The ships were the largest warships built for the German Navy. Bismarck was laid down in July and completed in September , while her sister Tirpitz ' s keel was laid in October and work finished in February The two ships were broadly similar to the World War I-era Bayern class , in that they mounted a similar main battery and were protected by a similar armour arrangement.
Both ships had short service careers. Bismarck was defeated and sunk in a final engagement after a three-day chase by the Royal Navy. Disagreements over the cause of the sinking persist with chiefly British sources claiming responsibility for the sinking of the ship. Evidence reviewed by Robert Ballard and James Cameron indicates that her loss was most likely due to scuttling as originally claimed by her surviving crew-members. Tirpitz ' s career was less dramatic; she was sent to Norwegian waters in , where she acted as a fleet in being , threatening the convoys from Britain to the Soviet Union.
Ultimately, Lancaster bombers hit the ship with three Tallboy bombs , which caused extensive internal damage and capsized the battleship. Tirpitz was broken up for scrap between and A large portion of the bow remains where it sank in A series of conceptual designs were begun in to determine the ideal characteristics of a battleship built to the 35, long tons 36, t limit of the Washington Naval Treaty.
As a result, Bismarck and Tirpitz were intended to counter the new French battleships being built at the time. The deciding factor for the adoption of 38 cm 15 in guns for Bismarck and Tirpitz was the decision of the French Navy to arm its four Richelieu -class ships then under construction with 38 cm pieces.
It was decided that four twin turrets would provide the best solution to distribution of the main battery, as it would provide equal firepower forward and aft, as well as simplify fire control. The naval constructors examined diesel geared drive, steam drive, and turbo-electric drive engines; the last system was the preferred choice, as it had been extremely successful in the two American Lexington -class aircraft carriers and the French passenger ship Normandie.
