DKM Bismarck DKM Bismarck
Captain: Billy Roden
Class: Bismarck
Team: Axis
This is one of the most famous (or infamous) battleships of all time. For those who can only name one battleship, this is probably it. Built from 1935 to 1939 under a veil of secrecy, to hide the fact that it greatly exceeded the officially-claimed displacement of 35,000t, it achieved a level of notoriety well beyond its actual accomplishments. Regarded by some as a "super ship", it was nothing of the sort, but very formidable nonetheless. The design wasn't particularly advanced, but the fire control system - particularly the optics - was excellent and the armoring very stout, as was German practice since before WWI. Partly due to the secrecy surrounding Bismarck, and partly due to British Prime Minister Winston Chuchill's dire pronouncments about the German "Super Battleship", the British Royal Navy pulled out all the stops to sink Bismarck on its first operational sortie into the North Atlantic. In its first engagement, Bismarck sunk HMS Hood, the pride of the Royal Navy, in just a matter of minutes, adding to its legendary status. Bismarck was hunted down by the Royal Navy in a dramatic chase and sunk by combined naval gunfire and torpedos on 27-May-1941 after a lucky hit by a torpedo, dropped by an obsolete Swordflish biplane, jammed the rudders, preventing Bismarck from maneuvering. To this day there is some controversy over whether the Royal Navy actually "sank" the Bismarck, or it was scuttled by its own crew.
| Original Ship | Model | Combat Factor | |
| Displacement | 52,600t | 3 | |
| Length | 813'8" OA | 67-13/16" OA | |
| Beam | 118'1" | 9-13/16" | |
| Shafts | 3 | 3 | |
| Speed | 29 kts | 38.8 sec/100' | 29 |
| Armor (Belt) | 12-1/2" | 1/8" | 4 |
| Main Battery | 8 @ 380mm/47 (4 x 2) | 8 @ 1/4" (4 x 2)
8 Rotating 8 Depressing |
32
8 4 |
| Secondary Battery | 12 @ 150MM/55 ( 6 x 2)
16 @ 105mm/65 (8 2 x) |
||
| Torpedos | 6 @ 533mm (3 x 2)(Tirpitz) | ||
| Pumping Capacity | 90 GPH | 5 | |
| Standard Cargo Capacity | 3 | ||
| Total Combat Factor (unofficial) | 88 | ||
This ship was voted "Best Looking Ship" at 2005 NABGO by those in attendance.
Photos:
| Billy Roden's DKM Bismarck, with it's travel crate (more work went into the crate than some people put into their ships!). |
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Billy Roden's DKM Bismarck on sea trials, floating a little high at the bow, with William Jowers' Z-boat as escort. |
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