest battleships ever built by Germany or any other European Navy.
Built in Hamburg and launched in 1939, Bismarck (named after chancellor Otto von Bismarck) was the first of two Bismarck-class battleships built for the German Kriegsmarine. She was commissioned to the German feet to navigate the Atlantic and disrupt the Allied shipping route from America to Great Britain and took part in one offensive operation during her short career under the command of Captain Ernst Lindemann. She was famous for having destroyed the battlecruiser H.M.S. Hood and subsequently pursued and bombarded by the British Navy leading to her sinking off the coast of Brittany in May 1941.
In 1960, the Bismarck became part of history due to a movie titled “Sink the Bismarck” and a song of the same name by Johnny Horton.
The wreck of Bismarck was discovered in 1989 by an expedition led by Robert D. Ballard (oceanographer who also found the Titanic) 4,700m deep, 650 km off the north-west coast of Brest. The study of the wreck showed that the superstructure suffered serious damage caused by bombs and torpedoes but also that she was scuttled by her German crew, fact that was reported by survivors but never proven. Ballard never disclosed the exact location of the wreck in order to preserve the site against unscrupulous divers.
Later on, another expedition sponsored by British television Channel 4 was sent in order to gather information and images for a documentary on the Bismarck and H.M.S. Hood.
A third dive was this time organised in 2002 for a documentary by the Canadian James Cameron. His survey proved without any doubt that all bomb and torpedo damage only appeared above the water line and in any case never pierced the structure. He also brought back images of the structure that left no doubt as to the ship having deliberately been sunk by its crew. This became the official version of the Bismarck’s fate.