Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #635469 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-21
• Binding: Hardcover
• 96 pages

Synopsis
This is an in-depth examination of this classic ship that represented the pinnacle of the Nazi war machine at sea, containing full colour artworks and action photographs and comprehensive appendices including detailed specifications and comparison tables. The Bismarck is amongst the most famous battleship of WWII with much of the Allied fleet being diverted to hunt her down during her breakout into the Atlantic in 1941. The book begins by tracing the re-growth of the German navy after WWI and Hitler's plans for rearmament. After 1935 the German navy was allowed to build capital ships again and the book then examines every aspect of the Bismarck's development and construction, including detailed sections on her design, armament, powerplant, crew and armour. In addition there is a chapter devoted to the Bismarck in action with descriptions of the ship's only voyage in anger, its successful sinking of HMS Hood and the ship's final showdown 300 miles west of Ushant when she was torpedoed and then finished off by the guns of the Royal Navy. The book also describes the building and career of the Tirpitz, the Bismarck's sister ship.

Customer Reviews

All you ever needed to know about this great ship.
Such is the legacy of this great ship that, even now - over 60 years after she was sunk, the very mention of the word "Bismarck" conjures up powerful images of Battleships and war at sea - the like of which will never be seen again. How curious that nobody ever seems to recall Otto von Bismarck - the former German Chancellor after whom the ship was named.

In their "Weapons of War" series, Spellmount Publishing have produced the full works on this, one of the world's greatest ever Battleships. The Bismarck and her only sister ship Tirpitz were the very best that Germany could produce and, on a one-to-one basis, were easily a match for any ship afloat. The Bismarck was lost because she was simply overwhelmed and her discovery in recent years by Dr Bob Ballard has only served to renew an interest that was hardly fading in any event.

"The Bismarck" is a hard-back book measuring 11½" x 8¾" containing almost 100 pages of carefully researched and well- explained information with either historic mages or informative illustrations on every page. Not only was the Bismarck a classic ship, she will remain one of the most famous ships of all time and this is her story from concept to grave. The book is well illustrated throughout with excellent colour profiles of this and other important ships - all of which form an excellent basis for comparisons.

Commencing with the German navy post WW1 and the three pre-dreadnought Battleships she was permitted to retain under the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler's plans for rearmament and the subsequent re-growth of his navy are fully explained with a detailed analysis of existing ships and the lessons learned from Jutland. In this way, the book skilfully examines every aspect of the Bismarck's development and construction with detailed information relating to that historical fact before coming on to her design, machinery, crew, armour and armament. At various points the author digresses from the main theme in order to give a full explanation of that small number of ships which played an important role in the short life of the Bismarck. Commencing with the Graf Spee and Gneisenau from which we are able to make important technical comparisons, we later find the same level of information relating to the Prinz Eugen and Hood as we move - chapter-by-chapter, through the life of this magnificent vessel. Towards the end is a fascinating account of the Life and death of the Tirpitz before the book concludes with a visit to the wreck of the Bismarck.

The colour profiles of each of the main ships are quite excellent and the historic photography includes several images I have never seen before. I was especially pleased to see a selection of underwater images also included.

I congratulate the author and publishers on a job well done.

NM