| Drawings
in Comparison |
| View
from the side |
 |
| Bismarck (1941) |
 |
| Tirpitz (1944) |
| View
from above |
 |
| Bismarck (1941) |
 |
| Tirpitz (1944) |
| General
Details in Comparison |
| Name
of the ship |
Bismarck |
Tirpitz |
| Building
costs |
196
m RM |
191.6
m RM |
Measurement
(gross or net registered tons) |
28,181
grt
11,110 nrt |
28,160
grt |
|
| Actual
displacement: |
(August
1940) |
(Februar
1941) |
| empty |
39,517
tonnes |
39,539
tonnes |
| designed |
45,451
tonnes |
45,474
tonnes |
| full |
49,406
tonnes |
49,429
tonnes |
| maximum |
50,405
tonnes |
50,425
tonnes
(53,500 tonnes 1944) |
|
| Length
Overall |
250.5
m |
253.6
m |
| Length
Waterline |
241.55
m |
241.72
m |
| Maximum
draught |
10.2
m
(at 49,406 tonnes) |
10.61
m
(at 52,890 tonnes) |
|
| Designed
draught |
9.3
m |
9.9
m |
| Machinery output |
maximum |
150,170
shp |
163,026
shp |
| Speed |
designed |
28 knots |
29 knots |
| Range |
8,525
nm at 19 knots |
8,870
nm at 19 knots |
| Bunkers |
maximum |
7,400
m3 |
7,780
m3 |
| Ship's
company |
103
officers, 1,962 + 27 men (1941) |
108
officers, 2,500 men (1943) |
|
Searchlights,
triaxially stabilised and directed centrally
(those positioned on Tirpitz's funnel platform later replaced by flak) |
7 |
7 |
| Weight
Grouping in Comparison |
| All
weights are expressed hereunder in metric tonnes. |
| Name
of the ship |
Bismarck |
Tirpitz |
| Aircraft installation |
83
t |
80
t |
| General equipment |
369,4
t |
361
t |
| Nautical equipment |
8,6
t |
9
t |
| |
| Empty ship with
equipment |
39,931.2
t |
39,931
t |
| Ammunition |
1,510.4
t |
1,510
t |
| Defensive
equipment |
2,5
t |
3
t |
| Consumables |
155.4
t |
156
t |
| Crew and
effects |
243.6
t |
247
t |
| Provisions |
194.2
t |
194
t |
| |
| Type displacement
(without drinking and washing water) |
42,343.5
t |
42,077
t |
| Drinking
water |
139.2
t |
139
t |
| Boiler feedwater |
187.5
t (battle cells) |
188
t |
| Diesel fuel
oil |
96.5
t |
94
t |
| |
| Construction displacement |
45,950.5
t |
45,951
t |
| Supplementaries: |
| Boiler feedwater |
187.5
t |
188
t |
| Diesel fuel
oil |
96.5
t |
97
t |
| Reserve
fresh water |
389.2
t |
389
t |
| |
| Full displacement |
49,946.7
t |
49,948
t |
| (Bismarck
special supplement fuel 1,009 t; actual full
displacement 50,955.7 t) |
| Armour
in Comparison |
| The
armour plate was principally KC (Krupp Cemented,
containing 0.34% carbon, 3.78% nickel, 0.31%
manganese and 2.06% chrome) steel, Wh=Wotan
hard. Wh had an ultimate tensile strength of
85-95 kg/mm2, 20% expansion and
a yield point of 50-55 kg/mm2. |
| |
Barbettes
for
38 cm turrets |
340 mm KC (middle,
forward), 340 mm KC (sides), 340 mm KC (rear);
Tirpitz 220 mm KC (rear) |
| Slope
of belt armour, midships and ends |
320 mm KC on Bismarck,
315 mm KC on Tirpitz (and reducing to 170 mm) |
| Decks: |
| Armour
deck above machinery, centre |
80 mm Wh (Bismarck);
50 mm Wh (Tirpitz) |
| Armour
deck above magazines, centre |
95 mm Wh (Bismarck);
100 mm Wh (Tirpitz) |
| Armament
in Comparison |
| Name
of the ship |
Bismarck |
Tirpitz |
| Flak |
12
x 2 cm |
12
x 2 cm (78 x 2 cm by July 1944) |
| Torpedo armament |
None |
2
banks 53.3 cm quadruple mountings from end
1941 to early 1942 |
| Ammunition
inventory: |
| Torpedoes |
Nil |
24 |
Note:
As the war progressed, stocks of ammunition aboard Tirpitz increased,
particularly for
the main guns and the flak. By 1944 she carried over 90,000 rounds of
2 cm.
The term "Flak", a contraction of "Fliegerabwehrkanonen",
is used throughout this homepage
to describe anti-aircraft (AA) weapons and installation both aboard ship
and ashore. |
| Armament
Details in Comparison |
| Calibre |
Barrel
length
(m) |
Wt
of
shell
(kg) |
Muzzle
velocity
(m/sec) |
Range
(m) |
Elevation
of barrel |
Rdsl/
barrell/
min |
Chassis |
| 10.5
cm/L65 C33 |
6.825 |
15.1 |
900 |
17,700 |
+85° |
18 |
Bismarck:
four forward, triaxially stabilised twin mounting
C31, stern C37; Tirpitz: triaxially stabilised
twin mounting C37 |
| 2 cm/L65 |
0.9 |
0.132 |
900 |
4,800 |
+90° |
200
single, 800 quad |
Basic
mounting C38: on Tirpitz later quadruple C38
mounting; Bismarck had 2 cm C30 single
mountings and a C38 2 x 2 cm quadruple |
Note
on barrel data:
10.5 cm/L65 and /L60.5: the former agrees
with German specification, the latter is
6.348 m. 3.7 cm/L83 and /L80: the former
corresponds to German length of 3.071 m,
the latter to 2.96 m.
