After the fact musings.

[steffen19k]

You know thinking about the Bismarck, and all this talk about "what happened, what caused this/that/the next thing"

Its really too bad we don't have a life sized functioning replica to assess, and analyze in detail.

Sure, Nathan Okun & company have done all kinds of math on the ship, and its pros and cons, but that is far from being the same thing as walking her deck, watching her guns elevate and traverse, seeing how her fire control worked and plotted out, and so forth.

When I really think about it... How shortsighted was the US Navy in using the USS Prinz Eugen (IX 300) as a nuclear target instead of treating her like U505 and turning it into a museum ship?

If I could get my hands on the blueprints, I would happily build a working reproduction of Bismarck's Ballistic Computers.

Anyone else think this is a good idea?

Anyone think this is a bad idea??

[frontkampfer]

I think PE was beautiful ship but have no doubt the post war US would never let her become a museum ship.

If you got the time and effort to reconstruct the Bismarck's FC computers go for it. I would love to see pics and learn more about them!

[ede144]

At least pictures of parts of the FC-systems are available in the net and existing still.
Regards
Ede

[Djoser]

Yes I would also greatly prefer it had the US kept the PE as a museum ship--and the Nagato as well. But no way in hell would the nation at that time have agreed to such a thing, having just defeated two of the most virulent military dictatorships in history.