Battleship Bismarck - Trumpeter 03702

The battleship Bismarck was built in 1936-1940 at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg. Data: length 250.5 m, width 36 m, propulsion: three steam turbines driving three propellers, speed 30 knots, displacement 45,500 tons. Armament: 8 380 mm guns, 12 150 mm guns, 16 105 mm AA guns, 16 37 mm AA guns, 12 20 mm AA guns, eight torpedo tubes. Armor with a thickness of 320 mm (sides) to 50 mm (deck). A crew of 108 officers and 2,500 sailors.

In September 1940, the ship moored in Gotenhafen (Gdynia). Bismarck's job was to attack the Allied convoys with other battleships. After leaving Gdynia in May 1941, Bismarck and a group of other ships headed for the Great Belt. The team is anchored in a fjord near Bergen. There, after being detected by a British reconnaissance plane, the team set out to sea, heading for the Atlantic. The British team took the chase. There was a battle in the Danish Strait. Hood sank as a result of a fire exchange, while Bismark was damaged. Among other things, the fuel tank was damaged, which when leaking left a trace behind the drive away towards St. Nazaire Bismarck. Water entered the fuselage causing the bow to trim. The battleship was attacked by torpedo planes, but escaped in pursuit. The British did all they could to find and sink Bismarck. He was located and attacked from the air. Damage and blocking of the rudders were essential for the ship. During the night, contact with Bismarck was lost again. This time ORP Piorun hit Bismarck with the help of radar. He was unsuccessfully fired upon by Bismarck. A team of British ships joined. Bismarck's guns were demolished with British volleys. The final blow with torpedoes was delivered by the cruiser HMS Dorsetshire. After this attack, the Bismarck was a floating wreck. After a short time, the battleship overturned over port and sank. 115 Germans were saved.

In June 1989, the Bismarck wreck was found by Robert Ballard at a depth of 4,750 m. Interesting fact: using photos taken by Ballard's team, Mr. Andrzej Kraśnicki made a model of the Bismarck wreck. The model of the wreck is in Szczecin.