German Battleship Bismarck : Her Fitting Out In Pictures

Bismarck Is A Legendary German Battleship From The Second World War

Bismarck under Construction
The Bismarck under construction on slipway 9 at the Blohm & Voss Shipyard in Hamburg. Note the side sloped armor being attached to the torpedo bulkhead. This photo was taken in October 1937. KBismarck.com

German Battleship Bismarck : Her Construction In Pictures. Bismarck’s construciton occured at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany.

The Germans wanted to spare no expense in creating what would be the world’s most impressive battleship in their eyes.

The Germans, like the rest of the world still believed battleships were the future of warfare.

This view, received from the Naval Attache Office, London, in 1940, was taken from off the ship’s port side, forward. Moreover, it shows details of the front part of her side armor belt, 380mm main battery turrets and forward superstructure.

Moreover, the ability of a carrier to impose extra lethal force with an array of airplanes that could travel hundreds of miles beyond the ship had not become widely realized yet.

This view, received from the Naval Attache Office, London, in 1940, was taken from off the ship’s port side, forward. It shows details of her forward twin 380mm main battery gun turrets, which were then being installed.

It would take Pearl Harbor and the British raid on Taranto to change the minds of Admirals across the globe.

This view, received from the Naval Attache Office, London, in 1940, moreover, shows the ship’s hull side and superstructure, seen from off the port side, looking forward.
See our past work: Battle of Taranto : The Battle that Changed Warfare & Pearl Harbor by US Navy Rear Admiral Samuel J. Cox
This view, received from the Naval Attache Office, London, in 1940, furthermore, was taken from off the ship’s port quarter and shows details of her stern and the extent of her belt armor aft.

As always we graciously thank the United States Department of Navy for these wonderful images!

This view, received from the Naval Attache Office, London, in 1940, moreover, shows the port forward 150mm twin gun turret in the process of installation, with the ship’s forward superstructure behind.
German Navy Ships–Bismarck (1940-1941)–Construction (ibiblio.org)