| 24.08.1940: |
Commissioned in Hamburg. |
| 14.09 - 05.12.1940: |
Trials in the Baltic Sea. |
| -24.01.1941: |
Last refits and construction work in Hamburg. |
| -May 1941: |
Trials and training in the Baltic Sea together with CA Prinz Eugen
. |
| 19.05.1941: |
"Operation "Rheinübung":
Escorted by the destroyers Z23
, Z24
, Hans Lody
, Friedrich Eckoldt
and the 5th M-Flotilla, Bismarck
and CA Prinz Eugen
leave Gotenhafen (Gdynia) for commerce raiding in the North Atlantic
|
| 21.05.1941: |
While anchoring in the Korsfjord, Bismarck
and Prinz Eugen
are sighted by a British reconnaissance plane. Both ships leave the Fjord before British bombers can attack them. |
| 23.05.1941: |
Passing the Denmark Strait, the Bismarck
and Prinz Eugen
are detected by the British CA Norfolk
and Suffolk
. The British ships are able to shadow the Germans because of their superior Radar. |
| 24.05.1941: |
At 6 am, the British battlecruiser Hood
and the battleship Prince of Wales
attack the German ships. After 5 minutes, the Hood
explodes in a huge detonation. Prince of Wales
is hit several times, the Bismarck
hit it three times, one hit cuts off the forward oil supply. The German ships head for Brest, France. Later this day, the Bismarck
is attacked by torpedo planes of the British carrier Victorious
. One torpedo hit but no damage. |
| 26.05.1941: |
After detected by planes of the British carrier Ark Royal
, a torpedo destroys the Bismarck's
rudder. The ship is unable to control its course. In the night, several British and Polish DDs attack the Bismarck
, but archived no hits.
|
| 27.05.1941: |
In the morning, the British battleships Rodney
and King George V
attack the uncontrollable ship. After two hours the Bismarck
is a burning wreck. The ship sinks after several torpedo hits by the British CA Dorsetshire
and scuttling by the own crew 300 miles north west of France. |
| 05.06.1989: |
The wreck of the Bismarck
is discovered in a depth of 4500 m. |
