Guest wrote:Matrose71 wrote:Hello,
As for discussion about who would win based on theoretical scenarios they are all flawed. The Bismarck wasn't designed to go toe-to-toe with British capital ships. Arguing that she could of beat any of them is really conjecture because the people who built her and those who sailed on her knew that gunnery battles between battleships are slugfests and almost always end with both sides receiving damage.
I realy don't understand the claim, Bismarck wasn't designed to go toe-to-toe with British capital ships?
What is your opinion, for what she was designed? And please tell us not, she was designed as a commerce raider, because that is secondary literature bullshit and a myth.
From primary sources Bismarck was the answer of the french Richelieu Class and was designed to go toe-to-toe with the french battleship.
What is the difference between the french Richelieu Class and British capital ships?
Gentlemen,
In spite of of the above statement I think there is no doubt that Bismarck was designed to attack convoys even if they were escorted. Yes she may have been the German answer to Richelieu but she was not designed to specifically do nothing else but go out and find an enemy battleship to fight as it appears in the statement above. Remember, when she was engaged Hood and PoW she had no option but to fight it out, successfully as it turned out, but she took damage form a couple of shells one of which was significant enough for Lutjens to decide to make for Brest. I maintain what I said in an earlier post that if Bismarck on her own came across a convoy escorted
by a modern heavy battleship (Nelson, KGv class) which would almost certainly have a destroyer escort she would not engage. If I remember correctly, the subject of Rodney v Bismarck hand to hand came up some time ago when it was discussed about what would have happened if Bismarck had run across Rodney on her way to Brest (they missed each other by about 50 miles) and the conclusion was that Bismarck would not have engaged and risked further possibly crippling damage but would have used her superior speed to get away.
This is wrong after
primary sources!
Bismarck was designed, speed and range, to be able to fight at the atlantic ocean.
Her armour design goals were described at detail at the Lilienthal Report from 1943, which was a sophisticated comparation from german naval engineers between the BS Class and the Richellieu class.
According to this report, the german naval engineers came after the development of the german SK 34 naval gun family and the new APC L 4.4 shell, to the conclusion, that a workable main belt (thickness) wasn't strong enough for the new guns and shells, so they decided to include parts of the horizontal armour layout (Slopes of the main armour deck), as backup for the vertical layout.
BS was designed at the same time as the german british naval agreement (1935) and nobody at this time was thinking to attack british or allied convoys! Also the Lilienthal report states clearly, that the BS class was the direct german answer to the Richelieu class. The Lilienthal report is a german primary source!
Vorgänge beim Beschuß von Panzerplatten ; Bericht 166 Lilienthalgesellschaft Berlin 1943 GKdos.
If you have a primary source, which explains that the BS class was
designed to attack convois then please provide it. To my sources this is rubbish.