2 cm/L65 is 0.9 m according to German sources and 1.3 m according to
British sources.
"C" indicates the year in which a gun or chassis type was first built
(e.g. C34 = 1934). |
| Fire
Direction and Radar Equipment in Comparison |
| Base
rangefinder |
Serving |
Location |
Radar
equipment |
Location |
Remarks |
| 10.5
m |
Main
armament |
"A" turret
"B" turret
"C" turret
"D" turret |
|
Instruments
in "A" turret on Bismarck removed
in winter 1940/41; never installed on Tirpitz |
|
|
| |
FuMO 212/213 (Würzburg) |
Aft control centre |
Tirpitz: in spring/summer
1944 platform raised by about 2 m |
| FuMO 27 |
Above 10.5 m base
rangefinder |
Additional installation
on Tirpitz with supplementary observer platform |
| TIMOR |
On fighting top
roof portside |
Additional aboard
Tirpitz until spring/summer 1944, when replaced
by: |
| FuMB 4 |
|
| SAMOS |
| FuMO 30 Hohentwiel |
On fore topmast |
FuMO 26 and FuMO
30 on Tirpitz from spring/summer 1944 |
Note
on Radar equipment:
As an experimental solution, Tirpitz was fitted on the after A/A gun
(single mount) control position with a type "Würzburg" radar
set (3-m-diameter parabolic reflector) for measuring height. This caused
a slight reduction in the angle of sweep of the A/A gun (single mount)
control position. |
| Machinery
in Comparison |
| Turbines |
3 sets geared
turbines (Curtis type) with single reduction:
in three turbine rooms.
Bismarck: Blohm & Voss, Hamburg.
Tirpitz: Brown, Boveri & Cie. |
In Bismarck the
individual turbine sets were grouped round
the gearing. The HP reaction turbine was a
Curtis wheel with 40 stages, the IP a double-flow
14 stage reaction turbine and the LP a 9 stage
reaction turbine supporting the condenser slung
below it, as was customary. The HP astern turbine
was a single Curtis wheel, the LP astern turbine
was of the divided double-flow type. No cruising
turbine was fitted.
In Tirpitz the individual turbines were similar to those of the Bismarck
except that the ship was fitted with crusing turbines; the crusing and
HP drums were both set at the after end of the main wheel; the IP and
LP were simple reaction turbines; and the HP astern turbine was contained
in the IP ahead drum at its forward end and the double-flow LP astern
turbine was located between the LP turbine block. |
| Additional
Information |
| Bismarck |
| Bismarck was never
fitted with the protective domes for the two
after A/A gun (single mount) fire control instruments.
In this ship the searchlight fitted on either
side in the forward part of the funnel platform
rim underneath the hinged protective dome was
fitted 1.5 m higher than in Tirpitz |
| Bismarck carried
at great height above it a flying bridge between
turret mast and funnel which also accomodated
the supports for the ship's cranes. As the
ship's cranes were mounted one deck lower and
slightly further aft than in Tirpitz, the second
105mm A/A gun (twin mount) on either side were
placed 3m further forward and about 7m further
inboards. |
| Only Bismarck
carried the RF domes during trial runs on A
turret. Although these had been intended for
Tirpitz as well, they were never fitted. |
| Further differences
from Tirpitz: bridge superstructures, turret
mast, funnel cowling (this was always silver-grey
in Bismarck only) and the derrick cranes on
the funnel for raising and lowering the seaplane. |
| Unlike Tirpitz
where all the 16 105 mm A/A gun (twin
mount) were mounted in the more modern Type
C 33 mountings, Bismarck carried the forward
half of the 105 mm A/A gun (twin mount) in
the older Type C 31 mounts and only the after
half in Type C 33 mounts. |
| Tirpitz |
| In Tirpitz the
funnel cowling was at first black, and silver
grey or light grey only from about 1942 onwards. |
| Tirpitz always
carried the protective hoods above the after
A/A gun (single mount) control positions and
the searchlight positions with their protective
domes were of the same height as the platform
rim surrounding the funnel. |
| The ship's cranes
were mounted on the main deck and slightly
more forward than in Bismarck and for that
reason the second 105 mm A/A gun (twin mount)
on either side were fitted approximate 3 m
further aft and approximate 7 m further outboards. |
| In 1942 the spotting
top on the mainmast was removed and a potato
locker was installed between funnel and turret
mast and above this a catwalk between funnel
platform rim and turret mast. From that time
onwards the quadruple torpedo tubes were also
carried. |
| The continuous
reinforcement of the A/A weapons reflected
the increasing threat from aircrafts and resulted
in the installation of numerous additional
A/A weapons, especially of 20 mm A/A gun (quadruple
mount). |
| At the end, the
seaplanes were no longer carried because they
had to be handed over to the German air force. |
|
